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.

Michigan Tech Huskies 2024-25 - OK MacNaughton, Stop Ducking Us

If you look at Tech's forwards improvement over the last 3 years all that credit went to Jordy Murray. A huge loss to Tech and a huge gain for CC. Still do not know how Jordy is not a Head Coach yet, this guy is NHL caliber.
 
I consider Muckalt a Pearson protégé through and through. We might like the results he gets, but we may not necessarily be too fond of the guy. I expect an up-tempo offensive scheme similar to what he and Pearson ran during his old boss' most successful years here. OTOH, I'm almost positive we will be back to stockpiling recruits in short order, and joining in on tampering with other teams' top transfer prospects. If we're lucky, maybe he'll even get NIL going at Tech.
 
I'm going to leave the link here to properly credit THG, but the highlight is that Muckalt's base salary will start at $315,000/yr and will increase $5,000 per year through 2029-2030. Of course there are multiple other bonuses and incentives, but bottom line it was definitely an offer Billy could not refuse.
 
It pains me to hope the skunks get their act together. Otherwise we may lose another coach to them in a few years
 
Wonder how long this has been in play? Saw he is bring his assistant from Lindenwood with him. Maybe that is what was behind Murray leaving earlier in May.
 
I think this was definitely the right time to make a coaching change, but I think Tech handled the messaging poorly. The press release implied that Joe had the option of finishing out his last year (25/26), but when he he learned that they were not willing to extend him a second year (26/27), he agreed to leave since he didn't want the program to be hurt by the uncertainty of having a lame duck coach who would be leaving at the end of the season. This messaging is patently false, since they already had Bill Muckalt under contract before they informed Joe that he wouldn't be extended. It would have been better to not get into any of these details. It's obvious that Tech had been planning for a coaching change since May 2024, but decided to accelerate the timeline. I'm guessing there were two factors. First, they wanted Bill Muckalt and had probably been talking with him. I'm guessing Bill might have had other offers and Tech needed to act now in order to get him. The high starting salary also hints at this. Second, I think it was becoming increasingly clear that Joe was struggling to adjust to the new post-Portal world and was getting a reputation as someone who wasn't user-friendly to players. The optics of the various departures (portal and otherwise) over the past two seasons hint at this. I think Tech should have given Joe a better send-off and kept the messaging simple and positive.
 
techhockeyguide.com

Michigan Tech’s May Day

Last Thursday, Michigan Tech shocked the college hockey world by announcing Bill Muckalt as the 23rd Head Coach of the Huskies in the same press release that announced Joe Shawhan being removed fro…
techhockeyguide.com techhockeyguide.com

In this instance, there is a bit too much tribalism coming from a handful of Yoopers who were close to Joe. AD Sanregret declining to state why she opted out of the contract last May could be seen as a red flag with regards to her intentions, but let's face it. Joe wasn't likely to successfully coach the Huskies, let alone take them to the next level of winning an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 45 years, in this new era of NIL, free transfers, and mask-off tampering by certain programs. He's been doing this for 30+ years and to think he's going to effectively adjust to the new rules and norms at age 62, and with his personality, is a fool's errand.

Moving forward, it sounds like we can expect Tech to opt the hockey team into the House settlement (and this was likely a key factor in Muckalt taking the job), so start thinking about a NIL collective trust.
 
FadeToBlack&Gold said:
techhockeyguide.com

Michigan Tech’s May Day

Last Thursday, Michigan Tech shocked the college hockey world by announcing Bill Muckalt as the 23rd Head Coach of the Huskies in the same press release that announced Joe Shawhan being removed fro…
techhockeyguide.com techhockeyguide.com

In this instance, there is a bit too much tribalism coming from a handful of Yoopers who were close to Joe. AD Sanregret declining to state why she opted out of the contract last May could be seen as a red flag with regards to her intentions, but let's face it. Joe wasn't likely to successfully coach the Huskies, let alone take them to the next level of winning an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 45 years, in this new era of NIL, free transfers, and mask-off tampering by certain programs. He's been doing this for 30+ years and to think he's going to effectively adjust to the new rules and norms at age 62, and with his personality, is a fool's errand.

Moving forward, it sounds like we can expect Tech to opt the hockey team into the House settlement (and this was likely a key factor in Muckalt taking the job), so start thinking about a NIL collective trust.
Click to expand...
As a Northern Grad, many years ago, this whole NIL transfer portal situation has me pretty gloom and doom toward College Hockey. Northern's program is a mess, and I don't see how the U.P. schools, as well as the CCHA, can compete with the money being shoveled to the other conferences. All due respect to the U.P. schools, not sure which school, if any, can garner up enough NIL money to stay competitive. I would think Tech would be the most likely, and it pains me to say that, but your alumni would probably be more affluent and supportive of the program.
One thing is for sure, the people in control of College Hockey could give two hoots about the small school programs. To them, our only purpose is to pad their win loss record, and they certainly can't be bothered to travel to play us. As for Northern, we have another year like last year, it might as well be November 9th, 1975. The program could be headed to the bottom of Lake Superior the next day, like a famous ship we all know.
 
devildog said:
As a Northern Grad, many years ago, this whole NIL transfer portal situation has me pretty gloom and doom toward College Hockey. Northern's program is a mess, and I don't see how the U.P. schools, as well as the CCHA, can compete with the money being shoveled to the other conferences. All due respect to the U.P. schools, not sure which school, if any, can garner up enough NIL money to stay competitive. I would think Tech would be the most likely, and it pains me to say that, but your alumni would probably be more affluent and supportive of the program.
One thing is for sure, the people in control of College Hockey could give two hoots about the small school programs. To them, our only purpose is to pad their win loss record, and they certainly can't be bothered to travel to play us. As for Northern, we have another year like last year, it might as well be November 9th, 1975. The program could be headed to the bottom of Lake Superior the next day, like a famous ship we all know.
Click to expand...
I spoke to an NHL scout between periods of a Mavs game this last season. He told me that he thinks that with the portal and NIL, leagues like the CCHA and AHA are just going to devolve into feeder leagues for the big programs. The players will be told by the "prestige" schools to go to one of our schools for a year or two, show what they can do, then enter the portal and come back and talk to them. Those schools will be using most of their scholarships on juniors and seniors, and let us lesser schools develop players for them.
 
MavsFan said:
I spoke to an NHL scout between periods of a Mavs game this last season. He told me that he thinks that with the portal and NIL, leagues like the CCHA and AHA are just going to devolve into feeder leagues for the big programs. The players will be told by the "prestige" schools to go to one of our schools for a year or two, show what they can do, then enter the portal and come back and talk to them. Those schools will be using most of their scholarships on juniors and seniors, and let us lesser schools develop players for them.
Click to expand...
Maybe. At some point those "feeder" schools will stop recruiting those kind of players. There aren't enough schools with the CHL now in play.

And there is also a risk to that strategy.
 
MavsFan said:
I spoke to an NHL scout between periods of a Mavs game this last season. He told me that he thinks that with the portal and NIL, leagues like the CCHA and AHA are just going to devolve into feeder leagues for the big programs. The players will be told by the "prestige" schools to go to one of our schools for a year or two, show what they can do, then enter the portal and come back and talk to them. Those schools will be using most of their scholarships on juniors and seniors, and let us lesser schools develop players for them.
Click to expand...
How different is this from previously? The gentleman's agreement has been gone for quite a while now. Money is more open now, they were paid in the past just not openly.

Say your a top line center for one of the U.P. schools, You are lured away with some $$ and the promise of play. In the portal and off you go. Suddenly on the ice you find four other top line centers and your playing time is much less. Better show at the tourney and natty? Sure, see how that worked out for some of those teams.
 
giwan said:
How different is this from previously? The gentleman's agreement has been gone for quite a while now. Money is more open now, they were paid in the past just not openly.

Say your a top line center for one of the U.P. schools, You are lured away with some $$ and the promise of play. In the portal and off you go. Suddenly on the ice you find four other top line centers and your playing time is much less. Better show at the tourney and natty? Sure, see how that worked out for some of those teams.
Click to expand...
That's kind of how it's working now. Highly touted prospects go to the "prestige" schools then enter the portal to go to a school where they will get ice time and develop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top