Friday, March 16, 2007

More Flight Risks

TSN's Bob McKenzie paints a less than rosy picture of what this summer could be like.

Some names, like the two Johnsons, aren't much of a surprise. Some names are a bit more surprising:

"In Edmonton, the Oilers would like to sign Andrew Cogliano from Michigan and defenceman Taylor Chorney from North Dakota. The Oilers think both would develop better in the pros than college."


It does present a disaster scenario for the Sioux if they were to lose Toews, Oshie, and Chorney. While it's true that they had similar departures last season, this year's freshmen class has only scored 14 goals. Though for the second straight year, mass departures won't hurt North Dakota as much because they lose next to nothing in terms of graduation.

It is the same scenario for Michigan who could lose Johnson, Cogliano, Kevin Porter, and possibly Chad Kolarik, in addition to graduations of T.J. Hensick, Matt Hunwick, Jason Dest, and Tim Cook.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Names I'm surprised not to come up are:

Blake Wheeler (UMN)
Geoff Paukovich (DU)
Kyle Okposo (UMN)
Alex Goligoski (UMN)

Most Sioux fans were pretty aware that Oshie and Toews (especially Toews) would only be two year players for the Sioux. As the season progressed, it became apparent that Chorney would be the only flight risk not predicted preseason for the Sioux. That being said, he clearly was the best blueliner this year from start to finish for the Sioux.

Also, Chorney could do what Smaby and Greene did and turn down the contract until the end of his junior year easier than Toews or Oshie could. Personally, I think Toews should turn away the contract and hope that Chicago trades his rights to a team that doesn't flat out suck.