The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[Runsub5]

Interesting https://goblackbears.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster

I actually think bringing Ben and Alfie back might make some sense......

I don't understand this statement. Why does this make sense? Why would a new coach want to retain the coaches of a team with a losing record? The main purpose for hiring a new head coach and staff is to point the team in a positive direction. Retaining assistant coaches only serves to maintain the status quo. A new coach needs to have his identity all over his team.

[Fishman'81]

Interesting https://goblackbears.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster

I actually think bringing Ben and Alfie back might make some sense. I know it would be a departure from the norm but as Ben Barr said there is no real playbook for the situation he is in. In one of his interviews he mentioned needing a new strength and conditioning coach. It looks like the volunteer assistant from last year is gone too.

You're really Chuckie in disguise, ain't ya? The joke's on us!

[BoSox3066]

Is Alfie a paid full time assistant or a volunteer goalie coach? I feel like the goalie coaches usually stick around through various regimes, the actual assistants not so much

[BassAle]

Is Alfie a paid full time assistant or a volunteer goalie coach? I feel like the goalie coaches usually stick around through various regimes, the actual assistants not so much

Guite is Associate Head Coach and Allie is Assistant coach — he’s paid.

I wouldn’t read too much into them still being listed on the website — Barr hasn’t had time to make personnel changes yet.

[BassAle]

Interesting https://goblackbears.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster

I actually think bringing Ben and Alfie back might make some sense. I know it would be a departure from the norm but as Ben Barr said there is no real playbook for the situation he is in. In one of his interviews he mentioned needing a new strength and conditioning coach. It looks like the volunteer assistant from last year is gone too.

you really are special...

[Drew S.]

Guite is Associate Head Coach and Allie is Assistant coach — he’s paid.

I wouldn’t read too much into them still being listed on the website — Barr hasn’t had time to make personnel changes yet.

That’s not completely true, they have removed the volunteer assistant and strength and conditioning coach from last year’s staff.

I’ll give you a few reasons why it might make sense. The first is timing. It’s the middle of May and a lot of coaches are already in their positions for next year. I love the Bangor area as much as anyone but $80k a year to be there probably isn’t super attractive to a lot of talented assistants. It’s even less attractive when they can make twice as much someplace else.

The next one is Maine’s budget. If Barr wants to get rid of one or both the money might have to come from another line item. Obviously Maine has financial issues without that hit so making that move could be very unappealing.

The next one is continuity in the program and knowledge transfer. Both coaches obviously have a lot of knowledge on the program and perhaps more importantly how to navigate the politics around the school. One of the tricky parts for Barr is going to be dealing with all the administrative bs he didn’t face when he was an assistant. By keeping Guite maybe it means Barr has more time for recruiting and working with the current players which would obviously be helpful.

I think having both of them probably makes it easier to hold on to the current recruits Barr wants to keep(my guess would be out of 15 he probably wants to keep half a dozen or so) and they can sell the school and area a little more easier than Barr can at this point. If Barr can bring in someone better and it will work financially he def should but not sure if that is feasible or not.

[acs64]

Clean house. No good reason I can think of to keep parts of the old staff.....except Alfie. Drew you are all smoked up

[walrus]

Why would Barr keep the guy who was competing with him for the same job? I'd keep Alfie given what I've seen from Sway and Ostman.

[amkirby10]

Why would Barr keep the guy who was competing with him for the same job? I'd keep Alfie given what I've seen from Sway and Ostman.

My thoughts exactly. I agree with Wally.

[Runsub5]

That’s not completely true, they have removed the volunteer assistant and strength and conditioning coach from last year’s staff.

I’ll give you a few reasons why it might make sense. The first is timing. It’s the middle of May and a lot of coaches are already in their positions for next year. I love the Bangor area as much as anyone but $80k a year to be there probably isn’t super attractive to a lot of talented assistants. It’s even less attractive when they can make twice as much someplace else.

The next one is Maine’s budget. If Barr wants to get rid of one or both the money might have to come from another line item. Obviously Maine has financial issues without that hit so making that move could be very unappealing.

The next one is continuity in the program and knowledge transfer. Both coaches obviously have a lot of knowledge on the program and perhaps more importantly how to navigate the politics around the school. One of the tricky parts for Barr is going to be dealing with all the administrative bs he didn’t face when he was an assistant. By keeping Guite maybe it means Barr has more time for recruiting and working with the current players which would obviously be helpful.

I think having both of them probably makes it easier to hold on to the current recruits Barr wants to keep(my guess would be out of 15 he probably wants to keep half a dozen or so) and they can sell the school and area a little more easier than Barr can at this point. If Barr can bring in someone better and it will work financially he def should but not sure if that is feasible or not.

It's truly amazing how much of a "spin" you can place on rationalizing your position of trying to keep your guy Guite.

[Chuck Murray]

You're really Chuckie in disguise, ain't ya? The joke's on us!

No sir, not me. Even I think the guy is off his rocker.

UMaine just hit the undisputed home run of the HEA offseason, and this Drew guy is already hard at work trying to turn it into a frickin' ground rule double. Just plain bat crap crazy ...

[Chuck Murray]

Just because I'm now invested into this thing, and have nothing better to do this morning ...

I'll give you a few reasons why it might make sense. The first is timing. It's the middle of May and a lot of coaches are already in their positions for next year. I love the Bangor area as much as anyone but $80k a year to be there probably isn't super attractive to a lot of talented assistants. It's even less attractive when they can make twice as much someplace else.

After following this saga on here for over a month now, I thought the cost of living in the Downeast was a selling advantage to lure coaches for lower-than-market salary? More than one (probably including you) boosted this as a reason why UMaine would be able to lure a new untested HC to the area. Now, all of a sudden, it's an albatross, so let's keep the status quo?!?

The next one is Maine's budget. If Barr wants to get rid of one or both the money might have to come from another line item. Obviously Maine has financial issues without that hit so making that move could be very unappealing.

See above. UMaine probably saved some money with the Barr hire, and now they will likely be axing one (if not two) of the existing salaried assistants, probably bringing in new guys for less. I can only imagine what your checkbook looks like, with this line item weirdness you're proposing here ...

The next one is continuity in the program and knowledge transfer. Both coaches obviously have a lot of knowledge on the program and perhaps more importantly how to navigate the politics around the school. One of the tricky parts for Barr is going to be dealing with all the administrative bs he didn't face when he was an assistant. By keeping Guite maybe it means Barr has more time for recruiting and working with the current players which would obviously be helpful.

Note to Drew: Barr already knows Ken Ralph. Cited it as a key to him agreeing to come to Orono. I'm sure Ken will be able to help him "navigate" the way between the MHHC office and the AD's office after a single visit to the campus. Barr seems to be pretty bright that way. I'm guessing he may even be able to make the walk between the 2 offices and chew gum, too.

I think having both of them probably makes it easier to hold on to the current recruits Barr wants to keep (my guess would be out of 15 he probably wants to keep half a dozen or so) and they can sell the school and area a little more easier than Barr can at this point. If Barr can bring in someone better and it will work financially he def should but not sure if that is feasible or not.

Barr has already said that he doesn't plan to "beg" players to come who don't already want to be here (now Orono) of their own volition. Barr seems quite capable of making those connections and decisions himself. There's even an outside chance he might already know a couple of them already from his own prior journeys? This is where I would think you guys would want to give Barr some latitude, and rather than needlessly saddling him with the prior failed regime's recruits, let him start from scratch with guys of his own choosing, no?!?

In the past, Barr has managed to recruit players to come to exotic locales like Troy NY, Schenectady NY, Providence RI and Kalamazoo MI before he reached the relative Nirvana that apparently is/was Amherst MA. I'm pretty confident he will get his pitch down for Orono/Bangor ME pretty quickly and effectively, without needing a whole lot of help from the folks who drove the program into its current recruiting ditch over the last half-decade or so.

Maybe I asked the wrong question earlier in wondering if you were related to the Gendrons, because the way you're going now, it sounds like you may be a blood relative of Guite instead ...

[amkirby10]

In the past, I sometimes appreciated Drew's optimism in this thread, compared to some of the other frequent posters. It was closer to my own outlook, which has always been more on the optimistic side than others here. But recently, his posts have made me seriously wonder if he's some kind of shill for Guite or something. My goodness.

[J.D.]

Reading between the lines of what Ralph said in regard to their meeting in Colorado Springs...sounds like he was real close to hiring Barr at CC. Probably wishes he did hire him considering the guy he did hire was a disaster.

[BoSox3066]

Why would Barr keep the guy who was competing with him for the same job? I'd keep Alfie given what I've seen from Sway and Ostman.

Yeah good goalie coaches are hard to find. Remember the days of the volunteer goalie expert via Skype? The Bruins guy Goalie Bob has been with the org thru like 7 head coaches and 3-4 general managers