central hockey fan wrote:Just trying to start some discussion on who you would have on your all EDC team if the season ended today. Also, who is the top defensemen, top forward, and top goalie? How about coach of the year? Best fans, best place to play?
Good questions CHF...
All-EDC Team would be a stretch to do myself, but I'll do a quick one.
For
Defense I would probably take the 4 top South defense, plus Anderson of RR and Hills of Grafton.
For
Offense it'd be Narveson/Orson/Stellrecht of South, Spicer and Moody of Central, Crary and Ladoucer of RR and Gaustad and Mohagen of Grafton. That makes 6 defense and 9 forwards (3 Lines).
For
Goalies I would pick Scott Buchholz of Fargo South and Chris Stokke of Shanley.
I wonder how Stokke would do when he's not facing 50 shots a game though, it makes it a lot more difficult to play well when you're not facing a lot of shots. Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, even though a better team that forces bad angle shots helps in games where they're still getting shots, when teams (like Shanley, WF, and North) get very few, but some quality chances, it's very hard for a goalie to come out with a good game (Shutout) if their team isn't taking out all of them. These 'weak' goals are really hard on goalies. Either way, you can hardly blame a goalie like Buchholz for the fact that he has a good team in front of him.
----
Top Forward - Right now, I'd pick Orson, comes out big in the games he needs to (Grafton, RR, Central) to help his team win.
Top Defense - I couldn't decide, there's a lot of good defensive players this year. So many that I think a lot of them are becoming offensive defensemen. I'll see how they do through the end of the year.
Top Goalie - Scott Buchholz. Seems to be the hot ticket in this thread, so here's why:
A few people on here knock him because he's facing low quality shots, but I've seen plenty of games and he makes the saves that count in big games. When South played Moorhead, I believe Moorhead got about 40 shots, and he kept them to two goals. These 40 shots were all quality, too. For the most part of the White Bear game he also made big saves, and has stopped numerous breakaways in big situations. Beyond this, he has incredible rebound control, as well as great positioning. He does seem to have a little bit of trouble keeping his focus during 'easy' games, however. Either way, after making All-Tournament team last year, as well as not playing any 'easy teams' in the coming weeks (Central, EDC, State), you'll see his percents go up, as well as play.
Coach of the Year - This will go to David Benson, almost guaranteed. I'm sure this is one of the most winningest seasons from a first year coach in North Dakota history. Although I don't think it's because of him (he has a very talented team and tradition left behind by Wilson, who gave his underclassmen a LOT of ice time last year, including through EDC and State), he will receive the award, and likely win State Coach of the Year as well.
Best Place to Play - Grafton: Good atmosphere, best fan base in North Dakota. No other city in North Dakota has the following or the dedication of the Grafton fans. Win or lose they will always be there, and that's gotta be respected. They also have incredibly good concessions.
I want to say the Urban Plains is a great place to play, but for regular season games it's very dull, and it's too warm. When you have to take off your windbreaker because you're sweating in a hockey rink, that's not good. The pace of the game is also a lot slower there. However, I think this would be a GREAT venue for EDC as well as State. Attendee for the State Tournament will not break 5,000 people, and the UP can sustain this many, and actually appear full with this many. It'd be a great place to host EDC/State in the future, rather than the Engelstad (or on a rotation with the Engelstad), as the Engelstad is far too large for NDHS hockey.
(Longest post in this forum?
)