With a solid remaining cast, Monty added five forwards and two defenseman, all with substantial experience and track records of on-ice success to rebuild last year's deep line combinations.
The new forwards are Troy Terry, Collin Staub, Logan O'Connor, Dylan Gambrell, and Jarid Lukosevicius. Staub and Terry are Colorado natives . Staub is from the Springs and made the smart move, post his NAHL stint, to head north up I-25 to DU. Terry, from Denver, played on the USNTDP U18 team and grew up watching and cheering for the Pioneers. Both players know how to find the net.
Defenseman Blake Hillman played for Dubuque and Sean Mostrom played for the USHL's Fargo Force. One challenge for these two newcomers and returning Pioneer defenders will be replacing the two-way skills and scoring punch of LaLeggia. They will be expected to skate and handle the puck on the Pio's non-stop, up-tempo style or contribute on DU's vaunted 'mash line'. The Montgomery approach demands high production from all four lines with DU's third and fourth lines expected to do more than chew up time until the first and second units hit the ice.
Can DU continue their regular season 20 win streak this season? What is your expectation for the Pioneer finish in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)? Can the Pioneers crack the elite ranks and make it to the Frozen Four?
DU's schedule for 2015-2016
http://www.denverpioneers.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/denv-m-hockey-sched.html
3 comments:
Troy Terry tabbed as one of the Top 30 Incoming Freshmen by ISS Hockey.
http://collegehockeyinc.com/articles/iss-hockey-tabs-top-30-freshmen
This DU team will have some depth and versatility. Heinen and Moore will be as a good a 1-2 scoring punch up front as there us in the league. DU's defense with Butcher, Zajac and Plant will be quick on puck movement, but we'll miss LaLeggia's high-end skill and Didier as the stay-at-home rock. Goaltending is solid but not spectaular with Cowley and Jaillet.
I disagree with the above comments on Cowley and Jaillet. Both have outstanding backgrounds and now major college experience. I can see us having the best 1-2 goaltending punch in college hockey.
All returnees know the Monty system well by now and I expect their scoring production to improve.
Schedule is brutal. No nights off. To approach 20 wins, we must get out of the gate fast. OOC games in October-December matter just as much as league wins down the stretch. League play will be brutal with every team (except CC because they suck) knocking each other off to the point where the League Champion will not have a outstanding W-L record although they might be the best team in the country.
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