Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

[mookie1995]

If we have additional departures, it may also create an opportunity to add a couple of older players from whom we might get a couple of years. There have to be some out there.......

Have to assume the better ones with upside have been captured.

Gilroy was catching a comet....once in a generation (or 3).

[Lemonade]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

I don't think BU's class is too shabby. Two very dynamic forwards (including a first rounder) and 3 USNDTP d-men (with Vlasic very possibly a first-rounder).

I absolutely agree - in fact BU has a steady stream of blue chippers coming in but I think the issue is that BU has to rely on freshman to contribute immediately and thats a lot to ask especially since the incoming players are young players. Lets not forget the USNDTP players are highly skilled but are also true 17/18 year old freshman which is rare in todays college hockey landscape where the 21 yr old freshman is the norm. Look at the struggles of Wahlstrom/O'Brien as an example. Farabee was great this season and hopefully some younger players will step up and fill that void but the teams needs more than that to be successful. Bottom line is they need to score more goals and need more development from their forwards namely Curry/Wise/Harper. I loved what Amonte brought late in the season and Quercia was a nice surprise as well.Bowers staying really helps. I assume Purpura will be in contention to start and they will probably bring in a transfer to fill the crease until Commesso arrives in 2020. Oettinger covered up a lot of warts this season and will be missed. Defense will have holes with the loss of Fabbro but as you mentioned they have Fensore/Vlasic/McCarthy/Webber? coming in as reinforcements. Should be very interesting season. Will they be national contenders? Probably not. Will they be Hockey East contenders? Probably.

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

From Jeff Cox

More bad news on the horizon for BU in terms of players leaving early. Hammering down details, but I expect another pro signing to be announced today.

Also, D Shane Switzer is in the NCAA transfer portal and is receiving NCHC and Hockey East interest as a grad transfer.


https://twitter.com/JeffCoxSports/st...92978846031872

[Lemonade]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

From Jeff Cox

More bad news on the horizon for BU in terms of players leaving early. Hammering down details, but I expect another pro signing to be announced today.

Also, D Shane Switzer is in the NCAA transfer portal and is receiving NCHC and Hockey East interest as a grad transfer.


https://twitter.com/JeffCoxSports/st...92978846031872

I assume it has to be Bowers that has decided to leave as well. In all honesty I think this may be a positive thing with BU. Obviously recruiting the young blue chip studs is cool but it doesnt win NCAA hockey games as the record shows. This mass exodus will allow coaches to act a bit quicker and start the pivot of the program and get a new mix of players in that better fit the winning recipe in NCAA hockey which is recruiting older players and ones that stay 4 years and sprinkle in a few blue chips rather than recruiting blue chips and sprinkle in a few 4 year guys. Should be interesting.

[buoldtimer]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

I assume it has to be Bowers that has decided to leave as well. In all honesty I think this may be a positive thing with BU. Obviously recruiting the young blue chip studs is cool but it doesnt win NCAA hockey games as the record shows. This mass exodus will allow coaches to act a bit quicker and start the pivot of the program and get a new mix of players in that better fit the winning recipe in NCAA hockey which is recruiting older players and ones that stay 4 years and sprinkle in a few blue chips rather than recruiting blue chips and sprinkle in a few 4 year guys. Should be interesting.

I guess I should be more disappointed by these departures than I am, but 16-18-4 with 4 1st RD choices, 1 2nd RD choice, and 1 3rd RD choice. And Harper was a 5th rounder. 16-18-4, a dud of a season that never got off the ground. No memorable games. The highlight of the season was the tour of the Titanic Museum in Belfast. Good luck to all of these guys. I hope they have long, distinguished NHL careers.

Many fans have pointed to the lack of goal scoring as the team's primary problem. It's tough to challenge that opinion when they scored 2 or fewer goals in so many games. But my memory of the season will be of watching BU d-men losing the puck battles in their own end of the ice, and subsequently chasing opposing forwards in the BU d-zone. It was such a struggle for BU to clear their own end of the ice that they had limited opportunities on the initial and odd man rushes which are the source of Grade A scoring chances.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

I assume it has to be Bowers that has decided to leave as well. In all honesty I think this may be a positive thing with BU. Obviously recruiting the young blue chip studs is cool but it doesnt win NCAA hockey games as the record shows. This mass exodus will allow coaches to act a bit quicker and start the pivot of the program and get a new mix of players in that better fit the winning recipe in NCAA hockey which is recruiting older players and ones that stay 4 years and sprinkle in a few blue chips rather than recruiting blue chips and sprinkle in a few 4 year guys. Should be interesting.

Teams adopting a recruiting philosophy such as BU's must always anticipate early departures and recruit accordingly. The risks are when players pan out but leave a year earlier than projected (i.e. Farabee, Tkachuk, JFK), or players don't pan out and seek other playing opportunities (i.e. Bellows, Greer).

It's easy to forget any/all of the following:

Fabbro - Many thought he'd leave after last season
Greenway - Some thought he'd turn pro after his Sophomore year, but returned
Hickey, Somerby, O'Regan - All flight risks after their Junior year, but all returned

Not to mention after the 2010 season, Shattenkirk, Bonino and Cohen all signed their NHL ELCs days apart right after their Junior year ended.

I agree that Albie will tweak the recruiting philosophy to find a better balance to mitigate some of the early departures. It might not pay off right away next season, but the year after and so on might be when the benefits of a more balanced recruiting approach pays off.

[SMW_Bu21]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

I’ll preface my question with the note that I’m a relatively new hockey fan (and current BU student).

It seemed to me that our PP was poor most of this season (19%, 28th nationally, worse than all but 3 NCAA Tournament Teams). Is there any hope that it will improve next season, and are the struggles more a function of players, or a system that (to my untrained eye) seemed to lack enough movement to generate many real scoring chances?

[SpauldingSmails]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

I’ll preface my question with the note that I’m a relatively new hockey fan (and current BU student).

It seemed to me that our PP was poor most of this season (19%, 28th nationally, worse than all but 3 NCAA Tournament Teams). Is there any hope that it will improve next season, and are the struggles more a function of players, or a system that (to my untrained eye) seemed to lack enough movement to generate many real scoring chances?

Welcome! I'm sure there are lots of opinions on why the PP was a bit lame. I think that Bobo's injuries and Harper's slow start were contributors to the lack of PP efficiency. I'm sure someone can pull stats to see whether this makes sense by looking at whether it got better as the year progressed or whether it stunk all year long in a consistent manner.

[chickod]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

seemed to lack enough movement to generate many real scoring chances?

Absolutely agree with this. They stood around like statues. And it's not just "movement." If you watch good PPs, the players are constantly moving, but they are also often swapping positions to disrupt the coverage. It's easy to "slide" a box when the offensive players on the perimeter are stationary. But when you move, you essentially create picks which tend to free up opportunities. Additionally, they need to not just move themselves, but more importantly, move the PUCK faster. Too much holding the puck is what stagnated the PP.

[Lemonade]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

Teams adopting a recruiting philosophy such as BU's must always anticipate early departures and recruit accordingly. The risks are when players pan out but leave a year earlier than projected (i.e. Farabee, Tkachuk, JFK), or players don't pan out and seek other playing opportunities (i.e. Bellows, Greer).

It's easy to forget any/all of the following:

Fabbro - Many thought he'd leave after last season
Greenway - Some thought he'd turn pro after his Sophomore year, but returned
Hickey, Somerby, O'Regan - All flight risks after their Junior year, but all returned

Not to mention after the 2010 season, Shattenkirk, Bonino and Cohen all signed their NHL ELCs days apart right after their Junior year ended.

I agree that Albie will tweak the recruiting philosophy to find a better balance to mitigate some of the early departures. It might not pay off right away next season, but the year after and so on might be when the benefits of a more balanced recruiting approach pays off.

Totally agree. Its great getting stud blue chippers but its proving very tough to plan when they leave and still balance a roster/scholarships. Its a balancing act for sure. Do you want a team of freshman (and a lot of true freshman) and sophomores every year? If so that is proving to be less than desirable.

[brassbonanza]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

Totally agree. Its great getting stud blue chippers but its proving very tough to plan when they leave and still balance a roster/scholarships. Its a balancing act for sure. Do you want a team of freshman (and a lot of true freshman) and sophomores every year? If so that is proving to be less than desirable.

I think the coaching staff sufficiently recognizes that the path to success in college is not loading up on one-year blue chippers. I've heard Albie state multiple times that they want to shift the focus of their recruiting to balancing the Eichel/Keller/Tkachuk types with slightly older and four-year recruits like a Pat Curry, Matt Lane, etc. That said, that's not something that can change overnight or in one year. It takes any program a couple of recruiting cycles to fully make this shift.

I think a lot of this also has to do with the fact that the talent being produced in the US is now higher than it's ever been and the top programs initially just loaded up on these high-talent kids thinking that would work. Clearly, it's not a silver bullet solution so these programs will have to adjust their roster construction. It's still a relatively new phenomenon over the past ~5-7 years so we're still in the period of time where the adjustment based on results is taking place.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

Totally agree. Its great getting stud blue chippers but its proving very tough to plan when they leave and still balance a roster/scholarships. Its a balancing act for sure. Do you want a team of freshman (and a lot of true freshman) and sophomores every year? If so that is proving to be less than desirable.

The recruiting philosophy the past few years has been akin to "feeding the monster". Once you start getting the blue-chippers, you keep feeding to sustain that portion of the roster, while not feeding enough into building and developing enough 4-year players that improve year-after-year. Quinn was fortunate to inherit and develop some good/excellent 4-year players like Rodrigues, Hohmann, Grzelcyk, O'Regan, Lane, Oksanen. I think if Albie can recruit and develop more of those players (add Hickey, Bobo to that list too), I think the path forward should be OK.

[Bomber]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

Someone mentioned the possibility of a grad transfer goalie. I understand this option is being strongly pursued with a few candidates.

Meanwhile, BC is bringing in a stud goalie and BU's riding with a kid who was a mid-year scramble who has no back-up. Uhhhh..... this is kind of a coaching fail, yes? What am I missing here? This program is still BU, right?

BU Hockey: Gonna Get Worse Before it Gets Better

[chickod]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

This program is still BU, right?

To US, yeah. But this is not your father's BU. The landscape has changed. Competition for top players has dramatically increased. WE have a loyalty to BU, so naturally we feel as though everyone should want to come here. But to a kid coming in, who is only thinking about getting to the next level, the "reputation" and "tradition" doesn't mean a thing.

You can't market the program by focusing on a winning tradition and championships if a kid only wants to stay a year. He's looking at it as a steppingstone and if he's good enough, he already has one foot out the door the first day.

Which is why you need the older, perhaps less-skilled player to be the glue that provides continuity, leadership and to help hold the program together.

[Friend_of_BU_Hockey]

Re: Boston University 2018-2019 - Still Alive!

Meanwhile, BC is bringing in a stud goalie and BU's riding with a kid who was a mid-year scramble who has no back-up. Uhhhh..... this is kind of a coaching fail, yes? What am I missing here? This program is still BU, right?

BU Hockey: Gonna Get Worse Before it Gets Better

Let's exercise some patience and wait til early Summer before we find out what next season's goaltending situation will be for BU. With the recent trend of graduate transfers, it's expected BU goes that path for G help.

As dire as some may think the state of BU hockey is, BU isn't gonna finish 12th in HE...