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- [00:00]
Corey Pronman
Thy ticket, lady Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [00:03]
Scott Wheeler
Well, many thanks, good sir.
- [00:05]
Farnoosh Torabi
Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs?
- [00:11]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [00:17]
Chris Peters
With the times.
- [00:19]
Farnoosh Torabi
You're playing the loot.
- [00:22]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right?
- [00:23]
Corey Pronman
Discover is accepted at 99% of places
- [00:26]
Max Boltman
that take credit cards nationwide, based on
- [00:28]
Corey Pronman
the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [00:30]
Farnoosh Torabi
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- [02:05]
Max Boltman
This is the athletic hockey show prospect series. Hey, everybody. Max Boltman here alongside the Athletics Cory Prominent and Scott Wheeler and Flow Hockey's Chris Peters. For another episode of the Athletic Hockey Show Prospect Series. We're talking postseason hockey today, not the NHL. We're going to talk about the CHL playoffs and who the MEM cup favorites are. But first, we're going to start with the action that kicked off, or that is kicking off today, the NCAA Men's Hockey tournament. And. And let's start, Chris, with the Sioux Falls region, because I think North Dakota's draw here, both in terms of the location and in terms of kind of the. The pool of teams that they have in that region. Michigan's the number one overall seed in this tournament. To me, I think this is North Dakota's bracket. I think they have the clearest path to the frozen.
- [03:00]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I Tend to agree with you. I mean having, having the game in, in South Dakota, which is the, which is the Dakota south of North Dakota. So yeah, just in case anybody was wondering is it's a good draw, it's a, you know, it's, it's, it's a good building too. They're going to have a good, good home crowd feel to it at the Denny Sanford Premier center, which is typically the home of the Sioux Falls Stampede. But you know, I, I'd say getting Merrimack, Merrimack winning the Hockey east, their first Hockey east title coming in, you know, they had great goaltending in, in the, in the tournament. That's basically the only path for them, I think to beating his team as deep as North Dakota is and as, as, as, as complete as North Dakota is. And then you know, Providence and Quinnipiac are two teams where you know, I, I think on any given day you're not quite sure what you're going to get out of them. They can put a scare in you. There's some real talent on both of those teams. Obviously Quinnipiac has the Ethan Wittenbach who's the leading scorer in the country. Providence has one of the top freshmen in the country and Roger McQueen. So you know there's, there's stuff there. But North Dakota, you look up and down their lineup, the experience that they have and on top of having, you know, the, the young guys that people know about, Cole Reschne, Keaton Verhoff, you know, you just think about the veteran talent that they have throughout their lineup and also have gotten the goaltending this year, which was a question coming into the season, you know, would they have enough goaltending to kind of overcome things? But Dane Jackson is coming in his first year as head coach, really turned things around very quickly and they look like the North Dakota of old.
- [04:29]
Corey Pronman
I think if North Dakota is the favor to come out of this group, I, I do think presuming that they beat Merrimack, unless Lundgren just has the game of his life, I, I think Providence and Quinnipiac can give him a real run for their money. I think those are very good call attractions. I don't know how many hot Other than McQueen, I don't know even. And even Whitten back to an extent. I'm not completely sold to him for the NHL but like other, like there's not a ton of high end pro prospects on that team, but they're really good college players, really good older college players, Quinnipiac in particular, when that like, to Chris's point, they have. When they're really going, that offense is prolific. I think they're like second or third in the country in terms of their. Their goal scoring pace. You know, they got some good older chl. Former CHL players and guys like Marcus Vidicek and Antonin Varro to go. To go with Witten back and some good other older players. Quite frankly, I would probably disagree with Max's assertion at the top of the show. I think that group. I think that the group is tight, quite frankly. I think those are three really good teams, and I think Nodak is the favorite. But I wouldn't be shocked, quite frankly, if one of those eastern teams wins the group.
- [05:42]
Scott Wheeler
I'm with you for the record, Max, I think this is the weakest group.
- [05:46]
Max Boltman
If it's not that, it would be the Worcester region.
- [05:48]
Scott Wheeler
Right.
- [05:48]
Max Boltman
I mean, Michigan State with a Dartmouth team that's been very good this year that has surpassed, I think, the typical expectations for Dartmouth and had a nice season. Wisconsin's like a good team, but they're at best, probably the fourth best team in the Big Ten. So it could be the Worcester region, and we will talk about that one. But I think that the location is what I think gives it the edge to that. Right. Like, it's. It's the pool, plus the proximity. A lot of these teams, the one seeds, are traveling far away.
- [06:13]
Corey Pronman
Well. Well, especially even in that pool. You got Merrimack, Quinnipiac, and Providence all coming from the east coast, go all the way out to Sioux Falls. I'm. I know. I know for a fact there's some. Some complaining behind the scenes about how that. About how that ended up.
- [06:29]
Chris Peters
Yeah, yeah. And. And I will say, traditionally, the teams with longer travel have fared worse in the tournament. And so that is something that is an advantage. The teams that have been able to bus as opposed to fly have typically done better, you know, and it. There's something to be said for that. I think no matter where this game would have been played, it would have been a sea of green because North Dakota fans travel really well. So it's less about the home crowd advantage and more about, surely the ease of. Of, you know, like, you're able to rest, you get more time. There's a lot of. There's a lot of truth to that.
- [07:06]
Scott Wheeler
I just think the depth of no deck is tough for any of those teams. Like Providence works. They always work. That's been their DNA as a program. Is there enough skill there? I don't know. No deck with Weeb and Livinovage and that blue line and the way that they roll four lines up front. Y. I think anybody in that region is in pretty tough in a. In it like chips on the table in a game against them.
- [07:31]
Chris Peters
Yeah. You know, and I don't think there's the thing that makes North Dakota good is that they don't have one guy. You're right. You know, like, they don't have that one standout player. Their. Their. Their distribution of points on their roster from one to like seven is a matter of seven points, essentially. You know, so it's like they are very spread out and you look at like. So they have freshmen that have made an impact in terms of Cole Reschne, Keaton Verhoff, Will Zellers, you know, but then they've. They've gotten guys through the transfer portal. And as you mentioned, guys like Weeb and Liv and Navage are really outstanding collegiate players. And, and the, The, The. The guys that they have in their group, to me are really, you know, the, the Ellis Rickwoods and Ben Strindens and others that are older players. You need older players to, to win, and I, I think we're seeing that.
- [08:21]
Max Boltman
All right, so let's just do this. At the end of each region here,
- [08:24]
Chris Peters
we'll go around the horn.
- [08:25]
Max Boltman
Everyone make their picks. Cory, do you want to lead us off?
- [08:29]
Corey Pronman
Just getting a vibe of how this has gone here. Kind of feels like everybody's going to pick Nodak. And I still believe what I said earlier, that I think it's closer than maybe the rest of the panel says. I think Nodak is probably the favorite, but I'll go get against the grain here. I'll take Quinnipiac to come out of this regional.
- [08:47]
Max Boltman
All right, Scott.
- [08:49]
Scott Wheeler
I'm going. No deck.
- [08:52]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I'm going to. While I, While I agree, I think that in the NCAA tournament, anything can happen. I, you know, nobody picked Cornell to beat Michigan State last year. I think that this is going to be, you know, North Dakota. But in the end, there's no such thing as a gimme at this stage of the season.
- [09:07]
Max Boltman
Yep, single elimination hockey gets weird, but I am taking Nodak as well. Let's go to the Worcester Regional. And this one is where Michigan State is. This would have been my preseason pick for the national champion Michigan State. They've still had a good year. I don't know that it's been quite as dominant wire to wire, but they're still a one seed. I think they're still the favorite in this region, they'll get Yukon in the first round, and then the other game in this region is Dartmouth in Wisconsin. Dartmouth is a great story here. Can we give some Dartmouth some love a little bit here off the top, Chris?
- [09:33]
Chris Peters
Yeah, let's give Dartmouth some love. I mean, Reed Cashman in the. And the work done at Dartmouth, you know, winning the Acacia, just being an absolute wagon for a lot of the season. They've. They've gotten tremendous scoring from the top of their lineup. And, you know, Hayden Stavroff is. Is a Hobie Baker top 10 finalist. But, you know, Reed Cashman leaves a job in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, and it's only taken him a few years to really turn Dartmouth into a legitimate threat. And this is also happening while. While Cornell has maintained. You look at, like, Harvard has really fallen off in the post Covid years. And it's been tough for the Ivies in general in that way. But here comes Dartmouth finding players, and they're not finding, you know, like, Stavroff was a BCHL guy. Hank Cleaves was a BCHL guy. They're. They're going out and getting these guys and finding maybe some of the undervalued players that, you know, aren't NHL prospects or NHL draft picks at least, and getting them to play. And then on top of that, they've typically had good goaltending as a team. They've typically been very good. You know, having Emmett Crotto there is a really good opportunity for them.
- [10:41]
Scott Wheeler
Only drafted player on that roster, I believe.
- [10:44]
Chris Peters
Yeah. And it's, it's really, you know, and that is, you know, for.
- [10:49]
Corey Pronman
For.
- [10:49]
Chris Peters
For what they have done. And I think that's how you have to do it oftentimes at the Ivies if you're not Harvard and Cornell, which have been the dominant two in that. In that vein, you know, you've got to sell something. I think that Reed Cashman has, Has. Has created a culture at Dartmouth where players want to stick around, players want to continue to develop, and they are developing, and now they're going to have opportunities like this where, you know, this is. This is definitely, certainly for me, you know, a surprising and shocking turnaround. I don't think anybody really had Dartmouth on that path until Reed Cashman arrived.
- [11:23]
Scott Wheeler
Stavrov can absolutely rip it, too.
- [11:27]
Chris Peters
Yes, he can.
- [11:27]
Scott Wheeler
He's. He's one goal away from 30 tucks this season.
- [11:30]
Chris Peters
Insane.
- [11:31]
Scott Wheeler
And I think. I think they only had. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they only had two players on that team who scored more than 10 goals this year and he had 29. So like he has just carried the mail night after night after night after night offensively for that group, I'd imagine
- [11:45]
Corey Pronman
Cleaves is the other one and I think both of them are going to get NHL contracts in a couple of weeks.
- [11:50]
Chris Peters
Yeah. And I think, you know, C.J. foley has been in the discussion a lot as well and I, I actually watching their, the ECAC championship game, CJ Foley was one of those players that absolutely stood out as a potential difference maker at this stage of the season. Season. They are not going to be pushed out easily, no question.
- [12:07]
Max Boltman
All right, so let's go to Michigan State then. And I think this is still a very good team and it's, it's the backbone is Trey Augustine. When you have one of the two or three best goalies in the country, you're going to give yourself a chance all the time. But they, they surround him with so much star power. They can beat you, I think, any which way you want to play the game.
- [12:22]
Scott Wheeler
Scott, I think, and we'll get to our predictions at the end, but I think this is, this feels like they're their sort of opportunity here and I know it hasn't gone that way necessarily for them this year. From start to finish, they were a really good team in the fall, but they didn't absolutely dominate the conference and then the sort of same story into the, into the tournament, into the conference tournament. I still look at that team, though. Like when we were preparing for this show, I still looked at that team and that program and felt like they were going to sort of step up and have their, finally have their moment under that coaching staff and sort of play their way into the frozen four and be a real threat to win the national championship. They're the biggest. I don't know, I don't know this for a fact, but I would guess that they're the biggest, heaviest team on paper in the country or close to it, particularly on the blue line where they are big on the back end. I do worry a little bit about their ability to move the puck from the back end. Like they don't have a Jake Levin average. They don't have that sort of natural like zone exit machine who can get you out of trouble when you're hemmed in. And that has been an issue at times, times for them this season. But they're three, arguably four lines deep. I love Tommy Manisto and some of their depth guys. Their first line with Daniel Russell and Charlie Strammel and Porter Marton has been as good as any line in college hockey this season. And I think Trey's gonna rise to this moment here and, and sort of close out, close out his college career with a nice run here. So I like them like, I, we'll get to our, our predictions, but I still, despite the fact that they haven't done it and that they haven't sort of gotten across the finish line, I still really like this Michigan State team.
- [14:07]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I, I, I like it too. And I think, you know, to your point, having the guys, they might not move the pucks as well. That's going to change next year when they have Chase Reheed and Tommy Blyle and other players coming in next year, but guys like Matt Baskal, guys like Maxime Sturbach, like guys that, that have experience, that have been here, that have done this, that, you know, though those are important players, guys that are, I think will give them some good minutes, Patrick Urie as well, you know, they're, they're guys that are going to give them that, that opportunity to be heavier. And then I think it makes the job for Trey Augustine a little, not easy, but it makes it a little bit easier when you have a more veteran blue line in front of you. The thing that, I think that is the separating factor. While they did have Isaac Howard last year and a number of other players, I do think that the top end of Michigan State's lineup is more dynamic this year with Porter Martone with the play of Charlie Stramel being such a factor. Riker Lee, Anthony Romani being in a,
- [15:06]
Scott Wheeler
you know, Romani's been really good.
- [15:08]
Chris Peters
He's been really good and I think a revelation for them this season and the kind of CHL player that might not have the headlines but is tailor made for this opportunity. So I think, I think Michigan State, to me, you know, they're still on paper the most complete team that I've seen this season. But again, you got to do it when it counts. And we've now seen them in, in multiple years not win that big game.
- [15:35]
Corey Pronman
So that I guess to me being the w downer here in that it's very similar to me to the last group where I think on paper Michigan State is the best team. On paper they have the clear, most talented team, the clear best pro prospects. But when compared to Dartmouth and to Wisconsin, I think they're better. But I could see them lose to either of those teams. I think if Wisconsin gets, which they often haven't this year, if they even get okay goaltending in the game against Michigan State. They have some really good older players, not really good NHL prospects, but Gavin Morrissey, Christian Fitzgerald, Quinn Finley, Ben Diximer, those are all really good older college players who can score on Augustine, who have scored on Augustine this year and who will, who could find a way to ego win. Dartmouth has been great this year. I don't think there's much NHL games coming out of that lineup, but I mean they've been, they've won some really, you know, tough games this year against good, good teams. And like I think there's a path where that happens. I don't think Michigan State's so loaded despite what you guys are saying. Like, I don't think they're. Offense was so prolific this season at times to like, like they're, they're gonna need Augustine to be really good to win those close games and he should, he could be. But yeah, I think it's probably still close for me. Like I definitely could see them knock him out of this regional.
- [17:01]
Max Boltman
And their, their first round matchup is Yukon, who I believe was the last at large team in the field.
- [17:07]
Corey Pronman
They, they were. And point of debate to think is Chris was telling us before the show came on, if it wasn't for the recent way they were changing how they were choosing these teams, it could have been UMass for all we know.
- [17:22]
Max Boltman
Yeah, they, they went. This is the first year that they're using full time the NPI as opposed to the pairwise which is, you know, for, for the least as long as I think I've been following college hockey was the, the bible you, you went by the pair wise. Now it's the MPI that flip did UMass a little bit dirty with the timing of it, but someone was always going to be left out.
- [17:40]
Chris Peters
So win more games. Win more games and you solve all your problems. You know, that's, that's the thing. But yeah, UMass was.
- [17:47]
Scott Wheeler
And literally maybe, maybe one more game.
- [17:51]
Chris Peters
Yep, yep. I mean we've seen it. And even when it had the pairwise one of the years that Minnesota Duluth won the national title, they got in by 0.001. And that was, that was, you know, and that's the thing is, you know, there's, there's a little bit of math involved, maybe too much math. One might say.
- [18:08]
Corey Pronman
I don't have much sympathy for UMassi and that it kind of felt like they were being carried by their goalie for most of the second half of the season and played very well.
- [18:16]
Chris Peters
Who is now a Tucson roadrunner after signing today, Michael Horambo just signed his elc. So just a phenomenal run by him. One of the best players in the country, I thought.
- [18:24]
Max Boltman
All right, well, we'll go reverse for our picks for this region. I. I am taking Michigan State, Chris.
- [18:30]
Chris Peters
Yeah, it's. It's Michigan State for me. I. While I completely agree with Corey, too, like Wisconsin, system wise, very difficult to play against. They split the season series with Michigan State. You've got a lot of weapons and a good goalie. At Dartmouth, you've got all those. You know, there's. There's a lot of those things. I just think for me, Trey Augustine being the X factor, having that hunger and the. I, I don't like seeing Trey Augustine if I'm on the other side. I don't like see seeing a motivated Trey Augustine. And you know, he will be for this, Scott.
- [19:00]
Scott Wheeler
And I'm going to stick chalk for the second straight conference and take Michigan State along along with North Dakota.
- [19:08]
Corey Pronman
I'll go chalk here, too, although I'm doing it with some reservation, but I'll take Michigan State as well.
- [19:14]
Chris Peters
And I would say take reservation with every single pick because this is college hockey. I mean, like the, the parody and the ability for teams to close like this. We're going to see, you know, in the CHL playoffs in the next little bit, we're going to see the haves and the have nots have significant separation between each other. I feel like in the first round here, it's way tighter. You're talking about the top 16 teams across the entire country. There's going to be like, there is no such thing. Like, yes, chalk is dangerous in this tournament. However, you know, it's just, yeah, Cloud
- [19:48]
Corey Pronman
lose to when they were the one seed.
- [19:50]
Chris Peters
They lost. Let's see, was that aic And. And then also, yeah, I mean, Minnesota losing to Holy Cross. I mean, there are, there are plenty of examples of teams that have faltered and not many 16s have beaten ones, but there's a lot of examples of, of. Of shocking results at this thing.
- [20:09]
Corey Pronman
With that being said, I think Michigan should beat the pants out of Bentley.
- [20:15]
Max Boltman
We'll get there. We'll get there. All right, let's go now to the region that has the two NCHC team. So it's the defending national champions, Western Michigan. They're the 1 seed in the region, but the current NCHC champion is Denver. They are in the same region. And Western is going to open with Minnesota State, which to me is kind of the Finland of college hockey. Like, you can Say what you want about their roster on paper. If you see them in a knockout round, buckle up, you're in for a really not fun 60 minutes.
- [20:45]
Chris Peters
Minnesota State is, is. Is perennially, you know, the, The. The little engine that could. They're always there. They're always a pain in the sides. And really, like, you know, coming out of the ccha, which isn't as strong of a conference, it is a difficult conference to play within, actually. And I think that that is a bit of a crucible that has prepared Minnesota State for these opportunities time in and time out. Luke Strand came in for Mike Hastings, had to replace a legend, a guy that never had a losing season and did not really skip a beat. Yes, they, you know, they, they. They've won, what, four of the last of the five total CCHA championships that have existed since the conference came back. And this is a team that never does it with a ton of star power, but they have, I think, done effective work both in the transfer portal, both in recruiting and finding the right kind of players that fit their system. They are a tough out. And so Western Michigan has had a little bit of stumbles lately. They better come ready to play because that team in purple, which outstanding colors for the school there, they are going to give you some fits.
- [21:49]
Scott Wheeler
They're always a veteran team, too. Like, from an age standpoint, it's 22s, 23s, 24s on the roster sheet.
- [21:57]
Corey Pronman
I was gonna say they might be a little bit more than veterans sometimes.
- [22:01]
Max Boltman
They're professional.
- [22:03]
Chris Peters
So how about. How about this one, though? Here's. Here's a fun fact about Minnesota State. Tristan Lemire is there, is their. Their leading scorer. He has played. He has won the last two national championships. So he. He was. He is. He is now on his third school. The last two won national titles with him on the roster. He's leading their team in scoring with 34 points. So just.
- [22:23]
Scott Wheeler
What.
- [22:23]
Chris Peters
And he's a graduate. He's a graduate, so he's got the extra year of eligibility. The other thing about Minnesota State, their goaltender, Alex Tracy, is phenomenal. Chicago kids. So, you know, he's good. He is outstanding. And, you know, really, Minnesota State is always a factory of good college goalies,
- [22:42]
Max Boltman
so he's basically the reverse Taylor Hall. If you have Taylor hall, you're getting the first pick.
- [22:46]
Chris Peters
Yeah. If you have Tristan Le Meyer, you're going to. You're going to the national championship game. Yeah.
- [22:52]
Corey Pronman
But might be famous last words for a single elimination tournament. And despite the fact that Western and Denver have Done a lot of winning in the last couple of years. I look at this group and I see four good college teams. I don't look at Denver Western or Cornell and see a team I feel confident can go the distance in this tournament. Does anybody feel like that's unfair? Even though Western is the defending champ right now?
- [23:16]
Max Boltman
Denver on pedigree is always scary, but that wouldn't make him a top three favorite.
- [23:21]
Scott Wheeler
I don't think this Western Michigan team is as strong as the team from a year ago either. Top no.
- [23:26]
Corey Pronman
Bottom well, they, they don't have a guy like Bump who, yeah, is whatever is an NHL prospect, but he said he was a great college player. You know, they have a good goalie but, and they have a dice, you know, nice team, good players, good, really good college players. They play hard. But yeah, I, I don't, I don't think even Denver as well, you know, they don't have like a real high end offensive threat on their team.
- [23:49]
Chris Peters
No, I think, yeah, the bulk of
- [23:51]
Scott Wheeler
their offense comes from their back end. And it's not just poll camp, it's Buckburger and like you go down the list, they activate a lot. I think that, I do think the winner of that Denver Cornell game is a threat to Western. Like a real.
- [24:04]
Corey Pronman
That's why I say Michigan. You know, it's. I don't want to be too careful saying this because one of those teams is going to come out of that group and then all they gotta do is win two games in a row to win a national championship. So I don't want to look so stupid in a, in a couple of weeks here that just, just comparing them to North Dakota, to Michigan State and then eventually to Michigan. I, I don't see, I think there's a difference there for me from what I've seen this season, but I think
- [24:29]
Max Boltman
that follows logically, right? Like if we think that North Dakota, Michigan State and Michigan are the, the top teams, then it makes sense that the other region would be the most chaotic and the hardest to predict and maybe, maybe the lowest upside, but the, maybe the most knockdown drag out of a region. That's how the bracket's supposed to be. With that said, Corey, you can walk the plank first and try to predict this region.
- [24:52]
Corey Pronman
Denver.
- [24:55]
Scott Wheeler
I'm taking Denver too, but I think if Cornell beats Denver, I might even take Cornell over Western Michigan.
- [25:02]
Chris Peters
I'm taking Cornell. I'm going to go, I'm going to go outside because I think that there, there are some deficiencies. I. Here's the thing I have picked up against Denver routinely and have been wrong every time. So I do this with every bit of trepidation. And if you're a Pioneers fan, you've got to be celebrating at this point. Cornell has a lot of NHL draft picks. They have, you know, Casey Jones in his first full year as, as the head coach there. They have outstanding goaltending as they do every single timeout. But I look at the guys that like in terms of really good college players, Jonathan Castana, Ryan Walsh, they are, you know, over a point per game players this season. They've got good defense, they've got some guys that can play. So Cornell typically fast? Yeah. You know, they play a style, I think as a school, they play us and just traditionally they play a style that feels like playoff hockey. They're going to be fast, they're going to be physical, they're going to be heavy, they're going to be hard to play against and they're going to get goaltending. And so because I haven't seen the consistency out of either Denver or Western, I do think that they are vulnerable to Cornell and the group that they have put together right now.
- [26:20]
Max Boltman
I'll take Minnesota State. I think there's always some four seed. It feels like in the tournament that comes out with a huge upset early and they can ride the momentum a little bit. They're a hard team to play against and in a single elimination, that's a good thing to be.
- [26:33]
Chris Peters
Yeah. And how about Minnesota State? For what? Like typically, they have at least played well enough to be in the at large conversation. They had to win their, their conference title to get in.
- [26:43]
Max Boltman
They've been playing do or die hockey already.
- [26:45]
Chris Peters
Yeah. Yeah.
- [26:46]
Corey Pronman
For four teams in that group and not one of us takes a defending
- [26:50]
Chris Peters
champ, it's hard to win twice in a row.
- [26:52]
Max Boltman
We could look pretty stupid foreign.
- [26:59]
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- [28:00]
Pablo Torre
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- [28:56]
Max Boltman
le tu francais hablas espanol parl italiano.
- [29:00]
Chris Peters
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- [29:34]
Corey Pronman
High
- [29:38]
Max Boltman
all right, let's go now to to Michigan's region. Cory, you kind of already tipped your hand on how you feel that they'll do against Bentley, but I think it's the other game in that first round that we're all going to be the most interested in, and that is Minnesota Duth and Penn State.
- [29:51]
Corey Pronman
I I don't want to put words in Chris's mouth But when we were talking yesterday, I believe the. He insinuated that he feels like this is Duluth's group to lose and that he had some questions about how these Big Ten schools were going to do against this NCHC school. Chris, am I, am I mischaracterizing how you felt?
- [30:13]
Chris Peters
You are, you are not wrong, my friend. You are not wrong.
- [30:17]
Max Boltman
Would you like to say, elaborate?
- [30:19]
Chris Peters
All right, yeah, sure. I'll, I'll elaborate. So in the end, like, I, I think both Michigan and Penn State are some of the most entertaining teams, but I don't, I have never watched either one of those teams at any point this season and said that looks like a national championship team. I can't say that I've said that, said that about Minnesota Duluth either. But what I do see is a team that has plenty of veteran leadership, that has good enough goaltending, that has a decor that can be pretty physical, heavy, difficult to play against, and two of really three. I mean, like when you, you have three players with 40 plus points. Jason, Shaga Bay, Zam Plant, Max. Plant Max has 49, 20. There's 44 goals between the Plant brothers. There's too many things that you have to try to stop with Minnesota Duluth. And I don't think that either Penn State or Michigan defend at a high enough level. It really is going to rely on their goaltending. And now Michigan has a goalie that I do think can steal you games, but I don't think that Penn State has that. And I don't think the Penn State has the discipline to play against this Minnesota State team that is going to be structured, that's going to be, sorry, Minnesota Duluth, that I said Minnesota State. They're not, they don't have the discipline to play, you know, against a Minnesota Duluth team that has the speed, that has the, the senior, the group that they, the, the, the veteran group that they have and the structure that they play in. I mean, Scott Sandalin, that's a guy that's really difficult to out coach in a lot of these situations, especially at this time of year. So I really do like the Bulldogs to come out of this group.
- [32:03]
Scott Wheeler
I do worry with and I agree. I do worry that they have a goalie who could lose them a game.
- [32:10]
Chris Peters
It's 100% true.
- [32:12]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, Adam was excellent in the first two months of the season and it was like, oh my God, this kid's back. He's been unbelievable. He's winning them games by himself. And there have been a lot of games in the second half of the year where it's like, okay, he's back to the goalie that we saw the previous two seasons, one in college and one in the ushl. I worry about him. Like, I think that Minnesota Duluth, Penn State came, could be like a 6, 5 hockey game and oh, I pushed it. I think they're good. I think there's a chance that they roll Penn State and I don't. I, we all share the same concerns, I think about the way that Penn State plays in terms of its, how it will work in this environment. But I could also see it go in the other direction quickly on, on Minnesota Duluth where suddenly you've got, you're leaking a little bit and you're worried about your goaltending and you're not trusting in what's happening back there. That would be my, my one concern about Minnesota Duluth.
- [33:08]
Corey Pronman
I think Chris's take on Michigan is a little harsh. I'm not saying like they're like this heavy big team deploy, I guess, but I, I think they're pretty deep. Like they've got a lot there's, they're, they're more than a one line team. They've got, you know, good enough blue line, they're goalie and Jack Evankovic's outstanding.
- [33:26]
Max Boltman
Like, has he been as good for you since he came back from the injury? That's a little bit of a concern for me.
- [33:31]
Corey Pronman
No. But I've been watched this kid for three years. Like I know he's a good. No, he's a good player. Like he go, you know, then we're not talking about a bad three month stretch. Talk about a couple of weeks here. Like, to me the, I can understand Duluth beating Penn State and I can see them even beat Michigan, but I, I would have a hard time picking them as the favorite in this group. I think Michigan is the team to beat and I think they are the clear, deepest and they are the might be the most skilled team purely in the country as well.
- [34:01]
Max Boltman
They're the highest scoring team. They also have, I think, more of a veteran presence than a lot of the Michigan teams we've seen in recent years where the ones that were led by, you know, these one and done or two and done high picks like you have your shift, your earnest, your Keenan Drapers that all play very real roles. Obviously TJ Hughes is at the top of that list as a star who's also a veteran, but I think that's a different flavor than you've seen from Michigan in the past.
- [34:24]
Corey Pronman
I mean, Chris picked one of their players and Michael Hage as one of his top three players in the country. He didn't even make the top 10 of the Hobie before they voted. It shows that there is some depth on this team, whether it is Hage or whether it is TJ Hughes who's just okay as an NHL prospect, but he's an outstanding college player. You know, you have, you know, like I said, you have Ivankovic. You have, you know, good overall depth on the four group. You know, obviously guys like Will Horkoff and Valentini, you know, they, and, and you know, they kind of slow down as the year went on, but they're still good players. Like, there's just a lot like to like about this team.
- [35:01]
Chris Peters
I think there's a ton. Go ahead. Go ahead, Scott.
- [35:04]
Scott Wheeler
They've had some. I was just going to say they've had some pleasant surprises too. Like we had a conversation on this show at the start of the season where we were all worried about what that whether they win or not in the, in the national tournament. We were all worried about that team, how young they were, how susceptible they were. Then they lose. Henry Muse for the year. One of their most important players on that back end. The back end suddenly is filled with guys who are a little vanilla in a lot of ways. And here they are as the number one seeded team in the country in the national tournament. So credit to them. They're also the highest scoring team in the country. I actually went and looked back because we always hear about how high scoring junior hockey is. The high scoring team in junior hockey this year in the CHL was the Brantford Bulldogs. They scored 4.3 goals per game. Michigan, in what is supposed to be the toughest conference in college hockey, scored 4.5 goals per game and had some seven spots and some eight spots and a couple of 10 spots. Like this team, say what you will, if they can score and I, Vankovic can be good. They're. They're a danger on offense to anybody in the country. And they've had some pres. Some pleasant surprises too. Like Corey mentioned Valentini. Valentini's been way better than I thought he was going to be this year. I was of the opinion that he should have gone to Kitchener for his draft here. Jaden Perron, and we've talked about it on the show, was a zero, like a net zero at North Dakota. In his time there he was a non factor and he has made some big plays, including last week for Michigan. So like they've just found and, and just the emergence of Horkoff, Hage becoming what Hage has become. Like they've just sort of found the pieces even without a muse, even with a very young group to. To sort of make it work. And then they play a style under that coaching staff and under NAR that just allows them to play freely and to make plays, and they just create a ton of offense. Just the fact that them and Penn State are in the same regional, I think could create some fireworks here.
- [37:01]
Chris Peters
And, yeah, you know, the thing is, to me. So I think Michigan is. I don't want to undersell them because they are supremely talented up front. I do have concerns about this decor's ability at this stage of the season. I don't think that it's a very good blue line.
- [37:19]
Scott Wheeler
They're small, too.
- [37:20]
Chris Peters
They are. But the thing is, is that they do possess the puck as a group. They do possess the puck at an insanely high level. And I just don't think at this time of year you can typically, like, they might outscore their problems at this stage, but once you consolidate that group down a little bit more and you're playing against the top teams in the country, I think it's much more difficult. There are also, like, you know, a couple other things that are there. They have the best power play in the country, but they have, you know, a bottom tier, you know, bottom third PK and like, the different things, like the different kind of ways that you look at a team's defensive capabilities, you know, I really do think that they're going to need Jack Ivan Kovic to be one of their best players, because other teams they're going to play this year are going to get their opportunities. They're going to find ways through, and it is going to be much more difficult for guys like Hage Hughes and others to move with the way that space kind of closes down. The one thing I'll say about the Big Ten, and while there's. There's a lot of talent in there, it is not the most difficult turn. Difficult conference to. To play in. There are some really bad defensive teams in that conference. I think it's, you know, benefited this team to a certain extent this year. You look at some of the different teams and, like, you know, Ohio State had had a weird year. Notre Dame had a weird.
- [38:38]
Max Boltman
Minnesota.
- [38:39]
Chris Peters
Minnesota. I mean, like, Minnesota was brutal. Yeah, it was. This year was, you know, I think they're. They're a little inflated, so I don't know that they've necessarily been tested, but I will also agree. I did not have high expectations for this team. They far exceeded them. It's a huge credit to Nerado and the staff and I think it's also a huge credit to the players for buying in and just making sure, you know, like, Hage was unbelievable this year. I still think he's, you know, to me, the best player on the team. As good as TJ Hughes was, he certainly has the goal advantage. But I look at, you know, his ability. This is going to be a team that is exciting to watch, but it is going to be, you know, I don't think the first round will be too difficult for them, but that next round is really where the rubber meets the road and it'll be really interesting to see how they fare. I don't really have concerns if they play Penn State. I do if they play Minnesota Duluth.
- [39:29]
Max Boltman
We spent this whole regional segment without really talking about Gavin McKenna, Corey. So how good does Gavin McKenna have to be for Penn State to come out of this?
- [39:41]
Corey Pronman
Well, he's been excellent over the last month or two. Basically since the world juniors, he's been one of the very best players in college hockey. And that team isn't just him. Like, I mean, it revolves around him, don't get me wrong. But they have some good, you know, older players, you know, DeMarcico, Wiese, Bush, you know, they have, you know, Aiden Fink, etc, they have some decent talent around him. But in order for Penn State to win this regional, he's going to need to have two three point games against Duluth and then eventually against Michigan. Like he's going to need to be a star player and not just get like a couple a point or two, but like have to make some really high end plays and find a way to, to drive it even strength a little bit more consistently against some of these top teams. And I don't know if power plays are going to be handed out as easily as they have been at times during the regular season. And I think that's the path. But I think it's realistic, quite frankly. Like, I think despite what we're saying about Michigan, even Duluth, like, I think like Penn State has the best player, the best player on talent in, in this group. So, you know, if McKenna has.
- [40:53]
Chris Peters
I'm sorry,
- [40:56]
Corey Pronman
what do you mean what
- [40:56]
Chris Peters
you're talking this year, I mean, or you're talking about in the future?
- [41:00]
Corey Pronman
I talk about the most talented player among all the teams.
- [41:04]
Max Boltman
Okay, what do you think it is?
- [41:06]
Chris Peters
It's Hage. He's far better in college. In college he's far better I would disagree with that. Turns out, I mean, have you. Here, here's the thing. I, I, Gavin McKenna has been outstanding. His team is still getting, they're, they're still negative, negative goals with him on the ice.
- [41:26]
Corey Pronman
Yeah, again, I'm not, I'm not talking about who is the best player in the college. I said who's the most talented player. That's what I said.
- [41:34]
Chris Peters
Okay.
- [41:34]
Corey Pronman
You think, you think Hayes is more talented than McKenna?
- [41:36]
Chris Peters
I, I don't think it matters at this stage. I think that the.
- [41:39]
Corey Pronman
No, but I think in that, over the course of a season, maybe not, but I think in the course of a game, like, I think McKenna has the absolute ability to take over a shift, take over a periodic. Over a game.
- [41:49]
Chris Peters
He's not a better college player right now. Like, I think that's the different thing. Like, if we're talking about projections, I'll agree.
- [41:54]
Corey Pronman
I'm not picking them to win. I said that he has the capability to do that.
- [41:57]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I know. I'm just saying right now, if you, if you gave me one or the other to win a game, I'm taking Hage 100% of the time right now.
- [42:08]
Corey Pronman
Yeah, 100% might be tough for me, but I, I see the argument, like, I mean, they were on the same tip. They were, they were on the same team a few months ago, and Hage was probably better than him.
- [42:17]
Chris Peters
Yeah, he was.
- [42:18]
Corey Pronman
So, yeah, like, that's what I mean.
- [42:21]
Chris Peters
Like, it's. And I'm not, I'm like, you know, I'm, I'm jumping down your throat a little bit here, but it's more just
- [42:25]
Corey Pronman
like, I think you can't do that.
- [42:27]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I do that. And so it's what I, it's what I do. But, but, like, I, I'm looking at it like, in the, in the vacuum of the tournament. That's, that's the way I see it, like, mattering at this point. Like, you know, who's the better, who's the better prospect? Who's the guy with more upside. I'm going to take McKenna, but it's just like, I think I, you know, and part of it is an age thing, too. Like, it's not even really, you know, the experience matters on, on top of that. So it's something that Gavin can't even account for at that point. But still, it's just like, I think if you, if you were to give me those two players on, in this, you know, I mean, like, I, I would even argue that, you know, Max Plant would probably you know, would be a better, a better option for me at this very stage, you know, given, given the situation.
- [43:14]
Corey Pronman
So a little over the top for me there, but that's okay.
- [43:17]
Chris Peters
I mean, well, look at. We'll see how Hobie voting goes. So we.
- [43:22]
Corey Pronman
I, I don't really care how people vote. I, they're still wrong if that's how they vote.
- [43:29]
Chris Peters
Well, it's not about talent. Who's the most talented.
- [43:32]
Corey Pronman
That's what I was saying. And they use this chain.
- [43:34]
Chris Peters
Whatever.
- [43:34]
Corey Pronman
Hey, I'm interrupted. I just interrupted Scott twice already. Go on, Scott.
- [43:37]
Scott Wheeler
I was just gonna say Penn State has completely turned over the team to Gavin too. Like, it wasn't that way at the start of the season. At the start of the season with, when Fink went down with his injury in particular, like it was the demarcico Serato we Bush line over the boards in important moments. And over the course of the year, that has changed. And I'm not sure that's actually for the better in the grand scheme of Penn State winning hockey games. Like, Gavin is playing 26, 27 minutes a night and they've basically put the season in his lap and, and asked him to like, if they're going to go anywhere, it's going to be almost singularly because of Gavin and they have other good players. Like we, we talked about the first line and Fink and Matt Gadowski through transfer portal and Jackson Smith's a very, very high end talent. But it like, they've basically put the season on Gavin's shoulders at this point with how much they're using it. And Michigan hasn't done that with Hage. Minnesota Duluth to a certain degree has done that with their top line. But like, man, the, the pressure on Gavin to step up against two very good teams just to make it to the frozen four here is immense to
- [44:47]
Corey Pronman
Chris, to Chris's point, like, among like the top 10, 12 rated teams, they have to have the tightest goal differential, right. In terms of goals for goals against. Like, it's, this is a very high event team.
- [45:00]
Chris Peters
That's. Yeah, that's, that's the probably the nicest way to put it, which I, and I'm glad that you did do it that way. But yeah, I mean, like, they're, they're, they're plus right now. They are in the plus, but it's not, the gap is not nearly as significant as it is for Michigan, for Quinnipiac, for North Dakota. I mean, they're of, of the top six teams. They're the Only one that has given up over a hundred, go over 98 goals and they have 114 allowed. I mean, that, that's, and to, to Scott's point too, I think that there was a lot, you know, what was the chatter at the beginning too? It was like, hey, are you Even really putting McKenna in a position to succeed for this draft year? Are you giving him the opportunity? Because, because it was such a serato, demarcico, we Bush kind of situation. And, and that, and it should have been. And I agree with you, it should have. They, they were better. They were better and, and you know, they were more experienced and they should have been better. But yeah, when you, when you're playing Gavin as much as you are, you know that it, it, you kind of, you're, you're selling it out, you're selling it for a player. And I think they kind of had to because like, we've been talking about what if, if Gavin isn't the number one pick, that almost looks worse for them than the fact that he chose them, you know, so, like, that's, that's the other thing that I think kind of happened over the course of time. And to their, to, to Gavin's credit, he's delivered pretty well. But at what expense? And I think it's at the expense of them being more competitive.
- [46:28]
Corey Pronman
I don't think we've said it. It feels like it's just you saying that over and over again.
- [46:32]
Chris Peters
What about them?
- [46:33]
Max Boltman
I think we generally, there was a
- [46:34]
Chris Peters
consensus that it wasn't just me saying
- [46:36]
Max Boltman
they got to get them there.
- [46:37]
Corey Pronman
Okay.
- [46:37]
Max Boltman
I think we could go back and pull a couple clip if we had to. But to your point, Corey, I, I did a quick scan. This is not super scientific, but just looking through everyone's goal differentials, I believe it is the second lowest in the tournament. Merrimack is 0.4, but Penn State 06. So it is certainly one of the tighter goal differentials in this field. Okay, let's, let's make our.
- [46:57]
Corey Pronman
I think that goes to the point that they play Gavin McKenna so much at even strength. He's not an amazing even strength player, and it leads to a lot of things happening at even strength. Yeah.
- [47:07]
Chris Peters
Yep.
- [47:08]
Max Boltman
All right, let's go to the picks here. I am going to take Michigan, but I, I am certainly, I think that that 2, 3 game in this region is going to be one of the games of the tournament.
- [47:18]
Corey Pronman
I'll take Michigan as well.
- [47:21]
Scott Wheeler
I'll take Michigan as well.
- [47:23]
Chris Peters
Well, everybody knows where I'm going.
- [47:25]
Scott Wheeler
I would Take Minnesota Duluth. If I had more faith in Guy
- [47:28]
Chris Peters
on yeah, and, and Scott, that is definitely the biggest concern. The lack of consistency at the goaltending position is a gigantic concern because in the years that Minnesota Duluth has had success, they've had typically the best or one of the best goalies in the tournament at that point. But I'm going to go with Minnesota Duluth. I think that the totality of their team, Scott, Sandal and behind the bench, I think they are going to be ready to go. And I just think that top line is going to be a handful for anybody that plays against them.
- [47:58]
Max Boltman
At the risk of reopening a conversation that we just got sidetracked by in a little different way, do you think that the NCHC is the best conference in college hockey this year, Chris? Because I've been calling the Big Ten that, but maybe that is more of a talent thing in the NCHC Tougher. I don't know.
- [48:15]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I mean to me the most exciting conference is the Big Ten. There's so much talent in that group. And like I, you know, I think that they've, they've had to me the two best teams in the country in Michigan and Michigan State all year long. I think for when it comes to a purely hockey specific, you know, pro development, like they're all good at developing pros and everything else, but I think that the game that most mimics the NHL is played primarily in the nchc. But this is all cyclical too because I think it goes nchc. There have been years where it's been hockey, there's been years where it's Big Ten consistently. The Big Ten is probably getting the biggest players, the biggest stars. But I think when you look at structure, coaching, all the different things, you know, the way that the games are played, the NCHC is, feels much tougher to get through. It seems it's a harder overall league in the end.
- [49:11]
Corey Pronman
I think, all right, I think this is the year it changes. But historic history is tended to show that the best prospects don't win you national championships. Yeah, I think that changes this year though. I think Michigan or Michigan State or North Dakota or one of those teams. There's. I feel, it just kind of feels like that even the good, even these teams that have the high end NHL prospects also have the good older college players this year. I think there is a path for one of these, you know, loaded NHL prospect rosters to, to go the distance this year.
- [49:44]
Chris Peters
It's got. And if it doesn't happen this year, then we're Looking at, you know, Big Ten came around, what, 2011, 2012. Zero national champions. So zero national champions. That is not good.
- [49:57]
Max Boltman
Good segue because we've all just implicitly made our frozen four picks. I want to go around now and get everyone's national title pick. And then. Scott, sorry I cut you off there. You can, you can make that point right after this. Do you want to go first, Chris?
- [50:12]
Chris Peters
Sure. I will take Michigan State to win the national championship. I'm going with the Spartans. They will end the Big Tens drought of the national championship hunt. And I think, yeah, it's going to be. I, you didn't ask me who they'd have to play and I don't want to, I don't care.
- [50:34]
Max Boltman
Scott.
- [50:35]
Scott Wheeler
I hinted at it when we were talking about that worst or regional, but I'm also, I'm also taking Michigan State.
- [50:41]
Corey Pronman
Corey, instead of green, I'll go blue and I will take Michigan.
- [50:46]
Max Boltman
All right. And I'm taking Nodak. So we got a good representation from the pool. We weren't too chalk this year, which is refreshing. I think we've gone pretty chalked the
- [50:55]
Corey Pronman
last couple of them. It's, I mean, we just, we all just picked 1 seeds to win the.
- [50:58]
Chris Peters
Yeah, yeah, but it's so, it's so easy to do too, because you look at it, and especially when we do what we do where we're talking about all these players and thinking about them for NHL futures and everything, it, you know, it's similar to the world juniors. It's not about what you're going to be, it's what you are right now. And a lot of these guys like you look, you know, guys like Maybe, maybe Gavin McKenna is going to be a better player than Porter Martone long term. But right now, Porter Martone has been one of the best players again, another guy that didn't make the Hobie Top 10 for some reason. But, you know, like that, that's, that's where we're at is like these guys, when you meet them, where they are and right now you look at, you know, those, those, those top prospects, a lot of them aren't quite as good as some of the guys that maybe you've never even heard of before.
- [51:40]
Max Boltman
Scott, you had a thought you wanted to close on.
- [51:41]
Scott Wheeler
No, Mike, it was going to be a question. When was the last time we've had a national tournament with neither of BC or BU participating?
- [51:50]
Max Boltman
I don't remember one.
- [51:51]
Chris Peters
It's a great question. I, I, I'm sure that that stat has been shared somewhere because it is strange to see it, but, boy, not only were they not there, it really felt like they weren't close.
- [52:04]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, it did feel that way. Bu, after three straight runs under Pandolfo, BU was a. Basically a mess all year.
- [52:12]
Corey Pronman
There was a point there until the end of the Hockey Eastern, we weren't sure if we were going to get more than just Providence coming out of the Hockey East.
- [52:18]
Chris Peters
It's crazy. And yeah, it's. It's going to be really interesting to see because what. When as we're in this new era, the hockey schools are going to have a tougher time on the nil front. That is. That is one of the things that I keep hearing is that they just don't have the dollars to compete with the Big Tens. And really, does anyone? Probably not. And so it'll be really interesting to see what happens here as this landscape kind of goes. We're going to have another round of intense recruitment of top NHL draft prospects here out of the chl. It's going to. It's. It's really big, big, big off season for BC and bu, which have some guys on the way that should help them, but at the same time, there's a lot to replace.
- [53:04]
Corey Pronman
Yeah. The other issue then for them as well is that the CHL kids who are most likely to go there, if. When it doesn't come down to dollars and cents, it's. It's going to be Quebec kids.
- [53:17]
Chris Peters
Yeah.
- [53:18]
Corey Pronman
And if the Big Ten is polling from Ontario and a little bit from the west, and the NCHC is pulling from the West a little bit from Ontario. I know historically you look at the town coming out of those leagues over the last 10, 15 years, which of those conferences I would rather be more positioned to right now? Despite Roger McQueen going to Providence, which was like a weird situation where he had, like, a close friend of his. That was a Providence. It was. That's. That's not a repeatable set of circumstances.
- [53:45]
Scott Wheeler
And Maine and Quinnipiac, frankly, won that sort of first war over the Q kids, but I do wonder whether that will persist.
- [53:55]
Max Boltman
All right, well, speaking of the CHL leagues, let's take a break right there, and we will come back and we will talk about the ohl, whl, qmjhl, and ultimately Memorial cup favorites as those playoffs get set to begin.
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- [56:20]
Max Boltman
All right, we are back and I want to close today talking about the CHL playoffs and and the way we're going to do this we're going to kind of go east to west here. So starting with the Quebec League. Chris and I'll I'll go to you first here. Moncton obviously I think is is the
- [56:33]
Chris Peters
the biggest story here.
- [56:34]
Max Boltman
Great team. Last year they got the big name prospect in Caleb Denyer. Are they. How would you grade their chances of coming through the queue and getting to the Memorial Cup?
- [56:43]
Chris Peters
Well, they're really strong. They did end up winning the league by a point so they, they, they outlasted Chicoutimi which was scoring goals at a cartoonish level towards the. The end of the season there. Yeah, but Moncton has the championship pedigree. Rudy Gimond is their goalie. He's been very good this year. Obviously Caleb De Noyer. You also have Tommy Bly as the top scoring defenseman. Just, you know, there's, there's a lot there and then. And the X factor that is their head coach, Gardner McDougall and the entire, you know, that they just know how to win. They've gotten, you know, they're one of the teams in the queue that had the most success dipping into American talent. Lyle and other players from, from US junior leagues that kind of came in and, and that was a really, you know, that's really helped them kind of build their team. So they're going to be very difficult. I think that they probably are ultimately, you know, defensively, probably the, you know, the team that will be better between them and Chicoutimi. But Chicoutimi has, I mean they just score. They score and they score and they score and they score. They ended up scoring 321 goals this year, which led the league. The only other team with more than 300 was Moncton who had 302. So, you know, and they, they've got a lethal power play. Their PK was very strong as well and they've got enough goaltending. So I think Chicoutimi is definitely going to be a legitimate threat. The one team that I think underachieved this year that is going to be a bit of a. They wouldn't have been a dark horse. But you look at Blaineville on paper, that's a team that had every reason to believe it could be the best in the queue this year. Justin Carboneau, Bill Zahn and you know, they've, they've added more pieces and also got William LaSalle, the goalie draft eligible goalie who has really done a nice job for them down the stretch of this season. They've also gotten Xavier Villeneuve back healthy. They've got Gill back healthy. They've got all these players that can help them, you know, basically get to where they need to be and they've been hurt most of the year. So I think Blaineville is a legitimate threat. Looking at up and down and the Q playoffs work a little bit differently. They go more in the order of standings and it's not always, you know, like divisional and like we see in the NHL. It's kind of a fun thing. Which means that we could see Moncton and Chicoutimi and probably will see Moncton and Chicoutimi meet in the QMJHL final. I'm going to give the edge to Gardner, McDougall and Moncton to come out of that one because I do think that this is a, this is a conference as a whole or a league as a whole that the top is very, very strong and everything else is, is, is not really. So I don't think that either of those teams are going to have a lot of trouble. It's just whoever runs into Blaineville that's the one where it could get a little bit tricky.
- [59:28]
Scott Wheeler
I, I think Blaineville like my, my friends in Moncton aren't going to like this but I think Blaineville and Shaku to me like I'll take Blaineville or Shakudemi over Moncton. I just think on talent those teams if they're fully healthy and Blaineville has been decimated by injuries and poor Spencer Gill like he gets traded to the MEM cup host a year ago in Ramouski. I believe it was an ankle surgery that he had that cost in the QMJHL playoffs last year. Then he comes back this is assigned prospect with the Philadelphia Flyers comes back this year and then I believe it was a wrist surgery this year that cost him the year. Spencer Gill is like a number one 25 minute a night defenseman in that league. If Vilna's back healthy like I, I think Plainville's. We'll see whether they have enough time to build chemistry and get all the pieces back together and make it work that way. But I think Blaineville is a real threat and I, I would pro. I think I'd probably lean Shaku to me over Moncton in a, in a seven game series as well. Although I will say you mentioned a bunch of the Moncton names. Nico Tournis is another one away with that team who's going to be a mid round pick as an overager very, very, very good junior player. So the pieces are there in Moncton too.
- [60:32]
Corey Pronman
You said a lot there Scott. You didn't actually pick a team though.
- [60:35]
Scott Wheeler
I'm taking, I'll. I'll. I'll take Blaineville
- [60:40]
Corey Pronman
and I'll finish at the trifecta. I'm going to take the Sags and take Shakuni to win the queue.
- [60:43]
Chris Peters
I. It's why it's. It's fantastic. It's wide open. It's been pretty crazy to watch all year but yeah, I mean it's on full hockey but you know like that's. Yeah, that's that was, that was. It's been a, it's been a really fun season with watching those teams in particular.
- [60:58]
Max Boltman
All right, let's go to Ontario. Scott and I think the Brantford Bulldogs are going to be kind of a prohibitive favorite. They've had such a good year in their conference. It's, I think it's kind of them and everyone else, but the other side of the bracket is a little more wide open. Fair to say that Branford's the prohibitive favorite though.
- [61:16]
Scott Wheeler
Yes, the Bulldogs are the prohibitive favorite. I don't think they're the runaway train favorite that they maybe were at the start of the year. Like they were just so good early in the season and they went on that run and they were talking about them on hockey night in Canada and it felt like they were never going to lose a game and Jay McKee, their head coach, was actually begging for them to lose a game so that they could get on with it. And then they lost the game and they lost a ton of guys to the world juniors in the middle section of their season. Wasn't great. They have dominated again sort of in the latter third of the year here and you look at their, their lineup like they're the only team in the OHL that I think has three first pairings on the blue line, two legit starting goalies, and arguably three like first line caliber forward lines as well. So just from a pure talent standpoint, it should be Brantford. You mentioned Max sort of, you mentioned sort of off the top there. The, the differences in the conferences. That's the story for me here. Like, I think they're probably going to steamroll their. With all due respect to the Ottawa 67, two, I think have surprised a lot of people with the year that they've had. I think they're probably going to run through the east here and then whoever comes out of the west probably presents a bit of a stiffer challenge. Windsor lost Ethan Beliches, one of their top six forwards obviously to a season ending injury here. I still like that team is big and they are fast, like fast, fast, fast. So I, I do think that they're a legit threat. I'm less convinced by. I know a lot of people have talked about Flint and Kitchener in recent months. I'm less convinced by Flint and Kitchener. If it's not Windsor. The one team that I've sort of circled in this second half is probably the Sioux. Like I think the Sioux are as good as Flint, Windsor, Kitchener. Those are the four teams there for me that have a chance to come out of the west and I think the Sioux are every bit as good as those teams. Lucas Fischer, despite his not being a part of Team USA at the World Juniors and not even being in consideration for Team USA at the World Juniors is one of the better defenders in the ohl. Brady Martin has been banged up and dealing with a pair of injuries pretty much all year and hasn't been himself but has had some better games recently. They play with that team plays with a ton of energy. So I might before we get to our picks here, but I might go with the sue or Windsor out of the West. Either way, I think it's probably Brantford as the OHL representative in the Memorial cup. But the west is, is where the sort of compelling hockey I think is going to be.
- [63:44]
Corey Pronman
I think Branford probably is the pick out of the OHL and I, I just think all those teams in the west are good. I think Kitchener is good. Flint, Windsor, London, sue, they're all good teams. I don't know if any of them are great teams like Branford is a great team. The one thing about Branford that I think will be the obstacle is I think the best goalie in the OHL is from what I've saw this year wasn't Carter George who plays on the Zoo. It was Ryder federal from the 67s. I thought he was outstanding this year and if he, he has the ability to steal a game or two. So I could see that pose a challenge to Brentford. But at the end of the day I still think it's Branford coming out of the ohl.
- [64:26]
Chris Peters
Yeah, I'm, I, I think it is as well. But I, I am keeping that eye on the Sue Greyhounds as Scott said and really the first series is probably going to be telling. They are going to play against London in the first series. Now London is not the, you know the two time. They are the two time defending champion but they look a lot different than those championship teams.
- [64:46]
Scott Wheeler
I don't, I don't think London's serious.
- [64:48]
Chris Peters
No, I don't either.
- [64:49]
Corey Pronman
Even though they're higher seated.
- [64:50]
Chris Peters
Yeah, that's the interesting thing all day. There's the one other thing that I found interesting and this was a stat that we had actually shared a piece on at Flow is that that. Did you know Carter George has played London 18 times in his career and has one win against them now believe me, I understand that we're not talking about the same London. The only game that he did win against them. He also scored a goal in. So that's, you know, that, that, that helps. So if he scores, we're also not
- [65:22]
Scott Wheeler
talking about Owen Sound.
- [65:24]
Chris Peters
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Correct. Like, so I. Does it matter? No, but it's just a kind of like one of those weird stats. So Carter George exercising those demons however he has to, that does change. You know, I think that could potentially change the dynamic for them. But Branford, for me, like, I cannot wait to watch these Western series, but I think those teams are going to beat up on each other so much. Brantford, if they get through unscathed, it could be, you know, they could be playing some either, you know, either really tired teams or really dialed in teams and they're a little rusty. You never, you know, whoever has the clearest path. But I think Brantford's path to the Memorial cup is, is, is easier than pretty much anybody else's.
- [66:04]
Corey Pronman
It kind of always feels that way in the ohl. Right. Like you've seen like the Niagara from a few years ago. Oshawa from a few years ago. You always kind of feel like there's always like this one when, when the Bulldogs won their championship back then. Like there's always like one, maybe two good teams in the east and then the west is always a war.
- [66:20]
Chris Peters
Yeah.
- [66:20]
Corey Pronman
And then much.
- [66:23]
Max Boltman
All right, everyone's on Branford though, it sounds like from all of your analyses. All right, and let's go to the west and, and Kelowna is going to host the Memorial cup, so we should mention that as well. What I find interesting though, Corey, is that usually the team that's hosting it, the decision is kind of made in mind with the idea that they're going to be one of the very top teams and they're, they're a playoff team. They're. They certainly have a chance to get to, you know, a decent run in the west, but they're probably not one of the inner circle favorites to come out of the Western League.
- [66:49]
Corey Pronman
I think they're well behind the teams that I think are the contenders in the West. And TJ Ginla wasn't healthy all year, so it's a minor variable there. He's might be the, he's arguably the best player in the Western Hockey League this season. The Utah, sixth overall pick for the three teams to that are, I think are the clear cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference would be Prince Albert and Medicine Hat and the Western Conference. Everett is clearly the best team. Start on Everett for a second. I mean, they've just seen the second half of the season they just, they've really just rolled over everybody. The Detroit prospect Carter Bear has been very good after a so so start to the year. Remember going to the U17 challenge in November, talking seeing Alexey Joseph and saying well Aladdin Dupont's not really killing it to start to this year. Joseph looks really intriguing. You know, maybe he's notably ahead of Dupont. I don't think that's the case anymore. Landon Dupont has been just outstanding over the last couple of months. He looks like every bit the potential number one overall Canada that we thought he'd be coming into his CHL career. This is a very deep team, very talented team. So they're definitely a favorite. The east is going to be really intriguing because we I figure it's going to be Prince Albert and Mezenhat coming to a point here at the for a seven game series. That should be a war. Medicine Hat has the most goals in the Western League by a margin of 20 led by the Ruck Twins who are outstanding junior players. Well, sure we'll have debates when we get to the NHL draft on just how good NHL players they'll be, but they've Marcus Ruck has led the WHL in scoring. Liam, he must have been second, third or fourth in scoring. Up top of my head. Yeah, like just ridiculous years. And that's even. It would be fun to think about what this team would have looked like if Gavin McKenna wasn't allowed to go play in college hockey like he was this season. He, he was still playing junior hockey this year. That they might have scored 450 goals for all we know. But that wasn't the case.
- [68:47]
Scott Wheeler
Yeah, Very, very rare for a team to win a WHL championship and then win 50 games the following season. Medicine Hat lost their four leading scorers from last year and their number one defenseman in Tanner Mullen Dyke. And they're right back here as a 50 win team with a pretty like you mentioned, the Ruck Twins, Noah Davidson Schaefer, Gordon Carroll. Like a young team. Obviously Bryce Pickford is an X factor there, but a pretty young nucleus.
- [69:13]
Corey Pronman
Yeah, Jonas Wu having a big year there as well. 59 Defenseman, not much of an NHL prospect, but really good junior player. And then you're Prince Albert. Really deep team. Ever since they traded for Braden Coutts from the first round pick of Vancouver Canucks, they've just been on fire lately. Dax and Rudolph, the draft elbow defenseman has been out standing there over the last few months. You know, points percentage wise they're ahead of Medicine Hat. Really deep team Their goalie or Salak looked really good. The world juniors, he's been very good in the Western League for them. That to me, like, I can't see anybody other than one of those three teams coming out of the West. I'd be really surprised. But that being said, I don't think there's a clear favorite among these three. Like Everett probably has the best odds just because they will have the path of least resistance probably to get out of. Of, you know, to get to the Western League final and eventually win the league. But I think on paper they're all pretty close.
- [70:10]
Scott Wheeler
I don't know that I subscribe to that. Like, I think the Eastern comp. We talked about the east in. In the ohl. I think the Eastern Conference in the WHL has been a joke this year. Like, I've talked to scouts who've said that, like, you can't even count points against Regina and Moose Jaw and Swift Current and Lethbridge and some of those teams. Now, some of those teams aren't playing in the playoffs. But the east has been really soft this year and Everett's the best team in the West. But Penticton is a good team. Prince George is a good team. Kelowna, for all their faults as a Memorial cup host, is still a good team. Like, I do think the tougher path is through the Western Conference, like Prince Albert and Medicine Hat, I think are going to have a pretty favorable path to getting to each other in the Eastern Conference final and then you go from there. But I, I don't know. The east outside of those two teams has been extremely, extremely soft this year.
- [71:03]
Max Boltman
Yeah, man, it's a shame that it's a down year for London because I was just kind of daydreaming in my head about how cool it would be to have Willie Dejar, Dan Gardner, McDougall and Dale Hunter all at one Memorial cup going head to head. That would be kind of the. Again the Legends Bracket last year.
- [71:19]
Chris Peters
Yeah.
- [71:20]
Corey Pronman
Potentially a rematch.
- [71:22]
Max Boltman
Yeah, that's right.
- [71:22]
Chris Peters
Let's just do it all over again.
- [71:24]
Max Boltman
Every year we're just gonna go with the. The coaching icons region. So. All right, let's. We've kind of again, all made. Implicitly made the Memorial cup field picks. Let's. Let's pick a winner here. Corey.
- [71:36]
Corey Pronman
I. I'll take Medicine Hat.
- [71:40]
Scott Wheeler
Scott, are we picking a winner for the MEM cup or for the WHL here?
- [71:43]
Corey Pronman
For the Western League?
- [71:44]
Max Boltman
The Western. And then we will do the Mem cup after that.
- [71:47]
Scott Wheeler
I will take the Everett Silver tips.
- [71:51]
Chris Peters
All right. I'm going to go with the Prince Albert Raiders. The least amount of goals allowed in the league this season.
- [71:57]
Corey Pronman
You notice how I did like that whole shtick about how like efforts path is easier and. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And then Scott like said no way, no way. Then just I still think.
- [72:07]
Max Boltman
And you didn't.
- [72:09]
Corey Pronman
I know, I know.
- [72:10]
Chris Peters
They're still really good. They still have 57 wins this year. So. Yeah. But yeah. All right.
- [72:17]
Max Boltman
Mem Cup. So you each picked a different team from the west and a different team from the queue. Everyone thinks Branford's going to be there. Does everyone think Branford's going to win it in the end?
- [72:26]
Scott Wheeler
I'm taking Brantford to win the Mem Cup.
- [72:29]
Chris Peters
Yeah. Give me the dogs Corey.
- [72:33]
Corey Pronman
I would. I think edit. It's kind of always works this way because that's how the leagues work is the west is always hard pressed to win the Mem cup because there's more teams in the west especially this year with all the kids that left for college. But like the talent is more dispersed among those teams. Whereas in the OHL teams load up. But especially in the queue. Those teams load up.
- [72:57]
Chris Peters
Oh yeah.
- [72:58]
Corey Pronman
I think whoever comes out of the
- [72:59]
Scott Wheeler
queue and they win a lot of Memorial Cups for all the. That the QM dhl.
- [73:05]
Chris Peters
Well yeah.
- [73:06]
Scott Wheeler
And they sure seem to win this thing almost every year.
- [73:09]
Corey Pronman
I think. I think whoever comes out of the queue wins. So I think. And my pick was Shakudami. So I'm taking Shakudami to win the Memorial Cup.
- [73:15]
Chris Peters
How about. And what a story. Like it'd be an amazing story too because Shakudami hasn't won the league in like 34 years. I think something like that. I mean Maxi mese had the 5151 season this year first. Like I. I can't remember the last time Shakunami had a 50 goal scorer. It'd been a really long time. But yeah like it's just that's if it happens that way and they. They're. They're a wagon. Like no question about it. I, I think you know the queue. Nobody. Nobody loads them up like the cube. But this actually it was dispersed a little bit in terms of the star power in the league a little bit more than it usually is.
- [73:50]
Corey Pronman
That's because Blaineville kind of got ahead of. Everybody did it. Right. They did the season.
- [73:54]
Chris Peters
They did. Yeah. They did all their work in the summer and everybody else was kind of catching up at the end.
- [73:59]
Max Boltman
All right, that's going to do it for us. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Athletic Hockey Show Prospect series. You can, of course, catch more of Chris's work at Flow Hockey and much more from Scott and corey@theathletic.com Laz and I will be back with you on Monday. We'll talk to you soon.
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