SAILS ON THE HORIZON

[SAINT PAUL | MINNESOTA]
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For the second year in a row since moving south from Thunder Bay, the Minnesota Norsemen missed out on the CCHL playoffs.
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While in the thick of a rebuild, the pain of an early start to the offseason has been unbearable to a hockey mad fan base that deserves a winner and an ultra-competitive general manager that feels the time is now to turn the corner with his hockey club.
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"Without completely dismantling what we have built in regards to a young, strong base. We gauged where were in the league, what other teams would possibly be doing in the offseason, and how we move up another level," said Norsemen GM Blake Wendt. "We feel we have an opportunity to make some noise and punch some teams in the throat."
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The first swing came on April 4th, when both Daniel Sedin and Jakub Voracek were acquired.
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Sedin from Siberia with prospect defenseman Joe Faust for Nick Bonino and prospects Nic Kerdiles, Oskar Lindblom, Laurent Brossoit, Blake Coleman and Derek Forbort.
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Voracek and $2M from Calgary for Nino Niederreiter and prospect goalie, John Gibson
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A flurry of trades in the league also took place in the next few days, and the Norsemen were equal players in the continued transactions.
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April 6th, Minnesota sent Jakub Silfverberg, Zach Redmond and $1M to Calgary for the other half of the split Sedin egg, Daniel.
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April 13th, the twins weren't enough in the Twin Cities, and former Minnesota Gopher, Phil Kessel was acquired from Springfield for Valeri Nichushkin and prospects Ryan Dzingel and Myles Bell.
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Another significant player was acquired during this time as well. But that transaction cannot be announced until after the CCHL Entry Draft.
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The Norsemen then cut some fat off their roster and dealt Joffrey Lupul and his remaining contract, plus Justin Fontaine and $5M to Hamilton for $1. That dollar was then given to the Herb Brooks Olympia head Zamboni driver.
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Hoping to be big players in the annual UFA bidding wars, Wendt was not able to land the major pieces in the first round of bidding.
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"The prices are always high during this period," said Wendt. "But this year seemed to be extremely high. In a lot of cases, we were not even close when we threw a number in the hat that was already over payment in or eyes. There will be some teams will be hurting financially for a long time. But if you get a Cup out of that spending, then it's all worth it. We just weren't in a position to pay the prices that were ultimately paid."
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Minnesota did get depth value in the remaining rounds of bidding though. In the second round, center Patrik Berglund and goalie Mike Smith were picked up. Berglund likely a fourth line center and Smith backing up Roberto Luongo next season.
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Forward Viktor Stalberg and defenseman Luca Sbisa were added in the third and forth rounds. Stalberg likely to be an emergency call-up from Duluth and Sbisa possibly fighting for a third pairing job. But likely practice squad or in Duluth.
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All in all, this has so far been a very busy offseason in the State of Hockey. With only two late round picks in the upcoming Entry Draft, the summer is basically here for the hockey operations staff already.
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"It's a skeleton crew for sure in regards to the Draft," said Wendt. Unless something comes in that blows us away, I think we're set where we are in the Draft. Anything is possible with trades as well. But we like who we have in here right now, and it shouldn't look that much different when we break camp in September and get going in October. I think we've put together a group that can do some damage next season. For now though, it's time to hit the water and land some fish"

Saint Paul . MINNESOTA - New look Minnesota Norsemen Hockey Club blog!

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA - The 2014 CCHL Entry Draft is complete for the Minnesota Norsemen. With seven picks that included four forwards, one defenseman and two goaltenders.
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"I think we accomplished what we set out to do with this year's crop," said general manager, Blake Wendt. A crop that by many expert's accounts, was not overwhelmingly laden with a wealth of depth.
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"With our first pick, we waited for the third round and took the best available player," said Wendt regarding the 47th overall selection, defenseman Ryan Collins. "He just happened to a local kid who will be heading to the 'U' (University of Minnesota) in the fall. We like his game. He's a big, 6'5", sturdy stay-at-home defenseman that needs some seasoning and added strength to play to his full potential. He should get that under Don Lucia at Minnesota and we will be patient with his development. But we love the potential that is there."
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The Norsemen next pick came in the fourth round with the selection of forward, Ryan Dzingel from THE Ohio State University. The Weaton, Illinois-native finished his collegiate season with 46 points in 37 games.
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In the fifth round, Wendt and his staff reached all the way across the Twin Cities and picked up arguably the best NCAA goalie from the past two seasons, Adam Wilcox from the University of Minnesota. The South St. Paul-native was someone that the Norsemen had coveted for the past couple seasons. "We were quite aware of what Wilcox has been doing in his first two seasons of college hockey," said Wendt. "We almost took him last season, but our list was pretty extensive. This year we knew we wanted him, and when other similar goaltenders were being picked, we made the move then before he was gone."
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In the sixth round, Minnesota used their own pick to take another goalie in 28 year old, UMass-Lowell alum, Carter Hutton. The Thunder Bay, Ontario-native is expected to fight Jonas Gustavsson in Training Camp for the back-up role behind Semyon Varlamov.
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Using one of two picks bought from the Georgetown Millers, the Norsemen again stayed in-state and chose St. Cloud State scoring machine, Jonny Brodzinski. The Ham Lake, Minnesota-native finished his sophomore season with 41 points in 38 games.
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Round 7, and the Minnesota Norsemen finally reached across the pond to take Axel Holmstrom from the Swedish Hockey League's Skelleftea AIK.
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With their final pick from the Millers, it was back to the local flare and Caleb Herbert from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
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"This is a small class compared to years past for us," said Wendt. "We're in a different stage in the development of a competitive overall hockey club. These players here will all play a role in that transition. Some are older and more seasoned. The curve isn't as drastic as maybe a class of all eighteen year olds. We know a bunch of them can and have transitioned to a higher level of competition and been able to make an impact. That's why I think this Draft class for us is very special."

ROOKIES TIME TO SHINE

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- Fresh sheet of ice at the Herb Brooks Olympia this week, as the Minnesota Norsemen invite twenty of their top prospects to Rookie Camp.
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Many of these players will participate in the club's Prospect Camp in July, the main Training Camp in September and be fighting for starting positions on Opening Night.
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"We're excited to get things going again," said general manager Blake Wendt. "So much of our future will be together here this week. Some have been playing in Duluth and some are fresh out of college and we get a real thorough look at where they are in their development in becoming CCHL players."
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The camp will begin on Monday and go through next Sunday. It will be run by Norsemen assistant coaches Dean McAmmond and Phil Housley and Leifs assistant coaches Mike Ramsey and Dmitri Yushkevich and goaltending coach Felix Potvin. Norsemen head coach Craig Hartsburg, Leifs head coach Mike Yeo and Wendt will evaluate out of sight from high above in the club's suite.

DRAKKAR REPORT: The Future Is Near

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA- It was a memorable time in the inaugural season of the Minnesota Norsemen Hockey Club--a memory some would rather forget as the team finished at the bottom-five of the CCHL and a record of 24-49-9.
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"In a rebuild, it's a bitter pill to swallow to watch your on-ice performance and your record is tough to look at," said general manager Blake Wendt. "With the passion we have in our fan base, we also have dialed-in, keen fans who know what we were actually accomplishing in what on the surface was a dismal season."
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What was being accomplished was top-notch players were being traded for a plethora of young, elite hockey players in mass quantity.
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Some of that youth will start arriving as full-time pros in the 2014-15 CCHL season.
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Nick Bjugstad. Star power forward honed his craft at the University of Minnesota for three years. Last season the 6'6", 220 pound giant played big minutes for the Duluth Leifs and got his seat at the adult table at the end of the Norsemen season. He is expected to center the second line behind Antoine Vermette.
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Valeri Nichushkin. Drafted 2nd overall in last year's draft by the Norsemen, Nichushkin is a budding star from Russia that played top-line minutes in the KHL as an 18 year old. The young Russian came over to North America after being drafted and participated in the Norsemen Training Camp before ultimately adjusting to the professional game in Duluth. Nichushkin will likely play on top-6 minutes, presumably on the second line.
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Nino Niederreiter. Picked up in a trade with Victoria in August, the Swiss forward plays anything but a neutral game. At 6'2" 210 pounds, there is some room to grow, and the Norsemen are hopeful that El Nino's rough and tumble game, combined with explosive speed and crafty hands will shore up their overall depth for years to come.
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Brock Nelson. Another big-bodied, homegrown power forward. The Warroad, MN-native was acquired last month from Halifax with another Minnesotan, Justin Faulk. The Norsemen love the potential of his game that looks pro-ready for next season
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Beyond the connections to the state, a lot of these upcoming players have previous connections as teammates with each other and current established Norsemen.
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Along with Bjugstad, his linemate at Minnesota, Erik Haula could make this team out of Training Camp. Both played with defenseman, Aaron Ness who might also play spot games next season. Add Keith Ballard and it looks like a Norsemen factory over in Minneapolis.
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Matt Niskanen and Justin Faulk were both stud blueliners at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (although not at the same time). Some of Faulk's teammates from their National Championship team, Justin Fontaine and JT Brown have legitimate shots at making the Opening Night roster.
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Brock Nelson joins Matt Greene as North Dakota alum
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Ian Cole looks like he might finally have an opening in the D-pairings for a full-time shot in the CCHL. The former Notre Dame captain might be joined by another Irish captain, Anders Lee this season.
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All of this and we still haven't talked about the other youngsters on the club. Tomas Tatar, Marcus Kruger, Jonas Brodin and Semyon Varlamov. Or the younger Anthony Mantha, Nic Kerdiles, Hudson Fasching, Tom Wilson and Justin Sefton.
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"We expect bumps next season," said Wendt. "With this amount of youth coming in at once, you cannot avoid it. But we feel we have surrounded these players with enough experience and talent to bring success now and continue to build on year after year. We are very excited about the future in Minnesota."

SAINT PAUL . MINNESOTA : With the formalities of medical physicals and physical testing out of the way, the Minnesota Norsemen are finally all together in Saint Paul for the start of their inaugural Training Camp. Sessions at Herb Brooks Gardens will be open to the public. With the exception of a few dates over the next month.
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ROSTER
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Forwards
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7 Matt Cullen
9 Mikko Koivu (Captain)
10 Andy McDonald
11 Saku Koivu
12 Gregory Campbell
14 Taylor Pyatt
15 Dany Heatley
17 Matt Martin
18 Brent Burns
21 Matt Frattin
22 Cal Clutterbuck
23 Casey Cizikas
24 Tom Pyatt
27 Nick Bjugstad
29 Alex Chiasson
36 Anders Lee
38 Patrik Cehlin
40 Toni Rajala
42 Zach Budish
45 Vincent Trocheck
47 Travis Oleksuk
49 Nino Niederreiter
51 Valeri Nichushkin
53 Danny Kristo
56 Erik Haula
58 Miikka Salomaki
60 Justin Fontaine
62 Travis Ewanyk
64 JT Brown
66 Myles Bell
68 Rylan Schwartz
72 Valentin Zykov
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Defensemen
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2 Matt Greene
3 Douglas Murray
4 Brenden Dillon
6 John Carlson
8 Nick Leddy
25 Jonas Brodin
28 Ian Cole
37 Brandon Davidson
39 Justin Sefton
41 Aaron Ness
43 Ludvik Bystrom
44 Brooks Orpik
46 Nikita Zadorov
48 Mark Alt
50 Cade Fairchild
52 Scott Mayfield
54 Madison Bowey
55 Jeff Schultz
57 Joe Morrow
59 Frank Corrado
61 Oliver Lauridsen
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Goaltenders
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30 Tuukka Rask
31 Matt Hackett
35 Dan Ellis
70 Marc Cheverie
81 Mike Lee
95 Juho Olkinuora

*SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA-