And your 2011 Hobey Baker winner is...

[Steve Foss]

I was wrong for posting this. I never personally knew him. Met him once I could have caught him on a off day. It was a STp post on my part.

It's the Internet. No one really believes what they read on the Internet. I've heard.

[cbrooks]

And sometimes I forget I'm on the interenet talking to X number of people. I get caught up in the BSing on here and feel like I'm talking to a small group people. Anyways its not like I'm this big charming person either. I didn't realize how unfair my post was until you commented on it Steve.

So now that trout season is done are you planning any Rainy River trips. I'm just waiting for the Snow geese to make there way up here. Could be another 3 weeks before it gets good.

[Steve Foss]

So now that trout season is done are you planning any Rainy River trips?

I had one planned, but finances have a funny way of squelching dreams. Guess I'm just rooting for another UND NCAA hockey championship while I prep the boat and downriggers in anticipation of May.

Guy's gotta have something to dream about, after all.

[scsavre]

youve gone soft brooks. Ive met him quite a few times, my cousin went to highschool with him. He is an azzzz.

My info on frattin comes from an individual who owns or runs player development for NHL players. Rather not give the name, as brooks said you never know who is listening.

[cbrooks]

cbrooks is a azz, plain and simple . I hope people don't judge me from one post . I'm not getting soft Scott. Just trying to keep it fun on here.

I may not like Jason but man what I would give to have his skills in skating. I'd love to have Frattins wrist shot or to have Oshie's stick handling abilities. Would I be a better person if I was able to do those things. Probably not. All I know is those guys have skills and as a fan...I can appreciate that.

I think the Hobey should take into account the athlete's personality because it counts for something. without there hockey gifts there no better than you or I. With that being said I hope Frattin wins. He obviously did something right the last two years IMO.

[scsavre]

Thats quite the crew, frattin, oshie, blake. I dont know if Blake has gotten in trouble, but Oshie and obviously Frattin,......Ok Ill stop. Its getting old.

Go dogs.

[solbes]

Naw, it's not getting old. Calling out the guys chucking stuff out of the garage is just plain fun. They probably even think it's funny thinking back on it. There just haven't been any holes in their game late this year, so we gotta make fun of something.

Go Dogs

Since it's Friday and not much to talk about, I'll change gears. I still don't get Steve's sports affiliations. Extremely talented guy in many different fields and seems pretty smart to boot. He lives in pretty much the best area of Minnesota, arrowhead region near the boundary waters. He's a Packer fan and a North Dakota fan. No love for the Gophers, Bulldogs, Beavers, or Vikings. Who do you root for in baseball? Royals? Brewers? What about NHL, Blackhawks? Blues? Come on, there's gotta be some love for Minnesota somewhere. Just trying to understand and have some fun at the same time.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks for the kind words, solbes. I'll try not to let it go to my head.

I've been a Twins fan since boyhood, and remain so. I was a North Stars fan until they went south. Haven't watched a pro hockey game since then. If I hadn't grown up watching Sioux hockey while Dad was up in the press box and gone to UND myself, I'd be a Beavers fan (Badgers would still be No. 2 on my hockey list). We've had a lake cabin near Bemidji since 1983, and we have longstanding ties there. I also do a fair amount of photography work there, mostly weddings.

But to be a fan of teams not from Minnesota doesn't mean one doesn't love Minnesota. I live here for a reason (there's not enough water at 10,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies, which was my other favorite place to live).

And it's weird how one builds allegiance to sports teams. My Dad, with no real Chicago ties, has been a rabid White Sox fan since he was a boy and his uncle took him to watch the Sox play. For him, when the Sox win it's a well deserved W. When the Twins win it's always a disgusting accident.

[solbes]

All righty then. Twins, North Stars, and quasi-Beavers fan. I can respect that. Not sure about this Badgers revealation though, might want to keep that one quiet

[Steve Foss]

All righty then. Twins, North Stars, and quasi-Beavers fan. I can respect that. Not sure about this Badgers revealation though, might want to keep that one quiet

If I can be a public Packers fan in Minnesota, why not the Badgers? Are you saying it'd be worse to be a Badgers fan than a Sioux fan? Surely not!

[Bear55]

Sioux, Badger, and Green Bay fan it's just not natural. I can almost see being one or the other but the combination is frightening.

[Shorelunch]

]Thats quite the crew, frattin, oshie, blake. I dont know if Blake has gotten in trouble, but Oshie and obviously Frattin,......Ok Ill stop. Its getting old.

Go dogs.

Yeah, it's time to get out the Halo polish for the Dog and Gopher fans . . . there's never been any incidents or arrests in their stellar programs can't we all admit that no program and their players are perfect and move on? Or let's just start rattling off imperfections? Who should we start with?

[solbes]

Let's roll, it's Friday. You could certainly joke about Dylan Olsen deciding it would be better to do whatever Dylan does rather than going to class. Put himself and the team into a heckuva corner where he couldn't stay and his NHL affiliate had no option but to pick him up. I don't think Duluth's Power Play has been the same since. They are just now starting to return to 2010 form.

I remember a underage drinking thing from the Bulldogs from years ago and the "Fox 9 report" on Gopher players being caught on tape drinking ('05). Not very newsworthy though. Anything else?

[scsavre]

I think my favorite gopher one is when wooger got caught paying for my old next to neighbor chris mccalpine to finish a few college classes after his elgibilty expired. He gave him $500. I actually like this one. At that point mcalpine was a former player. Honestly if hakstol did that id like him more. Maybe coulda found a better way to do it, but good for standing by your player.

The underage drinking wone was embarrassing. Chanel 9 made a joke of the whole thing by trying to make it a big story. The public thought channel 9 was in the wrong for trying to push the story and that took away from players breaking rules. They tried making a big deal and then realized only 4 out of the 15 they accused were even drinking. Its too bad that the players ended up barely looking bad. Coach was ticked and did maximum suspensions.

[solbes]

Yeah, its water under the bridge that we keep coming back to. I don't want to wait another whole week to kick this thing off. Why do they take 2 weeks to get to the big show, it's killing me. Is it to make it completely fair to those who played Fri/Sat vs Sat/Sun? Give everyone time to make travel arrangements?

[Bear55]

Shorelunch its more fun to pick on a team when you can't beat them on the ice.

Long list of gopher flubs, the Blarney's incident, Wooger $500 hat incident, I think little Potulny got caught drinking in Grand Forks, Birkholtz/Cheek/Chong, and I'm sure there are a pile of others I have forgotten over the years.

Then you have those other self inflicted Danny Kristo type wounds like the Budish moped accident, Eric Johnson golf cart accidnet although that was after his gopher time but still stupid, and the grand daddy of them all the Tyler Hirsch charging the net twilight zone incident. That of course was not a physical injury.

[scsavre]

I have always thought there was more to the moped incident. But nothing surfaced.

Man drop the puck already. Let's atfch some hockey

[Bear55]

The Budish injury was an odd one for sure, I want to say it was a mid-day thing on the way to class so that doesn't leave much room for speculation. Kristo on the other hand...

[scsavre]

It just seems so weird. Of all the injuries..you tear your acl.

[cbrooks]

Matt Frattin is College Hockey News player of the year.

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2011/04/01_chn_player_of_the_year_matt.php

[scsavre]

I agree, wish I didnt, but he is the best in college hockey this year, at scoring.

[cbrooks]

Scott, in your opinion who is the best college hockey player or players? I have a short list of players I like. Most are freshman.

[scsavre]

I dont know who id give it to.

Frattin has to be tops for goal scoring, I dont think the rest of his game can put him on the top.

I really liked Gardiner from wisc this year and his partner.

I thought Zucker and the guy from CC were great 2 way freshman, goal scoring, passers and defensive at times.

I have only been able to see the 2 freshman from Notre Dame a couple of times. Those kids are pretty darn good.

[cbrooks]

I thought Zucker was phenomenal. He makes everyone around him better. Reminds me of Zach Prarise. I only watch Jadan Shwartz once this year.

hopefully these guys stick around for another year. Fun watching those guys.

[cbrooks]

Matt Frattin made the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/sports/03frattin.html?_r=2