Alex Goligoski is...

[Jacob]

Lefty/righty?

 

[PuckFan01]

Lefty

 

[firstroundbust]

I'd like to add an addendum to this thread: I'd like to add Derek Peltier to this category too

he's just as good as goligoski

 

[Juicer]

wait until R.J. Anderson is at the U next year, better then Alex.

Has RJ Anderson comittted to Minnesota next year?

 

[chaachie12]

Has RJ Anderson comittted to Minnesota next year?

He has committed to Minnesota, there is some speculation if it will next year, or '06. The Gopher are incredibly deep at D, but I have a hard time believing RJ can't beat out Kennedy next year.

 

[Digable5]

I'd like to add an addendum to this thread: I'd like to add Derek Peltier to this category too

he's just as good as goligoski

In your opinion what makes him as good as Goligoski and why isn't he getting the same attention, since they are both "rookies", right? I'm not questioning your judgement, I'm uninformed and only have read about Alex and have seen virtually no press about Peltier. Just looking for information.

 

[chaachie12]

In your opinion what makes him as good as Goligoski and why isn't he getting the same attention, since they are both "rookies", right? I'm not questioning your judgement, I'm uninformed and only have read about Alex and have seen virtually no press about Peltier. Just looking for information.

I think part of it may be that Goligoski came out of nowhere. Even for Gopher fans. Nate Hamego and Peltier were the two D-men that were supposed to contribute right away. Goli came right from HS, where as Peltier came from the USHL (where he led all D in scoring I believe) and Hamego came from USNDT. So, I think Goli is just more of a suprise. Goli's skating is amazing, and maturity. Peltier seems to have very similar offensive awareness and potential.

 

[Digable5]

I think part of it may be that Goligoski came out of nowhere. Even for Gopher fans. Nate Hamego and Peltier were the two D-men that were supposed to contribute right away. Goli came right from HS, where as Peltier came from the USHL (where he led all D in scoring I believe) and Hamego came from USNDT. So, I think Goli is just more of a suprise. Goli's skating is amazing, and maturity. Peltier seems to have very similar offensive awareness and potential.

Thanks. I find it interesting though that insidecollegehockey.com or something like that had Goli as the top incoming freshman Dman and Peltier was about 8 or so. They at least must have seen something in him. Was Goli given first defensive pairing from the begining or did he have to beat Peltier out for it? One last question, even though Alex has had the "better" season so far, who do you think will be the better NHLer in the future?

 

[chaachie12]

Thanks. I find it interesting though that insidecollegehockey.com or something like that had Goli as the top incoming freshman Dman and Peltier was about 8 or so. They at least must have seen something in him. Was Goli given first defensive pairing from the begining or did he have to beat Peltier out for it? One last question, even though Alex has had the "better" season so far, who do you think will be the better NHLer in the future?

seems to me that Goli was top pairing from day 1, I could be wrong. Peltier has 3 goals to Goli's 1...he is only 2 points behind, and played one less game. Goli is much more noticeable on the ice. It is interesting that Goli was #1 by INCH.com, they obviously knew something.

 

[PuckFan01]

He has committed to Minnesota, there is some speculation if it will next year, or '06. The Gopher are incredibly deep at D, but I have a hard time believing RJ can't beat out Kennedy next year.

RJ is going to be a Gopher next year. Its been that way since the day he committed.

 

[D.Legwand]

I think part of it may be that Goligoski came out of nowhere. Even for Gopher fans. Nate Hamego and Peltier were the two D-men that were supposed to contribute right away. Goli came right from HS, where as Peltier came from the USHL (where he led all D in scoring I believe) and Hamego came from USNDT. So, I think Goli is just more of a suprise. Goli's skating is amazing, and maturity. Peltier seems to have very similar offensive awareness and potential.

i agree completely. i live in minnesota, and i am a huge high school hockey fan. i go to a lot of games, but i had never heard of him until last fall when a buddy i talk to asked me about him. i answered who? he said he had seen his name on the red line report. since i am around the metro area and he played in grand rapids, he didn't get much press here until the state tourney and the all state teams came out, or if you live up north, i am sure you heard a lot about him. that is aslo a very good point about him being 18, that makes it even more amazing how good he actually is. all us gopher fans hope he turns out better then the last few good prospects from grand rapids- Andrew Downing and Aaron Miskovich. something about kids who names start with A from the Gradn rapids area....

 

[Digable5]

i agree completely. i live in minnesota, and i am a huge high school hockey fan. i go to a lot of games, but i had never heard of him until last fall when a buddy i talk to asked me about him. i answered who? he said he had seen his name on the red line report. since i am around the metro area and he played in grand rapids, he didn't get much press here until the state tourney and the all state teams came out, or if you live up north, i am sure you heard a lot about him. that is aslo a very good point about him being 18, that makes it even more amazing how good he actually is. all us gopher fans hope he turns out better then the last few good prospects from grand rapids- Andrew Downing and Aaron Miskovich. something about kids who names start with A from the Gradn rapids area....

Thanks to both of you for shedding some light on this. Sorry that I have so many questions but I'm quickly becoming a Gopher fan, even though I may never see them play other than the Frozen Four since I live in DC. So do you think that maybe RJ, who is being considered by some to be better than both Goli and Peltier, could be overrated because he's more visible? To tell you the truth I have RJ, Goligoski, and Vanelli and I'm about to pick up Peltier(thanks to you guys) for a keeper league and I'm just curious about how they all stack up. I read more positive things before the season started about RJ, but Alex was selected higher in the draft so I grabbed both of them. Now that Alex is doing so well in the Maroon and Gold and people still think RJ is better I can't wait for next season when Anderson is either in college or the USHL. By the way, I also have Potulny and I'm extremely excited about all of my Minnesota players.

 

[HOCKEY_GURU]

Ive been silently watching this discussion and trying to figure out where i would rank these players not for now but for the future..in other words 4-5 years down the road who will be the best D mean? Id also like to throw in O'niel if u have seen him play... so we have Goligiski, Peltier, RJ Anderson , and O'niel...feel free to add any others Offensive minded D to this mix... so how would you rank them in terms of future potential?

 

[Digable5]

Ive been silently watching this discussion and trying to figure out where i would rank these players not for now but for the future..in other words 4-5 years down the road who will be the best D mean? Id also like to throw in O'niel if u have seen him play... so we have Goligiski, Peltier, RJ Anderson , and O'niel...feel free to add any others Offensive minded D to this mix... so how would you rank them in terms of future potential?

I'm going to assume you mean Wes O'Neill of Notre Dame, and if we are going to add players outside of the Minnesota Gophers family where do we draw the line? Like ,are we talking about all offensive college Dman selected in 04? Are we comparing all offensive college Dmen? Are we including all offensive college Dmen that are Frosh, Soph and future college players? I have a few guys I'd like to get opinions on but I'm not sure if they would exactly fit into this group we are comparing. Nathan Oystrick specifically comes to mind and I think he is greatly underrated.

On these five, based on what I know about them I'd have to say.....

1.O'Neill-because of his size and physical/defensive play that is far greater than the other "offensive" Dmen.
2.Anderson-loads of offensive skill and apparently plays bigger than his size and likes to get involved defensively. However, he hasn't done anything in college yet.
3.Oystrick-I'd actually like to put him second because of what he has already done at this level, but he didn't wow people as a frosh or soph like Anderson should do and Goli and Peltier are doing. He doesn't have many flaws and could be right there with O'Neill if he was a little bigger.
4.Goligoski-Starting to think Peltier could be just as good if not better but he is getting all the praise right now and his skating would probably give him the advantage.
5.Peltier-maybe not the playmaker Goli is, but he can put the puck past the goalie and that shouldn't be overlooked. Might fly under the radar while Alex is in the spotlight and maybe even more once Anderson comes to town, but if he continues to produce NHL guys will notice for sure.

 

[HOCKEY_GURU]

I'm going to assume you mean Wes O'Neill of Notre Dame, and if we are going to add players outside of the Minnesota Gophers family where do we draw the line? Like ,are we talking about all offensive college Dman selected in 04? Are we comparing all offensive college Dmen? Are we including all offensive college Dmen that are Frosh, Soph and future college players? I have a few guys I'd like to get opinions on but I'm not sure if they would exactly fit into this group we are comparing. Nathan Oystrick specifically comes to mind and I think he is greatly underrated.

On these five, based on what I know about them I'd have to say.....

1.O'Neill-because of his size and physical/defensive play that is far greater than the other "offensive" Dmen.
2.Anderson-loads of offensive skill and apparently plays bigger than his size and likes to get involved defensively. However, he hasn't done anything in college yet.
3.Oystrick-I'd actually like to put him second because of what he has already done at this level, but he didn't wow people as a frosh or soph like Anderson should do and Goli and Peltier are doing. He doesn't have many flaws and could be right there with O'Neill if he was a little bigger.
4.Goligoski-Starting to think Peltier could be just as good if not better but he is getting all the praise right now and his skating would probably give him the advantage.
5.Peltier-maybe not the playmaker Goli is, but he can put the puck past the goalie and that shouldn't be overlooked. Might fly under the radar while Alex is in the spotlight and maybe even more once Anderson comes to town, but if he continues to produce NHL guys will notice for sure.

yes I ment wes oniel..and I think you understood me..i was thinking young Dmen already drafted going to or will be going to college hockey...some of the lesser known names so to speak of (as opposed to AJ Thelen)... your information was very helpfull... iessentially id like to know about offensive potential ..tho good to know about other aspects because mnay wont make the NHl if their defence../intagibles not there ....thanks once again for the info

 

[Digable5]

yes I ment wes oniel..and I think you understood me..i was thinking young Dmen already drafted going to or will be going to college hockey...some of the lesser known names so to speak of (as opposed to AJ Thelen)... your information was very helpfull... iessentially id like to know about offensive potential ..tho good to know about other aspects because mnay wont make the NHl if their defence../intagibles not there ....thanks once again for the info

Well you can thank a lot of people for that "info". I get my knowledge of the Minnesota guys mainly from other posters here. There are plenty of more guys like Thelen we can include but the 5 I mentioned are the one's I know the most. And thinking you wanted their NHL potential I felt the need to include defense/intangibles like you said. Would certainly appreciate a second opinion and some other names we should be including in the discussion.

 

[MN_Gopher]

the thing with guys like O'neil and Peltier is they are not as O minded as the Goligowski is and Anderson should be. If Goli makes a mistake it looks bad but he can make up for it by getting a goal or having 2 assists. Peltier's points are not anything special. They are just blasts from the point and a couple were plays in which he jumped in the play. The bad thing or good thing is that when he goes jump up it creates points. But he does not do as much as a Goligowski does. So that is where Peltier is lacking in hype. On any one game night he may just play D and get overlooked. O'neil on the other hand is forced to play D. If he makes a mistake he is labled unintelligent, because he has no points to make up for it. What D man is not going to make a mistake. I remember watching Roche and Ballard and they are almost recklass at times on D, jumping in the play. But they got noticed for their upside and O'Neil gets noticed in a negative way. IMO its easy for guys like BAllard, Roche to get noticed for theor offensive and say they are OK on D vs a guy like O'Neil to say he is good on D and OK on offense. The u have guys like Thelen who put up the points and have the size. Everyone wants a Thelen or Goligowski. And if u do not fit those two molds u are up for critisism.

 

[PuckFan01]

Just FYI, it is spelled Goligoski like the thread title.

 

[MN_Gopher]

Putting the W in makes him sound more Polish. Go poles.