As Gophers near another conference title, Big Ten hockey has come a long way

Here's a challenge for you: Strike up a conversation with a college hockey fan in Minnesota and start with this opening line:

"Hey, the Big Ten is looking pretty good this year."

You'll likely get one, if not all, of these three reactions:

1) a sideways glance that questions your intelligence;

2) a death stare for daring to compliment the conference many around here love to hate;

3) a begrudging, "Yeah, but the Big Ten still ruined college hockey.''

It's a decade-long grievance that's aired frequently, and understandably so. The formation of the Big Ten hockey conference ripped apart the Minnesota-centric WCHA and led to the elimination of one of college hockey's gems, the WCHA Final Five, a tournament that filled Xcel Energy Center with a confluence of charged-up fanbases.

But as the Gophers close in on securing their sixth Big Ten regular-season title in 10 years — they could do so as soon as Friday at Wisconsin — it would be a disservice to not acknowledge this:

Hey, the Big Ten is looking pretty good this season.

For proof, just check out the PairWise Ratings, the computer formula that the NCAA uses toseed and fill out its 16-team tournament.

Led by the top-ranked Gophers, the Big Ten has three of the top five, four of the top eight and five of the top 14 teams in the PairWise entering Thursday. That means five Big Ten teams — the Gophers, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Penn State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 14 Michigan State — are in contention to earn NCAA tournament berths. The NCHC, the Big Ten's Western rival, has three top-16 teams: No. 6 Denver, No. 7 St. Cloud State and No. 9 Western Michigan.

Gophers coach Bob Motzko has seen the Big Ten's development from both outside and inside, having coached St. Cloud State before joining the Gophers to start the 2018-19 season. He sees a conference that's ripe with parity.

"We've been fortunate that we've been on the top half of the league,'' Motzko said. "But the bottom half of the league, you're still one of the better teams in the country.''

The Gophers, who hold a 13-point lead in the Big Ten standings, will win the conference regular-season title if they sweep Wisconsin in regulation this weekend, or if they get one regulation win while Michigan and Ohio State each take a regulation loss.

How has the Big Ten improved? There are several factors, including coaching and institutional support, but it comes down to talent. The Big Ten is full of high-end players, and that's showing up in the results.

The Gophers' recruiting has ramped up since Motzko arrived. Take a look at Minnesota's top line. Sophomore left winger Matthew Knies is a second-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Freshman right winger Jimmy Snuggerud was a first-round pick (23^rd overall) of the St. Louis Blues. Center Logan Cooley went No. 3 overall to the Arizona Coyotes last summer. Together, that trio has produced 46 goals and 57 assists. Watch them while you can.

Since 2014, the Gophers have had 38 NHL draft picks, including five first-rounders (four since 2019). Minnesota's 2022-23 roster has 14 draft picks.

Then there's Michigan, a program with an embarrassment of riches when it comes to high NHL picks. Since 2014, the Wolverines have had 32 players drafted, including 15 first-rounders. In 2021, Michigan had four of the first five NHL selections and a fifth first-rounder.

The seven Big Ten teams have 54 NHL draft picks on their 2022-23 rosters, according to College Hockey Inc. Hockey East, which has 11 teams, has 66 draftees. The eight-team NCHC has 47.

There's more coming for the Big Ten, too. The U.S. National Under-17 team that's competing in the Five Nations tournament in Switzerland on Thursday featured a lineup that had 13 players who've committed to colleges. Nine have pledged to Big Ten schools, including three to Minnesota.

"I don't think it's surprising or unexpected at all when you look at the histories of the programs in the Big Ten,'' said Mike Snee, executive director of College Hockey Inc. "They're great hockey programs. … This year is one of those years that they're all playing well.''

As much as Big Ten hockey has improved in its decade of existence, it still hasn't crowned a national champion. The kingmaker has been the NCHC, whose members have won five of the eight NCAA tournaments played since 2014, with Denver and Minnesota Duluth grabbing two titles each and North Dakota one. Hockey East has two national titles in that span, and the ECAC has one.

The Big Ten's best showings are a pair of runner-up finishes: The Gophers fell 7-4 to Union in 2014, and Notre Dame lost 2-1 to Minnesota Duluth in 2018 in St. Paul.

Of the 32 Frozen Four spots since 2014, the NCHC leads with 13 appearances. Hockey East and the Big Ten are tied with seven each.

The Big Ten is making strides. The conference's first four years saw only the Gophers in 2014 and Notre Dame in 2017 reach the Frozen Four. Since then, the Big Ten placed Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State in the 2018 Frozen Four and the Gophers and Michigan in last year's event.

Whether the Big Ten's success so far this season translates into that elusive NCAA championship will play out over the next couple of months. What the conference has established, though, is improvement that's difficult to ignore.