Harvard 2022-23: What's Up?

[Watson Rink]

The upcoming season is basically a throwaway year. Bellamy will have to lay the groundwork for team culture and philosophy. It may be hard for her to fill out her staff given the late date of her coming aboard. I don't have great expectations for a winning season. It may be enough to hope for a season where the players feel appreciated and safe from hazing or any form of abuse.

Yup, besides all that, among the several problems the roster will suffer from is youth (only one senior!) and a curious lack of game experience among the other upperclassmen who, after Covid had played Hobb with their hockey development, then got little ice time during the year of the 31 player squad that featured so many veterans who chose to retain their eligibility. Will be interesting to see how far Bellamy chooses to lengthen her bench (I say "how much," not "whether," for obvious reasons). Three goalies, eight defenders, but only 12 forwards.

[Skate79]

Good to hear that.
a needed change although they took their time making the choice.
time to renew my season tickets.

The upcoming season is basically a throwaway year. Bellamy will have to lay the groundwork for team culture and philosophy. It may be hard for her to fill out her staff given the late date of her coming aboard. I don't have great expectations for a winning season. It may be enough to hope for a season where the players feel appreciated and safe from hazing or any form of abuse.

[Sierra]

Strong hire.

[Veritas]

Good to hear that.
a needed change although they took their time making the choice.
time to renew my season tickets.

[vicb]

Selfesteam called it -- Harvard hires Laura Bellamy:
https://gocrimson.com/news/2023/8/3/...ce-hockey.aspx

May she excel in the new chapter of her life (but not too much) ;-)

[AlwaysCold2]

Selfesteam called it -- Harvard hires Laura Bellamy:
https://gocrimson.com/news/2023/8/3/...ce-hockey.aspx

Great choice! Congrats to Laura!

[Lindsay]

Selfsteam called it -- Harvard hires Laura Bellamy:
https://gocrimson.com/news/2023/8/3/...ce-hockey.aspx

Congrats to her! Cheers to a new chapter.

Great opportunity for the right coach, especially if administration is committed to turning the page and moving forward. Bellamy would have seen upclose UMD get past its tumultuous days, has the Harvard background, and was a successful assistant coach. Good luck to her.

[PSUfan]

Selfesteam called it -- Harvard hires Laura Bellamy:
https://gocrimson.com/news/2023/8/3/...ce-hockey.aspx

[selfesteam]

Would be

[ARM]

Isn't that quite an accomplishment to coach at an Ivy League school?

Do you think more highly of Laura Schuler during her second stint as a UMD assistant after having coached Dartmouth (and Canada Olympians!) than you did during her previous years in Duluth? How many Brown coaches can the average fan name after Digit Murphy? I'll grant that Harvard is higher profile, but coaching these programs while they were winners was viewed more positively than is the case today.

[HockeyGuy362]

Laura Bellamy excellent choice
Harvard graduate
Experienced Coach
Great player and better person!

Are you saying she would be a good choice, or she is there choice?

[selfesteam]

Laura Bellamy would be an excellent choice
Harvard graduate
Experienced Coach
Great player and better person!

[CROSS BAR]

Competitively, why would Crowell, Flint, or Desrosiers take the job? All three have had multiple teams reach the Frozen Four since Harvard has last been there, all have reached the Final, and Desrosiers won twice after Harvard's last run. Is compensation that much higher at Harvard? I would think Potsdam and Duluth have a lower cost of living than Boston. If a coach wants to live in Boston, then maybe that would drive a move. Otherwise, I don't see it.

Crowell, maybe not under the circumstances, but her assistant (former Harvard player) probably would and would be a top candidate.

[vicb]

On the Clarkson Roundtable and her Instagram account, Caroline Aufiero, former Harvard commit now headed to Potsdam in 2024.

[BadgerPete]

There are about thirty days until kids are on campus and still no coach. I have come to the conclusion that this is not the AD's decision, and the hire will come directly from a small group on the Board of Overseers.

Despite EM's visible role in the "Harvard Athletics Celebrates 50yrs of Title IX" documentary (released 6/22 - completely scrubbed in 2 weeks with no mention of KS), I don't think she is guiding this ship. I agree that this program needs a "Fresh" perspective - no association with the previous regime whatsoever. That being said, here are my odds - Who ya got?

Maura Crowell: 8-5
Courtney Kennedy: 9-5
Dave Flint: 2-1
Jackie Crum: 5-2
Laura Bellamy: 3-1
Matt Desrosiers: 7-2
Jeff Kampersal: 4-1
Julie Chu: 9-2
Nick Carpenito: 5-1
Tony Maci: 10-1
Shelly Picard: 20-1

None of those top seven are coming on this short a notice to a bottomed out program with no semblance of organization in the athletic department, a vast pall of scandal hanging over the team, the 2025 commitments about to strike midnight and therefore no time to get recruiting for this cycle, and the window to do anything useful for roster building for this season long since gone. If Harvard wants one of those names, they need to slap an interim tag on someone, wait out a bad year, and hire a coach with an actual offseason to work with in 2024.