So, I have a theory I always like to throw out at the drunken, ignorant Sioux fans....
If UND had its main campus in Bismarck, and not Grand Forks, what kind of hockey program would it have?
If you look at the current roster, the very few natives on the team are solely from Grand Forks and Fargo, both towns on the Minnesota border, or in GF case, half in Minnesota. The rest of the team is Minny guys or 'nucks.
So, here is my poll, where would NoDak be if it was not for being on the Minny border?
Still the powerhouse they are with the most National Championships?
Great team, but more CC/DU level?
UMD? Several great players and close to a NC, but never quite there?
MSU/SCSU level? A good player or two with an occasional run at the tourney?
Anchorage level? Just freaking pitiful?
Its something to think about for those who love their silky pajama green jerseys and leather palace. How much of their success comes from Canada and being close to Minnesota? What if there was no J.P.-Shattuck pipeline?
I went with CC accomplishments. Obviously they couldnt do it with ND players only. The closer to MN the better, they would still be a major hockey school in the region and get plenty of MN players.
I would assume they would still get "nucks".
Tough question because they are who they are because of tradition, even if it was started using 30 year old Canadians. That and investing in their program.
Glad they are who they are. Good rival and its nice to have a rival that isnt red and white.
I said the same as I don't think it matters tremendously where they are, as long as they have quality facilities and such. Heck, almost half of CC's roster was made up of Minnesotans this last season. Now, if you were to ask what the state of the program would be without wealthy racist boosters...
If UND was in Bismark I wouldn't have went there. I might have ended up in Fargo. YUK
Gopher fans are lucky Woog is gone. He only recruited Minnesota kids and he thought the northern border was Little Canada. The all-time best list in Minnesota is very northern heavy. I hate giving North Dakota high school hockey any props but when people come with these type of statements I have to remind the Gopher faithful that if Potulny doesn't wear the Maroon and Gold NO National Championship.
...I already answered that question in another thread. No one denies the importance of Roseau-Warroad, Iron Range, Duluth in importance of Gophers titles. I told you that before, I lived in Duluth and Rochester my whole life before moving to the U for school. I am always cheering for anything north of Blaine and south of Inver Grove Heights in the HS tourney.
Yeah, without Grant, maybe one of those titles would not have been, but how many of the UND ones happen if they are in Bismarck? How many of their "great players" come from UND?
I just get so sick of UND fans who are so high on their hockey team that is their sole source of pride(like I can blame them), that they did not develop 90% of the time.
Taco has another point, without Ralph, where are they? The Gophers are certainly a better team without out of state recruits, but they are the still the Gophers. Additionally, if UND is in Bismarck, how many more of the great Sioux players go to the Gophers instead. How many more National Championships do the Gophers win without UND as a serious rival or stealing great players.
Here is a list of notable Sioux players I got off Wikipedia, anyone want to volunteer one of them as native North Dakotan? I copied the list directly and got about 75& of the way through it before I gave up trying to find one. This is my point, show pride for your school, but don't be an @$$hole about it. Good God, they make Sconny fans look like rocket scientists.
* Ed Belfour * Murray Baron * Brandon Bochenski * Brad Bombardir * Jason Blake * Jon Casey * Marc Chorney * Dave Christian * Mike Commodore * Ryan Duncan * Rob Freese * Matt Greene * David Hale * Dennis Hextall * Tony Hrkac * Greg Johnson * Bob Joyce * Craig Ludwig * John Marks * Troy Murray * T.J. Oshie * Zach Parise * James Patrick * Cliff "Fido" Purpur * Bill Reichart * Doug Smail * Drew Stafford * Dave Tippett * Jonathan Toews * Landon Wilson * Travis Zajac
I don't consider it stealing recruits. I think the Gophers missed too many. Mark Parrish? That was a pretty big mistake not to recruit him. The list is long with MN born players winning post season accolades that Wooger never even called. Lucia is still paying for Woog's blind eye. CC's best players the last few years have been Minnesota boys. This year Jake Gardiner is heading to Wisconsin. If Zach Buddish would have been lost to North Dakota the Gopher faithful should have been calling for Don's head.
The reason UND started a hockey team was its close location to a couple northen MN towns and Winnepeg. If it was in Bismark they wouldn't have started a team.
If you compare your analogy to other sports it looks bad for the U of M. When Jim Wacker was here he was bringing in a bunch of Texas kids every year. These kids were passed over by Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, Baylor etc...etc...The Gophers were getting left overs. If the Gophers hockey coaches were as dilegent Minnesota kids like Marty Sertich and Chris Marinucci wouldn't be winning the Hobey Baker for rival schools. What if Laurentitus wins the Heisman for OSU...OUCH.
Some good points, but I do not like the analogy. The guys we were stealing from Ohio or Texas were not good enough to play for the marquee programs in those states, those boys from Shattuck could have played for the Gophers. I am talking about the marquee players UND recruited, not the the 3rd liners and 2nd pairings. It is the top line of all-stars that Sioux fans parade that is made up of Minny guys or people from 500 miles away in Canada.
Agreed, Wooger did not know how to recruit, nor coach in the playoffs. So amazing he had such a high winning percentage and not a single title in 14 ****ing years. I do not expect every Minnesota star player to play for the Gophers, there are just too many lol, but when other colleges parade their teams so bullishly without recognizing how dependent they are on Minnesota, it pisses me off. That is why I poked at UND. I know some diehard Sconny fans and they recognize that Ryan McDonaugh(sp) and Jake Gardiner, etc are Minnesota products. Yeah, we stole Phil Kessel from Sconny and Potulny from ND, but that is 1 against 20.
