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Re: Michigan Tech Season Thread Part IV: You Guys Give Up, Or Are You Thirsty For More?
Re: Michigan Tech Season Thread Part IV: You Guys Give Up, Or Are You Thirsty For More?
Yeah, because Russell has ruined every single player he's touched.
If there's one thing I've learned over the past three or four years, it's that a player's stats in junior hockey are generally not a perfect indicator of success (or lack of it) at the collegiate or major junior levels, except in the case of truly gifted players. This seems to hold true regardless of which school a player decides to attend or team he decides to sign with, and only a few "late bloomers" here and there will surprise people.
With regards to recruiting, people need to face the facts. The school can make all the facilities improvements that they want, bus in all the ladies they think are necessary, and tout the program's history to no end. All of those elements are of minor concern to a potential blue chip recruit. None of that is going to change the school's location, lack of TV/scout exposure, and (for the past two and a half decades) reputation for losing seasons and coaching instability. Now that college hockey has increasingly become a legitimate route to the NHL, the best players are going to go where they stand the greatest chance of getting a pro team's attention, and therefore the days of Tech landing the Espositos and Zukes of today's world any more frequently than, say, once a decade are pretty much over.
The JMSIA won't get replaced for a very long time unless a Ralph Engelstad-type mogul comes along and offers Tech a wad of cash. With the proposed improvements, along with the changes that have already occurred behind the scenes since 2000 (the player facilities improvements, which are what matter the most), I don't see the need for a new building. Nice to have, but not necessary.
Re: Michigan Tech Season Thread Part IV: You Guys Give Up, Or Are You Thirsty For More?
Yeah, because Russell has ruined every single player he's touched.
If there's one thing I've learned over the past three or four years, it's that a player's stats in junior hockey are generally not a perfect indicator of success (or lack of it) at the collegiate or major junior levels, except in the case of truly gifted players. This seems to hold true regardless of which school a player decides to attend or team he decides to sign with, and only a few "late bloomers" here and there will surprise people.
With regards to recruiting, people need to face the facts. The school can make all the facilities improvements that they want, bus in all the ladies they think are necessary, and tout the program's history to no end. All of those elements are of minor concern to a potential blue chip recruit. None of that is going to change the school's location, lack of TV/scout exposure, and (for the past two and a half decades) reputation for losing seasons and coaching instability. Now that college hockey has increasingly become a legitimate route to the NHL, the best players are going to go where they stand the greatest chance of getting a pro team's attention, and therefore the days of Tech landing the Espositos and Zukes of today's world any more frequently than, say, once a decade are pretty much over.
The JMSIA won't get replaced for a very long time unless a Ralph Engelstad-type mogul comes along and offers Tech a wad of cash. With the proposed improvements, along with the changes that have already occurred behind the scenes since 2000 (the player facilities improvements, which are what matter the most), I don't see the need for a new building. Nice to have, but not necessary.
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