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University of Maine 2024–2025: Freel-ing good

Blkbearfan74 said:
That looks accurate! What happens if they do land Marques? I think they have a legit shot…


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Marques would likely be a 2nd line RW this season if I had to guess. It would bump Russell to the third line, Peluso to the 4th, and James to the reserves. This is just a guess because we don’t really know until the get some games under their belts. But it takes a deep set of lines and makes them even more deadly. Marques is the type that generates a lot for his line mates. So that is a compounding effect. When I see him play I wonder why Lethbridge had him at RW instead of center. I would think he would make a great center. It seems like college would allow him to put more muscle on since less games, more time at home, better nutrition not being on road all the time, etc… Plus he could learn the systems positioning, center duties, and face off tactics in practice which is easier with less games each week. Maybe that is what Nashville would like him to work towards. Plus I think draft pick expiration extends to 4 years if he joins NCAA, so might be he and Nashville are in favor of that. Seems like a great talent. He is very highly rated by neutral zone at 4.5, which is rare.
 
Blkbearfan74 said:
According to Neutral Zone - Maine jumped into the #1 spot for 2025 recruiting class…


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That is because they have Maine with 23 incoming recruits, which is wrong. If you sort by star average you will get a totally different answer. Really you have to remove the recruits from the list that aren’t coming in and computer an average ranking per recruit. For Maine that number is 3.875 for the incoming class. I did some quick estimations of the other teams using the same method and I had Maine at 12th in the country and 4th in Hockey East. BU, BC, and Providence rated ahead of Maine with UNH slightly behind Maine. I do think this is the best class Maine has had in a very long time. I also think Barr and staff do very well at developing what they do have. Because if it was only about recruiting then Maine wouldn’t have been a top 10 team the last two years. So the fact that the recruits appear to be much stronger has me ecstatic given Barr and staff can coach them up to a high degree. Today was a great day for Maine hockey. Very happy that Poirier and Rousseau chose Maine!
 
Sparkee said:
That is because they have Maine with 23 incoming recruits, which is wrong. If you sort by star average you will get a totally different answer. Really you have to remove the recruits from the list that aren’t coming in and computer an average ranking per recruit. For Maine that number is 3.875 for the incoming class. I did some quick estimations of the other teams using the same method and I had Maine at 12th in the country and 4th in Hockey East. BU, BC, and Providence rated ahead of Maine with UNH slightly behind Maine. I do think this is the best class Maine has had in a very long time. I also think Barr and staff do very well at developing what they do have. Because if it was only about recruiting then Maine wouldn’t have been a top 10 team the last two years. So the fact that the recruits appear to be much stronger has me ecstatic given Barr and staff can coach them up to a high degree. Today was a great day for Maine hockey. Very happy that Poirier and Rousseau chose Maine!
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Great recruits still have to play as a unit to win. I hope Barr can get the different personalities on the same page like he did last year, So far we haven't had much summer so I'm not wishing it away but can't wait to see what happens next season.
 
Anything new on you guys opting in? I heard Coach Barr on a podcast a while back and he seemed skeptical it was advantageous to do so. But I know the situation with the settlement is fluid.
 
McGoverners said:
I put this together today to get a gauge on the talent coming into the conference. This is all purely from EliteProspects and the Sportsnet tracker. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FRp5cdxr9xIKM3zXTXTFgcmGfQphdmnh6INthXnAbgE/edit?usp=sharing

I'll update as signings are announced.
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Sparkee said:
Marques would likely be a 2nd line RW this season if I had to guess. It would bump Russell to the third line, Peluso to the 4th, and James to the reserves. This is just a guess because we don’t really know until the get some games under their belts. But it takes a deep set of lines and makes them even more deadly. Marques is the type that generates a lot for his line mates. So that is a compounding effect. When I see him play I wonder why Lethbridge had him at RW instead of center. I would think he would make a great center. It seems like college would allow him to put more muscle on since less games, more time at home, better nutrition not being on road all the time, etc… Plus he could learn the systems positioning, center duties, and face off tactics in practice which is easier with less games each week. Maybe that is what Nashville would like him to work towards. Plus I think draft pick expiration extends to 4 years if he joins NCAA, so might be he and Nashville are in favor of that. Seems like a great talent. He is very highly rated by neutral zone at 4.5, which is rare.
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Russell on 3rd line would be a crazy testament to the FW depth. I'm really hoping for him to take a big step next year. Obviously his production was better than most probably anticipated but he was infuriating at times with how difficult it seemed for him to simply get rid of the puck. He has a ton of footspeed and agility and I think if he puts it together the path to 40+ points is a very clear one given his skill level.
 
umhockey91 said:
Marques Instagram....he has nothing on there about Maine (yet) but he is following the Maine Hockey Instagram account.
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I see. He is also following UConn, so maybe that is his other option. Maybe they can put the highlights of Maine beating UConn in the hockey east championship game on the Jumbotron. Show him what the crowd was like and how many more Maine fans filled the td garden.

In watching him play a close comparison I can draw is Niko Dimitrakos. He stickhandles through traffic and dishes deceptive passes like Niko did. And like Niko can surprise you with a well placed wrister.
 
Sparkee said:
I see. He is also following UConn, so maybe that is his other option. Maybe they can put the highlights of Maine beating UConn in the hockey east championship game on the Jumbotron. Show him what the crowd was like and how many more Maine fans filled the td garden.

In watching him play a close comparison I can draw is Niko Dimitrakos. He stickhandles through traffic and dishes deceptive passes like Niko did. And like Niko can surprise you with a well placed wrister.
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Niko was unfortunately before my time but his highlights are glorious. The 99 FF semis through the legs move and subsequent pass that somehow got through to Stewart. 2000 HE finals goal (where Maine has at least two interference calls, a different time) come to mind. Seems like he really wanted to punish all the Boston teams that may have overlooked him as a local guy.
 
blackbears9 said:
Soltys has been named GM at Lake State. Seems like this opens up a spot for John O'Connor from Mount Saint Charles to be named Maine's GM.

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That is good for Soltys. I assumed when O’Connor rumor started it meant Soltys was moving on. Soltys had a big hand in rebuilding this team over the last couple years. For that we are thankful. I wish him well at Lake Superior.
 
Mac910 said:
Niko was unfortunately before my time but his highlights are glorious. The 99 FF semis through the legs move and subsequent pass that somehow got through to Stewart. 2000 HE finals goal (where Maine has at least two interference calls, a different time) come to mind. Seems like he really wanted to punish all the Boston teams that may have overlooked him as a local guy.
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He was recruited by BU. But back then Walsh was coach and Standbrook was the recruiter. They could get top recruits to Maine, Paul Kariya being the crown jewel. But there were loads of other top recruits going to Maine when Walsh was there. Niko was one of my favorite players because of his stick handling in traffic. Brendan Walsh gave him the nickname “Tricky Nicky” because of his dangling. Was such a fun player to watch.
 
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