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Maine Black Bears 2026 Offseason: Missing Out on Mistlebacher

BlackBearHockeyFan said:
Be lucky to average 2 goals a night now
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I think this is a really pessimistic take. After Nadeau left, a lot of people were saying we would struggle to score, then we went out and had players that played within the system and all of the sudden everyone was a threat on any given night. Florida has not one back to back cups because of a single MVP level sniper putting up lots of goals. they have won back to back because Maurice has installed a defnsive system that plays to Floridas strengths (depth, tenacity)

The whole is larger than the sum of the parts when it comes to great hockey teams. We will be fine in the scoring department.
 
AmaineBlackBear said:
I think this is a really pessimistic take. After Nadeau left, a lot of people were saying we would struggle to score, then we went out and had players that played within the system and all of the sudden everyone was a threat on any given night. Florida has not one back to back cups because of a single MVP level sniper putting up lots of goals. they have won back to back because Maurice has installed a defnsive system that plays to Floridas strengths (depth, tenacity)

The whole is larger than the sum of the parts when it comes to great hockey teams. We will be fine in the scoring department.
Click to expand...
We will see since Maine doesn't have many goal scorers returning. Florida also has a great goaltender. Maine was 48th in that department
 
walrus said:
I've heard all kinds of rumors
but even so it sucks losing your only true sniper.
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Not just a true sniper; an elite one of the best to play in the Alfond, sniper. He could be a 35+/yr goal scorer. It’s a bummer the program couldn’t do enough to make him want to stay. Retention of elite talent should be among most meaningful metrics and it doesn’t seem like the back office thinks it matters
 
BlackBearHockeyFan said:
Be lucky to average 2 goals a night now
Click to expand...
The team is reloaded with solid players- but the whole attitude that we’re better off without our top two most productive players is INSANE. Maine needed to keep them. And we should be disappointed that we didn’t. He came here, he succeeded, he left. Same w JN, same w Marques

Getting players to commit in the first place is a battle. We need to focus on keeping them. The attitude that talent grows on trees and Maine can have whomever they want, is ludicrous. It’s all about numbers and production. When Poirier played well they won. He was hard working enough and happy enough. This Poirier situation is the difference between a great coach that creates a culture that wins championships, and a mediocre coach that blames other factors instead of designing better solutions

Seriously- to get a commitment from elite talent, and then to send them off like it’s no hair off your back is really really ugly
 
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Orono1993 said:
The kid played hard and was extremely talented. What are the rumors besides the back and forth in this thread? There’s no way *he* was the primary problem
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He allegedly scrapped with Lipinski and was subsequently scratched for attitude issues. The hip injury also played a part, but that’s why he was AWOL for the latter half of the campaign. What good is elite talent if they’re going to be stuck up divas who don’t buy in?
 
Orono1993 said:
The team is reloaded with solid players- but the whole attitude that we’re better off without our top two point most productive players is INSANE. Maine needed to keep them. And we should be disappointed that we didn’t. He came here, he succeeded, he left. Same w JN, same w Marques

Getting players to commit in the first place is a battle. We need to focus on keeping them. The attitude that talent grows on trees and Maine can have whomever they want, is ludicrous. It’s all about numbers and production. When Poirier played well they won. He was hard working enough and happy enough. This Poirier situation is the difference between a great coach that creates a culture that wins championships, and a mediocre coach that blames other factors instead of designing better solutions

Seriously- to get a commitment from elite talent, and then to send them off like it’s no hair off your back is really really ugly
Click to expand...
There was a very good chance that Poirier would have been a one-and-done guy no matter what. Whether the Hurricanes gave him the Nadeau treatment, or a bigger school came calling with a $$$ bag, him being a mercenary was an entirely reasonable projection for a player of his skill.

The college landscape is completely different in that getting players to stay is harder than ever, regardless of the coach. At present there are a record 315(!) players in the portal, it's a pipe dream to think that roster construction wouldn't radically change. The upside to the current landscape is that the talent pool is larger than ever to pull from. The CHL will feed us a lot of talent (we have 14 commits currently playing in those leagues), so seeing how Barr balances talent with locker room fits is what's going to be the X-factor for us to avoid a repeat of last season.
 
I've been keeping my yap shut lately (for a change) but this NIL shit..? No way it's going to work for the Maines of the world.

The best a Maine can hope for is to put together a Cornell-style program, and sneak into the tournament every few years, then exit early, just to say they got there. The B10, which has trickle-down revenue from big-time football and hoops, will scarf up the top hockey talent via its spare change.

Denver pulled the NC out of its ass. A middling B10 Bucky team dominated them, aside from on the scoreboard. I don't see that happening very often. I'd expect that UMD, NoDak, Maine, et al will fall by the wayside, sooner than later. Maybe BU and BC as well, if they haven't already.

College hockey is turning into college football, and that sucks with great vigor, for most of us.
 
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