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BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

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Here’s my take on the Pandolfo hire. He’s from Massachusetts’s. He has young kids. He has NHL experience as a player and as an AC. And where do folks think the Bruins are headed? They have no high level draft picks. They won’t win the cup with what they have. The opportunity has arrived to stay around Boston, help players prepare for the pros like Quinn did, and return to his alma mater, a college dream job. Does he make the move now or wait until the Bruins fade into the sunset and he gets fired and then likely have to move to get whatever job is available at the time perhaps in Alberta or something. It makes a lot of sense to me. BU will be much better with him as AC or HC
 
I am still very surprised.
Maybe Pandolfo wanted a change? Maybe he heard the call (plea) from his alma mater?
Having a "heir apparent" on staff is not an easy thing (unless you are Jerry York and 123 years old, or Madigan heading upstairs and had already Keefe doing much of the on-ice work and patiently waiting), so we all may be jumping to an unhelpful conclusion.
I still hold that there is no backroom deal with Pandolfo, and he is coming back to help BU (and Albie) win games and titles.
That’s what is called delusional ...
 
Here’s my take on the Pandolfo hire. He’s from Massachusetts’s. He has young kids. He has NHL experience as a player and as an AC. And where do folks think the Bruins are headed? They have no high level draft picks. They won’t win the cup with what they have. The opportunity has arrived to stay around Boston, help players prepare for the pros like Quinn did, and return to his alma mater, a college dream job. Does he make the move now or wait until the Bruins fade into the sunset and he gets fired and then likely have to move to get whatever job is available at the time perhaps in Alberta or something. It makes a lot of sense to me. BU will be much better with him as AC or HC

He’s wanted this job for many years ... he would have gotten the job over albie had he had his degree. This did not just emerge out of the blue
 
Because Pandolfo did not have a degree

That’s not what he asked. He asked how you knew the job would have been his if he had his degree.

To change the subject…I was on Twitter and saw on Hockey East’s feed they’re doing this contest thingie for best plays of this past season and one of them is a play by Matt Brown and it made me wonder where things are with Matt Brown. Is he officially a Terrier or not?
 
That’s not what he asked. He asked how you knew the job would have been his if he had his degree.

To change the subject…I was on Twitter and saw on Hockey East’s feed they’re doing this contest thingie for best plays of this past season and one of them is a play by Matt Brown and it made me wonder where things are with Matt Brown. Is he officially a Terrier or not?
Oh of course I’ll just reveal how I know ... that makes as much sense as believing Albie invited pandolfo in .. seriously clueless ... and Paul Pearl magically left because ? ? ... and how many players entered the transfer portal ? Seriously ? Does it have to smack you in the face great guy great recruiter wanted him to succeed but just not a good head coach on many levels
 
My recollection is that Albie was the favorite among the players at the time. In hindsight, that should have been a red flag. Maybe too much of a players coach and not enough accountability. So having a guy like Friedman around is a good call.

Much was made that the players were very happy with Albie getting the gig. There was video of his entrance to the locker room, etc. But 1) what are we going to hear - they didn't want him? This could be considered media spin 101, and 2) that doesn't mean that once he became head coach, they weren't thrilled.

Plus, given that the other candidate was Rick Bennett, and what I have heard about his style, I am not surprised the players were happy with Albie, (and I'm still glad they didn't go with Bennett).
 
Oh of course I’ll just reveal how I know ... that makes as much sense as believing Albie invited pandolfo in .. seriously clueless ... and Paul Pearl magically left because ? ? ... and how many players entered the transfer portal ? Seriously ? Does it have to smack you in the face great guy great recruiter wanted him to succeed but just not a good head coach on many levels

He asked you a question. Your response was not an answer to that question. I clarified that for you. I did not demand to also know how you knew so you don't have to be all snarky to me. If you really do know that was the case, more power to you. If you are just making an educated guess, then you are just making an educated guess like anyone else here. Since you seem to be all knowing and have the inside track on all things Terrier Hockey, can you answer my question about Matt Brown. It's been all quiet on that front.
 
Even though the way ColinWilsonFan engages with others on this board may leave something to be desired, I'm quite confident his sources and connections to the BU Hockey program are credible. The "great guy great recruiter wanted him to succeed but just not a good head coach..." sentiment is something I've heard from others with similar sources/connections.

The conversation defkit had at the Beanpot with a parent of a player is similar to a conversation I had with the father of a current player late in the 2019-2020 season. This father told me that based on what his son has told him, the guys on the team like Albie personally but don't respect his authority nor hockey knowledge the way he (the father) feels a HC for a program like BU's should command.

With that said, I also know of parents of other players who will go above & beyond to stick up for Albie - how much they like him, respect him, and how much their sons enjoy playing for him.
 
To change the subject…I was on Twitter and saw on Hockey East’s feed they’re doing this contest thingie for best plays of this past season and one of them is a play by Matt Brown and it made me wonder where things are with Matt Brown. Is he officially a Terrier or not?

Neither BU nor HockeyEastOnline have updated the roster. College Hockey Inc’s BU depth chart doesn’t include him, does include Ty Gallagher, but it still has Quercia, Deboer and Wise. Brown’s Elite Prospects page shows a 4/19/21 transfer to BU. His Twitter page shows “BU” and Heisenberg’s 2021 recruit page now includes transfers and shows him the BU column. BTW--Brown played two seasons at Lowell, so would have at least two more years as a Terrier.
https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/381804/matt-brown
https://www.collegecommitments.com/D...2&female=False
 
Pandolfo leaves the Bruins for BU. And now Jay Leach has left the HC job at Providence Bruins for the AC job at the Kraken. Sounds like there is a little unrest in the coaching ranks of the Bruins.
 
Even though the way ColinWilsonFan engages with others on this board may leave something to be desired, I'm quite confident his sources and connections to the BU Hockey program are credible. The "great guy great recruiter wanted him to succeed but just not a good head coach..." sentiment is something I've heard from others with similar sources/connections.

I too appreciate him confirming what should be a common sense analysis of the situation, which is not only is Albie in a make or break year, but the school already has his replacement lined up. All BU fans should be thrilled that the school cares enough about the program to not settle for running in place for the foreseeable future.
 
He asked you a question. Your response was not an answer to that question. I clarified that for you. I did not demand to also know how you knew so you don't have to be all snarky to me. If you really do know that was the case, more power to you. If you are just making an educated guess, then you are just making an educated guess like anyone else here.

ColinWilsonFan did not answer my question.
He just repeated a sentiment that a lot of people have posted for a couple of years -- 'Albie is a good guy, the players like him, he is an excellent recruiter, he does not command the respect that a head coach should have.' Yada yada yada. That is pretty much Albie's rep with a large segment of the fans/alums.

He also infers that Pandolfo would have gotten the head job after Quinn if he had a degree. I called him out on it, and has not justified it.
Just Pandolfo? What about Sacco, who also has NHL head coaching experience? Why not him?

Albie was the associate head coach. He was the very favorite back then. I am not arguing that he was the right choice. Only that the job was his to lose, and he didn't lose it.
And to say that it would have gone to Pandolfo back then is just so much BS.
If he didn't have a degree, and he was not going to be considered because of it, then he never could have been the favorite.
I'm sure BU still offers classes in Logic.
 
As far as the hiring decision when Quinn left, my understanding is that Pandolfo was immediately disqualified by President Brown because he did not have a degree. Therefore, Albie's perceived status as a "frontrunner" was in the context of Pandolfo never being in the running to begin with. I don't know whether that would've been different if Jay had his degree at the time. But I do know it's not a useful comparison due to the immediate exclusion for that non-coaching performance reason.

To Rover's point above - while I am happy that the program is not happy with continuous subpar seasons, I'm of the opinion that if Pandolfo was brought in as the "next coach in line in case Albie fails again" then they should've made the move now.
 
He also infers that Pandolfo would have gotten the head job after Quinn if he had a degree. I called him out on it, and has not justified it.
Just Pandolfo? What about Sacco, who also has NHL head coaching experience? Why not him?

Albie was the associate head coach. He was the very favorite back then. I am not arguing that he was the right choice. Only that the job was his to lose, and he didn't lose it.
And to say that it would have gone to Pandolfo back then is just so much BS.
If he didn't have a degree, and he was not going to be considered because of it, then he never could have been the favorite.
I'm sure BU still offers classes in Logic.

There are a number of people on this board who seem to be close enough to the team to obtain reliable information (I’m not one of them). Understandably, they can’t reveal their sources and sometimes they can’t reveal whether they even have sources. That doesn’t necessarily make the posts inaccurate though.

For those who choose to doubt the information because it hasn’t been attributed, that’s their prerogative.
I, for one, would still like to hear it anyway.
 
There are a number of people on this board who seem to be close enough to the team to obtain reliable information (I’m not one of them). Understandably, they can’t reveal their sources and sometimes they can’t reveal whether they even have sources. That doesn’t necessarily make the posts inaccurate though.

For those who choose to doubt the information because it hasn’t been attributed, that’s their prerogative.
I, for one, would still like to hear it anyway.

Nothing wrong with hearing it, be it inside information, gossip or just opinion. But BS should be called out.
 
Nice list ^. Counterpoint is that I think some people on here are over-valuing Hockey East competition in general. I went back and looked at SOS for the last decade (but threw out last year because of COVID). I found that almost always the top handful of SOS's did not come from HE but rather out west.

Here are the BU SOS's:
2019-20: 21st
2018-19: 17th
2017-18: 17th
2016-17: 9th
2015-16: 8th
2014-15: 18th
​​2013-14: 12th
2012-13: 16th
2011-12: 12th
AVG: 14th.

Pretty good but not overwhelming for what is historically one of the best handful of NCAA programs.

I still stand on my belief that you only get better by playing as good or better competition.

Yes, these are not strong schedules for BU. Maybe a good schedule for UMass Lowell or Colorado College but it isn't where BU needs to be. And Hockey East hasn't been one of the top two conferences in what .... half a decade?
 
Nothing wrong with hearing it, be it inside information, gossip or just opinion. But BS should be called out.

And it is "BS" because ... ? Your answer to that question was, "If he didn't have a degree, and he was not going to be considered because of it, then he never could have been the favorite."

Not necessarily. Tony Granato got the job at Wisconsin, which has a rule similar to BU's, without a degree. The arrangement was that he agreed to complete the requirements for his BA within a year. BU could have done something like that for Pandolfo. And the fact that a number of articles at the time, including one from WTBU, listed him as a candidate, suggests that he could have made it happen then.

BTW - I don't think it really matters too much at this point whether or not he was a leading candidate three years ago anyway.
 
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