> 3)  The Gophers don't get ALL the best players from Minnesota, just most
> of them.  Many go elsewhere with good reason (no one school is best for
> all people), just sitting here I can think of a few names: fairchild, Plante,
> Hultgren, Osieki, Cullen, joe bianchi, the strobels etc.  It seems that
> If a great MN h.s. kid commits to the Gophers, Woog gets no credit since
> they're all "supposed to"  But if a kid doesn't, then it must be Woog's
> fault somehow.  I think this attitude is also insulting to the Player's
> who make the decision and also to the schools that recruit them.
>
> Gary Hatfield
 
This brings up another interesting point.  You are correct in saying the
Gophers don't get ALL the best players.  But, they usually get to pick
who they want.  Many of the players mentioned were NOT on the top of the
Gophers recruiting list.  Many of the players who the Gophers don't
recruit end up going to other schools for a large part because the Gophers
didn't want them.
Derek Plante is an excellent example.  He was a very good high school
player, but the Gophers didn't even think about recruiting him because of
his size.  He chose to attend UMD, and developed into an All-American.  He
presently is a regular on the Buffalo Sabres.  Chris Marinucci was not
heavily recruited because he was considered a slow skater in high school.
Since the Gophers showed little interest, he chose UMD.  Four years later
he won the Hobey Baker.
The smaller schools in Division I must hope to develop lesser-recruited
players like Plante and Marinucci to achieve success.  UMD has sent 4
players off its '92-'93 team to the NHL (Plante, Marinucci, Jon Rohloff,
Rusty Fitzgerald), and one to the U.S. Olympic team (Brett Hauer).  Quite
a record for a school that doesn't get its choice of recruits.
 
Paul Thalacker
Go Bulldogs!
 
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