Wild draft choice is key to Miami's offensive success

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: March 28, 2008 - 8:25 PM

WORCESTER, MASS. - Three Miami (Ohio) players considered turning pro after last season: junior goalie Jeff Zatkoff, and senior forwards Nathan Davis and Ryan Jones.

All stayed. Jones, the RedHawks' 6-2, 215-pound captain, was the last to decide to return.

"Once he decided to stay, the confidence in our team went to a new level," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said Friday.

Jones, taken by the Wild in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL draft, leads the nation's highest scoring team -- 4.1 goals per game -- in points with 47. He has 30 goals, two more than any other Division I player, and is one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.

"Minnesota is my favorite [NHL] team," Jones said, "but I have not been able to follow them too much. I do not want to look ahead. I want to take care of business and deal with that in the future."

Miami (32-7-1) is the top seed in the Northeastern Regional and the second overall seed in the 16-team NCAA field.

"When you talk about Hobey Baker and everything it means, Ryan is like that," Blasi said. "He cares about other people. He never puts himself first. And he is very passionate about hockey; he will have a bright future with Minnesota."

These days Jones, the nephew of former NHL player John Tonelli, also stands out off the ice with his shoulder-length hair. As soon as the NCAA tournament is over he plans to cut it and donate the hair to Locks of Love, a charity that helps children with cancer.

"We won't let him cut it now, not Sampson," Blasi said.

"Barry Melrose wants me to cut it," said Jones, referring to ESPN's color analyst for this regional. "I think he's just getting jealous that I'm starting to look better than him."

Season turned after bye

Junior center Blake Wheeler said the Gophers reached rock bottom after a trip to Denver on Feb. 8 and 9. After a 1-1 overtime tie and a 4-1 loss there, Minnesota was in ninth place in the WCHA and had a week off to mull its predicament.

"Our playoffs run had to start with three weeks left in the regular season," Wheeler said, "and we adopted a style that has been successful."

Rising state player

Boston College coach Jerry York had positive comments about both of the players from Minnesota on his team, sophomore defenseman Carl Sneep of Brainerd and senior forward Joe Adams of Breck.

"Early in the season, [Sneep] was our four, five, sixth defenseman for us," York said. "But now all of a sudden he has taken [off]. You can make a case for him being our top defenseman as we enter the tournament now. His growth in his game confidence level has just skyrocketed."

The 6-3, 205-pound Sneep has three goals and 11 assists in 40 games; Adams has played in only four games.

"Joe is a character kid for us," York said. "We are most proud of him because he has been accepted a position with the Peace Corps and he starts in June in Surinam, South America -- I had to look that up. He is going to spend two years there."

One-liners

• Blasi on the Gophers: "You look at Minnesota the last five, six weeks, and I don't know if any team is playing better in the country."

• Air Force coach Frank Serratore on Miami: "We watched a lot of film on [the RedHawks], and that movie would be categorized as a nightmare. ... They don't have a lot of weaknesses."

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