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Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

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  • Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

    With this season coming to a close for Northeastern, it's time to look ahead towards what the next one will bring. The Huskies won 22 games in 2015-16, the third-highest mark in program history, trailing only the 1982 Huskies, who qualified for the Frozen Four, and the 2009 team. Neither of those teams finished above .500 the following year. So next year immediately brings the chance to solidify ourselves into the top half of Hockey East and show that this winter was the start of a new era in Husky history.

    From the net out, we start with Ruck. Just a freshman, he didn't have his best game ever to end the year, but he performed admirably down the stretch and the experience he gained should be invaluable to him for the next 2-3 years. If he truly is the goaltender we saw this spring and the goaltender that did his best to steal the Beanpot game away from BU, we're going to have a solid foundation to build on for a long time between Ruck and Cayden Primeau after him. Curtis Frye will be coming in next year as a 21 year old freshman and might be in competition for the backup job, but has never put up good numbers anywhere and probably is the next iteration of Mountain/Theut.

    On defense, we're going to have some turnover. We graduate Saucerman, Darou, and Fennell, three of our top six and will see a fourth departure in Matt Benning as well. Luckily, we have some guys that should be able to come in and more than adequately fill those shoes, hopefully without stumbling too much out of the blocks.

    Ryan Shea is a fourth round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks and a former BC High standout. He spent much of this past season injured in the USHL and will look to regain his past form wth the Huskies. He's undoubtedly the #1 defenseman of the future, but he might have some adjustment to go through at the start of the year considering his very abbreviated USHL experience.

    Jeremy Davies comes to us from Quebec and has played the past two seasons in the USHL, most recently racking up 44 points and 46 PIM this year in Bloomington. He's our next offensive defenseman in the Cockerill/Saucerman mold, except better, and should also bring along some playmaking ability from the point. Could become a big piece of the PP.

    Nick Fiorentino just committed about a month ago and is coming to us from the BCHL, where has 38 points and 118 PIM in 58 games this season. I don't know much about him and honestly, I assume that if he was available a month ago to come in this year, he isn't a particularly special defenseman. I'll slot him in below everyone else and if he happens to be better than that, it'll be a pleasant surprise.

    Logan Day and Jon Barry are both redshirted members of this year's team who could step into the spotlight next year. Barry played a few games in the fall and looked good before missing the year on an injury redshirt, while Day sat out the year as a result of a transfer from Providence, where he played two games and scored one goal on their National Championship team in 2015. The biggest knock on Day has been his defense (He's yet another offense-centric point man) so whether he sees the ice likely depends on how he's developed on the defensive side of the puck. Of the two, Barry is probably the one with the potential to have the biggest impact, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Day in the lineup regularly, especially if one or both freshmen have a tough transition up to this level.

    Garret Cecere is a transfer from Colorado College who committed to St. Lawrence, only to decommit when Greg Carvel left and commit here just a few days ago. He'll arrive as a junior and be eligible to play this season. He's a wild card to me, I don't know where to place him. He was very well regarded entering college, but this is now two teams he's left. He'll likely battle for the final defensive spot with Barry and Day.

    Projected lines:

    Shea-Williams
    Owens-Cockerill
    Davies-Cecere
    Barry-Day
    Fiorentino-Schechter


    On to the offense. Obviously, we lose Roy and McMurtry right off the bat. ZAR has been confirmed to return for this upcoming year, so we won't have any early departures barring a surprise over the summer. Incoming we have:

    Grant Jozefek. Comes in with two years of USHL experience in Lincoln, including a point-per-game 50 points in 51 games this year. Should make an immediate impact as a playmaker who can also put the puck home.

    Liam Pecararo comes to us with a backstory. He put up 61 points in 54 games in Waterloo in 13-14 before joining Maine. He originally committed under Whitehead but stayed on when the change to Gendron was made, and evidently regretted it and didn't like how the coach and program were treating him. He left, spending another year with Waterloo in the meantime, and now will come to us as the next Jim Madigan second-chance-transfer

    Biagio Lerario is a former Brown commit. He has 70 points over his last two years as an overage USHLer, which is impressive simply because he somehow found the ice time to score 70 points despite spending nearly 300 minutes in the penalty box. Can't imagine him taking a spot anywhere besides a grind-line, but unless he manages to do that without taking penalties every shift, he can sit in the stands next to Will Messa.

    John Picking comes from the Boston Junior Bruins of the USPHL where he's posted 99 points in 89 games and 59 in 40 this season. Those are nice numbers, but for a 21 year old playing in the USPHL, I'm not going to peg them as something that's likely to transfer to the NCAA level. Maybe I'm wrong, some others seem to have higher opinions of him than I do, but considering the mitigating factors, I don't see it. Another guy that, like Fiorentino, I'm going to start wth zero expectations and if he happens to be better than that, good for us and for the coaching staff.

    Finally, the star of the class is Matt Filipe. He will likely be the highest player from Northeastern chosen in the draft snce Kevin Roy and is the highest regarded forward from New England in the upcoming class. Expect him to land somewhere in Round 3-4. A Malden Catholic star who spent a year in the USHL gaining experience, he's the real deal, plain and simple.

    Projected lines:
    Nolan-John-AstonReese
    Griffin-Gaudette-Sikura
    Jozefek-Filipe-Pecararo
    Collier-Hedges-Kurker
    Lerario-Pond-Schule
    Jamieson-Picking-Rosenthal
    Messa

    So there we go. Happy offseason everyone! Only 189 days until the calendar turns to October. The hockey banquet will be held Thursday, April 14th, at Matthews if anybody is interested in going to that.
    Last edited by TheRevengeance; 04-14-2016, 11:54 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

    great info/ post.. will have to read again later.

    I'm looking forward to that new banner at Matthews.. the old barn deserves it.
    GO NU HOCKEY
    Always bullish on the future.
    We don't always win Hockey East or the Beanpot (#trilogy).. but when we do.. we are the Champions

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

      Does Filipe have to play center? If so, isn't he the kind of player that you move other guys down for? I feel like if Roy could play on the 3rd line consistently, you could move JStevens or Gaud down there and play them on the PP.
      2016 and 2019 HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONS
      2018, 2019 and 2020 BEANPOT CHAMPIONS


      MATTHEWS ARENA 1910-Present: THE CATHEDRAL OF COLLEGE HOCKEY

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      • #4
        Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

        Hey Rev
        Great info but staggeringly off on several assessments

        Not going to say where as I have no interest in talking negative about players.

        Filipe is top of the heap and by a very wide margin. If he didn't sign an NLI it just confirms what I have been hinting, big changes coming

        Big program changes

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

          Originally posted by Hokydad View Post
          Filipe is top of the heap and by a very wide margin. If he didn't sign an NLI it just confirms what I have been hinting, big changes coming
          Big program changes
          Sounds ominous.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

            http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/h..._of_intent_day

            Filipe listed as signing an NLI last November. It's the Herald though, could certainly be wrong.
            2016 and 2019 HOCKEY EAST CHAMPIONS
            2018, 2019 and 2020 BEANPOT CHAMPIONS


            MATTHEWS ARENA 1910-Present: THE CATHEDRAL OF COLLEGE HOCKEY

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

              Hey Rev
              Your post is way off bud. Where do you get your info from? You don't even have the right kids coming in next year never mind your embarrassing "scouting reports" about players you have never seen play! Readers will actually take this serious. It's comical. One of the players you wrote about is a special special player that you obviously know nothing about. Brutal post with zero credibility.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by NU2006 View Post
                Hey Rev
                Your post is way off bud. Where do you get your info from? You don't even have the right kids coming in next year never mind your embarrassing "scouting reports" about players you have never seen play! Readers will actually take this serious. It's comical. One of the players you wrote about is a special special player that you obviously know nothing about. Brutal post with zero credibility.

                Happy Easter!!!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

                  Originally posted by Thiessen'sBetter View Post
                  http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/h..._of_intent_day

                  Filipe listed as signing an NLI last November. It's the Herald though, could certainly be wrong.
                  This is the first credible, in print source I have seen showing Filipe signing his NLI. Makes me feel a lot better about his potentially coming, just wonder where he would play. I do expect ZAR to sign which would open a slot for Filipe in the lineup. The wait-and-see game sucks
                  "Never tell me the odds"

                  http://northeasternhockeyblog.com/

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by NU_Husky View Post
                    This is the first credible, in print source I have seen showing Filipe signing his NLI. Makes me feel a lot better about his potentially coming, just wonder where he would play. I do expect ZAR to sign which would open a slot for Filipe in the lineup. The wait-and-see game sucks
                    Open a slot? When he comes, if they don't have a slot, someone will sit

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

                      Revengeance
                      Thanks for the term paper outlining your expectations for our personnel next year. I think I may have a pretty good handle on the recruiting and would like to point out a few things:

                      Starting in goal. Ruck improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the season. Goaltenders tend to develop later than skaters. The fact that Curtis Frye is 21 means that he has had a lot of experience. Unfortunately He, like Ruck last year, was stuck on a team that had a porous defense in front of him. Ruck improved his numbers by more than 1 goal per game at the D! level.

                      It is kind of you to anoint Shea as our #1 D of the future. He is a blue chip recruit, but so is Davies. Davies is leading USHL Ds in scoring with 13-35-48 and is ahead of all but about 15 of the forwards. His nearest rival has about 41 points. This is well ahead of where Bitetto was five years ago.I'm not sure that I'd pair him with Williams, who is also a very offensive minded defenseman Fiorentino is supposed to a bit physical D who can also score goals and set up teammates. Perhaps you are unaware that he has experience as a centerman. That would lead me to suspect that he has better than average speed.
                      I think that basically you have the first six right, but not the pairings, which will change dozens of times over the course of the season.

                      About the forwards: Where did you get the idea that Bobby Hampton is coming this fall? He should finish high school this year and spend at least one, perhaps two years in the USHL. As for Felipe, I think that there is a fair chance that since he is young, by our standards at least, he may decide to spend another year polishing his game in Cedar Rapids. Lerario is an excellent and aggressive forward with good offensive skills. If he doesn't make the regular rotation, he will play a fair amount as he becomes accustomed to the D1 game. I wouldn't put picking on the 6th line simply because of the league he played in (and led in scoring until the last day of the season). He had one particularly interesting statistic: He was 4-4-8 while killing penalties. In other words, he was on the ice and involved in 8 SH goals! When is the last time NU had 8 (or more) shorties in a season. Perhaps in Esner's senior year? You are correct that Pecararo has experience, but where does 5'11 -165 become a large frame - small matter.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Northeastern Huskies 2016 Offseason Thread: Building Momentum

                        Originally posted by HHound View Post
                        Revengeance
                        As for Felipe, I think that there is a fair chance that since he is young, by our standards at least, he may decide to spend another year polishing his game in Cedar Rapids.
                        I thought NLIs only were signed for people coming in the following season?!!?
                        BS UMass Lowell 2015
                        PhD Georgia Institute of Technology 2020

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by UML Puck Hawk View Post
                          I thought NLIs only were signed for people coming in the following season?!!?
                          I believe that the original intent was to bring Felipe in this year, but plans change for a variety of reasons. IIRC the LOI cannot be signed until a player is at least a senior in high school - which he is.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            very impressed we were able to hang with & tie this Q team earlier this season.. they are pretty impressive.
                            GO NU HOCKEY
                            Always bullish on the future.
                            We don't always win Hockey East or the Beanpot (#trilogy).. but when we do.. we are the Champions

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by UML Puck Hawk View Post
                              I thought NLIs only were signed for people coming in the following season?!!?
                              This question came up last year for a UNH commit:
                              Last edited by C-H-C; 03-27-2016, 09:29 PM.
                              The UNH Men's Hockey Blog

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