The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[umhockey91]

Ben Barr + Alfond Foundation $$$ = a good start. There are plenty of programs out there right now that are probably just a little jealous of Maine’s current fortunes….now they need to translate into a more consistent winning program. How can you not be giddy right now if you are a UMaine Hockey fan?

 

[NorthMike]

I think it's worth bringing up since Richard is one of the better on-paper recruits that we've had in awhile, but I have a counterpoint to your concern. Any incoming player, or current player, can clearly see his track record at WMU, Union, Providence, and UMass. What exactly about Coach Barr would make you want to leave? I mean he had a hand in developing Cale Makar just two seasons ago, so I don't see how young Mr Richard could look at that and not see an opportunity to get better.

Possibly it's my glass half-full optimism, but I don't foresee any of those issues and quite frankly if any existing players leave, it allows Barr to put his blueprint on the club earlier than anticipated.

I'm sure coach Barr will look at all the incoming recruits to see if they fit regardless of their prospect rating. Even Richard. He emphasized that hes not going after pure talent but also those who want to play for maine, accept the culture, etc. The fit.

 

[NorthMike]

lol. You're delusional.

Yeah, I sure hope we arent talking about who was better Whitehead or Red then Barr or Red in a year or two.
Good grief.

 

[Wayuphere]

Ben Barr + Alfond Foundation $$$ = a good start. There are plenty of programs out there right now that are probably just a little jealous of Maine’s current fortunes….now they need to translate into a more consistent winning program. How can you not be giddy right now if you are a UMaine Hockey fan?

I’m not giddy because they haven’t played a game yet plus we still have to live through the “Red effect” for at least one more season. Optimistic? Definitely.

 

[Drew S.]

Yeah, I sure hope we arent talking about who was better Whitehead or Red then Barr or Red in a year or two.
Good grief.

To clarify I don’t think we’re going to look back and see Red as more successful. I think we’ll look back and realize Red built a foundation for Barr’s success.

 

[Chuck Murray]

To clarify I don't think we're going to look back and see Red as more successful. I think we'll look back and realize Red built a foundation for Barr's success.

Serious question - are you related to the Gendrons? What "foundation"?!? I do not wish to speak ill of the passed, and Red always seemed to be a lovely guy to have a beer with and talk hockey ... but honestly, the only "foundation" I'm seeing from his era recently is playing about 4 hours south of the Downeast nowadays, and backing up Tuukka Rask in the playoffs. Am I missing something???

 

[BassAle]

To clarify I don’t think we’re going to look back and see Red as more successful. I think we’ll look back and realize Red built a foundation for Barr’s success.

uh, no one will think that except for you.

If Barr is successful, Barr gets full credit. Red left him a shitty program to rebuild.

 

[Drew S.]

uh, no one will think that except for you.

If Barr is successful, Barr gets full credit. Red left him a ****ty program to rebuild.

There are 15 guys on Heisenberg’s list right now who haven’t stepped on campus. Suthers didn’t play any games last year. Let’s see how the next few years play out. I’ve heard Barr say multiple times is that the team is very close and committed to the school. Surely that is worth something.

 

[Drew S.]

We might need to get the recruit thread going again. This is a really bizarre story and no clue if it’s legit or not https://thejuniorhockeynews.com/opol...-bears-commit/

 

[amkirby10]

We might need to get the recruit thread going again. This is a really bizarre story and no clue if it’s legit or not https://thejuniorhockeynews.com/opol...-bears-commit/

"On loan"? I've never heard that in an NCAA context before. I have heard it in an NHL context, but that's far different, and involves actually signed contracts.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

"On loan"? I've never heard that in an NCAA context before. I have heard it in an NHL context, but that's far different, and involves actually signed contracts.

I have a feeling we never see this guy in Orono.

As for Red laying the foundation, I think he brought a lot of really good kids into Orono. The talent level just wasn’t there. We were never on par with the top teams in hockey East and to be honest, outside of Swayman, we were in the bottom 4 in terms of talent.

I expect Barr to drastically improve recruiting. The style of hockey will be completely different as well. I don’t agree with the sentiment that Red drove this program into the ground but I think any success Barr has will be due to his own hard work.

Red was a great man and was a good hockey coach. I don’t think he landed enough talent in his time here and his style of play was outdated for the current times. With that said, he was a positive impact on the kids he recruited to the program and I don’t think there is a lot of dissension in the locker room, which Barr has alluded to. To say he laid the foundation for future success is a stretch, but Barr isn’t walking into a complete dumpster fire either. There are good kids in that locker room who will play hard for Barr.

 

[walrus]

Red was a great man and was a good hockey coach. I don’t think he landed enough talent in his time here and his style of play was outdated for the current times. With that said, he was a positive impact on the kids he recruited to the program and I don’t think there is a lot of dissension in the locker room, which Barr has alluded to. To say he laid the foundation for future success is a stretch, but Barr isn’t walking into a complete dumpster fire either. There are good kids in that locker room who will play hard for Barr.

This right here. Red was very approachable, would talk to you about anything. I don't doubt the players loved him. He was a good man and will be remembered as a good man.

 

[NorthMike]

To clarify I don’t think we’re going to look back and see Red as more successful. I think we’ll look back and realize Red built a foundation for Barr’s success.

Yup understood, but not sure how it would be analytically measured.

 

[UncleRay]

This right here. Red was very approachable, would talk to you about anything. I don't doubt the players loved him. He was a good man and will be remembered as a good man.

Yep, Red will be remembered fondly by many. But I don't believe he built anything but sandcastles - they looked good for a bit but didn't stand up to adversity or scrutiny.

 

[Sean Pickett]

Sean, I think the issue with an analysis like yours assumes every coach starts from the same place. That obviously doesn’t happen and I think when we can look at the totality of Red’s work his tenure will look a lot better. As I’ve said before it’s not another the wheat you reap but the seeds you sew.

My analysis makes no such assumption, all it does is show how well a coach does after taking over. I think you will agree that Coach Walsh took over a worse program than Coach Gendron did, even if Coach Whitehead had the program headed in the wrong direction. And yet Coach Walsh got his record to 0.500 after 4 seasons and increased his winning percentage for 9 of the next 13 seasons. And look at Coach Carvel at UMass: even you have to admit that he had a worse starting place than Coach Gendron (unless you also think that Coach Micheletto built the foundation Coach Carvel built upon) and yet, in just 4 seasons his winning percentage went from 0.167 to 0.553 and he has won a regular season and tournament league title, as well as a NCAA title.

If anything, my analysis hurts those coaches like Coach Whitehead at Maine and Coach Parker at BU who come in and have tremendous success early. Here is a chart showing the cumulative winning percentage for Coaches Parker, Whitehead (Maine), Gasparini (UND) and Bertrand (Cornell):

After the early peak (1st season for Coach Bertrand, 2nd for Coach Gasparini, 3rd for Coaches Parker and Whitehead) it was downhill for all but Coach Parker, who was able to bounce back up in season 5 before a downward slide that bottomed out after season 17 and began a modest rise. However, Coaches Bertrand and Whitehead were gone after 12 seasons and Coach Gasparini was gone after 16. Maybe if they had stay they also would have rebounded, but we will never know. On the other hand, coaches who start off poorly and improve most seasons look better in comparison, since they are getting 'better' and not 'worse'.

Sean

 

[J.D.]

Started watching press conference. They pan to Barr's dad and then one chair over is the mascot. I don't think i can ever recall seeing the mascot sitting next to the podium amongst the actual people involved. Had a good laugh.

 

[Fishman'81]

Specific individual recruits aside, the general feeling is that there has been a lack of overall talent on the roster. Guite, as the lead recruiter, has to shoulder a large chunk of the blame. You say "great for recruiting" but it hasn't appeared to translate, for whatever reason.

Well, yeah... He didn't recruit. Period.

 

[Fishman'81]

Sean, I think the issue with an analysis like yours assumes every coach starts from the same place. That obviously doesn’t happen and I think when we can look at the totality of Red’s work his tenure will look a lot better. As I’ve said before it’s not another the wheat you reap but the seeds you sew.

OMG, give it up already!

Red had a pretty decent roster from the get-go, then drove the program into the turf.

Please consider the data. Maine was just taking up space after Red brought in his own recruits, and that's an indisputable fact

 

[Drew S.]

Interesting https://goblackbears.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster

I actually think bringing Ben and Alfie back might make some sense. I know it would be a departure from the norm but as Ben Barr said there is no real playbook for the situation he is in. In one of his interviews he mentioned needing a new strength and conditioning coach. It looks like the volunteer assistant from last year is gone too.

 

[amkirby10]

Interesting https://goblackbears.com/sports/mens-ice-hockey/roster

I actually think bringing Ben and Alfie back might make some sense. I know it would be a departure from the norm but as Ben Barr said there is no real playbook for the situation he is in. In one of his interviews he mentioned needing a new strength and conditioning coach. It looks like the volunteer assistant from last year is gone too.

I'd be stunned if Guite comes back, given the circumstances. I could possibly see Alfie being retained though, given his work with Swayman.