State of the NCHC: First cut

With the start of college hockey just over a month away, final preparations are occurring at schools all around the nation. In particular, one new conference has eight members making plans for fan enjoyment while coaches prepare complex attack schemes aimed at winning every game.

In respect to every league, I have chosen to focus on the NCHC. This is the product of a combination between rebounding programs and the top teams from roughly a year ago. Each team in this league began last year with hopes of winning their league title. Almost every team in this league had a shot at their former league titles halfway into their 12-13 campaign. This is different. Now these same eight teams will need to focus hard, with at least two dominating teams accepting their fate as bottom feeders. This is not a mean spirited post, it's just the truth. Somewhere between Denver, Colorado and Oxford, Ohio one team will rise to become the league best. One team will fall to be the league worst.

Although I have not seen every team in it's true form, I feel that I have fairly decent grasp at what we can expect to see and the question marks running wild.

1. Will the worst team in the NCHC be able to focus on playing hard throughout the season just as they would as a league leader?
The answer to this is complex. New additions from the CCHA Miami and Western Michigan are definitely good teams. W.M. has been rising lately with a new coaching change, but that cannot overshadow years of bad hockey. Many people will pick W.M. to be on the lower end of the NCHC, but they have been fighting hard under their new coach.
Miami has pure confidence in their coaching structure, which is why they signed him to a long term deal. The product on the ice in Oxford has been great. Fans here will not likely travel far to see the Redhawks play opposing teams. Although a traveling fan base has nothing to do with a teams success, in this case Miami may have a difficult time overtaking other dominant NCHC teams.
Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State and Miami have produced the last three Hobey Baker winners respectively. With UMD coming off of a national championship three years ago, their roster has been completely depleted. Skating with the best will be key, however I don't see relief coming this season. This squad may be a bottom feeder. Unlike UMD, St. Cloud has been turning over player after player recently. Three years ago, a locker room scuffle in Florida marred a good team and sent many NHL draft picks packing mid-season. This year will be far different. SCSU may not win it all, but they sure will be fighting to the bitter end.
North Dakota and UNO are another two teams on opposite sides. North Dakota has been adding high level talent while UNO has been kicking players off for violations and watching decent goalies walk for better prospects. I have watched UND knock off team after team, year after year. In the past, UND has had to run through both Denver and Minnesota. This year they are relieved from UoM and they only play Denver on the road. Unless an above mention team walks through this gauntlet blind folded, UND with be the yours truly of the NCHC watching everyone else fall into place. As for UNO, I hope they find their stride. Dean Blais is a great coach, but he has not fielded a national championship caliber team since his days at North Dakota. I don't expect him to change this year given the off ice issues. If he can keep his team focused and skating, UNO will finish mid level. If not, UNO will have a difficult season.
The last two are by no means the least. In fact, DU and CC will likely make up a similar dynamic this year. Last season they finished sixth and seventh in the WCHA. The big change here is the coaching for DU. The question mark at Magness will be behind the bench. Will Jim Montgomery be able to handle the faster pace of mature upperclassmen? The next question for both teams will be goaltending. Denver added a very good freshman who was taken in the fourth round of the NHL draft. CC didn't add anything of relevance. Both schools lost their starters from a year ago. Both former goalies had beat out stiff competition in net to be named number one. In the case of CC, Joe Howe beat an off base Josh Thorimbert who had not played his best since he was the starter in the 11-12 campaign. Juho Olkinoura beat out a former high level goaltender who has fallen to the ground since ACL surgery. Sam Brittain is pretty decent. After his ACL surgery, nothing has been certain. This year will be the same. I believe the goaltending this year could define the goldpan rivalry. If Sam is not able to anchor a talented DU team, will the squad embrace a freshmen with immense talent? In the case of CC, if Thorimbert cannot be the savior that CC so needs will this be the curtain call for Scott Owens?

Ultimately every team here will face big time emotions. The question is, who fits where and how?

Based on last year's teams in their respective conference, here is my preseason final rankings for the first year of the NCHC:
1. North Dakota
2. SCSU
3. DU
4. Miami
5. CC
6. Western Michigan
7. UMD
8. UNO

Should be a great season!