Re: Colgate offseason speculations
as always appreciate Gate Radio's input, especially in July...the one question (and concern) I have is: if we need three additional forwards for 2013 how many good ones out there are left??? The same could be said for the requirement for 2 d-men...as we all know MOST of the quality kids are locked up a lot earlier than the beginning of their last year in secondary school...BTW Roach has flown the coop as of 7/31...
One has to wonder how the shake-up in the athletic department will effect the funding push for a new ice hockey facility that would also have locker room space for several other teams.
As for who's left? It's hard to say. I think the natural inclination is to go out and lock up guys early if they show promise since that's what everyone else is doing. What then happens when you get a player like Kevin Roy from Brown commits early and then has a boffo season in the USHL and now likely will go to BC/BU or Major Junior? That's a risk you of course. But, Colgate is in a unique spot where if they gamble on someone and they are wrong, they essentially have to eat the scholarship and/or roster spot for four years. So, the coaches have to show a little caution in going after someone with reckless abandon. My guess is that there are certainly players that are targets right now that will get offers once they get one more look or have a chance to visit campus come August-September.
With the incoming group combined with last year's class, you have a very solid base for the next 3-4 years that will consist of the Spink twins, Lidgett, Wilson, Borkowski, Murphy and Baun in no particular order up front and then Goulakos, Johnston and Lough at least on the back end. Plus Eric Mihalik still has two years left. So, honestly in my view, that's your main nucleus. Ideally by the time they graduate, they will be playing in a new facility but that's another subject for another time.
So then you have to look at how to build around that. On paper, up front you have a team that can skate very well and has good quickness. Lidgett got better as last year went along - mostly because he started the season at 18 and Wilson turned in a tremendous season playing alongside two pros that will be in the AHL this season. If the recruiting class pans out - and from talking to DV, he's very high on it - then you're looking at a team with good speed that has players that can skate well and finish. A lot like the team from last year. The d-group will be younger in the coming years (not this year) so that could be an issue moving forward depending on how strong the incoming players are.
Really, looking ahead at this year and years to come, Colgate needs to find those gritty, diamond-in-the-rough type players exactly like a Tyler Burton or a Burton with a little more size. Players that will go to the net, muck in the corners and score ugly goals. There weren't a lot of those last year. And I think you'll need size along the lines of a Firman-Prockow-Gillanders-Winchester-Huculak that will give the smaller guys time and space to operate. Firman and Prockow did that well last year for Mayer when the team was winning.
On a side note, great photo gallery at Radio Free Hamilton from the Terry Slater golf tournament this past weekend.
