UMD assistant leaving to coach in the USHL?

[SpitnArgueDuckClub*]

Word in Sioux City Iowa is that UMD assistant coach Brett Larson has taken the Head coaching / GM job for the musketeers in Sioux City Iowa.

[solbes]

I had heard he was interviewing. He did want to become a head coach in the college ranks some day, so this is a good stepping stone for him. I wish Brett well!

Hmm, lot of turnover in the Duluth assistant jobs lately. Rohlik was the next in command and took that job in Ohio State 2 years ago. He will likely be a head coach in 2-4 years. Derek Plante and Bill Watson are the other two guys left at Duluth (about a million points as Bulldogs between them). Plante has only been there a year or two, so does he move up?

[Bear55]

Too young to see Watson play but I sure remember Plante and Marinucci torching the gophs a few times that year. I even thing they won the the WCHA that year, another great UMD team.

[solbes]

I would guess Sandy goes out and gets someone new. Not sure if Plante would be ready to move up, as he was pretty green when hired. Since Rohlik left, we've been missing that strong recruiting presence up in Canada (flame away [pleasebecomeasponsor]). Might not be a Gopher tactic, but it's a staple in good Bulldog teams.

[mulefarm]

I would think Bert Gilling would be in the picture. Umd grad and D1 coaching experience. If not, maybe they would hire John Hill?

[solbes]

If not, maybe they would hire John Hill?

He's actually the Ace of Spades on the FMGAC wanted list.

In all seriousness though, Gilling's not a bad idea. Some real coaching experience, Duluth alum, and hails from the Great White North up in ManiTOooba. We need a guy that can head out and occupy enormous territory between Calgary and Moose Jaw.

[Bear55]

If not, maybe they would hire John Hill?

reading my mind mulefarm.

[scsavre]

I don't care if you guys take canadiens. I just don't want them at the U.

Too bad you lost rholik. He's a great guy. I could see him recruiting the heck out of kids. He did an awesome job coaching at hill murray too. If I were mich tech I woulda tried to get him. I don't think he had interest tho. Maybe he will end up in badger land again someday. I have a feeling he I pretty happy in ohio with th big 10 coming. It should get him the exposure he needs.

[OnAFly]

What's with the hate on the Canadians at the U, eh?

I would just like to have a team that performs. A few Canadians could help us out quite a bit. There will always be plenty of Minnesotans on there anyway.

[scsavre]

Don't neeed canadians and I really don't like the thought of non us citizens getting free colege educations instead of american born players. And of course I cheer for the u because I am cheering for minnesotans.its the hometown connection. You fee like you are cheering for your own. Its like cheering for the wild......who cares....Iback them and cheer but it doesn't really matter. ..there is no personal conection to cheer for a bunch of fins and canadiens. Yadayada

[Bear55]

It sure would have sucked to have Towes and Duncan, or Mike Connolly and Fontain playing for the gophers.

[scsavre]

Ill pass on all of them. None of them won ncaa titles anyway. Ill stick with the good old US of A. Now parise, bochenski, jack connely, sertich. Id take them.

[solbes]

]Ill pass on all of them. None of them won ncaa titles anyway.

Cough, cough...what about the last two...?

[Bear55]

How do you feel about Austrians?

[Bran32]

I coulda swore that Fontaine and Mike Connoly just won something in April!! But I could be wrong!

[scsavre]

Hahaha, it hasnt sunk in yet. Nah, I view this from my phone mostly and i didnt see the whole screen.

Vanek was the best college hockey player I had ever seen, well top 3 for sure. And yes I would have rather had an american. That is hard to say cause man he was fun to watch. .

Again, Im glad you guys take the Canadians. I could care less. i just dont want them.

[scsavre]

whats this (pleasebecomeasponser thing)that shows up instead of my name? Am I a swear word on here? I guess that makes sense.

Do I have to pay $$ for my name to show up?

[solbes]

]whats this (pleasebecomeasponser thing)that shows up instead of my name? Am I a swear word on here? I guess that makes sense.

Do I have to pay $$ for my name to show up?

I think it used to be because of something you had in your signature. Now I don't see anything like that. Maybe an admin could correct it for you? Steve, don't you have magical powers?!?

[solbes]

Vanek was the real deal in college. He's been great in Buffalo, but he was a beast for the Maroon and Gold.

[KMR85]

Solbes, I sent you a PM.

[Bear55]

I remember a stat about Vanek scoring 19 of his 31 freshman goals in the 3rd period or overtime. Talk about Mr clutch when the game was on the line.

[scsavre]

He was just amazing. Clutch as you could be. That's an amzing stat.

[solbes]

UMD hired former UND player/coach and current Fargo USHL head coach Jason Herter. He's got some past ties with Dean Blais and has 1 year of head coaching experience with Fargo. Great move by Sandelin and company! The article said the Force went 33-22-5 under Herter last year.

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/202872/group/sports/

Maybe you Sioux fans here (Brooks, Shorelunch, and BRmuskie) know more about him than I do. Please share.

[cbrooks]

He was a first round draft pick(8th overall). He was known for his hard slapshot as a player. I don't think he ammounted to much as a professional. Before coaching at Fargo he coach a Bantan club team in Kansas City of all places.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Herter

[cbrooks]

Here's a good article on Jason Herter

Wasted Talent: Jason Herter's Not Alone

By Jason Brough Mon, May 12 2008 COMMENTS(6) Orland Kurtenblog

Filed under: greatest hockey & sportswriting, pat jordan, jason herter, nhl draft

Jason Herter, definitely not from an NHL game. (Getty Images)

Of all the Vancouver Canucks’ draft-pick busts, Jason Herter stands out as the biggest for me. Not to persecute the guy or anything - it’s not a quantitative comparison at all. There were others, after all. Many… (sigh)…others. But Herter, for lack of a better phrase, was my first. By 1989, the year he was drafted, I had grown beyond simply cheering for a terrible team and had moved into the realm of full-fledged, elementary-school hockey nerd. Draft picks were important, Dan Russell told me every night. Not to mention, the Canucks desperately needed a quarterback for their power play. And Herter was it.

Alas, he wasn’t. He never suited up for the big club and played just one NHL game in his career, for the New York Islanders. This despite the fact he was taken eighth overall, which means he was picked ahead of Bobby Holik, Olaf Kolzig, Adam Foote, Sergei Federov and Pavel Bure. Granted, he was also taken behind Dave Chyzowski and Adam Bennett, so Vancouver wasn’t the only team to [PoorWordUsage] out that year.

Thus, it was with great interest that I read Steve Ewen’s piece on Sunday that caught up with Herter. Because I wanted answers. What the heck had happened? Why was an entire city sentenced to watch Doug Lidster and his trusty rubber stick fire marshmallows from the point while over in Calgary they had a guy by the name of Al MacInnis who could shoot the puck so hard that even Craig Ludwig’s shinpads cowered in fear?

Well, it turns out Herter was never pushed hard enough, or never pushed himself hard enough. Probably both. He coasted on talent alone, and he didn’t have enough to get him that final step. Athletes rarely do. People rarely do.

“I was that talented guy, and it was my blessing and my downfall,” he said. “I just took everything for granted. And when I had to fight for a spot, I didn't know how to react.

"I would have played in the NHL if I wasn't drafted. I would have been [PoorWordUsage]. I got complacent. If I was in a position to not get complacent, I would have had a better chance."

Ah, complacency. The killer of all things sports, for athletes and fans alike. It’s why dynasties are rare. It’s why the Atlanta Braves and Detroit Red Wings struggle to fill the seats in the playoffs. It’s also the complete opposite of every great athlete we’ve known.

Tiger Woods hasn’t grown tired of winning yet, and he’ll never be satisfied with his swing.

Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is legendary, from the basketball court to the golf course to the casinos.

Wayne Gretzky once said his slap shot could barely break a pane of glass when he entered the NHL. So he worked on it. Then, he did this. (Lookin’ at you, Henrik.)

At the other end of the spectrum you’ve got a guy like John Daly, with more talent than pounds but a mental make-up so fraught with deficiencies that he’ll never be great. Ditto for Todd Bertuzzi. And those two actually made it to the big time. Daly even won a couple of majors, though a semblance of a work ethic and a smidgeon less booze would surely have guaranteed him more. As for Bertuzzi, he’s had his share of individual successes, but nobody can say he’s fulfilled the promise of a man with his physical gifts.

So if Daly and Bertuzzi are but two of the many public faces of wasted potential, imagine the myriad stories of those who toiled in the minors and never came close to major-league failure, let alone major-league success.

One of the best written accounts of talent gone for naught is by minor-league-baseball-player-turned-sportswriter Pat Jordan. His 1973 book, A False Spring, chronicles his own fall from highly-touted teenager to unheralded bust.

Now, writing about the disparity between talent and winning is nothing new when it comes to someone else (see above), but rarely is it done with regards to the person who’s doing the writing. When you think about it, delving into the pursuit and ultimate failure of a childhood dream has to be one of the most challenging and painful things you can think of.

“Self-discipline, single-mindedness, perseverance, ambition – these were all virtues I was positive I possessed in 1960, but which I’ve discovered over the years I did not,” Jordan admits.

Jason Herter nods his head.

But he's not alone.

A natural point-man? (Not So Much hockey card)