North Dakota
After struggling in the first half of the 06/07 season, the Sioux found themselves in the second half, claimed 3rd place in the league, and made it to the Frozen Four, before falling to Boston College in the semi-final.
Toews and Lee are gone, and Porter graduated, but otherwise North Dakota returns a strong team. Oshie and Duncan are back for their junior seasons, and a big question is just how much they will be able to produce this year without Toews on their line.
Defensively, even with the loss of Lee, the Sioux remain strong. Derrick LaPoint is a big recruit who is expected to help shore up Lee’s departure.
The Sioux also return netminder Philippe Lamoureux, who isn’t an amazing goalie. Sometimes his emotions get in the way, but he does have a lot of playing experience and should be consistent enough to post reasonably solid numbers, particularly with North Dakota’s defense in front of him. How far “reasonably solid” will carry them into the playoffs remains to be seen, but it’s hard to argue with last season’s Frozen Four appearance.
Overall, North Dakota looks like the pre-season favorite, as they start the year with the fewest number of concerns, a strong group of returning players, and a good freshman class.
Prediction: Somewhere between 1st and 3rd in the league.
After a very strong 06-07 regular season and 2nd place finish in the WCHA,
Goepfert is gone, which will hurt quite a bit. Jase Weslosky seems capable of filling the goaltending role after six starts last season that included a shutout of Clarkson in November (though he did have a couple of shaky games in the second half).
Offensively, Gordon and Kronick are gone (which will probably take a bite out of SCSU’s power play unit), but Lasch, Nodl, Dey and Swanson all remain. Recruits such as Garrett Roe and Aaron Marvin are expected to help fill the gaps. Defensively,
Overall, it’s hard to say just how SCSU will fare this season. The scoring punch, for the most part, is still there and I’m sure the defense will iron itself out; the questions are whether or not Weslosky can fill Goepfert’s large shoes, and how much losing Gordon and Kronick will cost them in terms of leadership and power play prowess. Regardless, this year’s SCSU team does not look quite like last year’s (at least on paper).
Prediction: Somewhere between 3th and 6th in the league.
It’s business as usual for
The Gophers lose goalie Kellen Briggs and defenseman Mike Vannelli to graduation, but retain top forwards Kyle Okposo, Jay Barriball and Blake Wheeler. With high-quality forward prospects like Drew Fisher and Patrick White coming in this fall, it seems
Defensively, the Gophers take a hit. Aside form Vannelli, they also lost Erik Johnson and Alex Goligoski to the pro ranks. The loss of Goli is expected to hurt a lot at both the talent and leadership/experience levels, but
Another big question is, can Jeff Frazee become the everyday goalie the Gophers need him to be? It’s no secret that he’s prone to giving up weak goals or having an off night more often than most starters. In 20 starts last season, he gave up four or more goals on four occasions and three or more goals on eight occasions. The Gophers’ significant losses on the blue line could leave Frazee more exposed than usual, at least for the first half of the season.
Overall, it looks like the Gophers have some question marks on defense (although I’m sure Don Lucia recruited d-men who will quickly adopt his system), and goaltending could become an issue if Frazee can’t keep his head on straight. Still, with the sheer amount of talent on offense, they should be able to outshoot and outscore just about anyone if they put their minds to it.
Prediction: Somewhere between 1st and 3rd in the league.
Standings
I realize it's ridiculously early to be doing this, but hey - so does everyone else.
1. North Dakota
The most complete team. Experience and talent in every position.
2. Minnesota
Lots of people say they are too young on defense, but let's be honest - they are the Gophers. They have strong recruits and will adapt quickly, I'm sure. Their offensive depth is top-notch and I'm sure Frazee will be fine, in spite of the occasional meltdown.
3. St. Cloud State
The returning offense is pretty strong, as are a few of their recruited forwards. Weslosky slipped a bit at the end of the season, but when you don't see ice time for a month and half, and then face a blistering North Dakota offense, you'll have that. Their defense is weaker this season, but the really tough part of their schedule isn't until the second-half, so new d-men will have some time to adapt. Could slip if they don't win enough games in the first-half of the season.
4. Michigan Tech
On paper, Tech returns almost all of the defense that propelled them to last year's results, plus both of their goalies. With a decent recruiting class, the question is - who will step into the leadership roles left behind by Helminen, Batovanja, and Skworchinski? The Huskies' schedule is pretty well-balanced, so they could get burned if they don't find their legs quickly.
5. Wisconsin
Wisconsin lost a ton of experience to graduation and early departures, but they did have the nation's top recruiting class. With Shane Connelly seemingly ready to start in goal, the question will be - who besides Kyle Turris will score for the Badgers? Could jump in the standings with enough depth on offense.
6. Colorado College
I considered placing CC higher, until it was announced that Jimmy Kilpatrick will be out until Thanksgiving to recover from surgery. Since they will be missing the guy who appears to be their top playmaker for the majority of the first-half, they will be more vulnerable. With a large question mark in goal, CC will need to rely on their defense heavily, and hope someone can fill Kilpatrick's skates while he is out. A first-half schedule that includes Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota in their first six games, plus St. Cloud State in December could make for a rough start.
7. Denver
The Pioneers are too thin on defense. Additionally, beyond their top 3 scorers, there is a sharp drop in offensive depth. As a goaltender, Mannino is pretty good and experienced, but hasn't been able to replicate his freshman year performance. Things could get harder without enough WCHA-caliber defensemen in front of him.
8. Minnesota State-Mankato
Now that their top goaltender has recovered from an injury, he will need to work his way back into top form for the Mavericks to have a chance at moving up in the world. Without Steve Wagner and Travis Morin to lead MSU-M, they will need to rely on players like Kalinski and Berge to step into those roles.
9. Alaska-Anchorage
With a large class containing some surprisingly decent recruits, it seems that Dave Shyiak could be laying the foundations for the Seawolves. They've got a ways to go however, and this year they will need to find players into step into the voids left by Jay Beagle and Justin Borune. Still, they should be good enough to avoid rock bottom.
10. Minnesota-Duluth
No Raymond (huge loss), No Niskanen (significant loss), thin on defense, big question mark in goal. Things do not look good in Bulldog land.
Of course, injuries and under/over performance will likely come into play. I'd say most of these teams could end up +/- 2 places outside of these predictions.
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