The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[Drew S.]

Agree!
Why would anyone thing richard was going to sign with maine because of guite the assoc coach! Theres more to it like a proven successful head coach.

He had already signed his LOI. Read someone from HockeyProspect wrote on Twitter it was because of Guite leaving. That person is obviously much more in the know than any of us. Richard had been committed to Maine for close to three years before Barr showed up so only fair for Barr to cop the blame on this one.

I think I gave both Timmy and Red much more slack than anyone else on the board and will extend the same courtesy to Barr. There has to be some element of objectivity though. Losing Richard is a big deal and a huge setback for the program. Hopefully six months or a year from now Barr has so many good kids committed that it doesn't matter but that hasn't happened yet.

[Chuck Murray]

I think the thing that frustrates me is that Carvel and Barr were able to hold on to Makar and in this case Barr wasn't able to hold on to Richard. Who knows how he develops, and maybe he's a complete bust, but he would have been Maine's best recruit in a long time.

Momentum is extremely important and instead of Barr's tenure starting off on a positive note it started with probably the worst possible thing that could happen. I think Ostman is the only other player who potentially would be as bad to lose. Hopefully Barr can turn the momentum around quickly and there aren't any more losses like this.

My god, the absolute drama of it all. Never ending, it seems.

I suppose it doesn't occur to you, maybe Barr just didn't rate this kid? You seem determined to equate the kid to Makar, who may have been the most talented d-man in Hockey East since the days of Brian Leetch. This kid may end up with third line time in Providence, given the level Leaman usually recruits at. Just because he was projected to be the proverbial "big fish in a little pond" doesn't mean he was a big fish in everyone else's pond (including UMass and PC, etc.).

Barr will make or break his tenure at UMaine based on the guys he brings into the program, not on Red's leftovers or Guite's sloppy seconds. Have some patience, "momentum" will happen sometime after he actually gets started in the job, not on a salvage job of someone else's players ...

[sezenack]

He had already signed his LOI. Read someone from HockeyProspect wrote on Twitter it was because of Guite leaving. That person is obviously much more in the know than any of us. Richard had been committed to Maine for close to three years before Barr showed up so only fair for Barr to cop the blame on this one.

I think I gave both Timmy and Red much more slack than anyone else on the board and will extend the same courtesy to Barr. There has to be some element of objectivity though. Losing Richard is a big deal and a huge setback for the program. Hopefully six months or a year from now Barr has so many good kids committed that it doesn't matter but that hasn't happened yet.

It hasn't happened yet because he's had the job less than a month... Losing Richard should have been the expectation because that's the norm when a coaching change happens. Carvel got unbelievably lucky that Makar chose to stay because that is certainly not what usually goes down.

[NorthMike]

Im ok with richard going elsehere. Obviously he really wasnt committed to umaine. If it was just Guite then well good luck to him at providence.
GO back and listen to Barrs first press conference, when he explains that he is not going to chase players solely based on talent. Just cause their stats are good and scouting material shows they are skilled, this is not his only criteria, good for him, build a team. Some of what he was saying in that press conference might have been a message that he knew some recruits were going elsewhere. That's okay get the players who want to play for Barr and maine and will want to put on the jersey.

[walrus]

Trolls will be trolls

[Jackcurtis23]

Had to know this was a very real possibility. He was let out of NLI with change in regime, as I believe is commonplace. Kid looks like he will be a stud, but who knows (Greenway was picked mid second round don’t forget). Prov can win tomorrow, Maine can’t. But I am fully on the side of hate to see the kid go, best of luck, but I see zero downside of Ben Barr hire. Think it’s beyond a home run.

[BlackBearFan19]

I hope you folks who wanted to run Guite off are happy now.

I remember when Nick Roberto de committed from Maine after Red’s hiring and some on this forum lost their minds. Relax, this is common when new coaches come in.

I’m sure this kid was high on Providence at one point in his recruiting process and the regime change gave him a chance to reconnect with Leaman.

I would have loved to see him make it to Maine but was certain he was gone once we made the right coaching decision.

[umhockey91]

Oh no....Maine loses another Gendron/Guite recruit! What will we do? Win maybe?

[Drew S.]

I remember when Nick Roberto de committed from Maine after Red’s hiring and some on this forum lost their minds. Relax, this is common when new coaches come in.

I’m sure this kid was high on Providence at one point in his recruiting process and the regime change gave him a chance to reconnect with Leaman.

I would have loved to see him make it to Maine but was certain he was gone once we made the right coaching decision.

He actually decommitted a couple weeks after Timmy was fired and a month before Red was hired so that one wasn’t on Red. Maine dodged a bullet in more ways than one with him going to BU.

Richard did play in RI for a year so that could have played a part. Honestly maybe there wasn’t anything Barr could have done so it’s possible I’m being unfair in this situation. It’s just so incredibly frustrating to be so close to having a recruit of Richard’s caliber show up and then it falls through right at the last minute.

I do want to make it clear I’m happy with the hiring of Barr and think/hope he will be successful. His first year is his best opportunity recruiting wise and I hope he makes the most of it.

[amkirby10]

He actually decommitted a couple weeks after Timmy was fired and a month before Red was hired so that one wasn’t on Red. Maine dodged a bullet in more ways than one with him going to BU.

Richard did play in RI for a year so that could have played a part. Honestly maybe there wasn’t anything Barr could have done so it’s possible I’m being unfair in this situation. It’s just so incredibly frustrating to be so close to having a recruit of Richard’s caliber show up and then it falls through right at the last minute.

I do want to make it clear I’m happy with the hiring of Barr and think/hope he will be successful. His first year is his best opportunity recruiting wise and I hope he makes the most of it.

Where were you when Maine lost Ben Meyers to Omaha of all places? Obviously he ended up with Gophers, but the kid scored 12 goals and was nearly a point-per-game player this year, and wore an A as a sophomore. The type of player Maine could use, if you ask me. Guite let him slip away, who says he would have kept Richard?

[Drew S.]

Where were you when Maine lost Ben Meyers to Omaha of all places? Obviously he ended up with Gophers, but the kid scored 12 goals and was nearly a point-per-game player this year, and wore an A as a sophomore. The type of player Maine could use, if you ask me. Guite let him slip away, who says he would have kept Richard?

Meyers was a numbers casualty. They wanted him to wait an extra year and he bailed. It’s 100% fair to criticize Red and Co for overrecruiting. It’s def one thing he did I found very distasteful. The vast majority of guys they cut ties with wound up not doing much and you wonder why they were offered in the first place. Meyers was def an exception to the rule.

I know you’re a relatively new fan and weren’t around for the glory days but there was a time when Maine would bring in players like Richard ever year. Since Shawn died there have been few truly exciting recruits. That’s not to say there haven’t been good players because there definitely have been. It’s just a different vibe going into the season with one or two new guys who you are really excited to see play.

[walrus]

I do want to make it clear that I'm a troll

Fixed your post, I've seen your posts on the cafe, this is nothing new

[Wayuphere]

No big loss. A dman who can skate who was hyped with potential. Hype doesn’t win games. I’m more concerned with the other end of the ice….

[AMC]

I'd rather have Barr and no Richard than Guite+Richard.

[Scarlet]

It was the real deal if you weren't there before the addition in the early 90s. The place was so loud in the late 80s to early 90s it was unreal and caused hearing loss Place was awesome. 2003 the place was still rocking but not like the early days of Shawn Walsh.

As an opposing team's fan who has been to both Yost and Alfond, I concur with this. The low hanging balcony filled with students makes it stand out more than the Yost student section. Also, Alfond has one of the best concessions in all of college hockey (and I've been to a lot of rinks) - a baked potato bar. That puts it over Yost hands down.