Many, including me, have expected better from WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod for numerous reasons, primarily related to player safety and officiating.
It seems that expectation is naive given his track record.
But can someone explain to me how the premier college hockey league in the country can have a guy who was investigated for witness tampering (in a sexual assault case no less) and charged with felony theft and swindling as commissioner?
Grand Forks Herald (ND)
June 20, 1996
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: D03
MCLEOD LINKED TO PAYOFF OFFER
WCHA COMMISSIONER, MINN.-DULUTH AD AT THE CENTER OF CONTROVERSY
Author: Associated Press
Dateline: DULUTH
Article Text:
The athletic director at the University of Minnesota-Duluth offered to arrange a payment to a student if she would decline to testify against a hockey player who assaulted her, a newspaper reported.
In a copyright story Wednesday, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis cited a police investigation from 1992 and 1993 that did not result in charges against Bruce McLeod, who is also the commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The player, Sergei Krivokrasov, pleaded guilty to an assault charge in 1993 and now plays for the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks.
Transcripts show that during a private meeting in his office, McLeod discussed with Erin Masser, then a sophomore, the disadvantages of pursuing an Krivokrasov, who had signed a pro contract worth $900,000, the newspaper said.
As part of the investigation into suspected witness tampering and bribery by McLeod, Duluth police taped conversations between McLeod and Masser.
The St. Louis County attorney's office never filed charges against McLeod, in part because no money changed hands, according to the attorney who examined the case. However, police Lt. John Hall, who directed the investigation, told certainly see why somebody could think that. But that was certainly never the McLeod's involvement with Krivokrasov puzzled investigators, not only because it potentially violated the law, but also because Krivokrasov was never a Minnesota-Duluth student.
And while the school took no disciplinary action against McLeod, a senior college official ordered a workshop for athletic department personnel about appropriate ways to counsel students.
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Grand Forks Herald (ND)
October 19, 1996
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: C03
NO ACTION PLANNED AGAINST WCHA'S MCLEOD
Author: Associated Press
Dateline: MINNEAPOLIS
Article Text:
Members of the faculty committee overseeing the Western Collegiate Hockey Association say they plan no immediate action against WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod who has admitted stealing money from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
The Star Tribune on Thursday surveyed several committee members to ask about any possible plans against McLeod, who has resigned as athletic director at Minnesota-Duluth.
On Wednesday, McLeod entered into a court-approved program for first-time offenders. If McLeod completes the program, es will be dismissed after one year.
Several WCHA committee members in the 10-university association said they want more information about McLeod's case before making a decision on any action against him as commissioner.
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Grand Forks Herald (ND)
October 23, 1996
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: D01
TIME FOR MCLEOD TO STEP DOWN AS WCHA COMMISSIONER
Author: Gregg Wong, Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Article Text:
It's time for Bruce McLeod to step down as commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Now. Not in January or at the end of the season.
McLeod resigned in August as athletic director at Minnesota-Duluth because of several misdeeds in his administration, the biggest an admission that he stole $18,000 of the school's money for his own use. He later made restitution.
Last week McLeod entered into a pretrial diversion program for first-time offenders. If he completes the program, felony theft and swindling charges against him will be dismissed after one year.
McLeod also was involved in other questionable actions while he was Umd's athletic director, among them offering to arrange payment for a woman student so she would not testify against a Russian hockey player, a non-student, who had assaulted her; secretly giving an assistant coach a bonus; and diverting money from the women's program to men's athletics.
There have been no revelations of any misdeeds in his role as Wcha commissioner, a position he has held since July 1, 1994. Nonetheless, for the good of the league, he must step down now. If the Wcha is to remain the best college hockey league, which it claims, it cannot have a leader with this kind of baggage.
The Wcha's executive committee has ordered an outside audit of the league's books. The committee, led by Pat Merrier, Umd's acting athletic director, has indicated it probably will not act on McLeod's status with the league until January, when the audit is complete and the committee has its regularly scheduled meeting.
"I've been proud of the fact that all the Wcha people are doing justice to someone they all know and like and who has made many contributions to the league," Gophers men's athletic director Mark Dienhart said. "I'm not alarmed that nobody has pulled the trigger. That wouldn't be appropriate at this time. But I know there may be some discomfort between now and January."
Yet, Dienhart added, "We need a commissioner who is functioning at the highest level, who is empowered and who has the confidence of the league behind him or her."
Before McLeod admitted that he took the money, most of the league coaches and administrators voiced their support. Now, since his admission, some of that support is waning. And, according to a source, McLeod's predecessor as commissioner, the retired Otto Breitenbach of Wisconsin, already has been alerted that he might be asked to step in as acting commissioner.
McLeod probably realizes his fate. He has sold two of his three houses, including a lake cabin, and reportedly plans to move to Denver. He was in Denver over the weekend, perhaps seeking a new job and home. He was traveling on Monday and did not return a phone call.
In any case, when McLeod does resign or is fired, the Wcha must try to find an independent commissioner, one not concurrently employed by one of the league schools, so as to avoid any hint of partiality. The new commissioner also must know hockey and be well versed in marketing, media (notably television) and public relations.
With new arenas in Denver and Colorado Springs and the probability of Mankato State and Nebraska-Omaha joining the Wcha in the next few years, the league and its popularity should grow immensely. And the commissioner has to be the point man for that growth.
On another disciplinary matter, Gophers coach Doug Woog merited being reprimanded for passing on tuition money to former Gopher Chris McAlpine.
Woog should have known better. You don't hand over an envelope with cash to a student-athlete, even if his eligibility has expired.
Woog's intentions were admirable -- helping a kid without any money stay in school. But he should have thought it out. The money could have been given to McAlpine without Woog's involvement -- and then there would be no suspension or loss of scholarship.
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Grand Forks Herald (ND)
November 29, 1996
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: D02
MCLEOD LEAVES MINN.-DULUTH, BUT STAYS ON AS COMMISIONER
Author: Virg Foss, Herald Staff Writer
Article Text:
Former Minnesota-Duluth athletic director Bruce McLeod, who resigned after he was charged misappropriating school athletic funds, sold his house and lake cabin and moved to Denver last weekend, Bulldog hockey coach Mike Sertich said.
The cloud of the investigation into McLeod's activities has hung over the UMD athletic department for eight months, Sertich said. "It's important we have some closure to all of this," Sertich said. McLeod's departure from Duluth may lead to that, he added. McLeod, who still serves as Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner, will run the league office from Denver.
The WCHA still is conducting an audit of its funds under McLeod. If the WCHA takes steps to remove McLeod, that would come at a league meeting in January.
There is talk that McLeod could tell the WCHA in January that he will resign, effective at the end of the season. He's reportedly looking to find a job with a professional sports franchise in Colorado.
If McLeod does resign, there's already speculation that his replacement could be former UND head hockey coach Gino Gasparini.
Gasparini is beginning his third season commissioner of the United States Hockey League, which supplies many of the players for the WCHA.
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Gasparini back in WCHA?
With Bruce McLeod's forced resignation as athletic director at Minnesota-Duluth and subsequent move from Duluth to Denver, his days as commissioner of the WCHA may be numbered.
If so, perhaps the leading candidate to replace him would be ex-UND coach Gino Gasparini, in his third season as commissioner of the United States Hockey League.
For the record, Gasparini is taking the stance that's he's perfectly happy doing what he's doing. "I have a wonderful job that I enjoy immensely," Gasparini said Monday. "I'm not in the market of looking for a new job."
But if the WCHA needs a new commissioner and is interested in him, he said he would talk.
Gasparini would be the perfect candidate. He not only has a background in the league as a long-time coach, but he knows the inner workings of the USHL, now the prime feeder league for WCHA schools. Another bonus would be that Gasparini has no ties to a WCHA school as McLeod did in his dual role as AD at Duluth and commissioner of the WCHA. McLeod's two jobs created the potential for a conflict of interest.
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Grand Forks Herald (ND)
February 5, 1997
Edition: FINAL
Section: SPORTS
Page: D01
Topics:
Index Terms:
COLLEGE ATHLETICS
EX-MINNESOTA-DULUTH PLAYER IS SUING SCHOOL OVER GENDER EQUITY BULLDOG SOCCER PLAYER ASKING FOR $75,000 IN DAMAGES
Author: Associated Press
Dateline: DULUTH, MINN.
Article Text:
A former University of Minnesota-Duluth soccer player says she was forced to quit the sport because scholarships were unavailable to the team but were offered disproportionately to male athletes.
Julie Grandson filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, saying Minnesota-Duluth has violated a federal law by denying female athletes the same opportunities it extends to male athletes.
Grandson says that although women made up 33 percent of the school's athletes in the 1995-96 school year, their teams received only 21 percent of the total athletic budget, 18 percent of athletic scholarships and 18 percent of athletic recruiting money.
The suit demands that soccer be funded equitably and asks damages of more than $75,000.
Wide disparities have persisted despite an annual state subsidy whose intent is to help Minnesota-Duluth attain gender equity in sports. The school has accepted more than $5 million in such funds since 1985, records show.
Last summer, after an internal probe, Chancellor Kathryn Martin acknowledged that the school's spending on women's sports was unfair and promised to fix the problem by 1999.
The investigations also led to the discovery that Athletic Director Bruce McLeod made $18,000 in undocumented withdrawals from a fund-raising account. He resigned, was charged with theft and was accepted into a pretrial diversion program. He still heads the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Grandson suit cites 19 defendants including Martin, McLeod and each member of the university Board of Regents. University officials declined to comment.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Strange Bedfellows: Why a Big Ten Hockey Conference Could Push UND Hockey and UND Football to Join Forces
Strange as this may sound, a Big Ten Hockey Conference (BTHC) could benefit UND Football. Here’s how:
Big Ten (BT) commissioner Delaney seems to be pushing for it. He has some backing. Wisconsin Athletic Director (AD) Alvarez has threatened to move Wisconsin from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Speculation on this subject is that Wisconsin wants to play more “name” opponents and fewer {town name here} State University type schools. A BTHC would solve that issue for Wisconsin as it would be made up of CCHA members Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State plus WCHA member Minnesota. However, Minnesota seems to have put a halt to those efforts, for now.
How do we know this isn’t just more speculative BTHC chatter that’s raged for well over a decade? Delaney used names of potential affiliate members for a BTHC. That means the commissioner has thought about this, and not just with a fan in a pub after a contest. Why affiliates? The BT does not have enough hockey playing full members (just five) to fill a conference. You really need six to eight to make it work.
Delaney is looking for Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) based affiliate members. Names used were Miami of Ohio, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green. All are presently CCHA members and all presently play FBS football in the Mid-America Conference (MAC). The MAC has a scheduling arrangement with the BT in football today. Finding hockey affiliates in the MAC would only seem logical given that.
(Side note: Does Minnesota, or Wisconsin for that matter, really want those MAC schools? Or would they rather have affiliates that have better potential to put fans into their football and hockey venues? MAC based affiliates only seems to really benefit Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State in that regard.)
If all of this were to happen, UND would be left in a “no Minnesota, no Wisconsin” WCHA. Some may be fine with that. However, is that what is best for UND Hockey and the University of North Dakota?
In this case, I’ll side with the Alvarez point of view. I’d rather UND be playing hockey peers like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
So, to team with the BT, per the words of BT commissioner Delaney, UND would need to move from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level that it is presently at to the FBS level. And which group of UND fans would be pushing for this? As strange as this sounds, hockey fans would be pushing. Would they have any other backing?
Well, some UND Football fans and friends questioned making the leap only to FCS, and not going the full way to FBS. They’d be in support. Also importantly, UND Hockey fans would also have a vested interest in the growth and success of UND Football as it could be their ticket, and continuing relationship, to a BTHC membership.
This is a scenario where both UND Football and UND Hockey would be working together for an outcome that would end up benefitting both, but for different reasons. I’m not sure if this has ever happened. I must say: strange bedfellows indeed.
What would be required? The move from FCS to FBS is not as large as the move from Division II to Division I FCS. Roughly 20 mens and 20 womens (don’t forget Title IX) scholarships would need to be added. Otherwise, most of the Division I requirements overlap as the FBS/FCS designators only apply to football.
However, the move is far larger. The key stumbling block would be having a football stadium large enough to meet the 15000 average attendance minimum of FBS. Alerus Center is limited at about 13000. Some will say “Average 15000? No way.” But that’s not the real issue as other schools have come up with creative ways to meet that minimum and UND could follow suit. And a schedule with interesting teams on it would bring out football fans of all sorts.
The keys come down to what any shift in UND Athletics comes down to: Money (scholarships and stadium) and Conference. That’s where the combined benefits of hockey and football working for a mutually beneficial outcome would work to the benefit of both, and seemingly all of UND as it would become even more prominent nationally.
Yes, it seems that there is a scenario where a BTHC would make strange bedfellows of UND Football and UND Hockey.
And who would have believed it would come from Jim Delaney and Barry Alvarez.
Closing Disclaimer: Before you, gentle reader, start shooting this to ribbons for thousands of good and logical reasons allow me to state that there are lots of issues that would need to be addressed and overcome to make this work. I’m not ignoring those; I’m just too lazy to bring them all up and address them all here.
Big Ten (BT) commissioner Delaney seems to be pushing for it. He has some backing. Wisconsin Athletic Director (AD) Alvarez has threatened to move Wisconsin from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). Speculation on this subject is that Wisconsin wants to play more “name” opponents and fewer {town name here} State University type schools. A BTHC would solve that issue for Wisconsin as it would be made up of CCHA members Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State plus WCHA member Minnesota. However, Minnesota seems to have put a halt to those efforts, for now.
How do we know this isn’t just more speculative BTHC chatter that’s raged for well over a decade? Delaney used names of potential affiliate members for a BTHC. That means the commissioner has thought about this, and not just with a fan in a pub after a contest. Why affiliates? The BT does not have enough hockey playing full members (just five) to fill a conference. You really need six to eight to make it work.
Delaney is looking for Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) based affiliate members. Names used were Miami of Ohio, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green. All are presently CCHA members and all presently play FBS football in the Mid-America Conference (MAC). The MAC has a scheduling arrangement with the BT in football today. Finding hockey affiliates in the MAC would only seem logical given that.
(Side note: Does Minnesota, or Wisconsin for that matter, really want those MAC schools? Or would they rather have affiliates that have better potential to put fans into their football and hockey venues? MAC based affiliates only seems to really benefit Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State in that regard.)
If all of this were to happen, UND would be left in a “no Minnesota, no Wisconsin” WCHA. Some may be fine with that. However, is that what is best for UND Hockey and the University of North Dakota?
In this case, I’ll side with the Alvarez point of view. I’d rather UND be playing hockey peers like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
So, to team with the BT, per the words of BT commissioner Delaney, UND would need to move from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level that it is presently at to the FBS level. And which group of UND fans would be pushing for this? As strange as this sounds, hockey fans would be pushing. Would they have any other backing?
Well, some UND Football fans and friends questioned making the leap only to FCS, and not going the full way to FBS. They’d be in support. Also importantly, UND Hockey fans would also have a vested interest in the growth and success of UND Football as it could be their ticket, and continuing relationship, to a BTHC membership.
This is a scenario where both UND Football and UND Hockey would be working together for an outcome that would end up benefitting both, but for different reasons. I’m not sure if this has ever happened. I must say: strange bedfellows indeed.
What would be required? The move from FCS to FBS is not as large as the move from Division II to Division I FCS. Roughly 20 mens and 20 womens (don’t forget Title IX) scholarships would need to be added. Otherwise, most of the Division I requirements overlap as the FBS/FCS designators only apply to football.
However, the move is far larger. The key stumbling block would be having a football stadium large enough to meet the 15000 average attendance minimum of FBS. Alerus Center is limited at about 13000. Some will say “Average 15000? No way.” But that’s not the real issue as other schools have come up with creative ways to meet that minimum and UND could follow suit. And a schedule with interesting teams on it would bring out football fans of all sorts.
The keys come down to what any shift in UND Athletics comes down to: Money (scholarships and stadium) and Conference. That’s where the combined benefits of hockey and football working for a mutually beneficial outcome would work to the benefit of both, and seemingly all of UND as it would become even more prominent nationally.
Yes, it seems that there is a scenario where a BTHC would make strange bedfellows of UND Football and UND Hockey.
And who would have believed it would come from Jim Delaney and Barry Alvarez.
Closing Disclaimer: Before you, gentle reader, start shooting this to ribbons for thousands of good and logical reasons allow me to state that there are lots of issues that would need to be addressed and overcome to make this work. I’m not ignoring those; I’m just too lazy to bring them all up and address them all here.
Monday, June 29, 2009
It's a 400?
There's an old line about baseball: It's a marathon, not a sprint.
The same could be said of the NHL season, but the NHL really has two seasons: one for post-season seedings and one for winning.
I'm looking at college hockey and trying to decide what it is. It's too long to be a sprint, but it's not a marathon either. At most, college teams will play 48 games. So, what's between a sprint and a marathon? Track legend Edwin Moses would tell you, "The 400." Folks in the track world say you can't run the 400 like a distance race or like a sprint. It's a hybrid of getting off to a decent start, setting a pace, and a dash to the finish. And that sounds like a college hockey season to me.
It also sounds a lot like the Stanley Cup playoffs. You need to get out and set a pace. And you have to maintain that pace well and long enough that a strong finish will let you hit the tape first.
The Cup playoffs are at most 28 (bone-jarring, grinding, gut-wrenching) games.
Sometimes I wonder if Dave Hakstol isn't building his UND teams to look and act like the college season is a Stanley Cup season. You really don't want to dig an 0-2 series hole in any situation, you can't get away with being below 0.500 for any stretch (Cup series loss in the NHL, or buried too deep in the PWR in college) but defeats along the way are going to come. Don't believe me? The conference finals losers post-season records were 8-10 (Carolina) and 9-8 (Chicago) and no one would say they had bad post-seasons. Pittsburgh was 16-8 on their way to the Cup; Detroit was 15-7 in coming up just short.
The masters of Cup play in recent memory are the Detroit Red Wings. And what's their formula for success? First ... as a side thought ...
Who are the best players in the NHL? When I ask that question most of you came up with a list of three to five names, and no Red Wings names were on it I'm guessing. (Ovchekin, Crosby, Malkin are probably the first thoughts.) I'm not sure many of you came up with Datsyuk, Franzen, or Zetterberg right away. And there was a point to that. We'll get there.
The Red Wings do it fairly simply by their formula:
- They have a top line that is lethal and can make opponent lesser lines look foolish, but they really don't have that "Ovchekin" or "Crosby".
- They have a second line that can score but can also neutralize the opponent top line. (Guys on these top two lines are virtually interchangable as everyone understands the roles and goals.)
- They have a "grind line" that shuts down everyone (and this tradition goes back to the original "Grinders" of Cleary, Draper, and Maltby).
- They have a fourth line made up of role guys (usually younger folks who are learning the Cup trade), where one of them may be skilled enough to show up on a second power play unit (Jiri Hudler anyone?) or able to "spot" a top six guy who misses a shift.
- Their defense is asked to make all the steady plays and really not much else. They'll occassionally have one "mover" but normally they play smart and tough (think: Lidstrom, Chelios).
- Their goaltender is expected to make all the "ordinary" stops, and maybe one or two more.
And then I think of the teams Dave Hakstol seems to build each year. And then I realized the formula.
It appears to this (admittedly far from expert eye) that Dave is building a team in the same mindset and framework.
Now let's again jump to a strange question ...
Who are the best individual skill players in college hockey? Have your list? Did you come up with Chris Vande Velde right away? Dare I call him the UND "mule" (tip of cap to Johan Franzen).
UND doesn't have the names that jump out at you right now, but they do have names that have shown they know how to, or are quickly learning to, play in the college "Cup-season ... season": Vande Velde, Brad Malone, Jason Gregoire's emergence.
These aren't the names that jump out at you as "the best in the game" but they are names that know how to play and seem to be playing to a system and philosophy that has taken Hakstol and UND to Frozen Fours four of the last five seasons.
I'm not saying UND is Detroit (although if Datsyuk, Franzen, Zetterberg, or Lidstrom had eligibility I'm sure we could find a jersey).
I am saying I think I see some of Hakstol's philosophy and where it may come from: The college season looks more like a Cup season so create a college team that looks like a team that does well in Cup season.
Where it may break down is the lack of margin for a loss in the last four games of a college season, as all of us learned, in some cases harshly, in the last few seconds of many games college games this spring.
The same could be said of the NHL season, but the NHL really has two seasons: one for post-season seedings and one for winning.
I'm looking at college hockey and trying to decide what it is. It's too long to be a sprint, but it's not a marathon either. At most, college teams will play 48 games. So, what's between a sprint and a marathon? Track legend Edwin Moses would tell you, "The 400." Folks in the track world say you can't run the 400 like a distance race or like a sprint. It's a hybrid of getting off to a decent start, setting a pace, and a dash to the finish. And that sounds like a college hockey season to me.
It also sounds a lot like the Stanley Cup playoffs. You need to get out and set a pace. And you have to maintain that pace well and long enough that a strong finish will let you hit the tape first.
The Cup playoffs are at most 28 (bone-jarring, grinding, gut-wrenching) games.
Sometimes I wonder if Dave Hakstol isn't building his UND teams to look and act like the college season is a Stanley Cup season. You really don't want to dig an 0-2 series hole in any situation, you can't get away with being below 0.500 for any stretch (Cup series loss in the NHL, or buried too deep in the PWR in college) but defeats along the way are going to come. Don't believe me? The conference finals losers post-season records were 8-10 (Carolina) and 9-8 (Chicago) and no one would say they had bad post-seasons. Pittsburgh was 16-8 on their way to the Cup; Detroit was 15-7 in coming up just short.
The masters of Cup play in recent memory are the Detroit Red Wings. And what's their formula for success? First ... as a side thought ...
Who are the best players in the NHL? When I ask that question most of you came up with a list of three to five names, and no Red Wings names were on it I'm guessing. (Ovchekin, Crosby, Malkin are probably the first thoughts.) I'm not sure many of you came up with Datsyuk, Franzen, or Zetterberg right away. And there was a point to that. We'll get there.
The Red Wings do it fairly simply by their formula:
- They have a top line that is lethal and can make opponent lesser lines look foolish, but they really don't have that "Ovchekin" or "Crosby".
- They have a second line that can score but can also neutralize the opponent top line. (Guys on these top two lines are virtually interchangable as everyone understands the roles and goals.)
- They have a "grind line" that shuts down everyone (and this tradition goes back to the original "Grinders" of Cleary, Draper, and Maltby).
- They have a fourth line made up of role guys (usually younger folks who are learning the Cup trade), where one of them may be skilled enough to show up on a second power play unit (Jiri Hudler anyone?) or able to "spot" a top six guy who misses a shift.
- Their defense is asked to make all the steady plays and really not much else. They'll occassionally have one "mover" but normally they play smart and tough (think: Lidstrom, Chelios).
- Their goaltender is expected to make all the "ordinary" stops, and maybe one or two more.
And then I think of the teams Dave Hakstol seems to build each year. And then I realized the formula.
It appears to this (admittedly far from expert eye) that Dave is building a team in the same mindset and framework.
Now let's again jump to a strange question ...
Who are the best individual skill players in college hockey? Have your list? Did you come up with Chris Vande Velde right away? Dare I call him the UND "mule" (tip of cap to Johan Franzen).
UND doesn't have the names that jump out at you right now, but they do have names that have shown they know how to, or are quickly learning to, play in the college "Cup-season ... season": Vande Velde, Brad Malone, Jason Gregoire's emergence.
These aren't the names that jump out at you as "the best in the game" but they are names that know how to play and seem to be playing to a system and philosophy that has taken Hakstol and UND to Frozen Fours four of the last five seasons.
I'm not saying UND is Detroit (although if Datsyuk, Franzen, Zetterberg, or Lidstrom had eligibility I'm sure we could find a jersey).
I am saying I think I see some of Hakstol's philosophy and where it may come from: The college season looks more like a Cup season so create a college team that looks like a team that does well in Cup season.
Where it may break down is the lack of margin for a loss in the last four games of a college season, as all of us learned, in some cases harshly, in the last few seconds of many games college games this spring.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Let's try this "roster prediction" thing again ...
Another season has come and gone. This can only bring one thing: Speculation about recruits and what the team roster will look like in the fall. I gave it a shot a year ago and missed badly in one area: I picked Andrew MacWilliam, not Corey Fienhage, to come in for 2008-09.
Part of last year was also not knowing if there would be early departures. That's been answered: The team won't be facing early departures as it has for the last decade.
So, with that backdrop we'll begin to look at what I project as the ins-and-outs of the UND Hockey roster for 2009-2010.
For openers, thanks to Aaron Walski and welcome to Aaron Dell. (There's nothing like starting out with the gimme-of-gimmes to improve the prediction average.)
Moving to defense, Joe Finley and Zach Jones graduate and Andrew MacWilliam and Joe Gleason are the obvious replacements. We'll see Nick Mattson and Derek Forbort at some later date.
Forward is where the confusion and questions come in when I try to prognosticate the roster. Initially, do we consider Brad Miller a forward or a defenseman? For this conversation, and under the Hobey Baker caliber statement of Ryan "the Brad Miller I know is a forward" Duncan, I'm considering Brad Miller as a forward. That leaves UND with five holes at forward: Ryan Duncan, Matt Watkins, Andrew Kozek, Ryan Martens, and Brad Miller.
So, which five forward recruits in the UND pipeline do I expect to see skating in REA in the fall? Allow me to list them in my expected order:
1. Mike Cichy - Mike dominated the USHL Clark Cup playoffs, including taking home the playoff MVP award. That's the last checkbox on his "ready for the WCHA" punch list.
2. Dan Kristo - Dan's seen the World Junior Tournament for Team USA. Next question.
3. Brett Bruneteau - Brett was projected to come in during fall of 2008 but injuries led him back to the USHL for 2008-09 to help ensure he is ready for the next level.
4. Michael Forney - This is the first real question on my list. Is Michael returning to UND? He's coming off an outstanding, and healthy, season for Green Bay (USHL). I'd be very interested in seeing what a healthy Michael Forney would do for the home team in REA.
5. Corbin Knight - Here's another case of "Team Hak Recruiting". Knight wasn't highly known, touted, or visible before his commitment to UND. However, Knight went from that anonymity (unranked by NHL Central Scouting at mid-season) to being the 64th ranked North American forward as season's end. Team Hak Recruiting finds another gem in the coal mine.
6. Carter Rowney - Rowney, by being named AJHL playoff MVP, has put his name next to the likes of Dany (stinkin' Badger) Heatley, Mike (no-good Wolverine) Comrie, and Joe (dirty Pioneers) Colborne. That's pretty good hockey company, even though in my opinion they chose poorly when it came to collegiate squads. Most consider Rowney a late-bloomer but also a guy who does the hard work that's not always the glamorous part of the game. For some reason, that makes me smile.
7. Danny Mattson - I know some will call me a sinner for not expecting the Holy Angels (sinner, angel, get it?) star at UND this fall but I don't see him coming to Grand Forks until 2010. A year in the USHL would help a guy used to skating in open ice get ready for that part of the rink called "the corners" which is where the WCHA seems to play.
8. "The Rest" - meaning (still in order) Mike Fink, Derek Rodwell, Matt White, Michael Parks, Brendan O'Donnell - these folks, with maybe the exception of Fink, have all been recruited for 2010 or 2011 so to see them in Grand Forks this fall would be a true shock.
I'm pretty sure of 1 through 3, and like I stated, Forney, until something becomes official, is my biggest question. If Forney doesn't return to UND that would make 2009 space for the reigning AJHL playoff MVP.
Now, all we have to do is wait until September to see how well I did.
Enjoy your summer.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The anatomy of a game-winning goal: Kozek to Malone to Zajac?
One fact that went largely unnoticed following Darcy Zajac's dramatic overtime goal against Colorado College last Sunday was that none of the three forwards involved in setting up and scoring the goal had been playing together on the same line.
While it's not unusual in the process of changing lines on the fly for a few players from different lines to be on the ice when a goal is scored, I couldn't recall an instance when teams were playing 5-on-5 in which all three forwards involved in a goal had each been playing on different lines during a game (Zajac third line center, Brad Malone fourth line center and Andrew Kozek first line wing).
When I asked Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol how this happened, here's how he explained the situation:
While it's not unusual in the process of changing lines on the fly for a few players from different lines to be on the ice when a goal is scored, I couldn't recall an instance when teams were playing 5-on-5 in which all three forwards involved in a goal had each been playing on different lines during a game (Zajac third line center, Brad Malone fourth line center and Andrew Kozek first line wing).
When I asked Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol how this happened, here's how he explained the situation:
When (Brett) Hextall came out of the box, he had an opportunity to join in the play, so he ended up staying out on the ice for about 30+ seconds, which made him unavailable for the next shift. With Rau up for CC, I wanted to get Duncan's line back on the ice. Malone was out in place of Hextall on the right wing. In the meantime, Duncan took a fairly short shift. Zajac's line was up next, so he took Duncan on the fly. After the partial change on the fly, instead of Kozek-Duncan-Malone, we had Kozek-Zajac-Malone. It made sense at the time, but I'm not sure if it does when I look at it in print!Hakstol emphasized that the key element in making this work was Malone's reliability in playing any position in any situation, a trust he has gained over the past couple of months.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Who Is Running the WCHA?
Just when you think the WCHA can't get any more screwed up, they challenge that notion, again.
We're aware of the Wandering Coach Hockey Association (courtesy PCM) merely rubber-stamping a wrist-slap on George "The Dashing Dasher Dancer" Gwozdecky by Denver University. Coach Gwoz got a one-game suspension for: a) standing on the dasher and delaying play, b) a stroll across the ice attempt to intimidate a uniformed league game official, and c) violation of the "no contact with team until the contest is complete" rule that is part of a game ejection. (Did I mention that Coach Gwoz was part of the rules committee not that long ago?)
We're aware of the WCHA rubber-stamping another DU action when they suspended Mullen for a vicious, and near bench-clearning brawl triggering, slash at the end of a game at UM-Duluth.
We're aware of the league doing nothing about MSU-Mankato's Trevor Bruess (who should have been called for checking from behind after a vicious hit on UND's Jason Gregoire but it was called "boarding"). Before that, Bruess had been penalized for kneeing. The next night, in a game he probably shouldn't have been playing in due to the check from behind, he ends up (I'm going to say it) slew footing UND's Derrick LaPoint, breaking LaPoint's leg in two places in the process. The league rubber-stamped the MSU-Mankato "no reason given" suspension of Bruess for a game.
Oh, and MSU-M's Geoff Irwin laid just as vicious of a slash on a UND player as the one that got Mullen suspended by DU (not by the league remember). And like Mullen, Irwin's was at the end of a game and could've trigged a post-game brawl. Irwin received no sanction for that: Thank you MSU-M and WCHA.
The WCHA doesn't lead when it comes to player safety. It appears to have abdicated that role completely.
Turns out the WCHA doesn't even have a contingency plan for the (given recent seismic activity) likely event of a volcanic eruption affecting games and travel with Alaska-Anchorage. Don't get me wrong, volcano plans aren't the norm, but the league has no "act of God" (think: blizzard) contingency plan that applies?
Now we find out that the penalty to Wisconsin's Mitchell (at the end of the Saturday game with DU) is a major and game DQ, no, a double-minor, no, wait, a major but only a game misconduct. (Dear Wisconsin president, after you decide what to do with Mitchell, make sure the WCHA gets a chance to rubber-stamp it.)
Read all about Mitchell and the "no reason given" MSU-M suspension of Bruess at USCHO.
If Milewski's blog is correct the change appears to fly in the face of the NCAA (you've heard of them I'd guess) rule that penalties after games can only be INCREASED, not reduced. Then again, the WCHA didn't seem to care about the Dashing Dasher Dancer violating the NCAA "team contact" rule.
Then again, the league seems to not care about NCAA points of emphasis regarding checking from behind and obstruction much either.
Just when you think the WCHA can't get more screwed up it shows its consistency:
The WCHA lacks consistent leadership, and worse, consistently just lacks leadership.
We're aware of the Wandering Coach Hockey Association (courtesy PCM) merely rubber-stamping a wrist-slap on George "The Dashing Dasher Dancer" Gwozdecky by Denver University. Coach Gwoz got a one-game suspension for: a) standing on the dasher and delaying play, b) a stroll across the ice attempt to intimidate a uniformed league game official, and c) violation of the "no contact with team until the contest is complete" rule that is part of a game ejection. (Did I mention that Coach Gwoz was part of the rules committee not that long ago?)
We're aware of the WCHA rubber-stamping another DU action when they suspended Mullen for a vicious, and near bench-clearning brawl triggering, slash at the end of a game at UM-Duluth.
We're aware of the league doing nothing about MSU-Mankato's Trevor Bruess (who should have been called for checking from behind after a vicious hit on UND's Jason Gregoire but it was called "boarding"). Before that, Bruess had been penalized for kneeing. The next night, in a game he probably shouldn't have been playing in due to the check from behind, he ends up (I'm going to say it) slew footing UND's Derrick LaPoint, breaking LaPoint's leg in two places in the process. The league rubber-stamped the MSU-Mankato "no reason given" suspension of Bruess for a game.
Oh, and MSU-M's Geoff Irwin laid just as vicious of a slash on a UND player as the one that got Mullen suspended by DU (not by the league remember). And like Mullen, Irwin's was at the end of a game and could've trigged a post-game brawl. Irwin received no sanction for that: Thank you MSU-M and WCHA.
The WCHA doesn't lead when it comes to player safety. It appears to have abdicated that role completely.
Turns out the WCHA doesn't even have a contingency plan for the (given recent seismic activity) likely event of a volcanic eruption affecting games and travel with Alaska-Anchorage. Don't get me wrong, volcano plans aren't the norm, but the league has no "act of God" (think: blizzard) contingency plan that applies?
Now we find out that the penalty to Wisconsin's Mitchell (at the end of the Saturday game with DU) is a major and game DQ, no, a double-minor, no, wait, a major but only a game misconduct. (Dear Wisconsin president, after you decide what to do with Mitchell, make sure the WCHA gets a chance to rubber-stamp it.)
Read all about Mitchell and the "no reason given" MSU-M suspension of Bruess at USCHO.
If Milewski's blog is correct the change appears to fly in the face of the NCAA (you've heard of them I'd guess) rule that penalties after games can only be INCREASED, not reduced. Then again, the WCHA didn't seem to care about the Dashing Dasher Dancer violating the NCAA "team contact" rule.
Then again, the league seems to not care about NCAA points of emphasis regarding checking from behind and obstruction much either.
Just when you think the WCHA can't get more screwed up it shows its consistency:
The WCHA lacks consistent leadership, and worse, consistently just lacks leadership.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
A good example of a bad precedent
Perhaps I shouldn't attempt to paraphrase from memory what UND hockey coach Dave Hakstol said on Wednesday night's Fighting Sioux coaches show, but he made some good points worth examining. He noted that it wasn't up to him to determine what should happen to Denver University coach George Gwozdecky after last Saturday's game. Therefore, he wouldn't address that issue.
However, Hakstol was concerned about what happened during the game and how the officials handled it. He said that Gwozdecky's actions were calculated to fire up his team. Gwozdecky also admitted that he wanted "to get the attention of our officials."
Hakstol understood why Gwozdecky did this, but he believes that the in-game consequences should have been more severe than they were. Hakstol said that at a minimum, DU should have received a delay of game penalty for Gwozdecky's stroll across the ice, which would have resulted in a UND 5-on-3 power play.
Hakstol believes that when a coach resorts to such drastic action, his team should suffer the consequences. He didn't think the penalties assessed matched the level of the offenses committed by Gwozdecky, and I agree.
Of course, this begs the question as to whether UND could have capitalized on the two-man advantage. As bad as the Sioux power play was that game, I have my doubts. But if UND had scored at that point, it would have been a momentum swing in their favor and might have had a demoralizing effect on DU's bench. On the other hand, if DU had killed the penalties, the momentum might well have gone completely in the Pioneers' direction. Perhaps they would have won the game rather than settling for a 2-2 tie.
From my perspective, it's clear that the officiating crew was intimidated by Gwozdecky's actions. After he was tossed from the game, they refused to call the penalty on him that he richly deserved when he failed to comply with the ejection. The officials then proceeded to call five straight penalties on UND and none on DU. It was a shameful performance on many levels. Both coaches are justified in believing that they were shortchanged by the officiating.
During the post-game session with Gwozdecky, it became obvious that going into the series, there were issues between him and referee Todd Anderson related to the Mike Prpich-Geoff Paukovich incident in Denver a few seasons ago. In retrospect, having Anderson work this important series was an unwise decision.
What troubles me most is that Gwozdecky not only received no penalty for going out on to the ice to confront officials during the game, but that he also received no further discipline from Denver University or the WCHA (now known as the Wandering Coach Hockey Association) for this particular action. (He was later suspended a game by DU for communicating with the team during the game following his ejection.) Is this an appropriate message to send?
In hockey, as with all athletic contests, scarcely a game goes by in which a coach either disputes an official's call against his/her team or objects to a penalty or foul not being called. While coaches frequently display anger with officials, there must be limits on how far they go in acting on it. UND wasted no time in setting that standard when Hakstol made an obscene gesture toward officials during a game in Minnesota last season.
If neither DU nor the WCHA nor the NCAA will discipline Gwozdecky for his temper tantrum, his failure to obey a referee's decision, his willful interruption of a game attended by 11,800 paying fans or his display of poor sportsmanship witnessed by thousands of TV viewers across the Upper Midwest, who will?
A disturbing precedent is set when a league doesn't respond effectively to the intimidation of its officials during an athletic event and then refuses to discipline the coach who purposely engaged in the intimidation tactic. Does this mean that any WCHA coach who disagrees with an official's call during a game is now free to go berserk and storm on to the ice to debate the matter? Because that's exactly what happened here – and it worked. So why shouldn’t other WCHA coaches feel free to emulate Gwozdecky’s example?
In the end, it goes back to inconsistent, low-quality officiating in the WCHA and the inability of the organization's leadership to make prudent decisions. Until those issues are addressed, embarrassing episodes such as this will continue to happen and player safety will continue to suffer. Unfortunately, I fear that it will take a catastrophic event for any of this to change. Sadly, Robbie Bina’s broken neck wasn’t enough to transform the manner in which the WCHA operates.
However, Hakstol was concerned about what happened during the game and how the officials handled it. He said that Gwozdecky's actions were calculated to fire up his team. Gwozdecky also admitted that he wanted "to get the attention of our officials."
Hakstol understood why Gwozdecky did this, but he believes that the in-game consequences should have been more severe than they were. Hakstol said that at a minimum, DU should have received a delay of game penalty for Gwozdecky's stroll across the ice, which would have resulted in a UND 5-on-3 power play.
Hakstol believes that when a coach resorts to such drastic action, his team should suffer the consequences. He didn't think the penalties assessed matched the level of the offenses committed by Gwozdecky, and I agree.
Of course, this begs the question as to whether UND could have capitalized on the two-man advantage. As bad as the Sioux power play was that game, I have my doubts. But if UND had scored at that point, it would have been a momentum swing in their favor and might have had a demoralizing effect on DU's bench. On the other hand, if DU had killed the penalties, the momentum might well have gone completely in the Pioneers' direction. Perhaps they would have won the game rather than settling for a 2-2 tie.
From my perspective, it's clear that the officiating crew was intimidated by Gwozdecky's actions. After he was tossed from the game, they refused to call the penalty on him that he richly deserved when he failed to comply with the ejection. The officials then proceeded to call five straight penalties on UND and none on DU. It was a shameful performance on many levels. Both coaches are justified in believing that they were shortchanged by the officiating.
During the post-game session with Gwozdecky, it became obvious that going into the series, there were issues between him and referee Todd Anderson related to the Mike Prpich-Geoff Paukovich incident in Denver a few seasons ago. In retrospect, having Anderson work this important series was an unwise decision.
What troubles me most is that Gwozdecky not only received no penalty for going out on to the ice to confront officials during the game, but that he also received no further discipline from Denver University or the WCHA (now known as the Wandering Coach Hockey Association) for this particular action. (He was later suspended a game by DU for communicating with the team during the game following his ejection.) Is this an appropriate message to send?
In hockey, as with all athletic contests, scarcely a game goes by in which a coach either disputes an official's call against his/her team or objects to a penalty or foul not being called. While coaches frequently display anger with officials, there must be limits on how far they go in acting on it. UND wasted no time in setting that standard when Hakstol made an obscene gesture toward officials during a game in Minnesota last season.
If neither DU nor the WCHA nor the NCAA will discipline Gwozdecky for his temper tantrum, his failure to obey a referee's decision, his willful interruption of a game attended by 11,800 paying fans or his display of poor sportsmanship witnessed by thousands of TV viewers across the Upper Midwest, who will?
A disturbing precedent is set when a league doesn't respond effectively to the intimidation of its officials during an athletic event and then refuses to discipline the coach who purposely engaged in the intimidation tactic. Does this mean that any WCHA coach who disagrees with an official's call during a game is now free to go berserk and storm on to the ice to debate the matter? Because that's exactly what happened here – and it worked. So why shouldn’t other WCHA coaches feel free to emulate Gwozdecky’s example?
In the end, it goes back to inconsistent, low-quality officiating in the WCHA and the inability of the organization's leadership to make prudent decisions. Until those issues are addressed, embarrassing episodes such as this will continue to happen and player safety will continue to suffer. Unfortunately, I fear that it will take a catastrophic event for any of this to change. Sadly, Robbie Bina’s broken neck wasn’t enough to transform the manner in which the WCHA operates.
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