UNH Hockey 2023 Off Season Thread Turn and Face the Strange

[Chuck Murray]

Two slightly random UNH and hockey items to follow up on prior discussions in each area:

* Hockey - according to some of the local Boston media, Sweeney's plan now is for this season to be a "bridge season". Sounds like a giant heap of post-Orlov and post-Bertuzzi revisionism and wishful thinking, if only because what's on the other side of the "bridge" isn't all that clear at this point. B's system still lags among other NHL organizations:

The NHL’s Best Farm Systems Ranked (thehockeywriters.com)

* UNH - for you UNH Soccer fans out there ... so I was watching a Gold Cup game replay this morning between Cuba and Canada, and who was in Canada's starting line-up? None other than former UNH star Moise Bombito, who has been starting in a defensive midfielder role so far in the tourney, for which Canada just advanced out of the group stage. Bombito came out of the Cuba game early with a minor injury, but is apparently highly thought of within the Canadian Soccer powers that be, and he could be a national team fixture for years to come.

[Snively65]

Two slightly random UNH and hockey items to follow up on prior discussions in each area:

* Hockey - according to some of the local Boston media, Sweeney's plan now is for this season to be a "bridge season". Sounds like a giant heap of post-Orlov and post-Bertuzzi revisionism and wishful thinking, if only because what's on the other side of the "bridge" isn't all that clear at this point. B's system still lags among other NHL organizations:

The NHL’s Best Farm Systems Ranked (thehockeywriters.com)

* UNH - for you UNH Soccer fans out there ... so I was watching a Gold Cup game replay this morning between Cuba and Canada, and who was in Canada's starting line-up? None other than former UNH star Moise Bombito, who has been starting in a defensive midfielder role so far in the tourney, for which Canada just advanced out of the group stage. Bombito came out of the Cuba game early with a minor injury, but is apparently highly thought of within the Canadian Soccer powers that be, and he could be a national team fixture for years to come.

Maybe Moise Bombito will become for UNH soccer history what Rick Santos has been in football? Glad that I got to watch Bombito play in that one game against Vermont that I attended two years ago.

[Chuck Murray]

Maybe Moise Bombito will become for UNH soccer history what Rick Santos has been in football? Glad that I got to watch Bombito play in that one game against Vermont that I attended two years ago.

Coach Hubbard is already your soccer version of Ricky Santos, with the sole exception of Hubbard (a local kid) going to play his soccer at Colgate. Unless he has higher ambitions than turning his hometown's state U into a national NCAA soccer powerhouse - and better paying options on this side of the pond are probably limited - then he is going nowhere for the rest of his time in the game. Which is great news if you're a UNH fan, and a fan of the beautiful game. It's one advantage US college soccer still has that hoops, football and even hockey doesn't have (yet) which is a lack of domestic mobility for its coaches further up the ladder in the pro game.

The only real risk to Hubbard's continued tenure at UNH is probably boredom ... and I doubt he finds winning lots of games, conference tourneys and getting to compete regularly in the national tourney for a (still-improbable) national title to be boring. Unless MLS starts paying its coaches more, Hubbard would earn more if he took a head job with one of the clubs in the lower echelons of the Football League (Tiers 2-4) in England.

UNH is sitting pretty with Santos and Hubbard for a long, long time. Would be nice if Hockey can say the same soon ...

[Felger]

JVR, Lucic and Shattenkirk are a combined 103 years old.

The Bruins will be the second oldest hockey team in Massachusetts next season, trailing only Merrimack College.

[Chuck Murray]

jvr, lucic and shattenkirk are a combined 103 years old.

The bruins will be the second oldest hockey team in massachusetts next season, trailing only merrimack college.

lol

[Snively65]

JVR, Lucic and Shattenkirk are a combined 103 years old.

The Bruins will be the second oldest hockey team in Massachusetts next season, trailing only Merrimack College.

Yeah, but, if Bergeron does not come back, the Bruins will have shed a combined 107 years of age with Foligno and Krejci. And, even if Bergeron comes back, the Bruins will still have shed a combined 101 years of age with Foligno, Krejci, and Hall (or Orlov). :-)

[Chuck Murray]

Yeah, but, if Bergeron does not come back, the Bruins will have shed a combined 107 years of age with Foligno and Krejci. And, even if Bergeron comes back, the Bruins will still have shed a combined 101 years of age with Foligno, Krejci, and Hall (or Orlov). :-)

Given their abysmally poor performance this offseason, others might opt to shed 115 years by dispatching Sweeney (57) and Neely (58), and the older B's fans might get behind pressing the Jacobs Family to sell - but I doubt Jeremy (83) or son Charlie (52) are thinking that way at this point.

Bringing back Harry Sinden (90) as the greatest living B's GM would trim 25 years off the Sweeney/Neely combo.

It's unfortunate that his predecessor and architect of the "Big Bad B's" Milt Schmidt (105) passed away at age 98.

Jaromir Jagr (51) remains active as player/owner of his Czech top-tier club in hometown, waiting for the phone to ring ...

[Snively65]

Given their abysmally poor performance this offseason, others might opt to shed 115 years by dispatching Sweeney (57) and Neely (58), and the older B's fans might get behind pressing the Jacobs Family to sell - but I doubt Jeremy (83) or son Charlie (52) are thinking that way at this point.

Bringing back Harry Sinden (90) as the greatest living B's GM would trim 25 years off the Sweeney/Neely combo.

It's unfortunate that his predecessor and architect of the "Big Bad B's" Milt Schmidt (105) passed away at age 98.

Jaromir Jagr (51) remains active as player/owner of his Czech top-tier club in hometown, waiting for the phone to ring ...

The irony of Jagr becoming a player/owner of the Bruins to counter the Fenway Group ownership of the Penguins is not lost on me. Moreover, maybe Jagr could play on a line with JvR and add to the 11 games that he played with Bruins earlier.

[Felger]

The Van Riemsdyk family was referred to as "Hockey East royalty" this morning on 98.5

[After the Whistle]

Excuse me but I just need to spend some team time occasionally. While many could care less at this point, I have always enjoyed speculating on upcoming team leadership. I know a few of you have thought about this.
Here is my take:
C - goes to super senior Blaisdell took 2 of the coaches year end awards
A - goes to Jenson, he too may have taken 2 awards
A - goes to Cafarelli, a senior who will return next year for the C. He has been campaigning for the C.
A - Reid or Gagne, sad to take it from Gags but Reid is a senior. Why not both?

[Snively65]

Excuse me but I just need to spend some team time occasionally. While many could care less at this point, I have always enjoyed speculating on upcoming team leadership. I know a few of you have thought about this.
Here is my take:
C - goes to super senior Blaisdell took 2 of the coaches year end awards
A - goes to Jenson, he too may have taken 2 awards
A - goes to Cafarelli, a senior who will return next year for the C. He has been campaigning for the C.
A - Reid or Gagne, sad to take it from Gags but Reid is a senior. Why not both?

So, four assistant captains? Maybe two of the four could be associate captains? Then we can slightly tweak Chuck’s expression to MBPBEGAL (L = letter). :-)

[HockeyRef]

Excuse me but I just need to spend some team time occasionally. While many could care less at this point, I have always enjoyed speculating on upcoming team leadership. I know a few of you have thought about this.
Here is my take:
C - goes to super senior Blaisdell took 2 of the coaches year end awards
A - goes to Jenson, he too may have taken 2 awards
A - goes to Cafarelli, a senior who will return next year for the C. He has been campaigning for the C.
A - Reid or Gagne, sad to take it from Gags but Reid is a senior. Why not both?

Funny you should mention this ATW...I was just thinking about this today, and, I was thinking Reid or Blaisdell gets the C nod. Was also thinking that Devlin might be in the mix an A. I like your pics!!!
I am not sure if I"m going Monday (depends on a few things; am referring to the cookout gig)...we'll see!

[Chuck Murray]

Reid and/or Jenson. Actively "campaigning" for the captaincy should be immediately disqualifying.

[Snively65]

Reid and/or Jenson. Actively "campaigning" for the captaincy should be immediately disqualifying.

I wonder if 2015-16 senior Collin MacDonald campaigned to be Co-Captain with lots of injury time in the stands to assess team play during his first three seasons? His senior season was also a disappointment, injury-wise and point-scoring-wise (6 goals and 11 points in 68 games over four seasons). Cafarelli already has 7 goals and 24 points in 52 games over his first three seasons and had lots of injury time in the stands the second half of last season to assess team play. However, I would prefer captains, co-captains, and assistant captains who can lead by example, score points, remain healthy, and stay on the ice. Just my opinion.

[Chuck Murray]

I wonder if 2015-16 senior Collin MacDonald campaigned to be Co-Captain with lots of injury time in the stands to assess team play during his first three seasons? His senior season was also a disappointment, injury-wise and point-scoring-wise (6 goals and 11 points in 68 games over four seasons). Cafarelli already has 7 goals and 24 points in 52 games over his first three seasons and had lots of injury time in the stands the second half of last season to assess team play. However, I would prefer captains, co-captains, and assistant captains who can lead by example, score points, remain healthy, and stay on the ice. Just my opinion.

Yup, the "staying on the ice" part being particularly important. IIRC MacDonald had a hard time doing just that in his first couple of seasons, and then had some really nasty injury/condition during his junior year that he worked like a dog to overcome. It apparently was this determination to return to the ice that formed the basis for his selection as Captain. Not much thought was seemingly given to whether he was good enough to get on the ice regularly, and then stay there. Keep in mind, in retrospect, this was Warren Foegele's second (and last) season at UNH, and as a kid who'd been drafted in the 3rd round by Carolina already, the fact that Gaudreault/Smith/MacDonald was getting outsized ice time at his expense wasn't lost on him or his advisors.

Here we are now almost 8 years later, and Foegele is finishing off an 8 figure NHL contract, while those three seniors were all out of hockey within a year of leaving UNH. And UNH carries this credibility stigma that seems to keep most of their best would-be recruits from matriculating here. MS7 was a first year assistant at the time, and one wonders what his thoughts were at the time - but probably saying nothing, like the obedient legacy hire he was - this didn't help the program's reputation, something he probably should have been more vocal about.

As if we needed any further reminders on what a clusterfark the last decade or so has been up here ...