Re: Michigan Tech 2012-13 Preseason Thread: Draft picks, video feeds, and Mel, oh my
My attempt at notes from the Mel Pearson show on Monday, plenty of typos in there I'm sure.
Mel Pearson show summary from Monday 9/17: October 1st is the official 1st Mel Pearson show of the season
Can be on ice with team 2 hours a week.
Great event with Blueline club on Sunday, encourage anyone out there to join and get involved with them.
Cautionsly optimistic, another tough schedule. We're not going to sneak up on anyone this year. Opposing teams wont look past us, it'll bring the best out of us as well.
What has Mel and assistants been doing:
Sept. very busy with recruiting, junior leagues have started, BCHL and NAHL have started regular season.
Couple weeks ago Mel was gone, Billy and Damon were just recently gone for 5 days. Muckalt has been gone most of September.
A lot of kids are making college commitments, it's going very well
We're expecting a few verbals in next few weeks.
On Freshmen:
We're excited, they'll add excitement and energy, we like this class
They're good student athletes, all doing well in school so far, good solid people
They're all clean cut, very serious about hockey, it's a good thing
We have a blend of speed, size and skill
We have 2 athletic/talented goaltenders
Returning guys will lead this team, freshmen will follow at first
Dirk - Do all freshmen have a shot as day in day out players?
Yes, everyone brings somethign to the team, we have good competition in every area.
On Reddick - tried to get a 5th year, just starting to come into his own, unfortunately NCAA denied, Mel doesn't get it, UMD has a player going into 6th year, Mel looked at his case
It took a long time to get an answer from NCAA tough on Bryce blowing in the wind all summer, they had to keep submitting evidence and on Aug 29 got denied.
Tommy Brown - Dirk saw him in captains practice as a Forward, coaches haven't been on ice with him, Mel's not sure if he's been takign shifts up there, they're out there doing their own thing, we've discussed it with him late in the year, we have 9 Dman, if we need a guy to play Forward, he would be one
Someone might have to play forward and he'd be a candidate
Oct 7 game against Canada school - good solid team it will be a good game for us
LSSU - Game on Thursday at LSSU and back home Saturday, important to get them on schedule, we had a chance to get another home gome and worked it out with LSSU, it'll be Hall of fame game
Jujhar Khaira - he's on campus, for fans/coaches good to see him on campus, until you start school you never know who will make it to campus, major juniors apply a lot of pressure, they were trying
Good family that values education, he's happy he's here
Ever get a sense if a freshmen is handling the school work well? Mostly yes, sometimes a kid is quiet and if they're struggling you don't know. Get a feel for that now that coaches can be on the ice and talk to them. Some players haven't been in school for a few years, like Petan. It's an adjustment.
Steve Shields joined the show:
We're in good shape, 3 guys that believe that they can be starting. Not sure on their weaknesses yet, have a lot of time before decisions on playign time are made. Copley and Phillips have a great ability to compete, both highly recruited and willing to come in and become teammates and compete for time. They're both big goalies.
Are these three goaltenders going into season all even? Yes, it's wide open, Kevin has experience, played well with his opportunities. Mel has some say in who starts, but listens to Steve.
Shields has been credited with Robinson's strong performance last year. Do you see Genoe getting the same confidence? Credit to Josh, he was prepared to come in and have a good senior season, expecting the same thing from Kevin. Kevin's biggest challenge is his ability to be consistent.
Any differences in coaching for Steve? Learned a lot about coaching last year. Have had experiences good/bad over last 20 years with goalie coaches, tries to be a coach that adapts to the student. Genoe an opposite style to what Jamie/Pheonix play, wants to manage his time and think about how all three play.
Has Steve enjoyed his time in Copper Country? - Steve wouldn't have considered coming back if he didn't enjoy it, a big part of why he did come back (about a month ago) is because he wanted to enjoy some of the summer and not just be here for hockey. Really like it up here, the fishing/snowmobiling etc. Road trips are long, but overall good.
Did Shields feel he'd get so into the games as much as he did? Dirk thinks he gets emotional in press box. Cares about how these kids do, it's about seeing the team win. He might not do everythign the right way (sitting stoic in the press box) but that's not who he is.
After Steve left, Mel wants to emphasize how important Steve Shields is for this team. He's almost like the goalies father, he's into it.
Intrasquad game October 7 at Collesium in Calumet, it'll be in the afternoon. There will be the scrimmage and then autographs afterwards and skate with the huskies. Picnic/grilling etc, Athletics department will issue info soon.
Blake Pietila still in running to make the team. Mel thinks he has a great shot to make it. Need a bit of everything on a team like that, and Blake can play a role on that team. He can play anyway you want, PP, PK, checking line etc.
Blake muscles his way to get the puck on net, even if Dman taking away space. He's strong and stubborn, he'll try to beat you one on one. Good shot and release, Mel would like to see him shoot it quicker and use his speed more.
How much does Mel carryover Dman pairing like Seigo/Sweeney. Do they go into camp as partners? Yes and no, it's in your pocket, you know what they can do but you want to look at other pairings. Will move things around a bit early in the year to see how they do.
Uniforms: Dirk saw the socks, loves them. Can't wait until the jerseys get here. We hope we get them here before the 1st game. Wanted some of the past/history on the jerseys.
Overall on the schedule: happy for the most part, it is what it is. Good hoem game early vs. LSSU, the '62 team will be honored. Get your tickets, it'll be a neat event. The follow week are Gophers, Mel thinks they'll be unanimous #1. We had a few sparks last year in Minneapolis, will be fantastic, may be a tailagate before Saturday game.
What can Mel tell us about scheduling for first few yeras of new WCHA? Been working hard to get quality opponents, can say until contracts are signed. A couple Big Ten schools that have not been here for a long time, hopefully. Very excited. We will try to go to some areas downstate that we haven't been to other than GLI as well.
Mel wants to say Thank all fans for last year, he knows things are off to a good start. Exciting team, good pace of play, and a lot of good teams coming in here. Come out and support the kids, they like a packed house.
. In the case of North Dakota's hockey team, they just happen to get the vast majority of the 'local celebrity' media attention in Grand Forks.
