Re: Brown Hockey 2014-2015 - Onward and Upward
Whether they are All- ECAC players or not, is not the point. The main player we lost last year was Robertson, but other than that, the bulk of the team returned.
I disagree, and think you are understating the contributions of guys like Wahl and Goldberg on the blue line, and Hathaway and Hourihan up top. Now, truthfully, Hourihan was never a scoring threat, but he was an able penalty killer and good grinder of a player, perfect for a 4th line. Hathaway provided energy and two-way ability, as well as special teams experience. Wahl logged a ton of career minutes on the blue line, and Goldberg became a solid two-way D-man as well. Now, I don't think Wahl was an all-star last year, nor was Goldberg all league, but they were seasoned hockey players who logged good minutes and were up to snuff in to terms of team speed.
The only change that was made was the recruiting incoming class (which should be very successful for the future). So if you play Prescott, Doane, Jacobsen, Rossi (whose played one game), Pryzbek (whose played two, but yet was invited to a pro camp this past summer) and Wood (who was scratched against Dartmouth...?) what do you have to loose? Maybe it will help gain back that team feeling they felt last season.
In terms of the players that you've referenced, here's my take:
1. Not sure what's going with Pryzbek. He played well, I thought, last year. Definitely showed some moxie, but maybe is missing a step or something. Good size, athletic... but there must be something missing. He played with many different linemates last year, so it's hard to tell if his production or lack thereof is a product of one thing or another.
2. Doane was coming on fairly strong when he got hurt last year. High energy - I liked him. He reminds me in a lot of ways of Kramer, just seems to have a motor that's always running (see also: David Brownschidle, Jeff Ryan). As for Prescott, good size, always wanted him to be better around the net and as a power forward type, but has always seemed a step slower than the system would require.
3. Jacobsen's knee injury was a killer. As a first-year, he was terrific, but I think that was partially because he got time on lines with Maclellan and Lorito. I don't know that he would provide more than the first-years, but I've always been a fan, and unless truly building for the future by playing the kids, and they are head and shoulders above, I would like to see what he could offer.
4. Wood didn't look great against SLU or Clarkson, my only points of reference. He is a stay-at-home D-man, not going to give us two-way power, in my opinion. He strikes me as similar to a lot of the other defensive defensemen we've had over the years (see also, Mike Wolff). Rossi hasn't played enough for me to have a full opinion of him, but given what I saw in the first couple games by the younger guys and Joe D, may be worth shaking it up by playing him. Can't be any worse, I suppose.
So I'm not in full disagreement with wanting to see some of the other guys play. I'm also not going into sky is falling mode, but it is obvious that the goalies are probably dealing with a confidence issue, the net is shrinking on our scorers, and the younger players need time to develop. For those of us who are impatient and want to see this team win NOW, particularly with Coach Whittet in year six, the "wait til next year" mentality gets frustrating. Bottom line - college hockey isn't about winning games 5-4 or 6-3 that often, so my bigger concerns would be the little battles, getting the puck into the offensive zone, and doing the little things that help your goalie see the puck - none of which seems to be happening.
The good news is we get a nice easy trip this weekend (sarcasm inflected). At Colgate and at Cornell. Yikes.
