Nearly every person that writes about sports does some sort of Mailbag-type thing every so often, mainly because it is as easy as it is lazy. I was totally jealous so I'm coming up with my own variation called Comment Redux that allows me to respond to some of the stuff in the comments as well as a few other questions that people ask me.
RE: Upcoming postings
Posting has been light lately, because not much has been happening. It should pick up once the season starts, however. Here are a few things coming up soon.
1. The NAHL Showcase/Future Prospect's Tournament starts on Wednesday. Over the past two years, it has evolved from a nice little tournament to a crazy 5-day hockey bender. I'll be there and will try to write as much about it as possible. USA Hockey is also hosting a seminar on the American Hockey Model on Friday that I'll try to get in to and report back on.
2. I'll be doing individual season previews for the 10 WCHA teams. The CCHA doesn't get the same treatment because, frankly, I don't think the interest is there to justify the effort. I'll probably just preview the whole league in one post.
3. I'll be doing the Weekend Preview again this year with new categories.
RE: Ethan Werek
A couple people asked why I didn't bother mentioning that Ethan Werek signed with Kingston of the OHL. The answer is the same reason I never posted anything when he committed to Boston University. He was going to school out east, making my interest only casual. But I certainly wish him the best of luck playing for one of the OHL's worst GMs.
RE: Draft List
People asked some good questions about player left off the draft list. I'll try to give some explanations.
Nick Oliver-Matter of opinion. He's worked hard on his skating and I think he'll look better in the USHL than he did in HS hockey, so he could definitely move up.
Tyler Brown-Another matter of opinion. He didn't play as well in the games I saw him, but I also haven't seen him play a ton.
AJ Treais, Shane Berschbach, Dakota Eveland-All good players, two of whom are already committed to top colleges, but I don't think any of the three have the overwhelming talent to cancel out their lack of size.
Tyler Pitlick, Andrew Yogan-Check back next year.
John Henrion, Chris Kreider, Chris McCarthy-East coasters that I hadn't seen enough to feel comfortable putting on the list.
Barron Smith-Haven't seen him in a couple years. He's always had the size. If he improves his quickness, he'll definitely be picked.
The rest are again a matter of opinion. Everyone's list is going to look different.
RE: Upcoming postings
Posting has been light lately, because not much has been happening. It should pick up once the season starts, however. Here are a few things coming up soon.
1. The NAHL Showcase/Future Prospect's Tournament starts on Wednesday. Over the past two years, it has evolved from a nice little tournament to a crazy 5-day hockey bender. I'll be there and will try to write as much about it as possible. USA Hockey is also hosting a seminar on the American Hockey Model on Friday that I'll try to get in to and report back on.
2. I'll be doing individual season previews for the 10 WCHA teams. The CCHA doesn't get the same treatment because, frankly, I don't think the interest is there to justify the effort. I'll probably just preview the whole league in one post.
3. I'll be doing the Weekend Preview again this year with new categories.
RE: Ethan Werek
A couple people asked why I didn't bother mentioning that Ethan Werek signed with Kingston of the OHL. The answer is the same reason I never posted anything when he committed to Boston University. He was going to school out east, making my interest only casual. But I certainly wish him the best of luck playing for one of the OHL's worst GMs.
RE: Draft List
People asked some good questions about player left off the draft list. I'll try to give some explanations.
Nick Oliver-Matter of opinion. He's worked hard on his skating and I think he'll look better in the USHL than he did in HS hockey, so he could definitely move up.
Tyler Brown-Another matter of opinion. He didn't play as well in the games I saw him, but I also haven't seen him play a ton.
AJ Treais, Shane Berschbach, Dakota Eveland-All good players, two of whom are already committed to top colleges, but I don't think any of the three have the overwhelming talent to cancel out their lack of size.
Tyler Pitlick, Andrew Yogan-Check back next year.
John Henrion, Chris Kreider, Chris McCarthy-East coasters that I hadn't seen enough to feel comfortable putting on the list.
Barron Smith-Haven't seen him in a couple years. He's always had the size. If he improves his quickness, he'll definitely be picked.
The rest are again a matter of opinion. Everyone's list is going to look different.