The Gophers are picked to win the WCHA title this season by league coaches.
The annual WCHA coaches' preseason hockey poll was released on Wednesday night.
The Gophers, as expected, are picked to repeat as the MacNaughton Cup champions. They received 11 of a possible 12 first-place votes. North Dakota got the other one and was picked to finish second. The poll:
42nd annual Grand Forks Herald coaches poll
1. Minnesota 121 (11)
2. North Dakota 110 (1)
3. Denver 91
4. SCSU 90
5. Wisconsin 70
6. Duluth 69
7. Colorado College 56
8t. Omaha 51
8t. Michigan Tech 51
10. MSU-Mankato 37
11. Bemidji State 31
12. Anchorage 15
Preseason player of the year:
Nick Bjugstad, F, Minnesota (8); Mark Zengerle, F, Wisconsin (2); Matt White, F, Omaha (1); Ben Hanowski, F, SCSU (1)
Preseason rookie of the year:
Rocco Grimaldi, F, North Dakota (7); Mike Reilly, D, Minnesota (3); Nic Kerdiles, F, Wisconsin (1); Andrew Welinski, D, Duluth (1)
The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year pleaded for accountability, saying players need to be benched if they don’t give their all on defense.
