Harstad was the fifth overall pick in the USHL entry draft, which was headed by fellow CC recruit Jaden Schwartz.

With the addition of Harstad in 2010 or 2011, the Tigers’ defensive corps will be heavy with Wisconsinites: Art Bidwill and Ted Behrend, both freshmen this season, hail from America’s Dairyland.

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There’s also a nice story on the BCHL website about 2009 forward recruit Russell Goodman, who had a tough spring with a knee injury and then being passed over in the NHL draft. Goodman’s back on track now, it seems, and one only needs to look at some of the undrafted players (Denver’s Tyler Bozak comes to mind) making a major impact in the WCHA to know that it’s sometimes good to fly under the radar.

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So, here’s what you’ve really been waiting for (have had computer issues this week!). Here’s some random notes and observations from practice this week:

The Tigers have been doing anything and everything they can to practice shooting AND scoring. On Thursday, CC worked on its power play and 5-on-3 (Denver is a highly penalized team).

For its penalty kill, the Tigers focused on forcing the mock Denver players to the wall, using an inside-out approach to protect the middle of the ice. I noticed that defenseman Art Bidwill, who was playing on the scout power-play unit, has quite a shot from the point: considering he was able to get three in a row through CC’s penalty kill, it was tough to miss. Looks like he’ll be a good addition to the power play as he continues to develop.

Then, CC worked on face-offs as a team, which is a departure from last season, where centers would just practice taking draws by themselves. But the Tigers worked on offensive- and defensive-zone face-off situations, reinforcing the concepts for the wings and defensemen especially. Then, volunteer assistant R.J. Enga worked specifically with the centers to improve their technique.

As is typical at this juncture of the season, the lines have jumbled a bit. Part of that has to do with going on the road, part of it is trying to spark CC’s offense. You could see a freshness on the ice in practice, it will be interesting to see how it pans out Friday.

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Three quick alumni notes:

–Aaron Slattengren is getting a chance with the Portland (Maine) Pirates of the American Hockey League. Slattengren, who is the Augusta Lynx (ECHL) captain and one of the top-scoring forwards in the ECHL, has played in the AHL before with the Providence (R.I) Bruins.

–Jack Hillen was sent down from the New York Islanders to the Bridgeport (Conn.) Sound Tigers to make room for defenseman Andy Sutton. Hillen said he’s looking forward to playing more than the 15 minutes he averaged in six games with the Islanders.

–Hillen’s classmate, Derek Patrosso, landed close to home with the Port Huron (Mich.) Icehawks. Patrosso was released from the Fresno (Calif.) Falcons (ECHL) after training camp, but reached an agreement with the IHL’s Icehawks.

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I was out of the country for the bulk of the NHL playoffs, so I missed that CC alum Toby Petersen was the talk of the Dallas Stars-Detroit Red Wings series.

Here are some links that capture the buzz in Dallas:

And this is also old news, but important nonetheless: Defenseman Gabe Guentzel, a Woodbury, Minn., native and son of recently departed Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel, committed to CC for the upcoming season, the Sioux Falls Stampede announced May 14. Guentzel, who had six goals and 22 assists in 60 games for the Stampede, joins Arthur Bidwill and Joe Marciano as new additions to the defensive corps this fall. Captain Jake Gannon will be the lone senior defenseman and leader of a group that returns six of seven players, losing Jack Hillen to graduation. Nine defensemen will be the most the Tigers have had since the 2004-05 season, when they also had nine defensemen.

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In his third NAHL season, Bidwill finished with 10 goal and 29 points in 39 games for the Fairbanks (Alaska) Ice Dogs. He was also plus-27.

Bidwell played for the Southern Minnesota Express and the Traverse City (Mich.) North Stars before being traded to the Ice Dogs midway through last season.

Read more here.

Post from: Eye of The Tigers