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FELDY: With the rosters named for the Upper Midwest Elite League, tryouts for the Elite II league, now known as the Minnesota Elite Prep Devlopment League (no offense to organizers, but I liked Elite II better ... easier to write and say :-), are set for this weekend.
Tryouts are by invitational only. The South Team tryouts are scheduled for Albert Lea on Saturday and Eagan on Sunday.
More information on tryouts is available here.
FELDY: Rochester Century senior-to-be Drew Anderson is competing in a big high school hockey showcase in Haverhill, Mass., this week. Anderson, who led the Panthers in scoring last season (20-33—53), is playing for Team Mid-Atlantic in the 36th annual Hockey Night In Boston Major Summer Showcase.
Anderson is the lone Minnesotan in the 18-team Showcase, which features primarily players from New England. Team Mid-Atlantic also includes players from Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Quebec, New York and Virginia. The team is coached by Geoff Marottolo of the EJHL's Philadelphia Revolution.
Team Mid-Atlantic went 2-3-2 in pool play and is scheduled to play its first playoff game at 2:30 p.m. CT today. If it wins that game, it will play again at 7 p.m. It will have to win three games total to reach Saturday's 5 p.m. championship game.
Anderson will be looked at to carry a lot of the scoring load this season for Century, which reached the Section 1AA semifinals last season. Both of his linemates — Cory Kautz and Jordan Martini — have graduated. Those two combined for 95 points last season.
Anderson will likely be asked to look to score more this season, as no other returning forward scored more than seven goals last season.
I'll catch up with Anderson next week when he returns from Massachusetts to get his thoughts on the experience and the upcoming high school season.
FELDY: Once again, southern Minnesota has been shutout when it comes to placing players in the Upper Midwest Elite League, the fall league for the state's top players.
While it's not my place to lobby for these kids, you can't tell me there aren't players — at least one?! — in this area that belong on a roster?
No disrespect to the players who were selected, but c'mon. You mean Lourdes D Rory Vesel couldn't compete with the guys on the six UMEL teams? Sean Lipinski or Brandon Parker from Faribault (though to be fair, I don't know if those guys plan to return to the high school team this season or not)?
(EDIT: Maybe we can claim Benilde's Jake O'Borsky, who grew up playing in Red Wing, but has transferred this summer because his dad took a job in the Cities.)
I realize this isn't the MSHSL, and not everyone has to get a trophy. I'm not even saying these guys would be the best players on any of the Elite League teams, but, if the Elite League insists on having "Team Southwest" and "Team Southeast," how about actually picking a player or two from that part of the state?
Looking at the rosters for Teams Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, they might as well just call them "Metro I, II, III and IV."
I get it, Section 1 has to earn respect around the state and that's not going to happen until the Section 1AA champion becomes competitive on a regular basis. That's why players like Alex Kangas can slip through the cracks and only get noticed by D-I scouts when they make 50 saves in a state tourney game, then have two very good years in the USHL.
And if the top players in the section continue to bolt for juniors or the USNTDP (as Lakeville South's Kyle Osterberg and North's Brady Skjei have done), it's not going to get better. I don't fault those guys for looking to better themselves as players, but the unfortunate truth is that when you take one or two outstanding players off of most Section 1 teams, they're not going to be able to match up with the top teams in the state.
OK, I didn't intend for this to sound like sour grapes, because it's not. But I know there are a handful of players in this area who could compete with the guys in the UMEL, and it'd be nice to see them get a shot I'm off the soapbox now.
FELDY: The Rochester Lourdes boys hockey team has high hopes for the 2010-11 season and they got a good boost of confidence over the weekend, winning the Duluth Summer Invitational high school hockey tournament.
Lourdes beat Grand Rapids, 7-5; Duluth Marshall, 4-0; and in the championship, Bemidji, 3-2.
The Eagles had their entire expected varsity lineup at the tournament. Coach Josh Spaniol said it was a good team effort in all three games, and senior goalie Nick Heimer played well. Spaniol said junior-to-be Jesse Neuman also played well in goal when he was in.
Spaniol said the Eagles' four returning defensemen — Rory Vesel, Alec Brandrup, Karl Krecke and Sam Slightam — played very well, as did forwards Ryan Nicolay, Brian Wasz and Connor Nellans.
Lourdes will play in a tournament at Eagan this weekend.
Lourdes is the two-time defending Section One, Class A champion. The Eagles have captured fifth place at the Class A state tournament each of the past two seasons.
Minnesota State High School League rules permit coaches to work with players for all of June, then, after a holiday break from July 1-7, the rest of the month of July.
FELDY: Running tally for Don Lucia this summer: 2 de-commits, 1 high-end recruit ticked off and, now, a first-round draft pick possibly bolting after his freshman season.
October can't come soon enough for Lucia.
Former International Falls standout Jake Youso today became the second player to de-commit from the Gophers this summer, joining Ryan Walters, who has since joined Dean Blais at Nebraska-Omaha. Certainly, Youso is not as talented as Walters and it's really not a surprise that he withdrew his commitment to the Gophers to seek other college hockey options.
Youso managed just seven points in 69 USHL games over the 2007-08 and 08-09 seasons. Last year, he played with Owatonna in the NAHL, putting up decent numbers, 22 goals and 22 assists.
He still is eligible for junior hockey for one more year, but as Star Tribune writer Roman Augustoviz noted on his Twitter feed today, Youso wants to get on with his college hockey career. His playing time would have been very spotty for at least his first two years with the Gophers. Youso has a ton of talent; we saw it here in Rochester for three consecutive years when he led I-Falls to two Kiwanis Festival championships, but he may not have enough talent to crack the Gophers lineup on a regular basis this year or next.
Youso's de-commitment by itself isn't enough to question what's going on in Gopherville once again. But, you put it on top of Walters' de-commitment earlier this summer and the recent news that New Prague native — and sure-fire 2011 first-round NHL Draft pick — Seth Ambroz is, at the very least, irritated with the U's coaching staff, and you have to scratch your head again at what Lucia is doing.
Back to Ambroz in a bit, but the cherry on top of today's Gopher Turmoil Sundae is the news on sophomore-to-be Nick Leddy. Gopher hockey message boards and Twitter updates were buzzing with news that Leddy is apparently ready to leave the U after a ho-hum freshman season (11 points) to sign with the Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks.
Gut reaction: It wouldn't surprise me if he goes, considering the lack of respect NHL teams have shown for the Gophers program in recent years (starting with the Islanders and the Kyle Okposo situation, up through ex-Wild asst. GM Tommy Thompson's comments on the Gophers after trading Leddy to Chicago). It's conceivable that the Blackhawks — after watching Leddy perform extremely well at their development camp last week — would prefer to get him under contract now and let him develop with a Major Junior team.
A few reports have surfaced in the last hour or so that indicate Leddy is staying, including one report by Star Tribune Wild beat writer Michael Russo, who says he's been told the rumor is "100 percent untrue." Then, he added, "but Leddy had a great development camp so there may be conversations eventually this summer."
Regardless of what happens with Leddy, it's apparently a done deal now that Ambroz will not be in a Gophers sweater this fall. And Ambroz isn't really pleased with that situation. Augustoviz noted on Twitter last week that Ambroz — who has put up 80 points in 116 games over the past two seasons for Omaha of the USHL — accelerated his education to graduate this spring, a year early, so he could play at the U.
However, Augustoviz noted, Lucia told Ambroz that he wanted him to play another year in the USHL because he couldn't guarantee him ice time and that Ambroz is "too good to play on the fourth line." By all accounts, Ambroz is ready for the WCHA, and I have a hard time believing the Gophers couldn't use a 6-3, 210-pounder who is strong at both ends of the ice, in their lineup.
Who, exactly, is guaranteed to beat Ambroz out of playing time? Nick Larson? Jake Hansen? Josh Birkholz? Who, I ask? All of this makes me wonder how soon a GM from a Major Junior team will have Ambroz on the phone. Maybe he won't ever wear the 'M.'
I'm sure Ambroz was looking forward to being a Gopher this fall and facing his brother, Matt, who will be a senior at new WCHA member Nebraska-Omaha this year. Seth Ambroz left New Prague after a terrific freshman season, when he put up 37 goals and 70 points for a Trojans team that was basically one-and-a-half lines deep and lost in OT to Rochester Lourdes in a Section 1A semifinal game. That team also included Darrin Lapic, Schyler Adams and Tyler Lapic, who will be a freshman on the U of Wisconsin team this fall.
The Gophers used to scare teams. There was a time, under Lucia even, when opposing players and fans absolutely hated to see the maroon-and-gold come to their barn. It used to be set in stone that the Gophers would be in the NCAA tournament on an annual basis. The facts, though, are this: The Gophers haven't played an NCAA tournament game the past two seasons. They've played just one WCHA Final Five game in the past two years (a 2-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the 2009 play-in game).
That should be nauseating and unacceptable to Gophers fans.
FELDY: So I tried to do this last night from the treadmill at the Y, but, alas, my wonderful BlackB... well, mobile device -- no free plugs here, right boss? :-) -- would not allow me to publish the four paragraphs that took me 25 minutes to type on my, uh, mobile device.
Want the best breakdown on the seven-year, $47.25 million deal Wild captain Mikko Koivu signed yesterday? Check this out; Star Tribune beat writer Mike Russo has it covered.
I'm quite surprised at all the negative reaction coming from Wild fans. Yes, $6.75 mil per year is a lot to pay anyone. Yes, I know Tomas Plekanec (another very good, two-way center) and Ryan Kesler play for $1.75 mil per year less than Koivu to sign his six-year deal with Montreal.
A couple of things here:
1. Plekanec wasn't allowed to get to the free agent market; he signed eight days before that opened. We don't know what he could have commanded had he been allowed to become a UFA. With that in mind, Koivu's agent is maybe close in thinking that Koivu could have gotten $7 mil per year next year if the Wild were to risk him getting to unrestricted free agency. Is it surprising that the Wild came in at more than $6 mil per year? Yeah, but Fletcher, I'm guessing, wanted to show Koivu how committed he was to keeping him here, something that we all know means a lot to Koivu.
2. Chuck Fletcher would have to go into Witness Relocation if he had allowed Koivu to walk. That would've been a second time in three years that the Wild lost its best player without getting a thing in return. The X would be a bitter, bitter place to watch a hockey game (and, I'm sure, the team of 18,000 would more often be, like, the team of 15,750) if Mikko Koivu wasn't there.,
Cut Fletcher some slack. Of the moves he has made since taking over for ding-dong Doug, the only one that is even questionable is the deal for Chuck Kobasew. Koivu will bust his butt on both ends of the ice and, as Russo notes in the above-linked blog entry, he absolutely will not cheat on the offensive end if he thinks that will make him a liability on the defensive end.
FELDY: Looking to get out of this 145 percent humidity? The Rochester Ice Hawks are holding their open tryout camp this weekend at the Rec Center. Phersy (remember him, he covers the Ice Hawks and remembers this blog exists during hockey season ... sometimes) has an article coming in Thursday's P-B print edition, but I figured I'd note it here, too.
The camp runs Saturday and Sunday and is open to the public.
There are two sessions Saturday, from 10:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m. and from 5-9:15 p.m. Sunday's sessions are 8:55-10:45 a.m. and a camp all-star game at 12:15 p.m.
Hawks coach Nick Fatis told Phersy they'll have about 55-60 kids at this weekend's tryouts.
Want more? Pick up Thursday's P-B for Phersy's story. And get to The Rec this weekend for your hockey fix.
The Hawks will hold their final, invitation-only tryout camp Aug. 21-22, with training camp starting Aug. 23.
FELDY: Roch native Mark Stuart has officially signed his 1-year deal with the Boston Bruins. The defenseman, who was the Bruins' first-round pick in the 2003 draft, reportedly signed for a slight raise of $1.675 million for the 2010-11 season. He completed a two-year, $2.6 million deal this past season.
Stuart, 26, will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1, 2011.
* * * * *
Rochester Century grad Alex Kangas is getting a little taste of NHL life this week. The senior-to-be at the University of Minnesota is one of three goalies involved in the Atlanta Thrashers' development camp.
The camp includes 29 Thrashers prospects, mostly draft picks who have not yet signed with the team or are in the team's minor league system. The camp began Thursday and runs through Tuesday.
Kangas is one of eight goalies in Atlanta's system, which includes Chris Mason and Ondrej Pavelec, the two goalies currently listed on the Thrashers NHL roster.
Kangas, 23, was the Thrashers' fifth-round draft pick (No. 135 overall) in the 2005 draft. He will play out his final year of college eligibility this year and will either sign with the Thrashers after the Gophers season ends or become a free agent.
Other goalies at this week's prospect camp are 20-year-old Chris Carrozzi, a 2008 fifth-round draft pick, and Ed Pasquale, a 19-year-old selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft.
Fredrik Pettersson-Wentzel, an 18-year-old from Sweden who was drafted by the Thrashers in the fifth round of last month's NHL Draft, is not at the prospects camp.
The full roster and schedule for the Thrashers development camp can be found here.
FELDY: Nothing official out of the Boston Bruins yet, but several Boston-area media outlets today reported that Rochester native Mark Stuart is close to signing a one-year contract with the Bruins.
Stuart missed 26 games this past season due to injuries, but he hadn't missed a game in the previous two seasons, his first two full seasons in the NHL. Financial terms were not disclosed in any of the reports, but when asked if the reports were true Stuart's agent, Matt Keator, told ESPNBoston.com, "yes, close."
Stuart, a restricted free agent, decided against filing for arbitration because he was confident he could reach a mutually acceptable deal with the Bruins. Stuart had 2 goals, 5 assists and 80 penalty minutes in 56 games in 2009-10, but he is one of the best — if not the best — defensive defenseman on the Bruins roster. He was labeled by several Boston media members last season as a "potential captain" of the team down the road.
So why a one-year deal? My thoughts: He figures he can play on a one-year deal, show that he is completely recovered from last season's injuries, and become an unrestricted free agent a year from now. From Boston's standpoint, they still need to sign first-round draft pick (No. 2 overall) Tyler Seguin and they have at least two other unrestricted free agents they would reportedly like to sign, including former Gopher Blake Wheeler.
FELDY: Rochester native Pat Ferschweiler has been named one of two new assistant men's hockey coaches at Division I Western Michigan University.
Ferschweiler, 40, built the Russell Stover AAA hockey program in Overland, Kan., from the ground up, starting in 2004. He has coached the U18 team, which finished third at the 2010 USA Hockey Tier I U18 Nationals.
Ferschweiler is a Western Michigan alum, having played hockey for the Broncos from the 1990-91 season through 92-93. He accumulated 95 points (30 goals, 60 assists) for WMU in 116 career games.
After college, he played two seasons with the Roanoke Express in the ECHL, then spent six seasons playing for three different teams in the IHL. He played on a Junior A national championship team with the Rochester Mustangs before playing at WMU.
I've made a few phone calls trying to track Pat down, but haven't had any luck as of yet. If I do hear from him, I'll update this blog with some of his comments.
WMU head coach Jeff Blashill had this to say about Ferschweiler:
“Pat, a former Bronco captain, has great passion for Western Michigan University and Bronco hockey,” said Blashill. “His extensive professional playing experience, playing both forward and defense, makes him a great resource for our players. He is a proven winner as a head coach and has shown great ability developing his young players skills and helping them mature and grow as young men.”
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