The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[BlackBearFan19]

Wow, that would make 33 players on the roster if you include Dominic Dockery, Merrimack transfer and Remy Parker returning/not transferring out of the portal. I foresee some disgruntled players leading to cuts after Barr Year #1 AKA the Carvel plan. Worked for him.

There will probably be a big overhaul next year based on the numbers but I don’t think that will be unique to Maine. With the extra year of eligibility I think we’ll see a lot of programs having to make significant cuts.

From the looks of it, this team is going to be pretty deep, there isn’t a ton of high end talent but Renwick should come in and make an immediate impact. Gould could make the lineup too. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a lot of upperclassmen miss out on playing time this season.

[amkirby10]

There will probably be a big overhaul next year based on the numbers but I don’t think that will be unique to Maine. With the extra year of eligibility I think we’ll see a lot of programs having to make significant cuts.

From the looks of it, this team is going to be pretty deep, there isn’t a ton of high end talent but Renwick should come in and make an immediate impact. Gould could make the lineup too. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a lot of upperclassmen miss out on playing time this season.

I remember Gould being a solid prospect I had my eye on for a while. I'm excited to see him play and I expect him to stick in the lineup.

[Drew S.]

I remember Gould being a solid prospect I had my eye on for a while. I'm excited to see him play and I expect him to stick in the lineup.

I get the impression Butala, Bisson, Dunn, Dockery, Gould, and Breazele are all fairly close together talent wise. It would be nice if Dunn made a big jump as he was supposed to be a good recruit.

Renwick coming in is great news. Anyone who is able to lead a USHL team in goals should be a productive college player.

[NorthMike]

Wow, that would make 33 players on the roster if you include Dominic Dockery, Merrimack transfer and Remy Parker returning/not transferring out of the portal. I foresee some disgruntled players leading to cuts after Barr Year #1 AKA the Carvel plan. Worked for him.

Thats right!
Fits in with his philosophy to separate those willing to adopt to the culture and fit to it. If a player gets disgruntled then its pretty clear they arent bought in or fit correctly. Like Barr says its not for everyone and no shame in moving on.

[Chuck Murray]

Just so you folks who don't check in on the UNH thread from time to time don't miss out ...

Satire is fine. A bunch of fat jokes aimed at one person is not.

I wanted to save this one for last today. It just goes to show how soft we've all become, when this PC censorship passes for community management, or whatever it is that the mods claim to police here at USCHO. Keep in mind, my comments were not directed at another poster - they were directed at the associate head coaching hire at UMaine (in the public realm, no?).

By the way, while complimenting UMaine for otherwise "knocking it out of the park" in the offseason by hiring Ben Barr, who I have no doubt will turn your program around in a positive way, and in less time than many on here seem to think ... I've said more than once that UMaine "won" the offseason. And I haven't ruled out the possibility that despite his excessive girth, AHC Fortier may prove to be a good D-1 coach after all at some point. He can end any talk about his weight simply, in two ways: (1) lose some of the weight, and look the part of a D-1 coach; and/or (2) keep the weight on, but beat everyone's brains out on the recruiting trails, and win lots of games on the ice. Having USCHO mods run interference for him shouldn't be Door #3.

It wasn't all that long ago that posters (and not just myself) would satirically mock or mimic Coach York for his manner of speaking, or Paul Pooley for being bald, or even Blaise MacDonald for being short. Arguably, any of those three coaches had less control over their "situations" that landed them in the line of fire than Fortier does. But none of those guys was ever afforded any protection from the USCHO mods (nor can I even begin to imagine they worried about it). Coach York ended his "situation" by winning a boatload of D-1 titles at BC. Pooley and MacDonald lost their jobs, and were eventually replaced by better, more accomplished coaches - not because they were bald or short, or whatever.

Lastly ... the whole way it was handled by USCHO (you?) was laughable. So, I was having some fun on the UMaine thread, because we have a rich and colorful history together, and believe it or not, I have some friends there as well. Some folks were thinking I was going soft on UMaine, and wondered if I was being sincere. I was (and still am) 100% sincere about thinking Barr is the right man/right time, and UMaine is on track to return to past glories, and being jealous that he wasn't at UNH. When Fortier's image started to become widely available after his hire, I decided to "reassure" my UMaine-iacs friends their "old Chuck" foe was still alive and well, starting a line of parodies on Fortier that apparently made some folks uncomfortable.

That would probably have played out by now, except one UMaine poster wanted to call attention to their displeasure with my postings, starting a new thread ("The Influence of USCHO") which was either brilliant satire in and of itself OR a thinly veiled threat to my posting status, legal issues, etc. I took that as an invitation to take the silliness out of the UMaine thread, and to continue it in the "Influence" thread. So I was either (1) joining on on the joke, OR (2) telling the poster what I thought of his threats, and where he could more permanently store them, so to speak. Keep in mind also ... if it was the former, it wouldn't have been the first time I adapted a UMaine poster's quip into a running gag (see WIS as Walshy is Satan, et al).

But now USCHO, after allowing free rein on all public realm commentary - including last year's WIS expose of BC Chancellor Shea a/k/a HEA referee Kevin Shea (presumably because it's 100% provably true) - is now stepping in as the PC arbiters of good taste to defend a nondescript UMaine AHC from obvious observations that he is just plain fat?

You at least owe an explanation as to exactly where the line is being drawn these days, and why ...

[UncleRay]

Chuck, please take your bucket of crap elsewhere. Seriously.

[amkirby10]

"Everyone is so soft nowadays. Here's a huge post about how upset I am I can't bully people anymore without being called out."

[Wayuphere]

My rule is, what if they were to read it. Simple.

[walrus]

Chuck, this a thread about hockey not coaches weight. I don't care what the guy weighs, I only care about his ability to help the team and we don't know whether he will or won't as the season hasn't started yet. I stopped reading your posts as they weren't about Maine hockey. Some folks seem to have an issue with you posting in here, I don't. Post about hockey and I'm cool with it.

[Chuck Murray]

Chuck, this a thread about hockey not coaches weight. I don't care what the guy weighs, I only care about his ability to help the team and we don't know whether he will or won't as the season hasn't started yet. I stopped reading your posts as they weren't about Maine hockey. Some folks seem to have an issue with you posting in here, I don't. Post about hockey and I'm cool with it.

Thanks for taking the time to check in, Wally. To be clear, I took the Fortier stuff out of this thread when bradz created that opportunity with the other thread. I came back with the Michelin Man after that other thread was closed. Then, of course, I learned amongst the chattering that followed it wasn't bradz who took the other thread down - it was a UMaine friendly mod.

You and I agree that if Fortier shows himself to be an effective coach/recruiter, that takes the edge off any weight criticism. But some folks are (yes) soft and snow-flakey, and demanding of "protection" from big, bad words, instead of countering by (like in USCHO's heyday) taking the game to the opposition's camp with a better bit, and making the place a little bit livelier.

I've done some of my harshest gags on the UNH program (including the AD and coaching staff - past and present), and no one whines about it. Some do post in support of my targets - fair enough. But running to the local mod and begging protection, like some did on here ... weak.

[Chuck Murray]

My rule is, what if they were to read it. Simple.

Can you expand on that for a moment, please? Do you think JF is curled up in a ball in fear under his desk, begging for the "violence" of the harsh words to stop?? Really???

I heard from multiple folks with access to the man that Walshy (RIP) enjoyed some of the gags I used to post about him/his program on here. Proved to me he didn't take himself too seriously.

Successful people can take a joke sometimes ... shocking, I know.

[ticapnews]

Can you expand on that for a moment, please? Do you think JF is curled up in a ball in fear under his desk, begging for the "violence" of the harsh words to stop?? Really???

I heard from multiple folks with access to the man that Walshy (RIP) enjoyed some of the gags I used to post about him/his program on here. Proved to me he didn't take himself too seriously.

Successful people can take a joke sometimes ... shocking, I know.

So when a bunch of Maine students come to a Maine-UHN game with a giant display that shows a Wildcat giving oral sex to a giant phallus you think that's hilarious, right? Just satire.

Shawn was a champion of fan involvement. Many times I heard him say that our team always shows respect to the fans; not just Maine fans, but any fans because they are what makes the sport. Fans from Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and so on have made their way across the country to the tiny town of Orono to support their team. That meant something to Shawn. He also demanded that our fans show respect to those fans from other schools. "Make life difficult for the players, but never the fans." He viewed that arena as our house and the opposing fans as our guests. You don't invite someone over and treat them like ****. There is no doubt in my mind he would have found those students responsible for that stunt and seen to it that they never set foot in Alfond again. Likewise, he abhorred vulgarity. Not because he was Mister Clean (big surprise that he had a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush) but because it was lazy. Yelling, "You suck!" at a player just shows how uncreative you are. He might not have been offended at a bunch of fat jokes, but he wouldn't like them because they're just lazy. Also, you could take whatever shots you wanted at him. Hell, he was so vain he dyed his moustache which made him the butt of many a joke, but they were aimed at him...his reaction would have been different if someone had lobbed an insult (or a series of them) at one of his assistants. Especially something like fat jokes. Maybe to you it's funny that a coach is overweight, but making light of the situation is just mean. Do you also go the hospital and make fun of sick kids? Head down to the local AA and crack jokes about drunk people? Go to a homeless shelter and ridicule people for being poor? It's not funny. It's not creative. So don't for a moment think you can pretend that Shawn would have supported you making such jokes because he wouldn't have.

Anyway, it seems the prevailing opinion of most of the posters in this thread that the topic should be adhered to. After all, this is a thread about college hockey in a forum devoted to college hockey so people here may want to talk about college hockey - shocking, I know. We have an entire section of the fan forum where you can post whatever you like. Go try out the Cafe.

[Wayuphere]

Last comment on this. You feel you can walk up to someone and make a fat joke, go for it. Just let us know how that works out for ya. Anything else, is just another keyboard warrior hiding. Most people get, and have always gotten, where to draw the line.
Too much effort responding to an idiotic point of view. Done.

[Chuck Murray]

So when a bunch of Maine students come to a Maine-UHN game with a giant display that shows a Wildcat giving oral sex to a giant phallus you think that's hilarious, right? Just satire.

Did that really happen? Must have missed it. If it's true OR just an example for your discussion, I can assure you I would not be on here whining about it, or pointing the kids out to arena security in person. I remember when Animal House was a top grossing film when I was in school - "grossing" both money-wise and humor-wise. I am hardly the arbiter of good taste, but then again, my point is, are USCHO mods supposed to be the arbiters of good taste?

Shawn was a champion of fan involvement. Many times I heard him say that our team always shows respect to the fans; not just Maine fans, but any fans because they are what makes the sport. Fans from Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and so on have made their way across the country to the tiny town of Orono to support their team. That meant something to Shawn. He also demanded that our fans show respect to those fans from other schools. "Make life difficult for the players, but never the fans." He viewed that arena as our house and the opposing fans as our guests. You don't invite someone over and treat them like ****. There is no doubt in my mind he would have found those students responsible for that stunt and seen to it that they never set foot in Alfond again. Likewise, he abhorred vulgarity. Not because he was Mister Clean (big surprise that he had a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush) but because it was lazy. Yelling, "You suck!" at a player just shows how uncreative you are. He might not have been offended at a bunch of fat jokes, but he wouldn't like them because they're just lazy.

This part is actually somewhat instructive, the more I look at it. There's a fine line sometimes between what's acceptable, and what goes over the line. I'm not sure I agree that Walshy would have banished those kids from Alfond forever. That's a little over-the-top authoritarian, and to bring the hammer down on a bunch of (drunk for the weekend?) kids seems a little heavy-handed, and a little too much of what nowadays would be called virtue signaling. Being an imperfect kind of guy, I suspect the guy who narrowly kept his job due to the grace of the U wouldn't have been calling for permanent bans of kids. Maybe you know differently?

Also, you could take whatever shots you wanted at him. Hell, he was so vain he dyed his moustache which made him the butt of many a joke, but they were aimed at him...his reaction would have been different if someone had lobbed an insult (or a series of them) at one of his assistants. Especially something like fat jokes. Maybe to you it's funny that a coach is overweight, but making light of the situation is just mean.

So let me see if I'm getting this right ... if Coach Barr was the overweight head coach, he's fair game ... but since Fortier is only an assistant, he's in some imaginary protected status? I mean, he's hardly a volunteer, and he's probably getting paid more than 95% of the folks who go to the games at Alfond. Also, does JF strike you as someone asking to be protected? Or does this all just "come with the territory"? It can't be the first time he's encountered this ...

Do you also go the hospital and make fun of sick kids? Head down to the local AA and crack jokes about drunk people? Go to a homeless shelter and ridicule people for being poor? It's not funny. It's not creative. So don't for a moment think you can pretend that Shawn would have supported you making such jokes because he wouldn't have.

For what it's worth, there have been some nasty comments on here over the years about the sobriety (or lack thereof) of a former UMaine star player and HC candidate (more recently), and I don't recall seeing folks "getting the vapors" over it not being "funny or creative". "Funny" and "creative" are up to the readers, last time I checked. bradz's short-lived alternate thread was getting as many (if not more) views per post than this thread (and a fair few others) when you took it down. Finally ... to compare a well-paid professional sports coach to sick kids or homeless people is a bit of a stretch, no? That seems to take this "identity politics" fad a step too far, when protected classes now include "fat white male hockey coach".

Oops ... "assistant" hockey coach, my bad.

Anyway, it seems the prevailing opinion of most of the posters in this thread that the topic should be adhered to. After all, this is a thread about college hockey in a forum devoted to college hockey so people here may want to talk about college hockey - shocking, I know. We have an entire section of the fan forum where you can post whatever you like. Go try out the Cafe.

The topic ultimately was adhered to here. The stuff taken down was on a separate thread.

You do understand that, right??? Seems pretty simple, but I guess not ...

[Chuck Murray]

Last comment on this. You feel you can walk up to someone and make a fat joke, go for it. Just let us know how that works out for ya. Anything else, is just another keyboard warrior hiding. Most people get, and have always gotten, where to draw the line.
Too much effort responding to an idiotic point of view. Done.

One of us posting here is using their real name, and one isn't, so the "keyboard warrior hiding" quip is pretty rich actually.

FWIW I've gotten guff in the past from some of my targets (none associated with UMaine, until this recent spat) on USCHO, including one former Hockey East head coach. 99% of the folks working in the public realm (look it up) understand that this comes with the territory. Every once in awhile, the overly sensitive 1% gets chafed and looks me up. So I'm doing a lousy job of "hiding".

Done, unless anyone wants to continue, but it won't be me ... until hockey starts up in the Fall.