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RPI 2022 Off-season: Surely, We Deserve Better

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MarkEagleUSA said:
I guess I'd be asking why a top kid decides to leave a team...
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Jake was a senior. The RPI seniors could have left earlier, but stayed to try and make it work, so I understand why they are in the portal now. I think part of this for kids with 1 year left is looking at a last chance to play in the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, RPI is in rebuild mode.

I get the frustration; 2 years ago, RPI had a ton of momentum and a goaltender in peak form going into the ECAC playoffs after snagging 4th place in the last game. Then COVID shut down the season and RPI took one of the most conservative positions on reopening throughout, and seemed unable to let anyone know what the plan might be to restart practices, which is also clearly part of the equation here. That's not the fault of the other teams, but it's just disappointing that the kids in the 19-20 team didn't get a chance to take another run with the intact underclassmen group.

I am conflicted on the transfer rule. I think kids should be able to move for a fresh start, but we have to accept that flexibility is going to allow good players to transfer to direct rivals. Something about college sports is lost there, but I don't think we reckon with the reality that the prior rules had their own downsides for players. It will be interesting to see if any further changes are made after a couple of years of experience. I haven't heard any evidence of other schools "tapping up" kids, I think most of these conversations are getting initiated by the players through intermediaries (e.g. juniors, high school, and AAU coaches) anyway, and that type of action is impossible to prevent, and may be even undesirable to try to limit.
 
Engineers said:
With the exception of Dubinsky and kjeilberg the seniors that are in the portal are not a surprise to the coaching staff. It was already known.
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Yes, but those are two that really blossomed in our program and would have been senior leaders on next year's team. The odd part is that one picked a school that will be very lucky if it escapes the the Big 10 basement (Dubinsky to Michigan State) and the other is going to a team that is similarly placed in its league (Kjellberg to NMU) as RPI is in the ECAC (both mid-range). I don't see a great hockey benefit for either. Maybe there are personal reasons.
 
Austin Heidemann has committed to RPI out of the transfer portal from Mercyhurst

16 GP 7-5-12
38 GP 12-15-27
in his 2 years there, looks like a good addition
 
sezenack said:
Austin Heidemann has committed to RPI out of the transfer portal from Mercyhurst

16 GP 7-5-12
38 GP 12-15-27
in his 2 years there, looks like a good addition
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He was their leading scorer. I couldn't find a Mercyhurst line chart but it looks like he's a wing since he wasn't listed taking face-offs in the two box scores I checked. Good pickup, but I hope we can find at least one top two line center. We're pretty thin down the middle.
 
Today is 14 April 2022. There are 170 days until RPI's next game. There are 78 days until RPI has a new president.


This is based upon 1 October 2022 for the start of next season and 1 July 2022 for the end of @#$%^.
 
RPI67 said:
https://hurstathletics.com/sports/me...eidemann/12640 Does look like a good pickup. We need to replace top 3 Dman.
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It's good to get someone who looks like he will be useful and around for more than one year. I do think that D is our primary need, but my gut feeling is that besides for Smolinski and Ardanaz, we will add two since I think Hallbauer will be back. One could be Al-Azem.

BTW, Heidemann received 3.75 *'s from Neutral Zone before going to Mercyhurst.
 
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engineerhockeyfan said:
It is nice to know that someone wants to come here.
I don't want to read too much into this, but he must have gotten some reassurance that the coach will still be here in October. At least I would like to believe that.
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sezenack posted a few pages ago that Smith will indeed be back.
 
https://oficeandivy.substack.com/p/of-ice-and-ivy-2-transfer-portal?s=r

The Engineers snagged former Mercyhurst forward Austin Heidemann, who will be 23 at the start of next season. For a program that could use a little more offensive punch to get to the next level, Heidemann should provide it. Recording 12 points in 16 games during his first year, Heidemann posted 12 goals and 15 assists in 38 games in year two, tying him for the team lead in points. If he can continue an upward trend, he may record 35-40 points for RPI in his Junior campaign. Not a bad bit of contribution if you ask me.
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Johnson is also discussed,
 
Today is 15 April 2022. There are 169 days until RPI's next game. There are 77 days (11 weeks) until RPI has a new president.


This is based upon 1 October 2022 for the start of next season and 1 July 2022 for the end of @#$%^.
 
Any whispers or leaks on what our non-conference schedule will look like ? Sure would be nice to add a few fun fan trips into the mix....i.e. let's not do 4 games in Alaska again !
 
I have long wondered who RPI Hockey Stats is and if (s)he posts here. Anyway, he posted his projected lineup. https://twitter.com/RPIHockeyStats/s...12180281901062 I am sure that we all agree with it in part and disagree with it on other parts. The most glaring omission to me is Justin Addamo who reportedly is going to use his COVID year. The second most glaring omission is that his top-6 forwards is missing one right wing. He also doesn't include Bourgault as even a possible freshman. I will stop there.
 
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Today is 16 April 2022. There are 168 days (24 weeks) until RPI's next game. There are 76 days until RPI has a new president.


This is based upon 1 October 2022 for the start of next season and 1 July 2022 for the end of @#$%^.
 
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