Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

[jcarter7669]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

4. Do the new D add scoring in our favor without giving up too much the other way (are they last years Hamilton or more upside, less D liability)? This is the largest question mark in my mind and the tipping point. If they are truly offensive without being too leaky defensively then this team has some legs. I think it will be marginal though, the offensive D men always seem to get toasted by the HE forward skills. I do like that Hoffman can cover some net as we are going to probably have some leaky D to go with the increased offense.

I'm not so concerned with the D myself... we have some steady guys coming back. My guess is something like this, with Veteran guys getting paired with the newer guys.

Paliotta - Hamilton
Luukko - Phillips
Priviterra - Pattyn

You can put together 3 lines using a single freshman. Paliotta, Luukko, Priviterra are all experienced guys that are not going to get burnt too often and know how to play with HE forwards. Philips comes too highly touted to not be in there and I think Hamilton stays there as well, although possibly paired with Priviterra or Luuko to keep him with a more defensive minded guy. Pattyn and Hamilton will be fighting for ice time.
I think we have a very solid defense with a lot of veteran guys, heck you can put together 4 lines with guys that have played HE games.

Defense = strength.
Goaltending = strength
Offense = Question Mark

I think you may see Puskarich improve slightly, but I agree with the fact that if he simply matches last season that will be enough. Reynolds needs to come out strong and Fallon needs to be that guy that McCarthy was last year. Shaw and Bradley should both improve some and there are a few frosh that will see a fair amount of ice time, although I don't see any guys that are going to step in and be first liners, you never know. Moreover, the losses from last season were not scorers, virtually any offense out of the frosh will be an improvement. I like Brickley, White, Lenz, etc... they were all good defensive, hustle, guys that were solid players, but they were not scorers.

I'm optimistic and I think both the media and coaches poll were ridiculous.

[PuckVoice]

We were at Media Day today ... follow this link to hear my interviews with Coach Sneddon and women's Coach Jim Plumer.
http://nsnsports.net/default/uvm-hockey-media-day-92414/

[harry]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Is there any links/compilations to see UVM future recruits or where the committed kids are playing? I could find some through eliteprospects, but no blog/update page to see the list of commits?

Thanks in advance, Harry

[Imilatila]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Here you go:

http://collegehockeyinc.com/stats/commitments.php

and

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...er=false&gid=2

[VermontfaninNY]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Any ringers in the group?

[Jayden_Stoff]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Any ringers in the group?

Ummm yeah... Duh... It's basically a who's who of college hockey recruiting classes.

In all seriousness, and like most sports, recruiting has some great indicators to go on but you can never really tell until games are played. I still wish I could have seen Zemgus Girgensons play at UVM for a year. You won't have the read too much of the thread to see what some dedicated fans are anticipating. Trey Phillips was AJHL MVP and 'Top Defenceman in Canadian Junior A hockey'. The AJ's are legit. I expect he's going to make an immediate impact.

[jcarter7669]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Any ringers in the group?

Really don't see any superstars in this years class with the exception of possibly Phillips, but you never know how guys will develop.

In the future classes there are some possiblities.

Just a quick scan of these guys and a few stand out...

Craig Puffer : 5g, 1a in 4 games this season (BCHL), scoring 2 goals in his first USHL game, followed that with 2 goals including an OT winner in his second.
Haralds Egle : 48pts in 40g two seasons ago for Portland, was a pretty highly regard guy but did not put up the numbers last year. This year should tell alot.
Brian Bowen : 50pts in 47g for Jr. Bruins

There are a few other guys that are just starting USHL/Prep Leagues that are putting up decent numbers but it's too early to see.

Here is a dated write up on Egle from the scouting report

"One player who hopes to impress scouts this season is Muskegon first-round pick, Haralds Egle. He hasn’t received too much buzz just yet, but has enough skill to entice evaluators during the upcoming season. Egle joins Muskegon after a very impressive season with the Portland Jr. Pirates of the EJHL in 2012-13. The Latvian forward amassed 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in 39 games, leading his team in scoring as a 16-year-old. Egle has starred for Team Latvia at international events in the past, and he scored two goals in six games for Team Latvia at the U-18 tournament in April. Egle is talented with the puck, and has shown the ability to create scoring chances from the wing off the rush. He has pretty good vision, but his quick hands allow him elude opposing defenseman on the wing. He isn’t the greatest skater and can work on his quickness a little bit, but he has the ability to put up some impressive numbers with Muskegon if given a top-6 role and power-play time."

[jcarter7669]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Season preview from Along the Boards

http://alongtheboards.com/2014/09/nc...nt-catamounts/

[PuckVoice]

Season preview from Along the Boards

http://alongtheboards.com/2014/09/nc...nt-catamounts/

Wow! A neutral party not spoiled by years of negativity in USCHO Catamount threads actually thinks this team is going to be pretty good! How about that!

[Jayden_Stoff]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Season preview from Along the Boards

http://alongtheboards.com/2014/09/nc...nt-catamounts/

Whoa, who the heck is this guy!? I hope he's right! Can't wait to see the team back on the ice this weekend! If all the scouting is right on Phillips and the addition of Privitera the loss of Bruno is compensated for and then some.

[jcarter7669]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

Photo day...


https://www.facebook.com/vermont.cat...type=1&theater


Can anyone tell me if Reynolds red-shirted last season? I've never seen any confirmation that they actually did. One would have to assume, but usually there is a note about it some where and I have yet to find it anywhere.

[snwbrdr]

Wow! A neutral party not spoiled by years of negativity in USCHO Catamount threads actually thinks this team is going to be pretty good! How about that!

Yeah. I think cats will be good also. Mccarthy is biggest loss. Offset by returning of Reynolds and d upgrade. Should be as good or slightly better. This was a tourney team last year. 45 other teams would have liked to have been

[VermontfaninNY]

Re: Vermont 2014 Offseason : Another Step Forward

So what's the deal with this canadian team? They supposed to be any good?

[PuckVoice]

So what's the deal with this canadian team? They supposed to be any good?

Vermont wins 8-0 ... shots 64-7 ... Eight goals were nice, but against that RMC club they didn't prove a thing. As weak an opponent as you could imagine. The Cats may be really good, but we didn't learn a thing from this game.

[GreenCat]

Vermont wins 8-0 ... shots 64-7 ... Eight goals were nice, but against that RMC club they didn't prove a thing. As weak an opponent as you could imagine. The Cats may be really good, but we didn't learn a thing from this game.

I guess the one thing you can take away is they won when they should win....