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University of Maine 2024–2025: Freel-ing good

Drew S. said:
I looked and it’s pretty close to 50/50. My team would be:

Nadeau Scott Makar
Fossier Pearson Breen
Vesey Renwick Byron
Fowler Smith Shea

Brezeale Holway
Hamilton Michel
Holt Djursevic

Boija
Bub

Barr has done a great job finding some under the radar guys and the team plays so much harder than it ever has in the past, but I just don’t think the recruiting has been as good as we would like. If he can get some talent in Maine will be scary.
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I would agree that older Pearson/Fossier might make last years top 6, but I think 16/17 freshman Pearson/Fossier are on the 4th line. I don't think Shea, Vesey and especially Smith crack the lineup, but Cam Brown might've. Having Shea over Russell is actually insane. I think Hamilton was too slow to make the team, I remember him as more of a stay at home defenseman than someone who can carry the puck like Breazeale. I think Holway/Chabrier would be third pair RD and 7th skater.

If Shea/Smith/Vesey/Hamilton/Holway were that good they would've won more than 11 games. 16/17 was my junior year though so my memory of the games is a little hazey. It took a lot of drinking to get through the middle of the Red years.
 
blackbears9 said:
I would agree that older Pearson/Fossier might make last years top 6, but I think 16/17 freshman Pearson/Fossier are on the 4th line. I don't think Shea, Vesey and especially Smith crack the lineup, but Cam Brown might've. Having Shea over Russell is actually insane. I think Hamilton was too slow to make the team, I remember him as more of a stay at home defenseman than someone who can carry the puck like Breazeale. I think Holway/Chabrier would be third pair RD and 7th skater.

If Shea/Smith/Vesey/Hamilton/Holway were that good they would've won more than 11 games. 16/17 was my junior year though so my memory of the games is a little hazey. It took a lot of drinking to get through the middle of the Red years.
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Big agree on all of these. Pearson and Fossier were very good, but you could make a case for Komarov being better for the fourth line role if you're comparing freshmen. Shea / Vesey were both disappointment relative to what we thought we might get (and the NHL clubs that drafted them). Hamilton reminds me of a smaller version of Lesakowski, but I think I would probably prefere Lesakowski's size. Russell is a pain in the ass and needs to learn to distribute the puck, but I think he's more talented than 90% of players on Red teams. Holway showed promise but obviously had some off ice issues. I will take the way Nobes was playing at the end of the year over both options.

Like it or not, the list of guys from any of the Red teams (not including Shore / Hutton as they were Timmay recruits) that I'd want to have on today's squad is decidedly thin. Even his best team, '19-20, had a steep dropoff in O-zone time after the first line. Barr's last two squads have generally had three lines that can contribute.
 
With Barr coaching, some of those 16/17 guys would have been in the portal pretty quick! He loves his 200ft grinders like Scott, Freel and Fowler.
 
I'm biased because he's my favorite Black Bear ever, but I think Mitchell Fossier could play on these teams for Maine. Same goes for Chase Pearson and Eduards Tralmaks (tho he was from the 17-18 freshman class, but still). On defense, I think the only guy from my time at Maine who would make the current team is probably Brady Keeper, he was a great college defenseman.
 
amkirby10 said:
I'm biased because he's my favorite Black Bear ever, but I think Mitchell Fossier could play on these teams for Maine. Same goes for Chase Pearson and Eduards Tralmaks (tho he was from the 17-18 freshman class, but still). On defense, I think the only guy from my time at Maine who would make the current team is probably Brady Keeper, he was a great college defenseman.
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Tralzy not even getting a mention before you is crazy. I loved that guy.
 
Sparkee said:
I think this year will be the first year Barr has had his type of defense completely. I think he had two pairings last year of his liking. But this year he will have all 6 highly mobile offensive defensemen back there. I think you will see a quick transitioning team.

At the same time, I believe the coaching staff will bring in two more centers, and likely a goalie. Unless they are comfortable with Stewart as the back up in the event Boija’s goes out due to injury. Barr and staff love last minute surprises like Breazeale and Boija. Let’s wait and see what lines look like after summer is over. I think they will add a couple great forwards. My guess is Malachi, Anderson, Voronin, VanGorp come in fall of 2026. Not sure about Munroe coming in year early, he was highly rated but had a rough adjustment to USHL and then BCHL this year.
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Having a Richter-level goalie and maybe the best defense in Hockey East going to give them a very high floor next year, even if the scoring isn't very potent. It would be a shame if the offense sucked and wasted a very upperclassman-heavy blueline this year though.

I am surprised Maine hasn't brought in another goalie, but I can see that being a tough sell for recruits with Boija being a workhorse.

As you pointed out there looks to be some talent coming in 2026 that we should be excited about.
 
tylerzx2002 said:
Having a Richter-level goalie and maybe the best defense in Hockey East going to give them a very high floor next year, even if the scoring isn't very potent. It would be a shame if the offense sucked and wasted a very upperclassman-heavy blueline this year though.

I am surprised Maine hasn't brought in another goalie, but I can see that being a tough sell for recruits with Boija being a workhorse.

As you pointed out there looks to be some talent coming in 2026 that we should be excited about.
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Having a stud goalie and arguably the best defense in hockey east is why it should be an attractive place to go if you are a recruit. With Maine being in the ncaa playoffs last couple seasons, hockey east champions, on the upswing and with the renovations completing by this fall… you would think Maine would win some recruiting battles. Maybe not against BC and BU, but against the rest in hockey east seems like a reasonable expectation.
 
The news that the NCAA is giving College Hockey more autonomy has me thinking the roster limits will be increased if even implemented. I'm sure there are other big implications, but this feels like the most obvious
 
grooverider said:
Looks like David Carle is pushing for what I have said should return - home sites for Regionals. Shocker Penn State coach cried about it. It could happen in 2029. Neutral sites- boring venues. It would be good for the game instead of the boring sites they pick now
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That is good news. Now more of the coaches need to join him. Regional at the number 1 seed's barn. And if that is too small, it is easy enough to identify a proper venue in advance. Bentley, for example might identify the Fleet Center. Or even Conte if BC isn't a #1.
 
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