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  • Why we like women's hockey

    I'll start this off by re-quoting something that Ralph noted in the RPI thead:

    Originally posted by Ralph Baer View Post
    So the women are also going to have 20-year-old frosh.
    Not to pick on any one incoming 20 year-old frosh, because there are exceptions who have very legitimate cause for coming in "late", but I really hope the women don't go the same way as the men have, with an emphasis on filling their rosters with older players. For example, the Minnesota State Mankato men's team does not have a single player on their 27 man roster who is under the age of 21! An extreme example maybe, but that does seem to be the trend for the men.

    One thing I love about the women's game is that you get to see the very best talent in the land, and perhaps the world, at each incoming college class after the players finish high school, prep school or a club team. They become freshmen varsity players without having to spend a couple of years in a junior league. With the men, many of the players you pay to see have spent a couple of years in Juniors, but are still not talented or mature enough to go pro. It's a process that's re-evaluated each year: is he ready? Which players are we going to lose? This leads to the situation where you only get to see the very top talent play for just a year or two, and then they're gone. The end result is that junior hockey (like the USHL) has become a necessary stepping stone to get to the college D1 level, while the college D1 level has become a stepping stone for the NHL...or minor league pro hockey for most.

    It all makes me wonder if someday we'll see some of the top sophomore and junior women leave college early for whichever professional league becomes successful...and pays enough to be too good for some of the very best players to resist. In the short term, I don't see this happening, but who's to say someday? In the meantime, I'll cherish the women's college game and be able to see the very best on the planet compete against one another while they're still playing for their school.
    Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey

  • #2
    Re: Why we like women's hockey

    Originally posted by D2D View Post
    I'll start this off by re-quoting something that Ralph noted in the RPI thead:



    Not to pick on any one incoming 20 year-old frosh, because there are exceptions who have very legitimate cause for coming in "late", but I really hope the women don't go the same way as the men have, with an emphasis on filling their rosters with older players. For example, the Minnesota State Mankato men's team does not have a single player on their 27 man roster who is under the age of 21! An extreme example maybe, but that does seem to be the trend for the men.

    One thing I love about the women's game is that you get to see the very best talent in the land, and perhaps the world, at each incoming college class after the players finish high school, prep school or a club team. They become freshmen varsity players without having to spend a couple of years in a junior league. With the men, many of the players you pay to see have spent a couple of years in Juniors, but are still not talented or mature enough to go pro. It's a process that's re-evaluated each year: is he ready? Which players are we going to lose? This leads to the situation where you only get to see the very top talent play for just a year or two, and then they're gone. The end result is that junior hockey (like the USHL) has become a necessary stepping stone to get to the college D1 level, while the college D1 level has become a stepping stone for the NHL...or minor league pro hockey for most.

    It all makes me wonder if someday we'll see some of the top sophomore and junior women leave college early for whichever professional league becomes successful...and pays enough to be too good for some of the very best players to resist. In the short term, I don't see this happening, but who's to say someday? In the meantime, I'll cherish the women's college game and be able to see the very best on the planet compete against one another while they're still playing for their school.
    It very much surprised me also, but it probably was mainly due to the fact that she is European and wanted to be seen by US college coaches. I have never liked the fact that a lot of men players are older when they matriculate than I was at graduation. Magdalena is such a person although close to the boundary. (I was less than 20 1/2 at college graduation.)
    Last edited by Ralph Baer; 04-21-2020, 06:11 AM.
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    • #3
      Re: Why we like women's hockey

      The Clarkson Women 3-The Clarkson Men 0

      Actually, I attended Clarkson from Fall of 72 thru Spring 75 (Jr/Sr/Grad). Was a Cornell Hockey fan before that time growing up in Binghamton, NY and was converted to Clarkson hockey that first year and have been a Cornell Hockey hater since .
      I have followed Clarkson Men's program since that time from Maryland before the internet and USCHO by getting the College Hockey Newsletter that Donald T Birkmayer (Yah, an RPI guy, I know) sent out. I had a Classmate that worked in NYS and we would talk almost every weekend during hockey season so he also filled me in about the men's team. We still talk, maybe not as much but we now talk about both the men's and women's programs. When the women's program was officially started as a Div I program I decided to give it a go and have been an ardent follower of the program since that first year. I love the fact that there is no checking (almost no checking) in the women's game and there is just great entertainment value to me watching the sport (especially when your team is a winning program). Have I been witness to the Golden Age of Clarkson Women's Hockey? I certainly hope not but the ride has been great one. There may be some leaner years ahead but win or lose I will always be a fan and a supporter of the team.
      Last edited by vicb; 04-21-2020, 09:08 AM.
      Fan of CLARKSON: 2014, 2017 & 2018 NC$$ WOMEN'S DIV 1 HOCKEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONS *******https://fanforum.uscho.com/core/images/smilies/smile.gi*********
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      • #4
        Re: Why we like women's hockey

        Originally posted by vicb View Post
        I love the fact that there is no checking (almost no checking) in the women's game and there is just great entertainment value to me watching the sport...
        That's a big draw for me, too. I would much rather watch players skate and work the puck than watching them just slamming each other around the ice. I know the merits for/against checking have probably been debated into the ground many times, but not watching 60 minutes of UFC is a draw of the women's game for me.

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        • #5
          Re: Why we like women's hockey

          The women's game is a more pure version of hockey because of the lack of checking and physical play. In fact I'd love to see a zero tolerance on interference as well. It makes it all about skating and player position.
          Wisconsin Hockey: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 WE WANT MORE!
          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Come to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Originally Posted by Wisko McBadgerton:
          "Baggot says Hughes and Rockwood are centering the top two lines...
          Timothy A --> Great hockey mind... Or Greatest hockey mind?!?"

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          • #6
            Re: Why we like women's hockey

            Originally posted by ZedLeppelin View Post
            I would much rather watch players skate and work the puck than watching them just slamming each other around the ice.
            I think that this is one of the reasons that there will be less of a trend toward older college freshmen in women's NCAA hockey. One of the reasons that male players often need a year or two of junior hockey before college is so that they can develop physically and better hold up to the pounding.

            While the women still benefit from the muscle that they add in the weight room once they arrive on campus, that has more to do with effectiveness (getting to the net or winning battles along the wall). It isn't quite as much a matter of the grind wearing them down when they aren't subjected to big, open-ice hits.

            Another factor is that girls mature earlier than boys. While not as common as in the tournament's infancy, it is still fairly common to see players as young as 8th grade in the MN State HS Tournament playing for top teams. Often, these players don't change that much physically from that point through their senior seasons. In boys' hockey, players usually change a lot physically at the end of their HS careers, as compared to even two or three years before that. So I think that there is less to be gained in terms of physical development for girls by delaying college enrollment.

            Speaking in general terms, I think that women are less inclined to put their life on hold for hockey dreams. Women like Krissy Wendell or Rachel Ramsey can retire from the game at their prime, quickly turn the page, and advance to the next chapter of their lives. I think that it would take life-changing money, not just a living, before you would see a drastic change. So after high school, females are more interested in getting to college and earning their degrees than they are in delaying for a year or two in the hope of becoming slightly more advanced as players.
            "... And lose, and start again at your beginnings
            And never breathe a word about your loss;" -- Rudyard Kipling

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            • #7
              Re: Why we like women's hockey

              Originally posted by D2D View Post
              Not to pick on any one incoming 20 year-old frosh, because there are exceptions who have very legitimate cause for coming in "late", but I really hope the women don't go the same way as the men have, with an emphasis on filling their rosters with older players.
              It seems like "overage" players in the women's game would be the exception to the rule in the near term, at least until there is structural change in amateur women's hockey; I don't think there are many playing opportunities between the secondary school age levels and college.

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              • #8
                Re: Why we like women's hockey

                Originally posted by Timothy A View Post
                The women's game is a more pure version of hockey because of the lack of checking and physical play. In fact I'd love to see a zero tolerance on interference as well. It makes it all about skating and player position.
                I agree with this. I think the caliber of play is really high, and when you get to the top international competitions it is simply great hockey.

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                • #9
                  Re: Why we like women's hockey

                  I attended the U of MN during the Herb Brooks years. I paid something like $16 for season tickets to Williams Arena, and watched the 79 Natl Champs that would comprise half of the 80 Olympic team. What I recall during those years, and the years that followed, was the enjoyment of watching a player develop over 4 years. As an example, I recall thinking you would not have assumed that Johnny Pohl, from the 2002-03 championship years, would become the player he was as a senior, based on watching him as a freshman.

                  I was converted to the women's game, as I suspect many are, by having a daughter play hockey. I love the purity of the women's game, as it is not (yet) changed by the specter of professional dollars driving decisions. I certainly don't begrudge the top male players making decisions based on their financial best interests; I just love watching players find a niche for themselves as they develop their skills over a period of years. Some of my favorite players from recent years include Kelly Terry and Megan Wolfe, both of whom became important parts of championship teams by the end of their careers.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Why we like women's hockey

                    Originally posted by Leather helmet View Post
                    What I recall during those years, and the years that followed, was the enjoyment of watching a player develop over 4 years.
                    This is a great point. I love knowing who will be on the team and watching them develop over the 4 years is priceless. On the men's side there's just a lot of uncertainty. Hopefully the transfers on the women's side stay at a minimum. No one wants free agency in women's college hockey.
                    Wisconsin Hockey: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 WE WANT MORE!
                    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Come to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
                    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Originally Posted by Wisko McBadgerton:
                    "Baggot says Hughes and Rockwood are centering the top two lines...
                    Timothy A --> Great hockey mind... Or Greatest hockey mind?!?"

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      https://www.savecollegesports.com/openletter

                      Pay attention to this if you like “non revenue” sports like women’s hockey, and frankly all women’s college sports https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/college-coaches-oppose-waiver-request-that-could-threaten-di-non-revenue-sports/56338
                      Last edited by Sieve1; 04-23-2020, 01:16 PM.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Why we like women's hockey

                        Links for previous post...

                        https://www.savecollegesports.com/openletter

                        https://www.insidelacrosse.com/artic...e-sports/56338
                        At the outset, we could hang with the dude...

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                        • #13
                          Re: Why we like women's hockey

                          Originally posted by Sieve1 View Post
                          https://www.savecollegesports.com/openletter

                          Pay attention to this if you like “non revenue” sports like women’s hockey, and frankly all women’s college sports https://www.insidelacrosse.com/artic...e-sports/56338
                          Title IX compliance can't be waived by the NCAA, so that will provide some limited protection to women's sports vs men's sports slots, but you are right that this is a fragile time for college athletics--most programs across the country (even football) lose money as it is, and athletic budgets will be in play for cuts if there are drops in enrollment.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Why we like women's hockey

                            Originally posted by DavidNardolillo View Post
                            Title IX compliance can't be waived by the NCAA, so that will provide some limited protection to women's sports vs men's sports slots, but you are right that this is a fragile time for college athletics--most programs across the country (even football) lose money as it is, and athletic budgets will be in play for cuts if there are drops in enrollment.
                            Correct. They will both be cut equally...
                            Russell Jaslow
                            [Former] SUNYAC Correspondent
                            U.S. College Hockey Online

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Russell Jaslow View Post
                              Correct. They will both be cut equally...
                              Unless the Trump administration decides to suspend Title IX regulations until colleges can get back on solid financial ground. Sadly, I absolutely would not put it past them to do this.

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