RPI 2023 Off-season: We March Fourth Into the Off-season

[sezenack]

Thanks Sez. Frustrating to sit and watch for hours only to have them sort of skip over the only reason I was watching.

https://twitter.com/NAHLHockey/statu...771398144?s=20
https://twitter.com/AlexDaugherty1/s...256542730?s=20

[sezenack]

https://twitter.com/KieserNick/statu...447455232?s=20
https://twitter.com/KieserNick/statu...521284106?s=20

[sezenack]

Those are the only videos and quotes I could find

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 30 June 2023. There are 99 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.

[Wicked Slappaahs]

maybe no pressure from Nashville to leave early, but he’s probably most certainly on the radar of a Big Ten or Nacho team to be “persuaded to transfer”

Drafted or not, he was already on the radar. I think we're fortunate that he'll be back in the fall...which I suspect will be his last season at RPI given the current events.

[engineerhockeyfan]

Sutter Muzzatti picked round 5 and 143 overall by the Nashville Predators!

Congratulations to Muzzatti. He really earned it last year.

[engineerhockeyfan]

maybe no pressure from Nashville to leave early, but he’s probably most certainly on the radar of a Big Ten or Nacho team to be “persuaded to transfer”

I am sure that Nashville will be taking the lead on Muzzatti's future starting now. Whether he stays or leaves will be at the request of the Predators.

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 1 July 2023. There are 98 days (14 weeks) until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 2 July 2023. There are 97 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.

[rpi82]

I am sure that Nashville will be taking the lead on Muzzatti's future starting now. Whether he stays or leaves will be at the request of the Predators.

This is undoubtedly true, but after watching those videos I love this kid even more and think he won't be in a hurry to leave. I believe he's totally sincere when he says RPI is a great place for him and that he loves the coaching staff. Look back at when he committed. He was coming off a pretty successful season at the 16U and 18U levels, but nothing that would have the big boys needing to sign him right away. As he said, he's a big guy and development takes a bit more time. We committed to him for two years down the pike and he had good, but not overwhelming seasons in the NAHL. Remember, we brought him in off a 12 goal season (over 50 games). The B10 big shots would have put him off and told him to make a USHL roster. Even many schools that might agree to bring him in would have been looking at him as a developmental guy fighting for bottom six time. Instead he went to Troy and got immediate ice time which continued to grow in quantity and importance. That included critical PP and OT time. Don't get me wrong - he earned everything he got. However, the opportunity to earn it and the confidence of the coaching staff was there at RPI and I think he appreciates it. Instead of "go screen the goalie" or "go win pucks in the corner" so the high draft picks can score goals in the B10 or Nacho, he got the opportunity to be one of those guys with us from day one (as opposed to maybe when he's an upper classman in the super star programs). That's what got him drafted and he seems to have the self-awareness to know it. We should be proud to have this kind of person and player in our program.

[engineerhockeyfan]

This is undoubtedly true, but after watching those videos I love this kid even more and think he won't be in a hurry to leave. I believe he's totally sincere when he says RPI is a great place for him and that he loves the coaching staff. Look back at when he committed. He was coming off a pretty successful season at the 16U and 18U levels, but nothing that would have the big boys needing to sign him right away. As he said, he's a big guy and development takes a bit more time. We committed to him for two years down the pike and he had good, but not overwhelming seasons in the NAHL. Remember, we brought him in off a 12 goal season (over 50 games). The B10 big shots would have put him off and told him to make a USHL roster. Even many schools that might agree to bring him in would have been looking at him as a developmental guy fighting for bottom six time. Instead he went to Troy and got immediate ice time which continued to grow in quantity and importance. That included critical PP and OT time. Don't get me wrong - he earned everything he got. However, the opportunity to earn it and the confidence of the coaching staff was there at RPI and I think he appreciates it. Instead of "go screen the goalie" or "go win pucks in the corner" so the high draft picks can score goals in the B10 or Nacho, he got the opportunity to be one of those guys with us from day one (as opposed to maybe when he's an upper classman in the super star programs). That's what got him drafted and he seems to have the self-awareness to know it. We should be proud to have this kind of person and player in our program.

I agree with every thing you said. However, if Nashville wants him to go elsewhere, that is where he will go.
We have him for this season, but if he makes great strides this year, they may want him to turn pro ECHL or AHL.
But if he needs to stay in college, I am sure he will stay with us.

[rpi82]

I agree with every thing you said. However, if Nashville wants him to go elsewhere, that is where he will go.
We have him for this season, but if he makes great strides this year, they may want him to turn pro ECHL or AHL.
But if he needs to stay in college, I am sure he will stay with us.

I agree although I'm certain Nashville wouldn't knowingly sign him early to play in the ECHL. It would require them to have a need at the AHL level or higher and their belief that he was ready to fill it.

I suspect Sutter is very pragmatic when looking at the pro opportunity. I was a Whalers' season ticket holder when his dad played here (the last two seasons before they moved). He had a very good season backing up Sean Burke followed by an OK one as he and the team dealt with all the chaos induced by the owner Karmanos jockeying to move the team and the presence of his replacement, JS Giguere, who had been a top draft pick the year before. The next season Jason was back in Hartford to play in the AHL and a year later he was in Europe to finish his career. He was a first round pick that arguably never got a real opportunity to establish himself in the NHL.

[Ralph Baer]

Today is 3 July 2023. There are 96 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.

[DavidNardolillo]

Well. you don't get better by playing teams that are as good, or lesser than us. Seth was always a proponent of scheduling tough non-conf foes, so I am glad we've improved the strength of our schedule. Ideally I'd like to swap one of the HE opponents for a Big10 or NCHC team, but this is progress.

I also liked Seth's challenging out-of-conference schedule, and I think part of it was designed to be a recruiting tool. I liked it less that most of those seasons ended with a losing record in conference play.

[DavidNardolillo]

I agree with every thing you said. However, if Nashville wants him to go elsewhere, that is where he will go.
We have him for this season, but if he makes great strides this year, they may want him to turn pro ECHL or AHL.
But if he needs to stay in college, I am sure he will stay with us.

I tend to agree, and I am relaxed about this. If RPI wants to be good, they will need players that are good enough for other schools to want and that have potential to play professionally. The greater avenues of exit have enhanced the competitive risk, but that risk has always been there.

A few other reasons to remain positive: Even though the ECAC is comprised of "smaller" schools, it's still won 3 out of the last 10 National Championships. And I think there are signs that the new administration is interested in greater investment into the team, and that might curtail the types of transfers we saw during/after COVID. And finally, the recent transfer record out of RPI has been a bit mixed which might cause some more thought before jumping to a new school: I feel bad for the guys in that group, as I think most of us understood why they left, but it goes to show that new pastures are not always greener.