Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

when you say new world, i feel like the new world is now it's more important than ever that you actually win. coaches get shorter and shorter leashes in all college sports these days than in the past. not saying harvard should be able to rule the college hockey world, but their overall performance the last five years is deplorable. it's been said many times, but just look at yale hockey under allain. how is that any different than what harvard should be able to do?

JD - you are missing the point. If the AD doesn't "support" the program and push the fringe recruits through the turnstyle, then it becoems difficult to win. Allain has the support of the AD and Donato does not. It's that simple.

Performance matters, but you can't put in what God left out....

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

he has had the talent. Did notice a little bit of a focus on reputation kids from when they were 16 or 17 vs trending blue chippers. also, many get hooked on internships and dont train as hard in summer, Harvard networking will cause a priority change.
BC/BU tend to stay hockey focussed 24/7

not a negative for Harvard
Colin Blackwell perfect example. blue chipper, gets hurt and has fully taken advantage of Opportunities. What does same kid do at BU/BC? I doubt reaction is to dive into academics

 

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

new world
west point used to rule football
if Harvard basketball wins a single ncaa gm they do a ticker tape parade

similar to BC, Harvard hockey is third sport at best at Harvard

Totally agree. People should be writing to Scalise and folks donating $ should be demanding a meeting to explain why Harvard can't get recruits in.

It's like this is a new phenomenon (the academic threshold) and I'm farily certain that Harvard has a pretty good line of sight into a kid's ability to get in based upon his grades, SAT, and achievement test scores.

Something just doesn't add up here and since sh_t usually trickles down, my bet is that it resides with the AD and an unwillingness to support the hockey program and throw his weight around to do so.

 

[Dutchfan]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

blackwell concussions
pretty sure seward and coldwell cut

I was going to come on here and ask what Blackwell's deal was as it seemed he just disappeared. Blackwell was one of my favorite opposing players to watch in the ECAC, sad to see his career has been derailed by concussions, but glad to hear he's dove into his schoolwork as a result.

 

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I was going to come on here and ask what Blackwell's deal was as it seemed he just disappeared. Blackwell was one of my favorite opposing players to watch in the ECAC, sad to see his career has been derailed by concussions, but glad to hear he's dove into his schoolwork as a result.

Yes. never forget the goal against BU where he flipped the puck over the defenseman, skated by them as they turned and looked for the puck, and then got the puck back and scored. I believe in that game that Harvard was down 3-0 and came back to win 6-5.

 

[jstadts]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I would be surprised if the cheating scandal 2 years back is not part of the seemingly tougher admissions standards for athletes.

 

[bothman]

I would be surprised if the cheating scandal 2 years back is not part of the seemingly tougher admissions standards for athletes.

Not relevant or impactful whatsoever.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Looks like Jeremy Bracco may have de-committed and is now going to BC.

Huge loss. And I would expect other top recruits (fox, Woll, etc ) to all be at risk.

Given the recent admissions challenges and program track record, this should not be surprising to anyone.

The future does not look Bright. You can't win without the horses in the stable.

Great way to start the spring and summer. More decommits. Why don't we just shut the program down while we're at it or get a bunch of biochem majors to suit up so we can all be happy that the AI is preserved and untainted? Next to go: Vesey. He won't stick around with a sinking ship. Nashville will make the call sooner rather than later.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

JD - you are missing the point. If the AD doesn't "support" the program and push the fringe recruits through the turnstyle, then it becoems difficult to win. Allain has the support of the AD and Donato does not. It's that simple.

Performance matters, but you can't put in what God left out....

Exactly. Scalise simply doesn't care about hockey. So far it hasn't really impacted Katey Stone and the women's program (although she has lost some recruits during the past few years) but that day is coming sooner rather than later. What will be laughable will be the sparse attendance at the Landry portion of Bright-Landry next year. When Scalise sees how little money is being made in that area, it might get his attention. Or not.

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I would be surprised if the cheating scandal 2 years back is not part of the seemingly tougher admissions standards for athletes.

It wasn't just athletes who were caught in that scandal. Regular students were also caught and punished. The athletes are more visible and thus get more attention from the press. And if the standards got tougher for athletes, Amaker would have bolted for another program.

Make no mistake, the admissions committee knows what they are looking for in a prospective student, athlete or non athlete. The University takes great pride in winning Ivy titles and right now, the basketball program is hip, trendy, whatever you want to call it and hockey has taken a back seat. Scalise just doesn't give a rat's #ss about hockey and as long as he is indifferent, the program will suffer. Money will pour into a new facility for basketball and I'm sure that Amaker has Scalise's full backing with admissions. Teddy on the other hand must feel like the captain of the Titantic. Decommits all over the place, difficulty getting the kids he wants and lack of a strong coaching staff. It will lead to more last place finishes until and unless Scalise has a change of heart or he is removed as AD. Let's face it, when Billy was AD, hockey was going to be a priority albeit in the hands of less than stellar coaches.

 

[Hokydad]

Great way to start the spring and summer. More decommits. Why don't we just shut the program down while we're at it or get a bunch of biochem majors to suit up so we can all be happy that the AI is preserved and untainted? Next to go: Vesey. He won't stick around with a sinking ship. Nashville will make the call sooner rather than later.

why would any kid leave before they get their degree. So they can squander in minors than become a mailman. thise that leave should never have come in the first place

 

[mookie1995]

why would any kid leave before they get their degree. So they can squander in minors than become a mailman. thise that leave should never have come in the first place

It's not like they can't finish up their courses while they play hockey elsewhere. Now a days it's not even like you only need summer classes. One can do directed or online classes during the hockey season (assuming one has an innernet connection in wheeling WVa)

 

[Ronnieb]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

I hear they are all de committing and BC is now rostering 50 players.

 

[J.D.]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

no no no. if you want the school with a gazillion recruits lined up, that would be quinn and bu

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

why would any kid leave before they get their degree. So they can squander in minors than become a mailman. thise that leave should never have come in the first place

More than likely, the NHL team that owns their rights puts pressure on them to leave early or risk losing a chance to make the big club. What's interesting is that Harvard's most successful pro players all stayed for four years and two of them are in the playoffs at the moment (Dom Moore '03 and Craig Adams '99). I just think Vesey will look long and hard at this situation and probably leave after next season. You can only take so much losing before it gets to you.

 

[bothman]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Harvard's loss is Denver's gain. Adam Plant is heading to Denver.

 

[jstadts]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

It wasn't just athletes who were caught in that scandal. Regular students were also caught and punished. The athletes are more visible and thus get more attention from the press. And if the standards got tougher for athletes, Amaker would have bolted for another program.

Make no mistake, the admissions committee knows what they are looking for in a prospective student, athlete or non athlete. The University takes great pride in winning Ivy titles and right now, the basketball program is hip, trendy, whatever you want to call it and hockey has taken a back seat. Scalise just doesn't give a rat's #ss about hockey and as long as he is indifferent, the program will suffer. Money will pour into a new facility for basketball and I'm sure that Amaker has Scalise's full backing with admissions. Teddy on the other hand must feel like the captain of the Titantic. Decommits all over the place, difficulty getting the kids he wants and lack of a strong coaching staff. It will lead to more last place finishes until and unless Scalise has a change of heart or he is removed as AD. Let's face it, when Billy was AD, hockey was going to be a priority albeit in the hands of less than stellar coaches.

Not looking to flame your thread. I have followed ECAC hockey for a long time and have seen nearly every team{including mine} have an off ice incident that embarrassed the school. In a few cases I know for sure that the school responded in a behind the scenes way by taking the magic out of the admission wand. This move always leads to less talent and fewer wins. Lack of on ice success allows them to fire the coach a few years down the road which is what they really wanted to do in the first place. So perhaps Ted is a dead man walking.?

 

[Skate79]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Not looking to flame your thread. I have followed ECAC hockey for a long time and have seen nearly every team{including mine} have an off ice incident that embarrassed the school. In a few cases I know for sure that the school responded in a behind the scenes way by taking the magic out of the admission wand. This move always leads to less talent and fewer wins. Lack of on ice success allows them to fire the coach a few years down the road which is what they really wanted to do in the first place. So perhaps Ted is a dead man walking.?

That may be the case regarding Donato but why set him up to fail? It doesn't reflect well on the school and what coach worth their salt would consider Harvard knowing that Teddy walked the plank so to speak?

The cheating scandal definitely hurt the school but clearly the basketball program has not suffered and I sincerely doubt there will be any long term damage to recruiting or overall program effectiveness. One cannot say the same about hockey. Something has to give and soon or it will be a long time before Harvard returns to national prominence. We've gone through three coaches now since Billy retired and it has been 20 years and counting since the last Frozen Four. Recruits are decommitting at an alarming rate and we no longer can successfully recruit against other Ivies, let along BC and BU (that ship may have sailed long ago). The program needs an overhaul and not just the coaching staff. Former players need to get involved and we have to be far more diligent in reaching out to find the players we need to win. That's how we found Stevie Martins and Allain Roy. We connected with people who found them and brought them to Harvard. More of that needs to happen.

 

[alslammerz]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

That may be the case regarding Donato but why set him up to fail? It doesn't reflect well on the school and what coach worth their salt would consider Harvard knowing that Teddy walked the plank so to speak?

Because a new coach would want commitments to improvement the athletic dept. has earmarked for basketball instead. Whereas an alum and overall good guy isn't going to leave just because he's not getting total support from the powers that be. It is what it is - we've decided to hitch our horse to basketball for the time being. At this point, that team doing well gets more press than the fact that hockey is not and the majority of alums semm willing to be happy with basketball being king if it means hockey being diminished. I'm a diehard hockey fan and I can't even muster up anything more than acceptance of the status quo. If this is the tradeoff for a good basketball team in the AI system then this is what's going to happen.

I think that honestly the best we can hope at the moment for is that Teddy and his staff discover a hockey recruiting scheme akin to Moneyball - finding undervalued players that can get through admissions and at least bring us up into the upper half of the ECACs.

 

[alslammerz]

Re: Harvard Crimson 2013-2014

Fortunato to BU. Sigh.