UNH Hockey Off Season Thread 2026

[FlagUp17]

Today being the summer solstice is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. After today, the days will slowly get shorter. While I do enjoy summer, I always look forward to the return of fall. Before you know it, we will start to feel a bit of “bite” in the evening air. The leaves will start to change (first in the swampy areas and elevations, slowly making its way to sea level) and kids will start to go back to school.

And importantly, hockey will be back. Again, as Chuck mentioned earlier, summer is just starting. But even still… the days are now gonna get shorter. Today always makes me think of the eventual return of cold and my winter hobbies/sports - and when the good guys will be back on the ice at the Whitt.

I wish everyone a happy summer!

 

[Chuck Murray]

It's hockey related, but not college hockey ... the Brady Tkachuk trade this past weekend to Florida continued the recent trends of (1) migration of players from the haves to the have-nots, and (2) most of that migration emanating from Canada and the northern tier US cities to the teams in the US' so-called "Sun Belt". Some might be tempted to chalk this up to post-Olympics fever of the US team's players to continue their vibes together, and others are viewing migration trends towards low- or no-tax states cities at the expense of frigid northern destinations with suffocating tax structures. Worth monitoring these trends, and whether the NHL will take steps to try to counter any of them? It's funny ... for many years, the NHL longed for expansion development to broaden its appeal, fan base, and revenues ... and now here it is, but potentially coming at the expense of Canadian markets and high tax US markets. Pandora's Box has been opened ... is there any way of turning the tide?

And to bring this topic back to a more relevant local slant ... old-timers like myself will certainly recall the final days of the original Boston Garden, when Delaware North (the B's owners, the Jacobs family) were openly exploring the possibility of setting up shop in Salem NH at or near the old Rockingham site, that is now occupied by Joe Faro's booming "Tuscan Village" commercial/residential complex. Was that nothing more than creating viable leverage to get the New Garden built? As the folks in Hartford learned a few years later, yes, alternate sites are often floated to create the leverage to get a new facility built closer to "home". But ... "what if" the B's had gone ahead with those plans to build in Salem NH? It certainly wouldn't have solved the "Sun Belt" problems, but moving the franchise to a no state sales tax venue would have given the B's a significant advantage that the other Original Six and extended northern tiered teams are now battling with (and losing to) the Florida, Texas, Nevada and even Carolina and Tennessee teams. The "new" Garden is now 30+ years old, and there have been other younger but outdated buildings that have come and gone since. If current trends remain unchecked ... might Team Jacobs revisit the NH solution within the next generation as the TD Garden approaches 50 years old, where there is still plenty of developable land in the Rte. 93 corridor at Exits 1 & 2, now supported by even more entertainment, retail and hotel capacity?

Lastly ... just to put this out there on how quickly things can change, for the better OR for the worse ... I wanted to share the following video link on what the pre-tech boom Boston looked like in the 1970's. This is the Boston this working-class community kid grew up in, and it was a far cry from what it looks like these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ymVz5vt6Gw

The role of the rejuvenation of Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market as the trigger for a new wave of tourism cannot be understated ... could the Tuscan Village project, combined with a possible Garden 3.0 project sometime in mid-century (Garden 1.0 lasted 70 years so we're halfway there), have a similar impact on Southern NH??

I'm also struck by the transformation of Portsmouth NH over the last 20+ years from a '70's Boston-type crumbling seaport dump to a fully gentrified center of wealth, business and tourism, albeit on a far smaller scale than Boston. Seacoast NH is fully capable of hosting minor league sports enterprises if we were committed to building an SNHU Arena-sized venue on or near the Pease property, which has fueled the booming local economy, but more so than Salem NH still has large tracts of developable land to support such an operation. It's too small and too far isolated from Greater Boston to be a viable alternative at a major league level (where Salem is much closer and more accessible to much larger demographics) ... but things can change, and if you were from Western NY at the turn of the prior century when electrification of the country (plus the Erie Canal) was driving that area's prodigious wealth, or if you were from Detroit/SE Michigan in the mid-1950's when the auto industry put your community at the top of the Richie Rich line, you probably never saw an end to the good times, and would now be shocked at what happened when your community was rocked by then-unforeseeable changes in the world that surrounded them.

It's just summer, and there's still plenty of time to go before UNH Hockey returns to entertain us for the colder part of the year, so feel free to engage (or not) ...

 

[Potluck]

The University of Vermont is struggling. So why is it spending $175 million on athletics? - The Boston Globe

Facing slumping enrollment and a budget deficit, the University of Vermont is making a big investment in athletics facilities.

www.bostonglobe.com

Very interesting story about how UVM is proposing to invest money in sports and student recreation to try to stem a crisis with reduced admissions from out of state kids. In short, Vermont taxpayers have been underfunding UVM forever and bilking out of state students for generations with huge tuition while basically allowing in state students to attend UVM tuition free. The gig if up, as should be the case for the deadbeat taxpayers in Vermont. Sounds a lot like UNH.

"The request encapsulates UVM’s strategy to withstand the forces hammering higher education: Schools are closing; federal support is going away; and the shrinking population of college-aged young adults is leaving all but the most elite schools fiercely competing for students. This “demographic cliff” is a five-alarm bell higher education insiders have been ringing for decades, and UVM, the flagship school of a greying state, is feeling the heat. It is suffering through a $12 million budget deficit and expects the incoming class of freshmen students to decline by 15 percent this fall."

UVM is in free fall UNH style. UVM and UNH have been following the same playbook except that Burlington VT was a more popular destination for students a from 1970to about 2010. Funding extracurriculars will not move the needle at Vermont. The jobs program at UVM for barely employable, politically connected, overpaid administrators with marginal talent and less ambition is ending.

 

[Chuck Murray]

The University of Vermont is struggling. So why is it spending $175 million on athletics? - The Boston Globe

Facing slumping enrollment and a budget deficit, the University of Vermont is making a big investment in athletics facilities.

www.bostonglobe.com

Very interesting story about how UVM is proposing to invest money in sports and student recreation to try to stem a crisis with reduced admissions from out of state kids. In short, Vermont taxpayers have been underfunding UVM forever and bilking out of state students for generations with huge tuition while basically allowing in state students to attend UVM tuition free. The gig if up, as should be the case for the deadbeat taxpayers in Vermont. Sounds a lot like UNH.

"The request encapsulates UVM’s strategy to withstand the forces hammering higher education: Schools are closing; federal support is going away; and the shrinking population of college-aged young adults is leaving all but the most elite schools fiercely competing for students. This “demographic cliff” is a five-alarm bell higher education insiders have been ringing for decades, and UVM, the flagship school of a greying state, is feeling the heat. It is suffering through a $12 million budget deficit and expects the incoming class of freshmen students to decline by 15 percent this fall."

UVM is in free fall UNH style. UVM and UNH have been following the same playbook except that Burlington VT was a more popular destination for students a from 1970to about 2010. Funding extracurriculars will not move the needle at Vermont. The jobs program at UVM for barely employable, politically connected, overpaid administrators with marginal talent and less ambition is ending.

Thanks for sharing, sincerely. Could have done without the editorial "sounds a lot like UNH" snark, but so be it. In addition to Burlington having been a very popular draw among out of state students from NY and MA, there was also a fair share of NH kids seeing UVM as a viable social/educational option, which has begun to wither in recent years. As VT has trended towards becoming a virtual welfare state, I do think comparisons to UNH are unfair, whereas there is a lot more in common demographically (and even politically) between NH and Maine. And whereas I would often see kids in our program a decade plus back going to UVM, or Castleton State or Lyndon State ... a similar fraction of kids looking out of state have shifted to UMass options in Amherst, Lowell and Dartmouth (MA). It's been noticeable.

Ironically, a lot of the fearmongering narratives emanating from faculty lounges across academia have largely contributed to, if not downright caused the decline in birthrates across the country, which are now coming home to roost for enrollments at many/most colleges. Whether the recent tempering of the previous "existential" messaging on the climate will talk a generation of kids/young adults off the proverbial ledge to start families, remains to be seen.

In the end, the interim solution, as you so accurately pointed out in your concluding paragraph, is that schools will need to cut their budgets accordingly, and layers of administrative fluff and redundancy will now have to be addressed out of absolute necessity. Just as if they were real private businesses. The gravy train that was the endless double-the-rate-of-inflation bubble on academia's financial model was always going to burst at some point. In many places, that time is now upon us ...

 

[umhockey91]

The University of Vermont is struggling. So why is it spending $175 million on athletics? - The Boston Globe

Facing slumping enrollment and a budget deficit, the University of Vermont is making a big investment in athletics facilities.

www.bostonglobe.com

Very interesting story about how UVM is proposing to invest money in sports and student recreation to try to stem a crisis with reduced admissions from out of state kids. In short, Vermont taxpayers have been underfunding UVM forever and bilking out of state students for generations with huge tuition while basically allowing in state students to attend UVM tuition free. The gig if up, as should be the case for the deadbeat taxpayers in Vermont. Sounds a lot like UNH.

"The request encapsulates UVM’s strategy to withstand the forces hammering higher education: Schools are closing; federal support is going away; and the shrinking population of college-aged young adults is leaving all but the most elite schools fiercely competing for students. This “demographic cliff” is a five-alarm bell higher education insiders have been ringing for decades, and UVM, the flagship school of a greying state, is feeling the heat. It is suffering through a $12 million budget deficit and expects the incoming class of freshmen students to decline by 15 percent this fall."

UVM is in free fall UNH style. UVM and UNH have been following the same playbook except that Burlington VT was a more popular destination for students a from 1970to about 2010. Funding extracurriculars will not move the needle at Vermont. The jobs program at UVM for barely employable, politically connected, overpaid administrators with marginal talent and less ambition is ending.

Glad to see that Maine beat both UVM and UNH to the punch when it comes to athletic dept. transformations with new and renovated facilities. Maine has raised over $220 million in private donations for athletics over the past 5 years obviously driven by $170 million from the Alfond Foundation.....but still $50+ million from other sources is nothing to sneeze at. Here's the live construction cam for Maine's new $100 million Morse Arena (basketball + football operations center): https://share.earthcam.net/tJ90CoLm...maine_-_morse_arena/football_press_box/view_1

 

[Whalers]

Many schools have really tried to beef up (probably meat alternatives) their dining hall operations in the past decade to attract students thru non-traditional means. Higher quality choices like stir fry stations, sushi and even thrilling choices for something as mundane as water (UMass had like 7 different options of water). To attract more of their "traditional" students, maybe UVM should expand their dining choices to include edibles. Or free hemp for weave your own Birkenstock sock days.


The Tarrant IDX money can only go so far to help build UVM athletics. Hey Bernie, maybe the answer is to tax all those multi hundred millionaires who arent paying their fair share, Ben and whats his name?

 

[Potluck]

In the 80s and 90s UVM was a hot school that attracted wealthy out of state students that were good students. The only recreation that interested them was the UVM/Burlington party social scene. Those kids now are from even wealthier families and want the Big 10 party scene or the south. That's part of what's hurting UVM. These kids have options at graduation irrespective of gpa. Tuition is just a simple check. Plenty of UVM alums are in finance in Boston and NY. They weren't attracted to UVM hockey per say. In addition, UVM out of staters always mentioned to me the academic and, snobbily, the economic inferiority of the in state kids.

UNH was different then. Good academics but not as much wealth. UNH just let they whole school collapse. UVM has a 65% acceptance rate. UNH has a skull imploding 88% acceptance rate. Both were vastily more competitive 30 years ago.

UVM and UNH deserve what they're getting. Bilking out of state students has a shelf life and the expiration date is here. The taxpayers need to step up or the schools will become a joke. The cavalry isn't coming. Students attend certain private schools and Big 10 SEC schools due to the glamour of big time sports. Nobody has or ever will choose a college to watch HE games or 1AA football. There's such a thing as the Flutie Effect. But there's no such thing as the Jason Krog effect.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

UNH has a skull imploding 88% acceptance rate.

lol Jeezuz.

 

[Chuck Murray]

UVM and UNH deserve what they're getting. Bilking out of state students has a shelf life and the expiration date is here. The taxpayers need to step up or the schools will become a joke. The cavalry isn't coming. Students attend certain private schools and Big 10 SEC schools due to the glamour of big time sports.

Billing out of state students more than in state students isn't unique to UVM, UNH OR UMaine. Hardly. In fact, UMass does the very same thing, and the ratio between in state rates and out of state rates between UNH and UMass (45%-ish) are nearly identical. The delta for UMaine is slightly bigger, and UVM bigger still ...

UVM~$16,938~$46,655 Out-of-state pays $29,717 more
UMaine~$13,686~$37,836 Out-of-state pays $24,150 more
UMass Amherst~$19,212~$43,299 Out-of-state pays $24,087 more
UNH~$16,304~$37,996 Out-of-state pays $21,692 more

I drew those figures out of AI in about 30 seconds, so if anyone wants to run their own figures, be my guest. But UNH is on another planet than UVM when it comes to soaking out of staters for a (much) higher rate.

Nobody has or ever will choose a college to watch HE games or 1AA football. There's such a thing as the Flutie Effect. But there's no such thing as the Jason Krog effect.

Doug Flutie was a year after me in school, and I think if you asked the average HS senior in New England today, "Who is Doug Flutie?" the rate of folks who might know would be maybe 10%, and that's IF we include the boner meds he's hawking these days with Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas on cable TV adverts lol.

But yeah, it mattered in the last century, no doubt about it. As you pointed out correctly, that effect has now matriculated down the field to SEC and Big Ten schools with hugely successful athletics programs. For example, the University of Alabama is running at a $33M surplus as of the last reporting period (post-Saban) which allows the institution to run at a comfortable surplus/profit. Filling a 100,000 seat stadium 7-8 times a year will do that for you. I'm sure Georgia and other big SEC football schools are doing close to the same, and maybe slightly less so with the Big Ten programs?? That last part is a guess.

Sadly for UNH, you are 100% correct about the lack of a "Jason Krog effect", as if 10% of the current Men's Hockey roster recognizes his name, I'd be shocked.

 

[umhockey91]

It's about upgrading old tired campuses now. It's been touched upon by numerous people.....athletic/recreational facilities, dining, residential, academic buildings....heck even campus beautification/landscaping can make good or bad first impressions. UMaine is working hard to rectify many of these I listed.....residence halls is a big one that needs to be dealt with ASAP....it's really bad. They have given it lip service.....$100 million for new and/or renovated residence halls. I'm hoping for a private/public partnership much like the new Hotel Ursa on campus. It's funny how similar yet how different all 3 states are......Vermont ultra liberal.....NH ultra conservative (esp. for NE) and Maine somewhere in the middle.

I do think that as growth and economic viability go......Maine has the best shot at more vibrant population and economic growth due to its vast natural resources and coastline. Maine is developing a true urban center in Portland (30 story residential/hotel tower coming soon, Northeastern's Roux Institute rising off 295 on the water's edge) with its bedroom communities (Westbrook, Gorham, Scarborough, Biddeford) gaining population quickly. I think Maine is attractive to many liberals/independents from across the country that support progressive social issues but aren't married to every aspect of the national party line. It has enough urban amenities and proximity to Boston in its 2 Southern counties.....yet easy access to ocean, lakes, mountains.....rural wilderness....to make it feel like a world away from civilization.

New Hampshire benefits with some of its tax policies and business friendly environment but lacks vast spaces and geographical diversity that Maine has. The Portsmouth/Durham/Dover/Rochester belt does feel like a truly dynamic area for future growth though.

Vermont is sort of stuck....it's like a beautiful park that you want to visit but never really want to live there. There just doesn't seem like a lot of dynamic investment or opportunity to drive growth.

 

[Chuck Murray]

lol Jeezuz.

University (Flagship University's in Northern NE)	Campus Location	Acceptance Rate
UMass Amherst	Amherst, MA	~58% to 60%
UVM (University of Vermont)	Burlington, VT	~57.6% to 60%
UNH (University of New Hampshire)	Durham, NH	~87% to 88%
UMaine (University of Maine)	Orono, ME	~96% to 97%

Not everyone can be BC, Nick. In running this data, UVM's applications were high due to huge out of state applications, UMass' high due to international apps.

Incoming frosh classes at the latter three schools are virtually equal, and UMass (state population double the other 3 combined) frosh class size is doubled too.

 

[umhockey91]

University (Flagship University's in Northern NE)	Campus Location	Acceptance Rate
UMass Amherst	Amherst, MA	~58% to 60%
UVM (University of Vermont)	Burlington, VT	~57.6% to 60%
UNH (University of New Hampshire)	Durham, NH	~87% to 88%
UMaine (University of Maine)	Orono, ME	~96% to 97%

Not everyone can be BC, Nick. In running this data, UVM's applications were high due to huge out of state applications, UMass' high due to international apps.

Incoming frosh classes at the latter three schools are virtually equal, and UMass (state population double the other 3 combined) frosh class size is doubled too.

Maine's acceptance rate is obscene. I'd like to see the chancellor and president actually address this honestly. I can accept the fact that it's an economic necessity to keep the lights on...which it is. And I can also understand....UMaine exists to serve the people of Maine.....which means in-state students that want to attend. But with 7 or 8 campuses.....is it really necessary to have a 96% acceptance rate at your flagship? I'd like to see it around 80% but a more realistic 90% should be doable.....right?

 

[Chuck Murray]

It's about upgrading old tired campuses now. It's been touched upon by numerous people.....athletic/recreational facilities, dining, residential, academic buildings....heck even campus beautification/landscaping can make good or bad first impressions. UMaine is working hard to rectify many of these I listed.....residence halls is a big one that needs to be dealt with ASAP....it's really bad. They have given it lip service.....$100 million for new and/or renovated residence halls. I'm hoping for a private/public partnership much like the new Hotel Ursa on campus. It's funny how similar yet how different all 3 states are......Vermont ultra liberal.....NH ultra conservative (esp. for NE) and Maine somewhere in the middle.

I do think that as growth and economic viability go......Maine has the best shot at more vibrant population and economic growth due to its vast natural resources and coastline. Maine is developing a true urban center in Portland (30 story residential/hotel tower coming soon, Northeastern's Roux Institute rising off 295 on the water's edge) with its bedroom communities (Westbrook, Gorham, Scarborough, Biddeford) gaining population quickly. I think Maine is attractive to many liberals/independents from across the country that support progressive social issues but aren't married to every aspect of the national party line. It has enough urban amenities and proximity to Boston in its 2 Southern counties.....yet easy access to ocean, lakes, mountains.....rural wilderness....to make it feel like a world away from civilization.

New Hampshire benefits with some of its tax policies and business friendly environment but lacks vast spaces and geographical diversity that Maine has. The Portsmouth/Durham/Dover/Rochester belt does feel like a truly dynamic area for future growth though.

Overall, that's a pretty fair take, but I would have to point out that UNH has already done a large reboot of the overall campus over the last generation, with some notable remaining exceptions (i.e. the infamous butt-ugly Stoke Hall is still standing), and already has a well-developed second urban campus located near Fisher Cats Stadium and the Millyard in Manchester. I've read for a couple of years now about a 30 story tower near Portland's Old Port neighborhood, but didn't realize that was a UMaine project?? With the highest tower currently in town being 18 stories, I have my doubts, but you will be better informed than I will.

I did do some quick digging (AI again), and while there is a 30-story tower at 45 Union St. in the works, that's a private mixed-use project neither owned nor controlled by the UMaine System. UMaine did buy a six-story building at 7 Custom House St. in the same area and is leasing it to its Law School. Maybe there will be a partial lease of classroom and/or residential space in the new tower? Again, I will defer to you as being better informed of all things UMaine System Board of Trustees.

I think you're also selling UNH's holdings in the area short in terms of "space and geographical diversity". Plus Durham is directly on Great Bay, and even if it wasn't, the Durham campus is much closer to the Atlantic than Orono is. You don't have to trust me, you can look that up.

Vermont is sort of stuck....it's like a beautiful park that you want to visit but never really want to live there. There just doesn't seem like a lot of dynamic investment or opportunity to drive growth.

Burlington used to be a great advert for small town campus adjacent living. But it's restricted by its surroundings for sure. If you told me 20 years ago that Plattsburgh NY (a short ferry across Lake Champlain) would be better positioned than Burlington VT for the future, I'd have looked to check you into the loonie bin. But while Plattsburgh still has lots more to improve on, it's improved vastly, and at least it's now a discussion as to which side is doing better.

It's probably still Burlington VT, but not by much. Like you said, a very nice place to visit, but I'll take a hard pass on living there.

 

[umhockey91]

've read for a couple of years now about a 30 story tower near Portland's Old Port neighborhood, but didn't realize that was a UMaine project?? With the highest tower currently in town being 18 stories, I have my doubts, but you will be better informed than I will.

I did do some quick digging (AI again), and while there is a 30-story tower at 45 Union St. in the works, that's a private mixed-use project neither owned nor controlled by the UMaine System. UMaine did buy a six-story building at 7 Custom House St. in the same area and is leasing it to its Law School. Maybe there will be a partial lease of classroom and/or residential space in the new tower? Again, I will defer to you as being better informed of all things UMaine System Board of Trustees.

I was pointing out the developing urban fabric of Portland in general.....not directly UMaine related. Thanks for pointing out the UMaine Law School at Custom House though. That was a very good move to secure that building for that purpose.

Point taken on UNH's location in the Seacoast region. Definitely a strength when marketing to prospective students and visibility in a growing and relative wealthy region of the state.

 

[FlagUp17]

Billing out of state students more than in state students isn't unique to UVM, UNH OR UMaine. Hardly. In fact, UMass does the very same thing, and the ratio between in state rates and out of state rates between UNH and UMass (45%-ish) are nearly identical. The delta for UMaine is slightly bigger, and UVM bigger still ...

UVM~$16,938~$46,655 Out-of-state pays $29,717 more
UMaine~$13,686~$37,836 Out-of-state pays $24,150 more
UMass Amherst~$19,212~$43,299 Out-of-state pays $24,087 more
UNH~$16,304~$37,996 Out-of-state pays $21,692 more

I drew those figures out of AI in about 30 seconds, so if anyone wants to run their own figures, be my guest. But UNH is on another planet than UVM when it comes to soaking out of staters for a (much) higher rate.

Building off of this a bit. The SUNY system (largest public school system in the country at 64 schools) also generally has huge discrepancies between in state and out of state tuitions. When I was in grad school (not too long ago) the in state rate for undergrads where I went was less than $10k - almost an unheard of level at the time (without significant scholarship help etc). This compared with out of state which was over 3X that in the low 30s if I remember correctly. I just looked up another SUNY school (Stony Brook) and I was similarly seeing around $10-11k in state and out of state in the low-mid 30s (according to AI).

In fast, even as a grad student, the school almost forced our hand with changing residency to in state to capitalize on the difference in tuition. As a graduate teaching assistant, I got a stipend to cover my own graduate school tuition, but the school only covered the first semester for out of state students. After that, they covered the in state and I would have to pay the difference for the out of state. I quickly prioritized switching my residency that first semester to ensure I never had to deal with that during my grad school studies…

Curious if other state schools do something similar for their graduate students.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Came across this the other day .... not exactly new "news", but seemingly good news for potential lithium mining in parts of NH and Western Maine:

NH Business Review by Wehaa

Seems like the scale of current estimates would be prodigious, covering lots of current and emerging technologies, at least 'til the next tech upheaval pops ...

 

[Felger]

Niko Tournas – 2026 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Niko Tournas has followed a fascinating development path in recent years, finally becoming a legit NHL prospect as a 20-year-old.

thehockeywriters.com

"Tournas is committed to the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA for next season, but has expressed that he would be willing to play one last QMJHL season before going straight to the professional level if the team that drafts him would prefer that path."

 

[FlagUp17]

Niko Tournas – 2026 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Niko Tournas has followed a fascinating development path in recent years, finally becoming a legit NHL prospect as a 20-year-old.

thehockeywriters.com

"Tournas is committed to the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA for next season, but has expressed that he would be willing to play one last QMJHL season before going straight to the professional level if the team that drafts him would prefer that path."

Very interesting comment. It would certainly be a huge blow to UNH if he chooses to delay his arrival by one year. It may have lasting impact on MS7’s future at his Alma mater…

It would also speak volumes for how NHL teams view UNH as a “developer” of talent. There haven’t been many success stories leading to NHL playing time in Souza’s tenure at the helm, and I’m wondering if some teams see more value in junior hockey vs. a perceived poor program.

Either way, I believe Tournas eventually has to play at least 1 year at UNH as (I think) he already signed his financials, so I don’t think an NHL team could undo that with the hope of trying to get him to go to a perceived higher end school, unless they want to sign him to an ELC right off the bat. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong though I know there are some nuances with this.

The fact that he has these comments though, makes me wonder if some of the teams he has talked to have expressed a desire to have him stay at juniors vs. go to UNH. I sure hope not…

 

[Felger]

Very interesting comment. It would certainly be a huge blow to UNH if he chooses to delay his arrival by one year. It may have lasting impact on MS7’s future at his Alma mater…

It would also speak volumes for how NHL teams view UNH as a “developer” of talent. There haven’t been many success stories leading to NHL playing time in Souza’s tenure at the helm, and I’m wondering if some teams see more value in junior hockey vs. a perceived poor program.

Either way, I believe Tournas eventually has to play at least 1 year at UNH as (I think) he already signed his financials, so I don’t think an NHL team could undo that with the hope of trying to get him to go to a perceived higher end school, unless they want to sign him to an ELC right off the bat. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong though I know there are some nuances with this.

The fact that he has these comments though, makes me wonder if some of the teams he has talked to have expressed a desire to have him stay at juniors vs. go to UNH.

Since one of his liabilities is that he might struggle to keep up with the mental pace of the NHL it sounds more to me like maybe he's not cut out to be in college.

Personally I think he is wildly overrated on this thread, hope I'm wrong.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Very interesting comment. It would certainly be a huge blow to UNH if he chooses to delay his arrival by one year. It may have lasting impact on MS7’s future at his Alma mater…

Agreed, very interesting but hardly surprising (more on that later). FWIW I think MS7 is professionally "dead man walking" at UNH, barring a sensational turnaround - i.e. way better than his sole winning season - so I'm not sure if any 20-year-old freshman has the ability to turn this barge around. We know there will be a new AD making a decision on Souza now, and replacing the HC of a long-floundering flagship Men's Hockey program, working on an expiring deal, is the lowest possible of all low hanging fruit for whomever that might be. Look at what our outgoing AD did to Bill Herrion in similar circumstances a few short years ago.

AD Rich isn't leaving without an extension being offered to her for doing a bang-up job (assuming she's nailed the compliance stuff) with on-field results. She got hornswoggled by Souza for a 3-year extension few of us thought was deserved. The move to replace Herrion was understandable, but his replacement has since squandered whatever modest progress Herrion had made with a historically abysmal Hoops program. She had two relatively young alums walk out for greener pastures in Football and Soccer, with the latter being the most successful UNH HC since Coach Umile, AND a Durham townie on top of that. She fell short of the mark, and now UNH will try to correct course.

If we see any of the three (Souza, Davis and Weinrebe) still in situ in Titletown 2 years from now, color me shocked, and do feel free to remind me of this prediction.

It would also speak volumes for how NHL teams view UNH as a “developer” of talent. There haven’t been many success stories leading to NHL playing time in Souza’s tenure at the helm, and I’m wondering if some teams see more value in junior hockey vs. a perceived poor program.

I think we already know how NHL teams view UNH in terms of developing players. At the very least, Coach Umile was viewed as a "safe pair of hands" by the NHL front offices/scouts, as there would be a steady if modest stream of AHL caliber players, several of whom would go on to decent pension-earning careers in The Show. And NHL organizations weren't plucking his/their prospects out of the program early for the minors or directing them to other programs (see Conmy, Ryan). Currently, UNH players struggle under the MS7 regime struggle to establish themselves at even the AHL level, and most end up flailing in the Coast or overseas in low level Euro leagues. It's also questionable (perhaps even naive?) to assume high-level Juniors coaches are automatically an inferior option to an NCAA coach.

Either way, I believe Tournas eventually has to play at least 1 year at UNH as (I think) he already signed his financials, so I don’t think an NHL team could undo that with the hope of trying to get him to go to a perceived higher end school, unless they want to sign him to an ELC right off the bat. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong though I know there are some nuances with this.

Like you, I won't claim any level of expertise on this issue. Dan (and others) will be better informed on whether signing his financials binds him to the school. Just guessing here, but if there is any level of restriction, it may prevent the player from trying to go to another school this year, but I doubt it would prevent him from opting out of his UNH commitment to play pro/return to his Juniors team. The NCAA is on a long losing streak when it comes to restricting player movement lol.

The fact that he has these comments though, makes me wonder if some of the teams he has talked to have expressed a desire to have him stay at juniors vs. go to UNH. I sure hope not…

What I'm actually hearing here is the feedback of a pretty shrewd advisor, sending a clear signal to NHL teams thinking of drafting Tournas that he's open to whatever their preference might be. Smart way to maximize his draft potential. It definitely does NOT send the message that he's committed on principle to coming to UNH, and at this point, I'm downright doubtful we'll ever see him coming to Titletown. If he goes in the first 3 rounds, I can't imagine the drafting team wouldn't want him in their organization instead of at UNH. If he's fourth round or after (or undrafted), then yeah, maybe we'd see him, as he presses to develop and impress towards getting that ELC. But with him raising the possibility of staying put in QMJHL, I suspect UNH's chances are slim and none, and I think we see Slim ambling his way outta Durham.