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LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM said:
Bill, of more interest is knowing what happened to Fogarty and Barr. It would look much better if either of those two individuals were actually offered the job over Whitten. There is no comparison when reviewing credentials. I am looking for someway to offset Whittens press conference comments that Rick Comley, who was on the search committee and handled the applications, was the "most influential person in his life." That was a poor comment to make. Great comment to send Rick Comley in a thank you note but poor comment in his opening press conference.
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OK, I said I thought we should move on and that's what I'm going to try to do after today. But I'll go a little farther for today. I'll address Barr first. I really liked his credentials. What I heard from the meet and greet sessions with faculty/staff is that he wasn't as impressive in that setting as either Fogarty or Whitten. He didn't seem as prepared to answer questions nor was he as enthusiastic about getting the job as the other two guys. Maybe that is because this was his first time in such a setting and didn't know what to expect. I heard that both Fogarty and Whitten made a good impression in those sessions, Fogarty a little more so. I don't know why Fogarty didn't get the job over Whitten. The big piece of information that we don't have is how did the actual interviews go? It's the candidates' job to sell themselves as the best person for the job and show that they can be leaders of the team. Perhaps Whitten did a little better job at that than Fogarty, and both better than Barr did. I don't know. Or as has already been mentioned, perhaps Fogarty (and maybe Barr) had more demands than Dunbar was willing to meet than Whitten did. Again, I don't know. I don't think the "on paper" qualifications are the be-all end-all of the process. The actual interviews, and to an extent the meet and great sessions, also figure in significantly once the finalists are determined. I though Fogarty was going to get it. Whitten did instead. I accept that and am anxious to see what he can do.

I don't know what your issue with Rick Comley is. From reading your posts about Whitten, I almost get the feeling that you're dislike of Whitten getting the job is more of a guilt by association thing (with Comley).
 
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Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

RapidsCity said:
Were those "his" recruits? If so, then why wasn't the senior class this year stronger? Or did Mel Pearson's presence improve over Jamie Russell? Which of those top scoring youngsters were Damon's and which were the ones that Muckalt and Pearson got to sign? If he's such a great recruiter, why was he the #2 guy? We shopped in the bargain basement. We got no one's #1 choice, maybe not even our own.
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I have no idea, we should have asked him which guys were his. I was just pointing out that this year's MTU team was young (but still finished 5th in the WCHA) and was brought in by the staff that he was the head recruiter on. A couple of seniors who had decent careers there, were not as effective as their recruits this season. Also, I'm not too worried that they had a "losing record" look at their non-conference opponents and it isn't hard to tell why their Overall record wasn't great. @Notre Dame, @Michigan @UMD and had to play Western in the GLI.
I think where they finished in the WCHA is a much more relevant argument when comparing his success and whether he is qualified to lead our program. I'm worried about making the WCHA playoffs before we concern ourselves with getting back to national prominence. Baby steps
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Lakers-88-92-94 said:
Also, he was there for 3 years so the seniors wouldn't have been his guys.
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Actually, he was in Houghton for four years. He was the second assistant for Russell's last season, after Chris Tok left for the NAHL. However, Pat Mikesch (and to some extent, Russell) likely recruited all of those seniors.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
Actually, he was in Houghton for four years. He was the second assistant for Russell's last season, after Chris Tok left for the NAHL. However, Pat Mikesch (and to some extent, Russell) likely recruited all of those seniors.
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You're correct, sorry, hockeydb.com doesn't have this past season listed on his coaching experience.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

RapidsCity said:
Were those "his" recruits? If so, then why wasn't the senior class this year stronger? Or did Mel Pearson's presence improve over Jamie Russell? Which of those top scoring youngsters were Damon's and which were the ones that Muckalt and Pearson got to sign? If he's such a great recruiter, why was he the #2 guy? We shopped in the bargain basement. We got no one's #1 choice, maybe not even our own.
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Talk about a toxic fan base in the Soo. Alex Petan was Damon's recruit and has led the Huskies in scoring each of his first 2 years. He was instrumental in recruiting Cliff Watson who switched his commitment from Ohio State after the coaching change last year. He has recruited many of Tech's top younger players and many of the prospects who have yet to hit campus.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

eye4talent said:
Talk about a toxic fan base in the Soo. Alex Petan was Damon's recruit and has led the Huskies in scoring each of his first 2 years. He was instrumental in recruiting Cliff Watson who switched his commitment from Ohio State after the coaching change last year. He has recruited many of Tech's top younger players and many of the prospects who have yet to hit campus.
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Essentially the argument I was trying to make. :cool:
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Lots of angst here in this thread. Not that what I'll say here is going to alleviate any of that but ...

I wouldn't hire anyone who's coaching philosophy was shaped by Rick Comely. That said, I really like Damon Whitten. Met him on more than one occasion and thought he was a stand up guy. But, Dave Shyiak was a reflection of Rick Comely's coaching philosophy. Damon's first coaching experience was under Dave. Then he worked for three years for Rick Comely. Let me be clear ... the philosophy that I dislike is the "my way or the highway" BS.

You're now dealing with a generation of young people (players) who do not see the world in the same terms as those in the past. And these antiquated ideas from "old-timey" coaches in any sport will not prove as fruitful anymore. Modern young men must be engaged and respected. A college hockey coach should not be the potentate of his team ... he should consider himself the leader of the team. And any good leader of humans uses empathy above all else to get the best out of those he leads.

LSSU's process was too hurried. There is/was really no major downside to taking a couple of months to find the right new head coach. People worry that somehow you'll lose recruits if you don't hire a new HC right away after letting one go. Bah. It's better to find the guy you want and frankly there are probably guys that LSSU could have wanted who are still coaching their current teams in the 2013-2014 season. If you'd waited til June you would have had a better pool of applicants is my point.

I wish Damon the best of luck and hope for LSSU's sake that whenever he faces a choice as coach and wonders "what would rick comely do" that he chooses the exact opposite. Be your own man Damon. Comely's coaching philosophies are a thing of the past. Don't be his legacy. Create a situation where you leave a legacy and nobody associates your history with Comely.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

After hearing that the candidates met with the team, I'd be curious to know how much input the players had into the decision.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Fogerty withdrew himself from consideration after the interview.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

DM2SM said:
Not at all Bill, I have never been introduced to Rick Comley and all things being equal he was a great resource for any selection committee. The important part of that comment is “all things being equal.”

You’re missing or avoiding the point. Did the committee know how close the relationship was between Comley and Whitten? If so, strictly for the purpose of outside perception, I think it was an error in judgment by Kris Dunbar allowing him to select the candidates to be interviewed and be involved in the selection of the head coach. I think most would consider this a conflict of interest. How do you think this looks to the rest of college hockey?

Now, Rick Comley obviously knows how to judge people. If he recommended Whitten for the job then Whitten will probably do a good job for us, but ON PAPER he is underqualified with NO success anywhere in his portfolio. To the outside hockey world this has to be a strange hire.
Also, I was just told that Barr removed his name after his interview as well. Now, that opens up more questions. Did these two individuals get the feeling it was a stacked deck or did they just not like LSSU? Fogarty would have enough connectioins to know what was going on.

It will be interesting to see this rising star turn things around and bring us back to our Glory Days. If he does not and we take a step backwards as a program you won’t be able to give tickets away to games.
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My understanding is that Comley initially went through all the applications and weeded out ones that didn't seem as serious or qualified; even if that is true I don't know for sure if he did that on his own or had assistance. Jeff Jackson supposedly was also involved with the committee in an advisory capacity; what his role was, I don't know. It is also my understanding that the 9 person committee as a whole, not Comley by himself, then decided which of the applicants that remained after the first cut would get an interview. I assume that Dunbar then did the actual interviewing and made the final decision. Certainly Comley as head of the search committee had a role in the process, but I haven't seen or heard any hard evidence that supports the notion that he pushed Whitten's selection through. I think what's strange to the hockey world about this hire is all the bitterness they see expressed on this forum.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

LSSULaker889294, you seem to be following the development of schedules for next season pretty closely. Do you know who will be paying the Lakers in the Soo on Great Lakes Weekend yet? If anyone else knows, feel free to chime in also.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Bill said:
LSSULaker889294, you seem to be following the development of schedules for next season pretty closely. Do you know who will be paying the Lakers in the Soo on Great Lakes Weekend yet? If anyone else knows, feel free to chime in also.
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I don't know yet. Perhaps GLSW will be the first home games of the year October 4-5 against Michigan Tech.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

LSSULaker889294 said:
I don't know yet. Perhaps GLSW will be the first home games of the year October 4-5 against Michigan Tech.
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I received an e-mail from the Alumni Association today which indicated that GLSW will be Oct 24-25, but it didn't say who the hockey opponent will be. I wasn't sure if you had heard/seen anything yet.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

Bill said:
I received an e-mail from the Alumni Association today which indicated that GLSW will be Oct 24-25, but it didn't say who the hockey opponent will be. I wasn't sure if you had heard/seen anything yet.
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I thought someone said that Lakers were going to travel to NMU that weekend, but I guess things changed. My guess is it changed so we could get a NC team to play up here. Again, just speculation.
 
Re: LSSU Lakers 2014 off-season thread (part 2)

geezer said:
After hearing that the candidates met with the team, I'd be curious to know how much input the players had into the decision.
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I don't know how much input they had, but from what I heard the players liked both Fogarty and Whitten.
 
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