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Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

HockeyEast33 said:
Other than the logical change in removing communication style restrictions (like a text was different than an e-mail was different than a phone call was different than snail mail - so 1980's thinking!), doesn't look to me to significantly change the landscape of women's hockey recruiting (more so men's). There aren't a lot of women's programs that are likely to have all 3 coaches on the road simultaneously and even so that is a pretty minimal change in my mind. Would appreciate other opinions, though.
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Actually most coaches I have talked to will have 3 on the road much more now. Take USA Hockey Nationals and the OWHA Provincial Championships this year, which are occurring the same week/weekend as the World Championships.

Also, I think removing the text/email ban is a big difference. Coaches can now email/text recruits as often as they like. May be helpful for some coaches to reply to contacts made by players, but could be annoying to so e high end players.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

chilidog said:
Princeton
Emily Achterkirch........................D....................(North Wright County).......................St. Michael, MN
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This is a surprising early commit. Usually the US early commits are strong NDC players and/or national team players. She appears to be a strong MN HS player and did play for the MN Whitecaps Black team that played well at the NAHA Labor Day tournament last year. But she wasn't at the NDC last 2 years of eligibility (unless I missed it) and not a lot of press around her. Probably a D1 caliber player but not the type that usually gets the early commitment. Perhaps a very strong academic background and/or Princeton connection of some sort?

In any case, Princeton continues to make some surprising decisions in recruiting and having not a great deal of success. It is starting to show in the results as they are constantly short players on the bench and they are clinging to the last ECAC playoff spot - becoming less and less relevant after a long history of success from the 80's into the 00's.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

pakidnyc said:
Actually most coaches I have talked to will have 3 on the road much more now. Take USA Hockey Nationals and the OWHA Provincial Championships this year, which are occurring the same week/weekend as the World Championships.

Also, I think removing the text/email ban is a big difference. Coaches can now email/text recruits as often as they like. May be helpful for some coaches to reply to contacts made by players, but could be annoying to so e high end players.
Click to expand...

Re: the 3 coach thing - be interesting to see if it really plays out as a meaningful difference. I remain skeptical, especially given that during the season there typically aren't more than 1 coach (or maybe 2) on the road at any given time and in the off-season probably 25-50% of programs have an Assistant Coach opening every year that they take 2-4 months to fill.

WRT the e-mail/text thing, my experience is that the coaches found a way to communicate with the players they wanted to as frequently as they wanted by some mechanism regardless of the rules. So I don't think this will materially change the recruiting landscape, just ease the NCAA burden of enforcing a rule that was meaningless anyway.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

Player....................Position ...............(Current Team) .......................Hometown

(Based on reliable info, but to paraphrase Yogi, "It ain't official 'til it's official.")
* Denotes commitments are official, as announced by the school



Bemidji State

Boston College
Kali Flanagan .....................D ............................(NSA) .................................Burlington, MA
Megan Keller ......................D ......................(Honeybaked) .....................Farmington Hills, MI
Makenzie Kent ....................F .........................(Assabet) ..........................................., MA
Tori Sullivan .......................F ......................(Honeybaked) .....................West Boomfield, MI

Boston University
Toni Ann Miano ..................D ...........................(NAHA) .......................................Bronx, NY

Brown

Clarkson
Savannah Harmon ...............D ............................(NSA) ............................Downers Grove, IL

Colgate

Connecticut
Lindsay Roethke ................F ............................(Buffalo) ...................................Buffalo, MN

Cornell
Sydnee Saracco.................D ......................(Chicago Mission) ........................Countryside, IL

Dartmouth

Harvard
Erin O'Connor ....................D .............................(CYA) ....................................Evanston, IL

Lindenwood

Maine

Mercyhurst

Minnesota
Sydney Baldwin .................D ..........................(Minnetonka) .........................Shorewood, MN
Cara Piazza ......................F ...................(USA 18s/Chicago Mission) .......................Darien, IL
Kelly Pannek .....................F .........................(USA 18s/BSM) ...........................Plymouth, MN
Nina Rogers ......................F .......................(USA 18s/Hopkins) ......................Minnetonka, MN

Minnesota-Duluth

Minnesota State
Amanda Conway ................F .......................(Chicago Mission) ...........................Naperville, IL
Anna Keys ........................D ...............................(Park) ..........................Cottage Grove, MN
Nicole Schammel ................F ............................(Red Wing) .............................Red Wing, MN
Emma Wittchow .................D ............................(Burnsville) .............................Burnsville, MN

New Hampshire

North Dakota
Lynn Astrup ......................D ............................(Warroad)...............................Warroad, MN

Northeastern
McKenna Brand ..................F ………...................……(NAHA) …….................……. Park Rapids, MN
Ainsley MacMillan ...............D …..............…….(Mississauga Chiefs) .........................Ilderton,ON

Ohio State
Jessica Dunne ...................D .........................(St. Louis Blues) ..........................O'Fallon, MO
Kassidy Sauve ..................G ...........................(Durham West) ...........................Whitby, ON

Penn State
Hannah Ehresmann ............G ............................(Minnetonka) .......................Minnetonka, MN
Remi Martin ......................D .........................(Colorado Tigers) .........................Littleton, CO
Christi Vetter ....................F ....................(USA 18s/Lakeville North) ..................Lakeville, MN

Princeton
Emily Achterkirch ..............D ......................(North Wright County) .................St. Michael, MN

Providence
Blair Parent .....................F .................................(Anoka) .................................Anoka, MN

Quinnipiac

Rochester

Robert Morris

Rensselaer

St. Cloud State

St. Lawrence

Syracuse

Union

Vermont

Wisconsin
Maddie Rolfes .....................D ........................(USA 18s/SSM) ..............West Des Moines, IA
Baylee Wellhausen ...............F ........................(USA 18s/SSM) ....................Williams Bay, WI

Yale
Courtney Pensavalle .............F ......................(Team Pittsburgh) ...................Winchester, MA

U.S. 28: Minnesota 14; Illinois, and Massachusetts 3 each; Michigan 2; Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin 1 each;

Canada 2: Ontario 2[/QUOTE]
 
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Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

HockeyEast33 said:
This is a surprising early commit. Usually the US early commits are strong NDC players and/or national team players. She appears to be a strong MN HS player and did play for the MN Whitecaps Black team that played well at the NAHA Labor Day tournament last year. But she wasn't at the NDC last 2 years of eligibility (unless I missed it) and not a lot of press around her. Probably a D1 caliber player but not the type that usually gets the early commitment. Perhaps a very strong academic background and/or Princeton connection of some sort?

In any case, Princeton continues to make some surprising decisions in recruiting and having not a great deal of success. It is starting to show in the results as they are constantly short players on the bench and they are clinging to the last ECAC playoff spot - becoming less and less relevant after a long history of success from the 80's into the 00's.
Click to expand...

To drive home the above point unexpectedly, Princeton missed the playoffs by losing to Yale in their last game. Need to address the recruit quality and number of players available if they are going to be any sort of a competitive team in the future.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

TonyTheTiger20 said:
Coworker of mine is related to her in some way.

By the way, random, but Kaitlyn Spillane... any relation to the former elite talent from BC of the same surname?
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Spillane - no - from same town but not related. Has caused confusion in MA hockey circles for years (not always to her benefit).

Silva - I have seen her play for several years in club hockey and she is a talented and determined player and by all accounts a very nice kid. She never made the NDC, but that is a somewhat political process and that almost certainly played a factor in her absence. But the NDC players in MA are picked by a group of folks that are made up in at least part by Div 1 college coaches. And what they saw (and what the article alludes to) is that she is just too small to be an impact player in Division 1 (particularly in Hockey East where the players tend to be bigger). As the article notes, she has had numerous injuries and gets bounced around a lot even at the prep school level - Division 1 will be even worse. She may latch on somewhere at the Division 1 level (and may even get a scholarship), but if she really wants to play and make an impact (not just be on a team), she would be way more impactful at a top Division 3 school. There are at least a couple of kids on the Tabor team (Raquel Pennoyer and Kaitlyn Spillane who are mentioned in the article) who are more suited to Division 1 hockey.

To make a comparison, a similar player from this coming year's commits is Haley McLean from Honeybaked who is going to BC next season. She is about the same size but she is way stockier than Silva, and maintains her quickness and scoring ability despite the stockiness. She had the opportunity to play at 4 NDC's and in the USA Hockey Nationals and demonstrate that she can compete and score against bigger kids at a national level. For whatever reason, she does not seem susceptible to injuries of any significance (probably good strength and conditioning and her quickness). She likely will be an impact player at the Division 1 level.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

HockeyEast33 said:
Spillane - no - from same town but not related. Has caused confusion in MA hockey circles for years (not always to her benefit).

Silva - I have seen her play for several years in club hockey and she is a talented and determined player and by all accounts a very nice kid. She never made the NDC, but that is a somewhat political process and that almost certainly played a factor in her absence. But the NDC players in MA are picked by a group of folks that are made up in at least part by Div 1 college coaches. And what they saw (and what the article alludes to) is that she is just too small to be an impact player in Division 1 (particularly in Hockey East where the players tend to be bigger). As the article notes, she has had numerous injuries and gets bounced around a lot even at the prep school level - Division 1 will be even worse. She may latch on somewhere at the Division 1 level (and may even get a scholarship), but if she really wants to play and make an impact (not just be on a team), she would be way more impactful at a top Division 3 school. There are at least a couple of kids on the Tabor team (Raquel Pennoyer and Kaitlyn Spillane who are mentioned in the article) who are more suited to Division 1 hockey.

To make a comparison, a similar player from this coming year's commits is Haley McLean from Honeybaked who is going to BC next season. She is about the same size but she is way stockier than Silva, and maintains her quickness and scoring ability despite the stockiness. She had the opportunity to play at 4 NDC's and in the USA Hockey Nationals and demonstrate that she can compete and score against bigger kids at a national level. For whatever reason, she does not seem susceptible to injuries of any significance (probably good strength and conditioning and her quickness). She likely will be an impact player at the Division 1 level.
Click to expand...

If size was "the" deciding factor then that is sad..same was said about Vicki Bendus...Mercyhurst saw past it...not only was/is she a super star but academically brilliant..and well deserved her PK award
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

myStuff said:
If size was "the" deciding factor then that is sad..same was said about Vicki Bendus...Mercyhurst saw past it...not only was/is she a super star but academically brilliant..and well deserved her PK award
Click to expand...

And one of the other two finalists that year was Kelly Paton, a 5'1" scoring machine.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

myStuff said:
Absolutely...also Shelby "lil bit" Bram just a sophomore now
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All of the above height challenged girls (is that politically correct enough?) are fine players no doubt. But (aside from Bram), these are players from a few years ago and the Division 1 wornen's game is changing very fast. Three points:

- Like the boys/men before them over the last 10-20 years, Division 1 girls hockey players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every year - and it is not a gradual increase but exponential. There are numerous Division 1 coaches who will take slower, less skilled players simply because they are bigger and more likely to be regularly available to play with fewer injuries and are able to successfully mix it up - just like on the men's side. It will become more and more difficult for shorter and/or smaller players to compete at the Division 1 level. Just look at the men's game - how many 6'+, 220lb players were there 10 years ago? Way fewer than there are now, where most of the Division 1 players fall into that size range. How many really impactful 5'9" men's players are there now? Virtually none....

- It's not just how tall you are but how you are built - are you a wisp of a thing or stockier and more rugged? As I noted, Haley McLean is short but very rugged and manages to absorb contact well and be strong on the puck despite that. If you're short, you have to have breadth - Amanda Boulier at St Lawrence is a good example - she is 5'1" and I believe was listed on a USA U18 roster as 165 lbs a few years ago. She is short, but NOT small by any stretch of the imagination.

- How well do you avoid getting into situations where you can get injured as a result of your smaller size? Girls who are small have to be adept at avoiding body contact that will lead to injuries just as a result of the size differential. The Silva girl (according to the article) hasn't mastered this skill (yet).

There is a place for VERY skilled 5'0" and below girls that are rugged and good injury avoiders, but the number of those spaces is dwindling fast. These kids will generally be much more successful at the Division 3 level.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

HockeyEast33 said:
All of the above height challenged girls (is that politically correct enough?) are fine players no doubt. But (aside from Bram), these are players from a few years ago and the Division 1 wornen's game is changing very fast. Three points:

- Like the boys/men before them over the last 10-20 years, Division 1 girls hockey players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every year - and it is not a gradual increase but exponential. There are numerous Division 1 coaches who will take slower, less skilled players simply because they are bigger and more likely to be regularly available to play with fewer injuries and are able to successfully mix it up - just like on the men's side. It will become more and more difficult for shorter and/or smaller players to compete at the Division 1 level. Just look at the men's game - how many 6'+, 220lb players were there 10 years ago? Way fewer than there are now, where most of the Division 1 players fall into that size range. How many really impactful 5'9" men's players are there now? Virtually none....

- It's not just how tall you are but how you are built - are you a wisp of a thing or stockier and more rugged? As I noted, Haley McLean is short but very rugged and manages to absorb contact well and be strong on the puck despite that. If you're short, you have to have breadth - Amanda Boulier at St Lawrence is a good example - she is 5'1" and I believe was listed on a USA U18 roster as 165 lbs a few years ago. She is short, but NOT small by any stretch of the imagination.

- How well do you avoid getting into situations where you can get injured as a result of your smaller size? Girls who are small have to be adept at avoiding body contact that will lead to injuries just as a result of the size differential. The Silva girl (according to the article) hasn't mastered this skill (yet).

There is a place for VERY skilled 5'0" and below girls that are rugged and good injury avoiders, but the number of those spaces is dwindling fast. These kids will generally be much more successful at the Division 3 level.
Click to expand...

In short: It is not how big you are, but how big you play. Some small players are capable of playing big. Others are not.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

HockeyEast33 said:
All of the above height challenged girls (is that politically correct enough?) are fine players no doubt. But (aside from Bram), these are players from a few years ago and the Division 1 wornen's game is changing very fast. Three points:

- Like the boys/men before them over the last 10-20 years, Division 1 girls hockey players are getting bigger, stronger, and faster every year - and it is not a gradual increase but exponential. There are numerous Division 1 coaches who will take slower, less skilled players simply because they are bigger and more likely to be regularly available to play with fewer injuries and are able to successfully mix it up - just like on the men's side. It will become more and more difficult for shorter and/or smaller players to compete at the Division 1 level. Just look at the men's game - how many 6'+, 220lb players were there 10 years ago? Way fewer than there are now, where most of the Division 1 players fall into that size range. How many really impactful 5'9" men's players are there now? Virtually none....
Click to expand...

I liked your points, don't know if I agree but got the gist.

As to your last question above... yeah Johnny Gaudreau sucks, ummm not. Nor does Kyle Rau.
 
Re: Division 1 Commitments 2014-15

Call It said:
I liked your points, don't know if I agree but got the gist.

As to your last question above... yeah Johnny Gaudreau sucks, ummm not. Nor does Kyle Rau.
Click to expand...

How about Cory Conacher ex of Canisius? Listed as 5'10 on TB's website but he can't be more than 5'8"
 
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