I'm kind of confused as to how Shatty can say that he should have done this, this and this, and yet he failed to do it during the season. During some of his press conferences during the season, it was very clear to me that he did not have what it takes to be the leader of that team. I put a lot of the blame for the season on Shatty and Bonino. I think Gryba fulfilled his role as an assistant captain, but I don't see what Bonino did at all off the ice and Shatty just could not step up.
I'm kind of confused as to how Shatty can say that he should have done this, this and this, and yet he failed to do it during the season. During some of his press conferences during the season, it was very clear to me that he did not have what it takes to be the leader of that team. I put a lot of the blame for the season on Shatty and Bonino.
I don't think any of the captains fulfilled their roles, but if I had to pick one who at least came close, it would be Shatty. I'll respectfully disagree about Gryba.
I was thinking and wondering the other day.....is Mass hockey just weaker now than it used to be when i was in school? Is that why few local kids are becoming Terriers today or do the local coaches know what's going on and make sure their kids go anywhere but BU? I don't know the answer to that but in my opinion we have entered a bleak future for Terrier hockey that won't change until leadership changes.
Having had the pleasure of covering some area HS hockey, I can say with pretty strong confidence that I may have seen one player capable of walking on at a quality D-1 program, and that's only because I saw Catholic Memorial play 3-4 times.
Many good thoughts on this issue from Parker here: http://www.boston.com/sports/colleg...bay_state_hockey_in_prolonged_downward_cycle/
And I captured some more quotes from Parker in this preview:
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/sports/mass-less-clash-1.2142294
Those will more or less confirm what you're thinking about Mass HS hockey. There are still gems at the prep and junior level in the area, but in the end, a guy like Warsofsky just has no reason to stick around a place like Marshfield. Nobody will ever see him there.
Around late November, I was rooting for Shatty to get bench. Of course it's improbable that Parker would bench a captain when the captain doesn't break team rules, but I felt it was probably the only way the team would wake up.
USHR reports that Avon Old Farms defenseman Patrick MacGregor, 6-4, 210 RD, has committed to BU for next fall. Besides playing for AOF's prep school champions (2 assists in the title game vs NMH), he played in the Western Prep fall league http://westernprep-elite.com/players_print.php
Before AOF, a two-time All-State player in Hamden CT.
I'm neither a BU or BC fan, but always root for BU in the Beanpot and any other times the two teams meet as I had some friends play for BU and do not like BC. If I was a recruit currently, I'd rather play at Agannis Arena than Conte Forum and I'd rather play at a school where hockey is the first priority (any HE school except UMA, BC and PC).
However, something Jerry York is doing is better than what Jack Parker is doing to recruit local kids. These are not local kids from public high schools or even the catholics, but the local kids for the most part are going to BC over BU.
High school hockey has dropped off tremendously in Massachusetts now for a while, but it has even been going further down in the last few years. The youth hockey programs in Mass are falling behind and that is hurting the overall talent pool than juniors and preps are taking away the players.
I will always remember fondly the memories of playing sports at a public high school where lots of friends and others came out to support the team. Some of my friends did PG years and/or juniors and the support for them was no where near the same.
There is positives attributes for publics, preps, and juniors, but I really wish we could see a day where all this talent went to publics and stayed there longer. Think about how good some of these publics would have been had all the kids stayed home for school. There are quite a few towns if you look at rosters over the past few years that have placed a good amount of kids in D1/D3.
As far as what Jerry York is doing better than Jack Parker... I know a lot of posters here might not want to face it but it's simple-- he's winning. Whether it be Frozen Fours said:I know 2009's 35 wins have a lot to do with it but over the past 5 years only Miami, Michigan and BC have a better winning % than BU
Someone else mentioned that he benched John Cullen, also. Do you recall when that was? Cullen had a lot back trouble as an upperclassman. Did he sit out injured, or was he benched? Oh, the days prior to the Internet.
Not sure why he didn't do more of that this season.
Great points here. No doubt Mass HS hockey is a shadow of what it was 10-15 years ago, but there are still quite a few players that are from Mass playing in Hockey East.
If you just take a look 3 miles down Comm Ave, there is Brian Gibbons, Joe Whitney, Steven Whitney, Paul Carey, Chris Kreider, Jimmy Hayes, Matt Lombardi, Barry Almeida, Edwin Shea, and John Muse. All hail from the Baystate. I know at least some of these guys had to have been recruited by BU, but chose BC.
As far as what Jerry York is doing better than Jack Parker... I know a lot of posters here might not want to face it but it's simple-- he's winning. Whether it be Frozen Fours, Hockey East Championships, or even (gasp!) the Beanpot. The guy knows how to win.
Yes. Jerry York is winning more, but both him and Jack Parker are very good coaches. I believe the recruiting has been better at BC than BU. My question is why?
As I pointed out in my previous post, BU has a nicer facility, can boast that they are the top athletic program on campus, and has produced some big time NHL stars.
BC has out recruited BU overall since 1997. I'm not saying BU has not gotten some great talent, even locally like Higgins, Lawrence, DiPietro, Spang, etc. But in general, BC has gotten better talent overall and better locally.
BU has had some strong classes recently. Last year's graduating class has seen 3 players play in the NHL this year (Even if McCarthy was only a couple of games. Still, he's playing extremely well in the AHL).
Next year's senior class had (before they all jumped ship) Wilson, Bonino, Shattenkirk, CCohen.
BC has out recruited BU overall since 1997. I'm not saying BU has not gotten some great talent, even locally like Higgins, Lawrence, DiPietro, Spang, etc. But in general, BC has gotten better talent overall and better locally.
I'm not saying BU hasn't had good talent, and as I said I like BU more, but I believe besides the initial boost from HAA, recruiting has been down compared to BC. It has still been easily second best in the league.
A big question to me is why did Brendan Silk choose BC? His uncle (I believe Dave is his uncle) played for BU. My big point with the few exceptions lately, for every one local stud BU gets, BC gets two.
As I pointed out in my previous post, BU has a nicer facility, can boast that they are the top athletic program on campus, and has produced some big time NHL stars.
I'm not saying BU hasn't had good talent, and as I said I like BU more, but I believe besides the initial boost from HAA, recruiting has been down compared to BC. It has still been easily second best in the league.
A big question to me is why did Brendan Silk choose BC? His uncle (I believe Dave is his uncle) played for BU. My big point with the few exceptions lately, for every one local stud BU gets, BC gets two.
