There's been a couple stories this past week that don't need a full post, but that I need to catch up on here. So here goes.
There was a very scary situation last Friday when Bemidji State forward Ben Kinne suffered a stroke while working out at home in St. Paul. Initial reports are that he is recovering well. Kinne is a nice player, and losing him would hurt Bemidji, but in a situation like this, that takes a backseat to his overall health and well-being.
Mike Guentzel's strange hockey odyssey through the Midwest has now landed him at Nebraska-Omaha. This move, marking his fourth team in four years, is tough to figure out, but in any case, UNO definitely has one of the more experienced coaching staffs in the WCHA. I think people may be going a bit overboard with how much that experience will translate to success on the ice though. Mike Guentzel is good, but it's not like having him as an assistant will make UNO 10 wins better than if they had Nick Fohr behind the bench next season.
Minnesota State released their roster for next season. The only kind-of surprise is that Tyler Thompson is no longer on the team. Maybe because it's summer tryout season and you see so many kids that want to be hockey players without the talent to do so, but it's incredibly frustrating to see someone with the talent to be a hockey player that can't keep his head straight enough to do so.
On the positive side for the Mavericks, Matt Leitner is at least on the roster, which is a good sign in terms of his eligibility; something which MSU desperately needs.
The rosters for this year's High School Elite League are out. I was surprised at a few names that were picked, and a few that weren't, but I'd classify them as quibbles, rather than outrages. My first impression was that this is as weak a year as I've seen in terms of NHL Draft talent, but I'll reserve judgment until I see them play. Even if there aren't as many high NHL Draft picks, there's a lot of very good sleeper-type players in there that could have big years this year. On paper, Team Southwest and Team Southeast look absolutely loaded, and should be able to dominate. Also of note is that nobody from southern Minnesota was selected. I'm not saying that is wrong, but it is something worth looking at.
It totally wasn't about the suspension for Josh Birkholz. Even if you were born yesterday,I'd point out your birthday is in late-July, not May or June.
The first game at the brand new Bemidji Regional Events Center has been delayed a little bit. The Beavers had scheduled an exhibition game against Manitoba for October 2nd, but it wasn't 100% that the BREC would be open by then, so the game has been canceled.