Bulldog Insider: Thumbs up, thumbs down since start of 2024-25 – Duluth News Tribune

DULUTH – KDAL’s Bruce Ciskie joins Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune and Zach Schneider of My9 Sports this week to answer listener and viewer questions on this week’s edition of the Bulldog Insider Podcast.

The Bulldog Insiders, who cover the Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey teams, also give both teams thumbs up and thumbs down.

Below are edited excerpts from the question and answer portion of this week’s episode.

Bulldog Insider: From Drew on Twitter: Are the new guys above average, below average or just right?

Zach: You’re probably exactly right. There are a few people we talked about before the break. Adam Kleber and Adam Gajan, I guess you could say they’re performing above average at this point because they’ve progressed a little faster than the others. I feel like the group as a whole is exactly what we expected. We expected some lightning, we expected some difficulties, and we expect they will have to find their way.

Bruce: They definitely perform and I might bend a little further. What I saw from Kleber and (Ty) Hanson in the background; Hanson is a competitive guy. He’s a solid, solid player. Not having Max Plante for all but one game also plays a role here. A lot of the way you planned your power play in the preseason, the way you planned your top six in the preseason, was based on having both Plantes (Zam and Max) available. Since they only have one, they’re a little at a loss when it comes to putting things together.

BI: From Angel on Twitter: Will we see Klayton Knapp play at all or just keep playing against Adam Gajan?

Frosted: I hope we see Knapp against Stonehill. I really hope to see him there at one of these games. I don’t think Gajan can be allowed to play 30-40 games this season.

Zach: Perhaps? They are 1-4. …You have to win this one. I don’t know if they have to sweep them.

Frosted: You have to sweep Stonehill.

Zach: It’s a series where you’re the favorite with a 1-4 record and you really get blown out of your own stadium last weekend against a good Minnesota team.

Clint Austin / Files / Duluth Media Group

When you lose one or two to a bad Stonehill team, boy, those alarms get a little louder in everyone’s ears. I think you have to go for Gajan at least on Friday and if you score 12 points you’re just so much better than Stonehill, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think it will be relatively competitive.

Bruce: Stonehill is a better team than what they’ve had before. David Berard has taken over the position, he is a long-time coach in the East, he was previously the head coach at Holy Cross. You were very active in the portal again. They have players and beat Merrimack, a competitive Hockey East team. It’s no longer the case that Merrimack is a bottom feeder in Hockey East.

Wyatt Buckner / File / Duluth Media Group

I don’t think Lake (Superior) State is that great in the CCHA, but they went to Lake State and split last weekend. (UMD) is 1-4. You are incapable of taking anyone lightly.

BI: From Max on Twitter: It’s obviously early, but do you think UMD would benefit from more fixed lines instead of shuffling?

Frosted: I think they would benefit from more sentence lines instead of mixing, but that would require finding the right sentence lines. Am I in the right place, guys?

Yes, there are some coaches in hockey who can’t resist the urge to change these lines. You sit there and say, “Man, I haven’t changed lines in three weeks.” I have to do it just to fix the problem.

Clint Austin / Files / Duluth Media Group

I think Scott came into this season with what he thought was a solid line. They liked the variations they had against Bemidji (State) and hoped to continue them for a few weeks, months or so. Once again, Max Plante’s injury has thrown everything into chaos and they haven’t found the right combination yet.

Check out this week’s episode to get the thumbs up, thumbs down, and full answers to all the questions from the Bulldog Insiders Q&A session. You can find the Bulldog Insider Podcast at

DuluthNewsTribune.com/BulldogInsider

and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes appear almost every Thursday during the UMD men’s and women’s hockey seasons.