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Boston University 2011 Offseason

Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

"Parker dismissed Saponari from the team after the sophomore arrived late for a conditioning workout that served as punishment for a drinking violation. Saponari called it an isolated incident and believed the coaching staff used him as an example for a lackluster season after the Terriers won a national title during Saponari's freshman year.

Despite Saponari's 48 points in 82 games as a regular in the Terriers' lineup, the flood of online comments quickly followed his dismissal."

OK...a.) What are our online comments worth, really? and b.) This article in no place mentioned "party luck a puck star", which was just too much.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

Jacques Joubert said:
This article in no place mentioned "party luck a puck star", which was just too much.
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Party like a Puckstar would have gone platinum if not for our violent racism about both lyrical geniuses featured in it being of Italian descent.:rolleyes:
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

I agree with Fed League. The rules and what's expected are clear. What I see is that the players no longer respond to the threats and admonishments from Parker, whether its loss of ice time or the various dismissals the past few years. I feel like a broken record with regard to Parker, but I cannot get excited about upcoming seasons so long as he is the coach.

And now hearing that Quinn may be in line for the Providence job ??!! Obviously Quinn is ready to run his own program now. With the success he has had in Erie, he will be in line for NHL head coaching positions within a year or two as the AHL is the stepping stone to the big leagues now more than ever. Someone like Lammorillo in NJ might take a chance on an obvious up and comer like Dave.

Why do I keep torturing myself wishing for what's NOT going to happen.
 
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Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

bantam75 said:
I agree with Fed League. The rules and what's expected are clear. What I see is that the players no longer respond to the threats and admonishments from Parker, whether its loss of ice time or the various dismissals the past few years. I feel like a broken record with regard to Parker, but I cannot get excited about upcoming seasons so long as he is the coach.

And now hearing that Quinn may be in line for the Providence job ??!! Obviously Quinn is ready to run his own program now. With the success he has had in Erie, he will be in line for NHL head coaching positions within a year or two as the AHL is the stepping stone to the big leagues now more than ever. Someone like Lammorillo in NJ might take a chance on an obvious up and comer like Dave.

Why do I keep torturing myself wishing for what's NOT going to happen.
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So what you're saying is that you don't think Parker even has a chance of leading this team to a NCAA tournament berth and a NC run next year? As we learned this year and every year you just gotta get in and you have a chance and this team certainly has the talent and the experience to win alot of games next year. I think Quinn needs to have the experience of running a college program on his own and PC gives him a chance to do that. You really think if BU wants to interview Quinn in 3 or 4 year he would turn them down to stay at PC where hockey is secondary to a bottom of the barrell Big East basketball team. I'm not even sold that Quinn should be the next coach here at BU but if you are, him going to PC only helps the chances he stays in the college game and comes to BU once JP retires.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

FiveHole12 said:
Two Italians, Vic and Vin, are standing on a bridge looking into the water.
Suddenly, a periscope breaks the surface.
Vic says: "Hey Vin, looka the U-boat".
Vin: "Thats notta my boat."
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B'gosh and b'gorrah, that's a wee bit a' racism there, boy-o. I'd watch me stereotypes if I were you. --hic!--


;)
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

mpereira said:
So what you're saying is that you don't think Parker even has a chance of leading this team to a NCAA tournament berth and a NC run next year? As we learned this year and every year you just gotta get in and you have a chance and this team certainly has the talent and the experience to win alot of games next year.
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Talent and experience is not the issue. Since the arena was built, we have had good recruiting classes. The only one that was less than par was Zach Cohen and Luke Popko, and that one nearly had a guy named Pat Kane in it. The issue is what that talent and experience means in terms of on ice results.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

defkit said:
Talent and experience is not the issue. Since the arena was built, we have had good recruiting classes. The only one that was less than par was Zach Cohen and Luke Popko, and that one nearly had a guy named Pat Kane in it. The issue is what that talent and experience means in terms of on ice results.
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First, that class wasn't too bad. It wasn't the best class ever but I would say Gryba, Strait, Z Cohen and Popko all went on to be leaders of the national championship team. I wouldn't describe that less than par. Granted Bennett didn't work out to say the least but my point was that Parker proved in 09 and he will again that he is still one of the best coaches out there. Do you really think he is that incompetent that next year's team wont even make a run at a FF or NC?
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

mpereira said:
First, that class wasn't too bad. It wasn't the best class ever but I would say Gryba, Strait, Z Cohen and Popko all went on to be leaders of the national championship team. I wouldn't describe that less than par. Granted Bennett didn't work out to say the least but my point was that Parker proved in 09 and he will again that he is still one of the best coaches out there. Do you really think he is that incompetent that next year's team wont even make a run at a FF or NC?
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Look, no offense but its almost as if BU is paying you to write some of this. None of these guys were leaders in the national championship team. Those guys were named Wilson, Bonino, Yip, McCarthy, and Gilroy. You'll notice once those guys (except Bonino) left, the team wasn't the same even though the players you mentioned were still there. Just because someone was on the team and got regular playing time doesn't make them a team leader. By that logic we'd have to call Saponari a leader on a national championship team.

To answer your other question, having watched the guy coach for 20 years now, he's a recruiter first and foremost. Once a decade he gets a stellar class, they play up their abilities and win. He's not a good motivator, nor does he tend to get more out of guys than you would expect. Often he gets less. So, over the next 10-15 years there a good chance he'll have another year where he brings in a stellar class and they win again. Problem is York will have bagged another 3 or 4 titles and 10 FF appearances in that same time.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

Rover said:
Look, no offense but its almost as if BU is paying you to write some of this. None of these guys were leaders in the national championship team. Those guys were named Wilson, Bonino, Yip, McCarthy, and Gilroy. You'll notice once those guys (except Bonino) left, the team wasn't the same even though the players you mentioned were still there. Just because someone was on the team and got regular playing time doesn't make them a team leader. By that logic we'd have to call Saponari a leader on a national championship team.

To answer your other question, having watched the guy coach for 20 years now, he's a recruiter first and foremost. Once a decade he gets a stellar class, they play up their abilities and win. He's not a good motivator, nor does he tend to get more out of guys than you would expect. Often he gets less. So, over the next 10-15 years there a good chance he'll have another year where he brings in a stellar class and they win again. Problem is York will have bagged another 3 or 4 titles and 10 FF appearances in that same time.
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I wish BU was paying me to write my opinion but not quite the case. So you are saying Strait who was the assistant captain (and elected co-captain for the following season before he left) on that NC team wasn't a leader? Gryba who was the enforcer on that team wasn't a leader? I'm not saying every single one was a more important leader than Gilroy and McCarthy. You also can't claim that Wilson and Bonino were leaders just because they scored alot of goals. Your Saponari analogy isn't relevant since he was a freshman on that team and I am talking about juniors. This year's team for example didn't stuggle from a lack of motivation IMO it was more a lack of execution. You can blame that on the coach if you want but at some point the players gotta execute what he tells them to do. It has to fall on everyone's shoulders.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

mpereira said:
I wish BU was paying me to write my opinion but not quite the case. So you are saying Strait who was the assistant captain (and elected co-captain for the following season before he left) on that NC team wasn't a leader? Gryba who was the enforcer on that team wasn't a leader? I'm not saying every single one was a more important leader than Gilroy and McCarthy. You also can't claim that Wilson and Bonino were leaders just because they scored alot of goals. Your Saponari analogy isn't relevant since he was a freshman on that team and I am talking about juniors. This year's team for example didn't stuggle from a lack of motivation IMO it was more a lack of execution. You can blame that on the coach if you want but at some point the players gotta execute what he tells them to do. It has to fall on everyone's shoulders.
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Yes I am saying those guys weren't leaders. They were role players, and they played those roles well. Wilson and Bonino were leaders because (especially Wilson) put the team on his back and won them games, particularly UVM in the FF. No, Gryba and Strait did not, and never had the ability to do so. At some point how many "leaders" does a team have? I picked the top D man, the 3 top forwards, and the hardest worker on the team even though he didn't have the skill of the other 4 guys. Start adding in Zach Cohen and Popko and pretty soon we have to categorize everybody on the team as leaders (why not Milan? C Cohen? Lawrence? Shattenkirk?) Where does it end?

Regarding who was at fault this year, they have far less talent than their championship year in just about every position (there's no Wilson, Bonino, or Yip on this team as it appears now, nor a Gilroy and the team D in general from 1-6 isn't as strong) except for in goal. Couple that with the fact that the all look like they just met each other, particularly on the power play. Now compare that to those Western teams we watched in the NCAA's - smooth skaters, crisp on target passing, and skill around the net. So, I don't know if we can chalk this year up to a lack of motivation for not reaching the NCAA's, but for not even making the Garden for the conference tournament??? Unacceptable.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

mpereira said:
but my point was that Parker proved in 09 and he will again that he is still one of the best coaches out there.
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By saying "still," I am assuming you mean currently. So, limiting ourselves to the last five years, let's take a look at his body of work. BU missed the NCAA tournament three times in that span and in a fourth, they lost in the first round. They did not make the HE Championship game in any of those seasons but 09'. And in 07'-08', a lot of those top guys (Wilson, Bonino, Yip, Gilroy, etc.) were on the team and they lost anyway.

So yes, he won a championship but otherwise the team has struggled over the last few years - even with good players. I agree with Parcells, "you are as good as your record." In most years, BU's record has not been very good. Believe me, I appreciate everything Coach Parker has done for this program, but how do the results we are seeing on the ice translate into "still one of the best coaches out there?"
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

Rover said:
Yes I am saying those guys weren't leaders. They were role players, and they played those roles well. Wilson and Bonino were leaders because (especially Wilson) put the team on his back and won them games, particularly UVM in the FF. No, Gryba and Strait did not, and never had the ability to do so. At some point how many "leaders" does a team have? I picked the top D man, the 3 top forwards, and the hardest worker on the team even though he didn't have the skill of the other 4 guys. Start adding in Zach Cohen and Popko and pretty soon we have to categorize everybody on the team as leaders (why not Milan? C Cohen? Lawrence? Shattenkirk?) Where does it end?

Regarding who was at fault this year, they have far less talent than their championship year in just about every position (there's no Wilson, Bonino, or Yip on this team as it appears now, nor a Gilroy and the team D in general from 1-6 isn't as strong) except for in goal. Couple that with the fact that the all look like they just met each other, particularly on the power play. Now compare that to those Western teams we watched in the NCAA's - smooth skaters, crisp on target passing, and skill around the net. So, I don't know if we can chalk this year up to a lack of motivation for not reaching the NCAA's, but for not even making the Garden for the conference tournament??? Unacceptable.
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I guess we differ on the definition of leaders because I don't feel Bonino or Wilson were leaders on that team so I would subsitute Strait in there along with Gryba. Cohen had his issue the year before and lost any opportunity to be a leader when he almost got the boot. I would say the leaders of that team were Gilroy, McCarthy, Strait(the three captains) and Gryba/Yip. I guess I should have rephrased my earlier post to say that class was above average because most of them stayed four years and won a championship in their time. Championship teams don't have weak classes on them in my opinion.

As for this year, not making the Garden and the Beanpot were unacceptable for sure but once again im not sure how much falls on Parker and the coaching staff. There is the inexperience, poor execution,..etc. We could play this game for days I am sure but that HE QF series was the season in a nutshell where the team simply couldn't execute when they needed to. That team played hard all weekend but stuggled making key decisions and playing disciplined hockey. Some of that falls on Parker but he can only tell them what to do. He can't go out and play for them.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

Don't feel like quoting everyone, so I'm just gonna jump right in here. Parker has told us numerous times that the reason that 08-09 team was so good was because it had so many leaders. There's no question it started with Gilroy and McCarthy (and Strait to a lesser extent), but there were other guys who stepped it up not just on the ice, but in the locker room, too. Higgins, Lawrence, Yip and Shattenkirk come to mind first. Wilson definitely turned into something of a leader, and not just because he scored a lot. Bonino, Gryba, Popko and Z Cohen strike me more as guys who kind of went along for the ride in terms of leadership or just fed off other guys. I don't think any of them were really leaders themselves, and I think that became painstakingly evident last season.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

mpereira said:
Some of that falls on Parker but he can only tell them what to do. He can't go out and play for them.
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You know, if one year out of five stuck out like a sore thumb for a seeming lack of motivation, I would agree with you. But when this is the norm, as it has been for more than a few years now, other than 2009, you have to look at the constant and that is the head coach. Unless you really think that all these recruits that we have battled to win year after year are really the problem.

Put another way, none of the head coaches on any team play, only players play. It is the coaches job to get the team in the right place for and throughout the season, mentally, physically, and in terms of X's and O's. Coaches at many other programs seem to be doing this more effectively and consistently than Parker, especially when you consider that BU's recruiting class rankingas have been pretty much top 10 since HAA was built, with at least a couple years in the top three.

2009 was an anomaly, because Matt Gilroy had the age and the confidence to challenge Parker (as in the case of the two guys Parker was going to kick off the team), and perhaps McCarthy was just the right guy to be willing to back Gilroy up. I think Parker loved having Gilroy there, challenging him, because I think he knows he can't relate to these guys anymore (as I have brought up countless times). Unfortunetaly, 25 year old captains come along only so often, and Parker's reputation is more of a "don't f with me" than "hey guys, what do you think about...", so I don't think many are willing to take that risk.

Similar to srsterrier, I have a ton of respect for Parker, and I'm glad we had him has a coach because he has done more for BU Hockey than anyone. It's just gotten past him, and he's no longer the right man for the job.
 
Re: Boston University 2011 Offseason

Changing the subject, just a tad....just posted on The Terrier Hockey Blog is another masterful historical piece by mh82, this one chronicling the 1990-91 squad, loaded with future NHLers, that came oh-so-close to an NCAA title. Bring your own popcorn.
 
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