Boston College hockey 2021-2022

[J.D.]

Guys like Bazin and Carvel would also be homerun hires. Not saying either guy would even be interested but again, more of a proven track record of winning.

 

[DNAEagle]

The notion that BC fell off after 2012 is kind of silly, they went to the FF in 2014 and 2016, they tied or won HE in their down years after they lost 7 players to the NHL (in 2016 and most of them made it) and then in 2020 they had a stacked team but COVID got in the way. We are no longer in the Golden Age of BC hockey but JY was the reason we were there in the first place. I talked to Marty McGinnis about recruiting kids and he told me that the first question Jerry asked about any prospect was "is he the type of kid who will fit with the school and the team" If I had a son who was a top prospect I would want him to play for York. I heard York say in an interview "there is a lot of life to live after 35 and I want to help prepare them for life after hockey." Of all the possibilities it seems like Cav would be the obvious choice, he is a very good hockey coach and he is a proven recruiter, he has a tougher style than York but he knows how to win. He will represent the school and the program very well.

 

[buoldtimer]

Guys like Bazin and Carvel would also be homerun hires. Not saying either guy would even be interested but again, more of a proven track record of winning.

Regardless of who York's successor is, would you be pleased or displeased if he dismisses Buckley and/or Ayers? Who is the lead recruiter?

 

[sigx15]

Regardless of who York's successor is, would you be pleased or displeased if he dismisses Buckley and/or Ayers? Who is the lead recruiter?

This is a tough one to tell you the truth. Ayers has been a game changer recruiting the goalie position. It's basically been whatever goalie they recruit they get. His connection to the NTDP program has been big as well. I'd like to see him stay but who knows if he'd even want to if he didn't get the HC job.

I'm indifferent about Buckley although he's done a really good job since taking over for Marty McInnis who ended up being a bit of a trainwreck at the end.

I've heard Orpik is a big time draw for players & recruits at the moment. He's who I'd most want to keep involved in the program

 

[J.D.]

Regardless of who York's successor is, would you be pleased or displeased if he dismisses Buckley and/or Ayers? Who is the lead recruiter?

Ayers has been there the longest, have to believe he is. And I actually want the new guy to go in different direction. I haven't liked the configuration of the staff with Ayers as top guy. If they want to keep Buckley or promote Orpik to run the defense for now, ok. But I would prefer moving on from Ayers.

 

[buoldtimer]

Ayers has been there the longest, have to believe he is. And I actually want the new guy to go in different direction. I haven't liked the configuration of the staff with Ayers as top guy. If they want to keep Buckley or promote Orpik to run the defense for now, ok. But I would prefer moving on from Ayers.

It's difficult to imagine a team playing soft while Orpik is on staff. I still remember his hit (clean) on Brian Collins.

 

[J.D.]

If you never knew the full story with Milbury resigning:

https://omny.fm/shows/the-greg-hill-show/mike-milbury-does-not-like-bruce-cassidy-calling-o

At the 11:40 mark

 

[J.D.]

And the way my dad relayed it to me was after Milbury resigned, Father Monan basically shoved AD Chet Gladchuk aside and made the decision to hire York.

 

[Middle Street]

It'd be a great time for the triumphant return of the BChockeyblog. If he was still around, we would know who the next coach is, the staff and what impact it has on recruiting

Not 100% sure this is real, but I think your wish may have come true:
https://twitter.com/BCHockeyBlogger

If it's really him, he says the news about coach Cavanaugh already haven been chosen isn't true.

Update - that account is being followed by some credible writers like Mark Divver.

 

[J.D.]

Ya I think he was a student/team manager at BC in recent years and York probably had him stay off twitter.

 

[sigx15]

Not 100% sure this is real, but I think your wish may have come true:
https://twitter.com/BCHockeyBlogger

If it's really him, he says the news about coach Cavanaugh already haven been chosen isn't true.

Update - that account is being followed by some credible writers like Mark Divver.

Wow, awesome to hear he's back. He always had really good intel before, nice to have him back

https://twitter.com/BCHockeyBlogger/..._xeQdgZRnBSweQ

I'd be very curious to hear who's on the list of former players advising. My hope is Chris Collins and Gionta are included, they're heavily involved in hockey still and talk to a ton of college coaches about their players they coach

 

[J.D.]

I am curious if Nathan Strauss is gonna be proven right here. I have no idea who his source would be and he seems pretty confident but he's the only one I have seen saying it's pretty much a done deal. I believe he does PBP for UMass hockey? Just a totally random person to be on this story. He also reported he's not expecting BC commits to start fleeing. We'll see about that. Ultimately I am not worried about losing commits. Only worried about hiring the right guy.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Barring a staff shakeup, I agree. Selfishly, disappointed to find out after the season without a proper send-off but that just epitomizes who he is. He changed the profile of BC hockey forever and is the greatest coach in BC athletics history. I hope he stays connected with the program and leads the charge for a new rink.

Kudos to Coach York, I suspect he's quite content with the way his "sendoff" worked out. I much prefer his way than the "Ode to Vanity" version Captain Turtleneck had up here a few years ago.

You can't be serious about a new rink, J.D. The current place is fine and less than 35 yrs. old ...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Jerry York was the best college coach of all time. In any sport. His decency as a man is as boundless as his coaching skill too. College hockey has been endlessly fortunate to have had him around it for so long.

I think Anson Dorrance, John Wooden and Nick Saban might disagree with you there ... but if we allow a day or two of total yahoo adoration for a great coach like York, we'll let it slide.

 

[sigx15]

Anyone who doesn't think BC needs a new, hockey only arena/facility is crazy imo. When UConn & Sacred Heart are about to have better facilities for hockey than BC, it's time. BC has fallen behind not just every major national powerhouse in hockey in terms of facilities but now regionally as well, it's wild

 

[Chuck Murray]

Anyone who doesn't think BC needs a new, hockey only arena/facility is crazy imo. When UConn & Sacred Heart are about to have better facilities for hockey than BC, it's time. BC has fallen behind not just every major national powerhouse in hockey in terms of facilities but now regionally as well, it's wild

I don't think BC Hockey has anything to worry about with either UConn or SH overtaking them.

The current champions seem to be doing OK with their 20th century facilities BTW.

Call me crazy, but a new arena is more of a "want" than a "need" unless you are spoiled, and/or lining up excuses already for the failure of the next coaching regime to land at The Heights. I think J.D. said it earlier, Coach York is gonna be a tough act for anyone to follow.

 

[J.D.]

Kudos to Coach York, I suspect he's quite content with the way his "sendoff" worked out. I much prefer his way than the "Ode to Vanity" version Captain Turtleneck had up here a few years ago.

You can't be serious about a new rink, J.D. The current place is fine and less than 35 yrs. old ...

I have no problem with Conte other than it hosts two hockey teams and two basketball teams. I don't think you'll find many D1 schools doing that. Just looking at the big boys:

Michigan--hockey specific arena and no women's team to compete with
Denver--built in '99
North Dakota--plays in a palace
Wisconsin--opened in '98
Minnesota--opened in '93
BU--2005
UMD--opened in 2010

Conte is fine but there are a lot of teams involved and I think at some point a hockey specific arena where you downgrade to like 5,500-6,000 would be ideal.

 

[sigx15]

I have no problem with Conte other than it hosts two hockey teams and two basketball teams. I don't think you'll find many D1 schools doing that. Just looking at the big boys:

Michigan--hockey specific arena and no women's team to compete with
Denver--built in '99
North Dakota--plays in a palace
Wisconsin--opened in '98
Minnesota--opened in '93
BU--2005
UMD--opened in 2010

Conte is fine but there are a lot of teams involved and I think at some point a hockey specific arena where you downgrade to like 5,500-6,000 would be ideal.

This is spot on. There are also countless other who've had full on remodels in the meantime as well. I honestly wouldn't really care about Conte if they had a dedicated practice rink like other schools but they don't. Recruits nowadays expect to be able to get on the ice and skate whenever they want, it's what's available at other schools. BC needs to be able to do the same. My fingers are crossed the Davis family drops a bomb and we get a Warrior/Davis arena soon

 

[Chuck Murray]

If it is Cav, that's probably the safest hire. Knows BC, was here for all the national titles and has extensive HC experience now at UConn. It's easy to look at his record and be underwhelmed but I don't think that's fair to him. Before joining Hockey East, UConn was an absolute non factor in Atlantic Hockey. They were almost never a top the league/in contention for NCAA tournament like other programs in that league over the years (Mercyhurst, RIT, Air Force, AIC). He also didn't join the old Hockey East of the Big 4 era (BC, BU, Maine, UNH). A lot easier back then to get your program to be a mid tier team in the league behind those giants. Now he's in a league where UMass, Lowell, Providence and Northeastern are consistently good. He hasn't taken UConn to the level of those programs but he has done a very good job in slowly building UConn up and being there while they worked on getting a new rink done.

Nobody will ever replicate what York did but I think he would do a good job at BC in getting them back amongst the big boys. Or at least regularly in contention. I don't think it would be a homerun hire but I really don't think BC needs a homerun hire. A program that has faded into irrelevancy like Michigan State needs a homerun hire.

For purely selfish reasons, please know I'm rooting for Luce Canaan to link back up with youze guys ASAP. A "safe" hire, yes. Not a home run hire. Kind of like a "check-swing bloop single to the opposite field, then he gets cut down trying to stretch it into a double" hire. Godspeed, J.D. ;-)

 

[BCeagle]

I have no problem with Conte other than it hosts two hockey teams and two basketball teams. I don't think you'll find many D1 schools doing that. Just looking at the big boys:

Michigan--hockey specific arena and no women's team to compete with
Denver--built in '99
North Dakota--plays in a palace
Wisconsin--opened in '98
Minnesota--opened in '93
BU--2005
UMD--opened in 2010

Conte is fine but there are a lot of teams involved and I think at some point a hockey specific arena where you downgrade to like 5,500-6,000 would be ideal.

As far as I know I was told by a source the basketball team will have their own venue where the plex used to be.

As far as Conte, I heard they will replace the seats with cushioned ones in the lower level and maybe get rid of the benches in the upper levels, but I don't see BC building a new rink when Conte will do and can be improved without tearing down the whole venue.

They need to upgrade the food / menu in Conte which is minor

As far as coach, I would not mind an ex player like Orpik who is young and has some rings and should be able to relate and connect with young players. His experience is limited as far as coaching but then again so was York when he was a young coach except BC or AD Flynn thought he was not experienced enough and York proved himself @ Clarkson / BG before returning to BC.

Denver has a young coach and just won a title and was a DU player not that long ago.

Ayers in my opinion should not be the next coach, I just don't see anything in his ability to run the a program like BC.