As promised, I'm putting out my picks for the All-WCHA teams and awards. I didn't feel like there were many obvious choices this year. All in all, it was a pretty even conference.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jamie McBain, D, Wisconsin
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Jordan Schroeder, F, Minnesota
COACH OF THE YEAR: Dave Hakstol, North Dakota
FIRST TEAM
Ryan Stoa, F, Minnesota
Ryan Lasch, F, St. Cloud State
Ryan Duncan, F, North Dakota
Jamie McBain, D, Wisconsin
Chay Genoway, D, North Dakota
Marc Cheverie, G, Denver
SECOND TEAM
Garrett Roe, F, St. Cloud State
Justin Fontaine, F, UMD
Anthony Maiani, F, Denver
Kurt Davis, D, Minnesota State
Garrett Raboin, D, St. Cloud State
Alex Stalock, G, Minnesota Duluth
THIRD TEAM
Chad Rau, F, Colorado College
Jordan Schroeder, F, Minnesota
Kael Mouillierat, F, Minnesota State*
Brian Connelly, D, Colorado College
Patrick Wiercioch, D, Denver
Brad Eidsness, G, North Dakota
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Jordan Schroeder, F, Minnesota
Jason Gregoire, F, North Dakota
Mike Louwerse, F, Minnesota State
Patrick Wiercioch, D, Denver
Jake Gardiner, D, Wisconsin
Brad Eidsness, G, North Dakota
* = write-in
How tough was this? Here are a few players I considered who didn't get on my final ballot. Some were on my first few lists, erased, crossed off, etc., on pieces of scrap paper on my desk at The Free Press. Call them PucKato's honorable mentions:
All-conference: Tommy Grant, F, Alaska-Anchorage; Eric Walsky, F, Colorado College; Rhett Rakhshani, F, Denver; Tyler Ruegsegger, F, Denver; J.P. Testwuide, D, Denver; Cade Fairchild, D, Minnesota; MacGregor Sharp, F, Minnesota Duluth; Josh Meyers, D, Minnesota Duluth; Mick Berge, F, Minnesota State; Tom Gorowsky, F, Wisconsin
All rookie: Gabe Guentzel, D, Colorado College; Joe Colborne, F, Denver; Mike Connolly, F, Minnesota Duluth; Jack Connolly, F, Minnesota Duluth; Derek Stepan, F, Wisconsin
6 comments:
I try not to make "homer" statements, but I don't understand why Justin Fontaine isn't listed, he's 7th in the nation in points. Only SCSU's Roe has more points from WCHA teams.
I have him on my second team. I almost put him on my first but went with Duncan, a captain of the league champs.
Oh crap. Sorry, I didn't look too closely at the choices. I saw Stalock and saw Minnesota-Duluth, but must have misses Fontaine since he had UMD by him.
Carry on then. :)
No worries. Thanks for reading and for commenting. Given how close everything is, I wouldn't be surprised if I overlooked someone. By the way, I added Macgregor Sharp to my list of extras.
I am thinking that Patrick Wiercioch from DU is going to be the ROY. After looking at some of the ballets that is my best guess.
This could be the closest voting in years for WCHA honors. No one stands head and shoulders above the others. I believe Wiercioch shoud be ranked higher and he is my choice for Rookie of the Year. He scores, he runs the #1 power play unit and he plays hs position extremely well.
I question whether McBain belongs on the first team, much less as POTY.
Post a Comment