BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

[Terrier86]

We need to find the best coach available (I personally have bias against inexperienced coaches because BU should not settle for training newbies and dealing with the underperforming results that most often occur). We've invested in a beautiful arena that often goes half empty because the fans and students are voting with their feet in terms of the W-L record and lack of excitement at home games. We need a proven coach and we simply tie one hand behind our back if we require the head coach to have played for BU. Today's fans/consumers simply don't care about that as compared to previous generations.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Over the past few years, I've wondered how Albie's hiring was received by the BU hockey community; former teammates, guys he's coached with.

For me, I was very happy when Albie got promoted to head coach. At the time, it seemed like the most logical choice given Albie's BU lineage, his vast experience as an assistant coach at several programs, his reputation as a stellar recruiter, and the perception that he was due for this opportunity. The belief at the time was that Albie was best-positioned to sustain what Quinn had done, with players he was directly responsible for recruiting.

My recollection is that his hire was very well-received by the BU hockey community. I thought if successful, BU wouldn't have to worry about hiring a head coach for quite some time, that Albie represented continuity and stability for the program similar to what Jack Parker brought.

Yet in hindsight, it seems as if something went amiss early on during his head coaching tenure. I recall early impressions included projecting a lack of confidence when behind the bench, speaking to the media, as well as when interacting with supporters. And the team in his 1st year got off to an 0-4-1 start, which I now feel was foreshadowing of how the next 3 years would transpire.

I also recall some in the BU hockey community questioning whether Paul Pearl may have been the de-facto head coach, especially during games. Conversely, I also know some folks around the program advised patience, suggesting that Albie would grow into the role he was promoted to, and to not evaluate him based on how his 1st season transpired.

3+ years later, the growing consensus seems to be a vote of no-confidence.

[BU Fan 84]

I have a tough time believing they would bring Quinn back. BU hired Albie as a knee-jerk reaction to Quinn not being Parker and leaving after only five years. They intentionally hired a guy who had no hope of moving up to the NHL, figuring he would be at BU for a long time. So why would they go back to Quinn now? Maybe it would depend on what he says to them, if they talk to him. Maybe he'll say he had his fill of the NHL and has no interest in going back. Maybe they'll believe him and re-hire him. It just seems unlikely to me.

[Mike799]

Sens must not be thrilled with BU development. Drafted Boucher 10th overall and he didnt get invited into the preliminary WJC roster

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Sens must not be thrilled with BU development. Drafted Boucher 10th overall and he didnt get invited into the preliminary WJC roster

A few thoughts on Boucher...

* IMO, drafting him 10th overall was a bit of a reach, given he was projected as a 2nd rounder in many mock drafts.
* Boucher hasn't played consistently nor well enough, and has shown a lack of discipline with his many penalties.
* I wouldn't be shocked if Boucher leaves BU in favor of the OHL (the Ottawa 67s own his rights). If that's to occur, I'm not sure if it'd be the wisest move, but given that his dad has been vocal on Twitter about HE officiating along with potential dissatisfaction from the Sens organization about his hockey development at BU, going from the NCAA route to MJs is a distinct possibility.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

I have a tough time believing they would bring Quinn back. BU hired Albie as a knee-jerk reaction to Quinn not being Parker and leaving after only five years. They intentionally hired a guy who had no hope of moving up to the NHL, figuring he would be at BU for a long time. So why would they go back to Quinn now? Maybe it would depend on what he says to them, if they talk to him. Maybe he'll say he had his fill of the NHL and has no interest in going back. Maybe they'll believe him and re-hire him. It just seems unlikely to me.

The notion of Quinn returning to BU is somewhere between wishful thinking and distinct possibility. My sense is that if the BU door is to reopen and there's mutual interest, his preference might be to return to BU than continue the pursuit of NHL opportunities (assistant coach or even head coach for a lesser franchise when compared to the Rangers). The Rangers owe him several million $ on the 2 remaining years of his contract; presumably there's financial stability on his part where his next hockey decision may be based on long-term fit more so than following the $.

[Lemonade]

This lame duck coaching situation is going to have long term ramifications if they don't figure it out soon. The poor start to the season plus the huge question of who is going to be behind the bench in upcoming seasons is going to be a negative factor for any potential recruit.

[Harry Cleverly]

This lame duck coaching situation is going to have long term ramifications if they don't figure it out soon. The poor start to the season plus the huge question of who is going to be behind the bench in upcoming seasons is going to be a negative factor for any potential recruit.

The recruiting is pretty much done for several years in advance.
The question may be would any of them de-commit based on whomever is coaching.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1466169803

[Lemonade]

The recruiting is pretty much done for several years in advance.
The question may be would any of them de-commit based on whomever is coaching.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1466169803

Also with the transfer rules now and free agent hockey could players leave at will? Is that one year covid rule or now the existing rule that players don't have to sit out a season?

[ericredaxe]

The only thing that tradition has brought us are good individual players that are occasionally fun to watch in losing efforts. When was the last time that a traditional recruiting advantage won the national championship versus a teams that simply had talented but older (sometimes much older) players? The NHL's inclusion of younger and at times smaller players in their rosters has only exacerbated the flaws in recruiting young NHL-bound talent.

Regardless of who is in the head coach's chair - can anyone really envision a scenario where the BU administration would go for loading up a team with 23 year olds?

[BU93]

It’s never good when the basketball team has more wins than the hockey team in December. No disrespect to Joe Jones’ squad, they’re pretty good. Cockerill/Tuch/Brown/Ty Amonte have a combined 2 G/3 A/ 5 PTS between them in 34 combined games. I would expect at least an average of 1 PT/game for 34 total amongst that talent and experience, probably more. There’s a HUGE reason for our situation right now.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

It’s never good when the basketball team has more wins than the hockey team in December. No disrespect to Joe Jones’ squad, they’re pretty good. Cockerill/Tuch/Brown/Ty Amonte have a combined 2 G/3 A/ 5 PTS between them in 34 combined games. I would expect at least an average of 1 PT/game for 34 total amongst that talent and experience, probably more. There’s a HUGE reason for our situation right now.

Brown, Tuch and O'Brien missing significant time due to injuries hurt. Amonte still gets a bit of a pass from me given he's missed almost the entire past 2 seasons due to major injuries.

IMO, Cockerill and Kaufman have been most culpable of underachieving (or non-achieving). 2 impact forwards and supposed leaders on the team who have a total of 0 G / 2 A / 2 PTS in 27 combined games. I'm getting the impression that Amonte, Cockerill and Kaufman might all have "Super-Senioritis", where they're going thru the motions and have "checked out" to an extent.

[Scarlet]

Why do our Friday 7:30 games always take forever?? And teams should only be allowed one review. That was ridiculous. The refs spent more time in the box than players did. But yay! A win!

[hydrant]

Good win but it seems as if every time we put our "shut down" guys for defensive zone draws in the 3rd (cockerill stevens amonte) we have the puck in our zone for it feels over a minute. Our d zone play looks like we're on the penalty kill sometimes

[Rover]

Happy for the win and appreciate the effort. It also helps that UNH is as disorganized on offense as we are. I've also never seen a challenge on a non-call before. Quick, let's give Albie a contract extension!