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Maine Offseason 2020: We Stay Home But Swayman Leaves
- Thread starter AMC
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ticapnews
Never Forget!
ticapnews
Never Forget!
There will be a virtual press conference streamed at 2pm on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
https://t.co/9Qhvwiuwcs
https://t.co/9Qhvwiuwcs
I'm absolutely thrilled with the hire. Easily the best candidate they could have asked for, should be able to get more top-flight talent to our program. Building not one, not two, but three also-ran programs into national champions as top assistant and lead recruiter is nothing to sneeze at.
Though I fully expect Barr to be a home run hire that does wonders for our program, I do want to temper my own expectations a bit. It's always possible that excellent #2s, as Barr has already proven itself to be, aren't quite cut out to be #1s. It's possible that a great recruiter can't always translate his players' talent to on-ice results and causes underachievement; David Quinn at BU comes to mind.
All that said, though, I still fully expect Barr to transform our program. I think he will knock it out of the park and return us to national relevance.
Though I fully expect Barr to be a home run hire that does wonders for our program, I do want to temper my own expectations a bit. It's always possible that excellent #2s, as Barr has already proven itself to be, aren't quite cut out to be #1s. It's possible that a great recruiter can't always translate his players' talent to on-ice results and causes underachievement; David Quinn at BU comes to mind.
All that said, though, I still fully expect Barr to transform our program. I think he will knock it out of the park and return us to national relevance.
This is the most accurate thing ever posted on USCHO.
Congratulations to Ken Ralph and Ben Barr!! This is the best possible hire and Ken Ralph deserves much credit for closing the deal. Only time will tell if he will be successful, but Ben Barr is definitely the right selection. He will bring vitality to the program and will sell more tickets at Alfond Arena.
I was one of those who thought that Ralph was going through the motions with a search and that he would select Guite. I am pleased to say I was totally wrong and applaud Ken Ralph for selecting Ben Barr. Great hire!
Congrats on the hire. I hope the University and the fans give Coach Barr time to build. I expect Maine to be vastly improved in the next 3-4 years. I don’t watch them as often as people on the thread do, but in Carvel’s first season even though the W-L results weren’t there, UMass went from a team that would routinely give up multiple odd man rushes a period and blown out early and often to a team that played defense, still lost, but didn’t get blown out as often. Maine isn’t as bad as Michelletto left UMass (don’t think anyone in Hockey East could be that bad) so maybe the turnaround in terms of W-L will be quicker. Good luck to Coach Barr and thanks for the conference champions, frozen fours and the national title!
ticapnews
Never Forget!
During the press conference, AD Ken Ralph says this was a search they were not planning on doing this year, so reading between the lines Red was getting an extension.
Ben Barr by the numbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1YkIuxyIE
Ralph asks people for patience. "This is a process."
Barr appears to be Skype-ing in from his hotel room.
4 year contract, that goes to 6 years with a winning record in Hockey East.
Ben Barr by the numbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1YkIuxyIE
Ralph asks people for patience. "This is a process."
Barr appears to be Skype-ing in from his hotel room.
4 year contract, that goes to 6 years with a winning record in Hockey East.
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Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Easy for him to say now. There's probably a 50% chance that statement was sincere.
Barr also passed on any commitment to Guite or Michaud, other than claiming he "hadn't really given it any thought yet" (or words to that effect - which I don't believe for a second BTW) and there would be "lots of discussions" with both of the guys, plus lots of interest from outside the program.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
None of these are exact verbatim quotes, but overall should carry the gist of the commentary ...
Barr already plotting his new recruiting pitch ... "other schools where I coached didn't have Maine's history of success, that's a good thing" so you know he's gonna be working from a better platform than he had at Union, PC, WMU and UMass.
"Easy to find the most talented players, not so easy to find the best people for your program."
Comes across as a modest and earnest guy, quick to share credit with his mentors.
Barr already plotting his new recruiting pitch ... "other schools where I coached didn't have Maine's history of success, that's a good thing" so you know he's gonna be working from a better platform than he had at Union, PC, WMU and UMass.
"Easy to find the most talented players, not so easy to find the best people for your program."
Comes across as a modest and earnest guy, quick to share credit with his mentors.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
"Gonna push players beyond their comfort zone, in a good way, not easy to do these days"
"Transfer portal is now part of our world, can't build a team entirely through it, though"
"Better to have kids who actually want to be here, not requiring 50 calls to convince them"
"Character and culture can be cliches"
You can absolutely see how this guy has been successful, and will likely continue to be successful.
I'm sincerely impressed. A lot of folks are gonna regret not hiring this guy as a HC earlier.
"Transfer portal is now part of our world, can't build a team entirely through it, though"
"Better to have kids who actually want to be here, not requiring 50 calls to convince them"
"Character and culture can be cliches"
You can absolutely see how this guy has been successful, and will likely continue to be successful.
I'm sincerely impressed. A lot of folks are gonna regret not hiring this guy as a HC earlier.
Chuck Murray
WIS & Effingwoods Hockey Almanac
Based on the last Q&A, Barr is still "here" in Amherst, looking forward to being "there" in Orono.
Birth of twins and recent trip back to hospital might explain the slight delay at the end of the process?
Well having watched the press conference I certainly believe we found the right person to lead the program. As Ben discussed it takes the entire staff working together to get the ship going in the right direction and here's to putting that staff together. When Red was hired it seemed as if we were picking between two guys who were just looking to round out their careers in Red and Jim Tortorella. This time we are selecting someone who is anxious to start his next chapter and build his own resume of success. He has the track record as a recruiter and certainly has a long list of supporters in the hockey community. Now let's hope it all translates into being a successful head coach. Great job by Ken Ralph and the committee.
The answer I was most pleased to hear was when he said that it won't be hard to recruit kids to come to Maine! So tired of hearing that as an excuse. He has tradition and a fan base that is so hungry for packing the Alfond again to cheer a program on the rise. There is no question the new locker rooms and workout facilities are necessary eye candy, but get the rink rocking again and the players will want to come and play in front of that crowd! Congratulations to Ben and welcome to Maine!
The answer I was most pleased to hear was when he said that it won't be hard to recruit kids to come to Maine! So tired of hearing that as an excuse. He has tradition and a fan base that is so hungry for packing the Alfond again to cheer a program on the rise. There is no question the new locker rooms and workout facilities are necessary eye candy, but get the rink rocking again and the players will want to come and play in front of that crowd! Congratulations to Ben and welcome to Maine!
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Blackbear96
Active member
Bingo. Bingo. Bingo. There's a 0% chance that a young coach who has already been a finalist doesn't have a group of assistants in mind already. Possibly, it's not finalized, but I don't believe for a second that he doesn't have a plan in place. In that being said, I don't see Guite or Alfie being back in Orono next year - which is sad for sentimental value, but Coach Barr should be able to bring in his own staff.
That press conference was everything I'd want to hear from my HC. Patience, trusting his own plan and process and preaching culture. In the state of sports today, culture is so, so important and most successful rebuilds around sports center and thrive in a culture change. Year 3 should be a lot of fun.
Temporarily sure, but he hasn't coached a game at the Alfond yet so I’ll reserve judgment. He will get razzed on here like the others did if a failure. Sick of mediocrity. Big talk period soon ends, then produce.
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