What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves

Status
Not open for further replies.
Runsub5 said:
As I understand it, all of this money is pretty much dedicated to bricks and mortar. While this is important, it's also important to have money for top coaches, recruiting, scholarships and athlete benefits.
Click to expand...

+++

I think that some people are still fuzzy on this. There is money and plans for upgraded facilities. There is not any dedicated money (so far) for increased salaries for coaches.
 
BassAle said:
We’re well aware. Most of that isn’t even going to hockey, other than some lipstick on the Alfond.

That doesn’t pay a head coaches salary and we need $400-500K per year to compete for talent, and we need a much larger recruiting budget.

Mainers are cheap.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say that renovation of the Shawn Walsh Center with a new weight room & locker rooms is just "lipstick".

Maybe we can ask Colby College for money.....they are literally spending hundreds of millions like it grows on trees. They are transforming Waterville into a bizarre artsy-fartsy district. Holy cow!
 
Runsub5 said:
Chuck-
I don't take offense at what you are saying. I am not taking it as a troll from another school dumping on Maine's program. I believe you are sincere and thoughtful in your comments. I happen to agree with you, for what its worth.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I appreciate the supportive comments.

Obviously, I realize that for some folks with long memories, it's difficult to reconcile that someone like myself who had often been critical of UMaine and the Coach Walsh era in the past (and likewise, so many things BC) can see things a bit differently with the benefit of hindsight 10, 15 or even 20 or so years later. Likewise, my views of many things UNH have migrated over time. In the moment, when things are happening - and in this case, when UNH was mixing it with UMaine and BC (and BU) back in the days of the so-called Big Four - it's hard not to let your rooting interest override objective analysis of a situation.

Some overarching themes also just happened to be true. UNH struggled to win the big ones. Two straight HEA tourneys was the entire haul for hardware in the Umile Era, which clearly was an underachievement, given the opportunities for more successes. UMaine did have confirmed issues with the NCAA. There were suspensions and sanctions to prove it. Walsh worked through that and won again in '99. And BC fans and the program acted like they "owned the place", way before accomplishing what would justify that behavior. But guess what? BC then went on a historic run of D-1 titles, with 4 in just over a decade, so suddenly they had the bona fides they so desperately wanted all along. These are the facts, like it or not.

I spent a lot of time over the last 20 years coaching sports, albeit at a much lower level than D-1 college sports. So I got a chance to try out a lot of approaches to what I was doing and how, and to see how things worked. It was an eye-opener on so many fronts, and that I managed to last those 20 years doing it (until very recently when I basically retired of my choice) suggests I did pretty OK at it. I run into former players and their families in the community all the time now, and people do seem genuinely happy to greet me (and I'm always happy to see them). I've had to make the tough team decisions, set the tone and tactics, and deal with the aftermath of victories and defeats. At times it was exhausting, but it was always rewarding.

So I take interest in coaching issues these days, and I take some of that experience with me in commenting on what seems to be working for a team/program, and what might not be working. I'm still a fan, and I still do root for UNH, but it's never been as black-and-white on "good guys" or "bad guys" like when I was purely a "yahoo homer" - a term I used to use back in the day. I still have my "villains" here and there, starting with a certain UConn coach, and including the long-term UNH careerist AD, but my days of believing that WIS - as opposed to just using the tag for silly USCHO stories - are long over.

Life is too short to waste it being angry at things. But even back in the day, I always wanted my barbs to be good-natured and allow us "enemies" to interact and enjoy the sport of college hockey together from different perspectives. I've come to terms that UNH ended up as the "loser" of the 3-way tug-of-war with UMaine and BC on these boards (I was always much more neutral with BU back then). Those are facts I can't change, and I'm delusional if I don't admit it, right? BC walked off the winners, and UMaine had their big moments on the biggest stages, which is more that UNH experienced. It is what it is.

I do firmly believe - as Wally has echoed here - that if you don't get the coaching decision right, nothing else matters. So I'm here to read and contribute while your program goes through this important process. Someday when Coach York hangs up the whistle, I'll probably be on their thread discussing things, just like I am on here. The current Carvel/Barr thread is a discussion of their impact in Amherst, and what happens next with those guys. I have my opinions on MS7 (Coach Souza at UNH) which have migrated over his short tenure, just as my opinions of Coach Umile shifted over time. Getting the right guy in isn't easy, but it's the most important decision your program will ever make. I sincerely hope you guys get it right.
 
Well I am going to say it again....this is going to be the most important hire for the Maine Hockey program...this imo is a "Make or break hire"...no sugar coating it, if they fail again this program is doomed forever...period. Its high time that AD Ralph, whom many say has the hockey program on his radar and will do the right thing....well it's high time for a >>"BOLD" move...go for it....there are a few high profile Coaches out there/if they are interested...such as Ben Barr assistant UMass, Jim Montgomery NHL assistant St.Louis Blues, and a outside chance of even luring Greg Moore AHL Head Coach Toronto Marlies...do I think he would pull the trigger on such a move: NOPE, he won't go out on the limb...he has the easy out in putting Guite in as a Interim Coach and will re-think it next spring, ya right this was all done on the CHEAP...Interim pay and then offer him{Guite}a 3 year extension in the low pay range but is a increase from his Assitants pay.....you hire a high profile Coach and YES it will cost you...but don't you think if one of the 3 above would come that attendance would spike in season tickets sales/single game sales/merchandise sales and out of the blue 1 or 2 Donors that were waiting for this type of hire to Donate their money and see it work instead of throwing it into the trash with Interim hiring's and low budget thinking. A lot of what ifs, such as do any of the 3 see coming to Maine as a positive...???? Can this program be saved in the long term...??? As I said; important hire and "BOLD" move needs to happen...but NOT next year....time is now and hopefully by say May 14th we will have a clearer picture.................
 
walrus said:
The old days of USCHO were a lot of fun so I'm not so sure on that, insert smiley face here
Click to expand...

So I have an idea then ... let's say this time UNH hires the bold-thinking outsider/maverick type and his dedicated second-in-command, who knows all of the crevices in the recruiting world like no one else does ... and UMaine goes with an alum who likes to wear turtlenecks, but struggles to get his talented-yet-flawed teams to win big games. Maybe the UNH maverick will bend the rules sometimes, and maybe he even gets busted for doing so? You guys give us endless grief over it, but we stick up for our guy, and point to the new arrivals in the trophy case, while also pointing out that your turtleneck-wearing head coach struggles to motivate his kids for when the lights are the brightest. We do this for about a decade or so, then UNH's dyed-in-the-wool winner tragically departs before his time, and UMaine's chronic runner-up type lingers, fading into oblivion.

<insert smiley/winkey here>

Yup, the old days of USCHO were a blast, and I miss 'em. Even the losing big games thingie. If there's anything worse than choking in big games, it's not getting to play in them at all, ever. But the give-and-take with the UMaine-iacs was always fun, even when we were (mostly) on the losing side. Heck, even the 2002 HEA Finals win lasted less than 2 weeks before UMaine got their revenge in St. Paul. At that point, it seemed like the rivalry would only continue to escalate, but somehow it really never matched its 1999-2002 apex ever again. Those were the days, my friend ...
 
Corkum! We dont need that and I dont believe he has a snow balls chance in hell.
What kind of coach is that who brings his conspiracy theories to a team who is working hard to accomplish their goals. Probably for the best he left the ladies team.
 
OK, let's talk Monty, who has won everywhere he's been.

I wanted him in the first place, and I'm more than willing to roll the dice in terms of him staying sober.
 
Fishman'81 said:
OK, let's talk Monty, who has won everywhere he's been.

I wanted him in the first place, and I'm more than willing to roll the dice in terms of him staying sober.
Click to expand...

I’m not completely against Monty but think he would have been much more successful eight years ago. I do wonder how strong his recruiting connections are and how good of feel he has for younger players given he’s been focused on pro game for last three or four years. He’s also into his 50’s now and my preference would be someone younger. I’d put Moore ahead of him on my list.
 
Drew S. said:
I'm not completely against Monty but think he would have been much more successful eight years ago. I do wonder how strong his recruiting connections are and how good of feel he has for younger players given he's been focused on pro game for last three or four years. He's also into his 50's now and my preference would be someone younger. I'd put Moore ahead of him on my list.
Click to expand...

Another way of looking at it is ... IF Monty comes, it's likely he'll be back for the long run. And if someone like Moore comes, he may do what Monty himself did at Denver, and parlay some D-1 success into a head coaching job in the NHL.
 
Chuck Murray said:
Another way of looking at it is ... IF Monty comes, it's likely he'll be back for the long run. And if someone like Moore comes, he may do what Monty himself did at Denver, and parlay some D-1 success into a head coaching job in the NHL.
Click to expand...

I'm okay with hiring someone who wants to use the school as a stepping stone. You can't move onwards and upwards if you don't have success. If Moore wants to try to take five years and get Maine back to the Frozen Four and use that to get NHL attention, fine by me.
 
NCAA watcher said:
I wouldn't want a head coach who hasn't figured out that the best way to defeat the Gates tracker chips is to wrap tinfoil around your head.
Click to expand...

I had a few work pals back in the late '80's who grew up not too far from where Corkum grew up, and were contemporaries. Most were baseball guys, and embrace him as they did, they thought Corkum marched to his own drummer, even back in the olden days. I'll just leave it at that.

I'm not sure what the details are here, I don't do Twitter, and I don't have the time for a deep dive, but I'm struck that a guy running a program that's leading into a big event would drop out so late? Whatever his offered reasons, I'm sure those could have been raised (and resolved?) earlier, and not left to fester this deep into the process. Regardless of whether he buys into COVID conventional wisdom or not, this seems a rather basic issue of poor judgment on his part.

I was a hard pass on Corkum 8 years ago here, and I don't think anything has changed since.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top