Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

[Salvo1017]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Personally I think finishing 7th or 8th would really be a failure on the part of this team. They have tremendous tallent, more so than I think they're getting credit for.

Da Costa and Barton returning and throw the new stud freshman Collins in plus an improved Velecca...I see this team scoring a lot of goals. The special team combinations is what is going to make this team.

Yes they have expectations to deal with, yes they have to deal with teams being prepared for them but in all honesty, I think they have more than enough talent to deal with it.

What are people's predictions for line assignments? I know it's early but it's always fun to play the game

 

[Federal League]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

IMHO, i don't think there is any more fly under the radar this day and age. With the amount of digital film, youtube, and regional tape regarding college hockey it's hard to fly under the radar at all. The only reason Merrimack was able to do it was because absolutely no-one saw this coming.

This year there is no where to hide at all, whether it's HE or an outside of the division opponent. MC will need to fight and claw for every point they earn. In my opinion if they succeed this year and finish higher in the standings than last it's a greater accomplishment than last year.

I don't think anyone can fly under a coach's radar. You can definitely fly under players' radars, though. A coach can prepare his team as much as he wants, but ultimately it's up to the players to take a game against Merrimack or Providence as seriously as they take a game against BC. I can assure you that doesn't always happen. But I'm willing to bet more players around the league are gonna take Merrimack seriously this year.

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Personally I think finishing 7th or 8th would really be a failure on the part of this team. They have tremendous tallent,

This is right about where you lost me and not because of the spelling.

 

[Salvo1017]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

haha my apologies posting from a mobile device kind of stinks

I just don't see NU, UML, UMass, or PC at the same level as MC...now Vermont that's a different story. MC should be able to finish above those other 4 teams with ease...which leaves the lowest acceptable finish in my mind to be 6th place behind BU and UVM

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

also, dont get carried away with collins. he is ok but would not be close to being considered a stud. Speed will be an issue

 

[Nick Papagiorgio]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

That's fine but they don't have "tremendous talent". Few programs do. They have one tremendously talented guy. And a few other ok players. They are a very long way away from having "tremendous talent"...

 

[Salvo1017]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

By tremendous talent I didn't necessarily mean top notch play worthy of being nationally ranked in the pre-season poll, nor did I mean talent that could dominate any team in the country. I meant it in relation to what this team has been in the past.

I guess what I was suggesting was that I personally think they have more talent than they get credit for and last season was evidence to that. They took something in the realm of 14 1-goal losses two years ago and started to turn those into wins.

Like I said, do I expect them to be able dominate the perennial powers of college hockey...no of course not, but what we've seen recently is that they have the ability to grind it out and play 60 minutes of hockey with any team in the nation, NoDak, Wisconsin, BC, BU, you name it. That comes from the increased talent of recruits.

Do they have tremendous talent compared to the BC's of college hockey..no...do they have tremendous talent compared to the Merrimack team of 4 years ago...absolutely. No knock to the teams of old, but quite frankly the talent level of recruits we've been getting has steadily increased.

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

By tremendous talent I didn't necessarily mean top notch play worthy of being nationally ranked in the pre-season poll, nor did I mean talent that could dominate any team in the country. I meant it in relation to what this team has been in the past.

I guess what I was suggesting was that I personally think they have more talent than they get credit for and last season was evidence to that. They took something in the realm of 14 1-goal losses two years ago and started to turn those into wins.

Like I said, do I expect them to be able dominate the perennial powers of college hockey...no of course not, but what we've seen recently is that they have the ability to grind it out and play 60 minutes of hockey with any team in the nation, NoDak, Wisconsin, BC, BU, you name it. That comes from the increased talent of recruits.

Do they have tremendous talent compared to the BC's of college hockey..no...do they have tremendous talent compared to the Merrimack team of 4 years ago...absolutely. No knock to the teams of old, but quite frankly the talent level of recruits we've been getting has steadily increased.

Opinions vary there as well

they still lost 10-1 goal games last year and were brutal on the road, sign of a good team and teams that can handle pressure.

Here is where MC's freshmen came from
BCHL 3
NAHL 1
EJHL 1
AJHL 1
SJHL 1

BCHL is not on par with USHL, not even close.
NAHL is a joke and studs from that league become 3rd or 4th liners when pulled up to USHL
EJHL is ok but not close to BCHL
AJ(canadian not the one in mass) and SJ are terrible leagues.

For example, Northeastern and Lowell have 6 each coming from USHL alone.

You might think they are great recruits but 20 year olds playing in the AJHL or SJHL were there for a reason and any success they had has to be discounted when playing vs 16-18 year olds in a C league. Merrimack speant a tremendous amnount of time in the USHL scouting etc and did not get one impact player out of there.

Say what you want but the teams who "could never finish aghead of MC" are getting it done on the recruiting side. Albie, who left MC to be an asst at NU is getting the job done and killed MC in recruiting last season. They just landed the kid Angelini from the Steel, he is 6'4" and can fly, great F.

I do not see, outside getting lucky with DeCosta, where they are getting better kids now than in the past. Every team outside UMA has more NHL draft picks, even PC has more on their roster.

NU has 5 draft picks and that does not count Oleksiak who could be a first rounder this year as he is a December 92.

 

[Salvo1017]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Opinions vary there as well


I do not see, outside getting lucky with DeCosta,

It's Da Costa

And I still think the fact that this team can skate with anyone is a good example as to how far they've come. As little as 3 years ago this team would be constantly getting blown out...in embarrassing losses.

To go into Wisconsin's arena and nearly beat them? That is something that just did not even come close to happening in years past...it would be unthinkable. Conference games against BC and BU were laughable as they would often beat us with scores in the realm of 7-1. This doesn't happen anymore and every Merrimack coach, player, and fan has reason to believe that they are capable of beating any opponent on any given night.

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

They lost 19 games last year, 21 the year before and 18(AKA Less than 19) the year before that.

They won 43% of their games last year.

They had losses last year of 5-2, 5-1, 4-1, 5-1(To NU who they are outrecruiting), 7-0 to BC, 5-1....

That is 6 games by at least 3 goals,

The previous year the only stinker was a 6-1 loss to U Mass 6-1 in lst game iof year after they were out of playoffs. Only 2 other games with losses of over 2 goals, 1 being to BC and not 7-0...

I love the passion and it is fun to have a blindly supportive fan base but......

They will be fighting for the playoffs down the stretch and will be so with a few of the etams you claim they could, "never finish behind"

You must not remember the days when Serino took them to Mich State, when they were 33-5 and tied them at their rink(Not lost like WI last year and than got spanked 5-1 next night by Ferris State . Which means they went 0-2 in the tournament) or when they beat Miami of Ohio or back to back road wins vs Princeton. Part of the issue has been the brutal out of conference schedule MC has had over the past 4 or 5 years. Even last year the record was padded with wins over Holy Cross, Army and CT.

This year they play CT, Niagra and Army again. 20% Of last years wins came from those 3 teams... This year they added 2 with Alabama, who no longer has a league and was 12-18.

CT was 7-27 in Atlantic and Army was 11-18 , Niagra was 12 and 20, HC 12-19 . This in the worst league in the country and so on

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

It's Da Costa

And I still think the fact that this team can skate with anyone is a good example as to how far they've come. As little as 3 years ago this team would be constantly getting blown out...in embarrassing losses.

To go into Wisconsin's arena and nearly beat them? That is something that just did not even come close to happening in years past...it would be unthinkable. Conference games against BC and BU were laughable as they would often beat us with scores in the realm of 7-1. This doesn't happen anymore and every Merrimack coach, player, and fan has reason to believe that they are capable of beating any opponent on any given night.

Truie, its no longer 7-1 but was 7-0 vs BC last year.

 

[Slasher7]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Conference games against BC and BU were laughable as they would often beat us with scores in the realm of 7-1. This doesn't happen anymore

Didn't BC beat Merrimack College like 7 or 8-0 in a game last year???

 

[irishfan85]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Opinions vary there as well

they still lost 10-1 goal games last year and were brutal on the road, sign of a good team and teams that can handle pressure.

Here is where MC's freshmen came from
BCHL 3
NAHL 1
EJHL 1
AJHL 1
SJHL 1

BCHL is not on par with USHL, not even close.
NAHL is a joke and studs from that league become 3rd or 4th liners when pulled up to USHL
EJHL is ok but not close to BCHL
AJ(canadian not the one in mass) and SJ are terrible leagues.

For example, Northeastern and Lowell have 6 each coming from USHL alone.

You might think they are great recruits but 20 year olds playing in the AJHL or SJHL were there for a reason and any success they had has to be discounted when playing vs 16-18 year olds in a C league. Merrimack speant a tremendous amnount of time in the USHL scouting etc and did not get one impact player out of there.

Say what you want but the teams who "could never finish aghead of MC" are getting it done on the recruiting side. Albie, who left MC to be an asst at NU is getting the job done and killed MC in recruiting last season. They just landed the kid Angelini from the Steel, he is 6'4" and can fly, great F.

I do not see, outside getting lucky with DeCosta, where they are getting better kids now than in the past. Every team outside UMA has more NHL draft picks, even PC has more on their roster.

NU has 5 draft picks and that does not count Oleksiak who could be a first rounder this year as he is a December 92.

HockeyDad, I know you are in love with the USHL, but the BCHL is not a bad league. It is the best in Canada right now and the AJHL has produced a ton of top talent lately. Even the SJHL, which is an inferior junior league in Canada provided a lot of the top players on the last good Providence team. Rask, Ballard, Schaeffer (I could name a few more). The SJHL also produced three of Merrimack's top players in Division I/Hockey East in Stringer, Scoville and Porter. The OPJHL has dropped off in the talent it has produced, but at one time guys like Cammalleri, Aquino, Rosa, Haydar, etc came out of that league.

The NAHL is a weak league, but you continue to trump the fact that you are somewhat knowledgeable with these absurd over the top "facts" you come up with.

Also, you can have all the NHL Draft Picks you want. Some guys drafted were just drafted because they were 6-5 and 225 at age 17. John Doherty comes to mind as a second round pick of the Maple Leafs who played for UNH and Quinnipiac and is now out of hockey.

I'd rather have the skilled, but smaller and slower guys that stay all four years than the big bruisers that might be good in the AHL.

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

HockeyDad, I know you are in love with the USHL, but the BCHL is not a bad league. It is the best in Canada right now and the AJHL has produced a ton of top talent lately. Even the SJHL, which is an inferior junior league in Canada provided a lot of the top players on the last good Providence team. Rask, Ballard, Schaeffer (I could name a few more). The SJHL also produced three of Merrimack's top players in Division I/Hockey East in Stringer, Scoville and Porter. The OPJHL has dropped off in the talent it has produced, but at one time guys like Cammalleri, Aquino, Rosa, Haydar, etc came out of that league.

The NAHL is a weak league, but you continue to trump the fact that you are somewhat knowledgeable with these absurd over the top "facts" you come up with.

Also, you can have all the NHL Draft Picks you want. Some guys drafted were just drafted because they were 6-5 and 225 at age 17. John Doherty comes to mind as a second round pick of the Maple Leafs who played for UNH and Quinnipiac and is now out of hockey.

I'd rather have the skilled, but smaller and slower guys that stay all four years than the big bruisers that might be good in the AHL.

BCHL is a very good league, far superior to NAHL and EJHL and the otehr 2 you mention. It is not on par with USHL but pretty darn close. Why would a kid from Vancouver even consider moving to Waterloo when he could stay at home? He wouldnt. Only thing that hurts BCHL is WHL and the Major Junior mindset.

Very good league. Simply said that the teams susch as BU/BC who tend to grab most of their recruits(if they get them) from US NAtl or USHL have had their most success with them. As has UNH, Lowell and the other Hockey East schools who ahve been top 4 in the past. MC tried very hard to get kids from USHL but zero bit last year.

 

[irishfan85]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

BCHL is a very good league, far superior to NAHL and EJHL and the otehr 2 you mention. It is not on par with USHL but pretty darn close. Why would a kid from Vancouver even consider moving to Waterloo when he could stay at home? He wouldnt. Only thing that hurts BCHL is WHL and the Major Junior mindset.

Very good league. Simply said that the teams susch as BU/BC who tend to grab most of their recruits(if they get them) from US NAtl or USHL have had their most success with them. As has UNH, Lowell and the other Hockey East schools who ahve been top 4 in the past. MC tried very hard to get kids from USHL but zero bit last year.

Precisely. I am not out to say Merrimack is out-recruiting anyone, but you suggested NU is out-recruiting Merrimack simply because they have more USHL kids. I'd rather have a productive scorer from BCHL who was on championship teams than some kid from USHL who might or might not have been that productive in USHL.

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Precisely. I am not out to say Merrimack is out-recruiting anyone, but you suggested NU is out-recruiting Merrimack simply because they have more USHL kids. I'd rather have a productive scorer from BCHL who was on championship teams than some kid from USHL who might or might not have been that productive in USHL.

Many top scorers dont pan out in Hockey East. Carey led USHL in scoring and has not lit it up yet in college.

I agree a stud from BCHL is better than an avg player from USHL. BCHL is loaded with D 1 players, Vernon and Pentictons entire teams go D 1 if they want. Most have a handfull of kids who could play USHL and be top line kids. The league though is not as good and does not have the depth.

The point is MC tried very, very hard last year in USHL and had zero takers.

 

[Patronick]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

The real diamonds in the rough come from the SIJHL. *cough*CarterHutton*cough*

 

[ChiefWahoo]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

The point is MC tried very, very hard last year in USHL and had zero takers.

Dan Kolomatis

 

[Hokydad]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

Dan Kolomatis

Last time I checked, a list from Heisenberg for 2010 and LAST year was what we were talking about. Last year, not next year. They landed Dan Kolomatis a week or so ago for 2011.

Very good pick up.

For the same recruiting year, NU has 8, including 4 from natl team and Lowell has 6 players from the USHL.

 

[Ryecheers]

Re: Merrimack Offseason thread - preseason rank 10th again? I think not

You might note that NU has Braden Pimm, who was Collins' centerman on the Vipers for the past two years. They were very productive regardless of who was on their right side. It's too bad that NU or MC could not have landed both of them. Each school should send Albie a thank you note.

BTW When did NU land Angelini? I hadn't heard about that yet.