Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Then you have your absolute studs like Johnny, Paul Kariya both come to mind who won national championships in the freshman year.

Lots of guys win championships their freshmen year as typically freshmen are on the team. Kreider had more to do with that championship then Johnny did. Heck, go back, Kobseaw played a bigger part his freshmen year championship then JG did his. bu won their last one with two freshmen goalies, neither of which were studs. (of course having 6 guys on defense who eventually played in the NHL helped too)

This whole "nu was so young" argument being thrown about because the team played a lot of freshmen is a bunch of bunk to me. When does being a freshmen = young when some of them are 20-21 years old? I would find knowing what this teams average age was and comparing that to other teams to be more interesting.

Is maxing out on your junior career when you could have gone to college at 18 and started your career then make someone really truly a freshmen compared to the kids who show up at 18/19? Who is really younger, less developed? Its like letting Japanese pitchers who have pitched in over in Japan for 5+ seasons come here and be considered rookies. Yeah, I guess they are, but compared to the 21 year old who did 3 seasons of minor leagues, who is really the rookie?

In the end, yes NU was "young". But lets be honest, they really were not a "young" team.

 

[retsap71]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Lots of guys win championships their freshmen year as typically freshmen are on the team. Kreider had more to do with that championship then Johnny did. Heck, go back, Kobseaw played a bigger part his freshmen year championship then JG did his. bu won their last one with two freshmen goalies, neither of which were studs. (of course having 6 guys on defense who eventually played in the NHL helped too)

This whole "nu was so young" argument being thrown about because the team played a lot of freshmen is a bunch of bunk to me. When does being a freshmen = young when some of them are 20-21 years old? I would find knowing what this teams average age was and comparing that to other teams to be more interesting.

Is maxing out on your junior career when you could have gone to college at 18 and started your career then make someone really truly a freshmen compared to the kids who show up at 18/19? Who is really younger, less developed? Its like letting Japanese pitchers who have pitched in over in Japan for 5+ seasons come here and be considered rookies. Yeah, I guess they are, but compared to the 21 year old who did 3 seasons of minor leagues, who is really the rookie?

In the end, yes NU was "young". But lets be honest, they really were not a "young" team.

They were young in experience, and you are saying that JOhnny G's 45 points as a freshman didn't help BC win it. What we are saying is that NU relied heavily on freshman, yes freshman win, but for the most part unless they are the studs, the team is not built around the freshman.

 

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

They were young in experience, and you are saying that JOhnny G's 45 points as a freshman didn't help BC win it. What we are saying is that NU relied heavily on freshman, yes freshman win, but for the most part unless they are the studs, the team is not built around the freshman.

Help? Yes. Rely on, no. Having Arnold, Almedia, Whitney, Mullanen, Kreider up front did more. That was there team, this years team if they win would be JG's team.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Lots of guys win championships their freshmen year as typically freshmen are on the team. Kreider had more to do with that championship then Johnny did. Heck, go back, Kobseaw played a bigger part his freshmen year championship then JG did his. bu won their last one with two freshmen goalies, neither of which were studs. (of course having 6 guys on defense who eventually played in the NHL helped too)

This whole "nu was so young" argument being thrown about because the team played a lot of freshmen is a bunch of bunk to me. When does being a freshmen = young when some of them are 20-21 years old? I would find knowing what this teams average age was and comparing that to other teams to be more interesting.

Is maxing out on your junior career when you could have gone to college at 18 and started your career then make someone really truly a freshmen compared to the kids who show up at 18/19? Who is really younger, less developed? Its like letting Japanese pitchers who have pitched in over in Japan for 5+ seasons come here and be considered rookies. Yeah, I guess they are, but compared to the 21 year old who did 3 seasons of minor leagues, who is really the rookie?

In the end, yes NU was "young". But lets be honest, they really were not a "young" team.

Doesn't matter if you're 18 or 21, when you switch to a high level of competition, there is a learning curve and yes, if you are a 19 year old who played a full season of college hockey you have an advantage over a 20 year old who has not. Now, a 20 year old freshman has an advantage over 18 year old freshman but experience against more talented players matters.

 

[SkinsFan09]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Then you have your absolute studs like Johnny, Paul Kariya both come to mind who won national championships in the freshman year.

Off-topic but I've been a bit annoyed by the Kariya, Gaudreau comparison the BC fanboys have been making. Gaudreau is a 20 year old junior and Kariya was an 18 year old freshman in 92-93. Kariya was clearly the most talented forward in HEA history no disrespect to Gaudreau. The level he would'e been at as a junior in college hockey is crazy to think about.

 

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Doesn't matter if you're 18 or 21, when you switch to a high level of competition, there is a learning curve and yes, if you are a 19 year old who played a full season of college hockey you have an advantage over a 20 year old who has not. Now, a 20 year old freshman has an advantage over 18 year old freshman but experience against more talented players matters.

The learning curve is less. Why do you think coaches who are rebuilding or need to win fast like to bring in older players right away? They take less time to get adjusted, they are quick fixes. Not to mention physical stronger which can help cover up certain flaws in their game that have them available to begin with.

 

[beanstalk]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

The learning curve is less. Why do you think coaches who are rebuilding or need to win fast like to bring in older players right away? They take less time to get adjusted, they are quick fixes. Not to mention physical stronger which can help cover up certain flaws in their game that have them available to begin with.

Bringing this back to NU from the tangential general freshman discussion that has ensued, I believe that the contributions of the freshmen were a major reason for the year-over-year improvement of the team. In my estimation, the top three reasons for the improvement, in order, are as follows:

1. The emergence of Clay Witt.
2. The contribution from the freshman class.
3. The breakout year by Pimm.

Among the freshmen, Szmatula was the absolute stud. Hedges was impressive most of the time until the injury (don't know what it was) really seemed to hamper his play. The rest of the freshmen were up and down during the year, but there is no denying that they made a significant overall collective contribution. No, it wasn't historic in the annals of college hockey or even Hockey East, but it was significant and positive. This year's team overcame the loss of the players from last year's team and, effectively, Cody Ferriero, mainly due to the three factors above. The only factor that returns next year is the freshman class, who will be older and, hopefully, better. It should be a fun ride and the longer this freshman class sticks together, the better it will be for the program.

 

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Bringing this back to NU from the tangential general freshman discussion that has ensued, I believe that the contributions of the freshmen were a major reason for the year-over-year improvement of the team. In my estimation, the top three reasons for the improvement, in order, are as follows:

1. The emergence of Clay Witt.
2. The contribution from the freshman class.
3. The breakout year by Pimm.

Among the freshmen, Szmatula was the absolute stud. Hedges was impressive most of the time until the injury (don't know what it was) really seemed to hamper his play. The rest of the freshmen were up and down during the year, but there is no denying that they made a significant overall collective contribution. No, it wasn't historic in the annals of college hockey or even Hockey East, but it was significant and positive. This year's team overcame the loss of the players from last year's team and, effectively, Cody Ferriero, mainly due to the three factors above. The only factor that returns next year is the freshman class, who will be older and, hopefully, better. It should be a fun ride and the longer this freshman class sticks together, the better it will be for the program.

I agree on #1.

On #2 I think the freshmen class was really one guy, Szmatula, and that Hedges should be lumped in with the rest of them. Even before he got injured his production had tailed off. He only scored twice in 2014, and got points in three games. Not the dynamo on offense that people thought we would get.

As for #3, yes, Pimm had a breakout year, but I feel his production this year basically picked up what the majority of us expected to get out of Cody this year. Would Cody have gotten 20 goals? That I do not know, but I had him penciled in for between 15-20 goals. I think that would have been doable for him if he gotten the right amount of playing time prior to getting suspended then injured. Its to bad we could not have gotten that out of Cody and out of Pimm. That would have been big.

 

[retsap71]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

I agree on #1.

On #2 I think the freshmen class was really one guy, Szmatula, and that Hedges should be lumped in with the rest of them. Even before he got injured his production had tailed off. He only scored twice in 2014, and got points in three games. Not the dynamo on offense that people thought we would get.

As for #3, yes, Pimm had a breakout year, but I feel his production this year basically picked up what the majority of us expected to get out of Cody this year. Would Cody have gotten 20 goals? That I do not know, but I had him penciled in for between 15-20 goals. I think that would have been doable for him if he gotten the right amount of playing time prior to getting suspended then injured. Its to bad we could not have gotten that out of Cody and out of Pimm. That would have been big.

Just admit it, you will say nothing positive about the team. Hedges had 20 points as a freshman, a pretty nice accomplishment. They will get better and more consistent as they get older.

 

[beanstalk]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

I agree on #1.

On #2 I think the freshmen class was really one guy, Szmatula, and that Hedges should be lumped in with the rest of them. Even before he got injured his production had tailed off. He only scored twice in 2014, and got points in three games. Not the dynamo on offense that people thought we would get.

As for #3, yes, Pimm had a breakout year, but I feel his production this year basically picked up what the majority of us expected to get out of Cody this year. Would Cody have gotten 20 goals? That I do not know, but I had him penciled in for between 15-20 goals. I think that would have been doable for him if he gotten the right amount of playing time prior to getting suspended then injured. Its to bad we could not have gotten that out of Cody and out of Pimm. That would have been big.

On number 2, I agree that Szmatula was the only superstar. But the overall contribution of the freshman class to the improved success of the team year over year cannot be ignored. That is what I had indicated in 2. Superstars are not the only contributors to team success, as role players are also important for W's at every level of the sport. We had inarguably a top 10 freshman class nationally, with 8 players playing regularly, and arguably a top 5 class. That is pretty special. It is too bad that you only think superstars matter. You would enjoy watching the game more if you appreciated the role players.

As for Pimm, he was better this past year than Cody ever was or ever will be. Cody was a liability on the ice this year and has been overrated since high school. BC realized their mistake before he ever attended, but it took NU 3 years to realize he was a third-line forward and 3-1/2 years to discover that BC knew exactly what they were doing when they went in a different direction 4 years ago.

 

[Huskies01]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

On number 2, I agree that Szmatula was the only superstar. But the overall contribution of the freshman class to the improved success of the team year over year cannot be ignored. That is what I had indicated in 2. Superstars are not the only contributors to team success, as role players are also important for W's at every level of the sport. We had inarguably a top 10 freshman class nationally, with 8 players playing regularly, and arguably a top 5 class. That is pretty special. It is too bad that you only think superstars matter. You would enjoy watching the game more if you appreciated the role players.

As for Pimm, he was better this past year than Cody ever was or ever will be. Cody was a liability on the ice this year and has been overrated since high school. BC realized their mistake before he ever attended, but it took NU 3 years to realize he was a third-line forward and 3-1/2 years to discover that BC knew exactly what they were doing when they went in a different direction 4 years ago.

Yes, superstars matter. No, I do not think that as freshmen, that the freshmen forwards, outside of ZAR proved to be role players. Stevens was an absolute mess the 2nd half of the season. And that is being kind. Hedges was a no show in 2014. Pond adds nothing. About as much as Belonger does. I mean, if they cannot score, which I am fine with, at least play a physical game, mix it up some, be a pest, and they do not even do that.

Maybe Stevens and Hedges can adjust. Actually, they BETTER adjust, or we are in trouble.

As for Cody, he put up 12 goals as a Junior and would have hit 15 if given the chance, and not screwing himself up with the slash earlier in the year. Who would you rather have on a 2nd line, Cody or McMurty and Snydeman? Again, two more "role players" who add nothing.

Pimm had a great year. It only took him 4 years and being probably the oldest guy in the league at 24 to get there. He was a wasted talent his 4 years here. Looked like a hockey player, had the skills to be a hockey player, attached to a ten cent head.

There really wasnt much positive to say about this team except that Roy, Szmatula were fun to watch and Witt stood on his head. If he comes back, he will have to do it again based on the inability of the coaches to put any kind of defensive system together along with a roster that is starved of talent.

 

[retsap71]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Hellenbuyck leaves Lowell. Witt still here.

 

[northeastern]

Pls stay Clay!

 

[SkinsFan09]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Over The Boards ‏@OTBPuckWatch Apr 5

Northeastern recruit Shaun Bily goes 45th overall to Erie. Haven't seen Bily, but the Huskies have a terrific pipeline overall right now.


The 2016 recruiting class is going to be full of impact players. Couple blue chippers at least. Maybe three.

 

[beanstalk]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Yes, superstars matter. No, I do not think that as freshmen, that the freshmen forwards, outside of ZAR proved to be role players. Stevens was an absolute mess the 2nd half of the season. And that is being kind. Hedges was a no show in 2014. Pond adds nothing. About as much as Belonger does. I mean, if they cannot score, which I am fine with, at least play a physical game, mix it up some, be a pest, and they do not even do that.

Maybe Stevens and Hedges can adjust. Actually, they BETTER adjust, or we are in trouble.

As for Cody, he put up 12 goals as a Junior and would have hit 15 if given the chance, and not screwing himself up with the slash earlier in the year. Who would you rather have on a 2nd line, Cody or McMurty and Snydeman? Again, two more "role players" who add nothing.

Pimm had a great year. It only took him 4 years and being probably the oldest guy in the league at 24 to get there. He was a wasted talent his 4 years here. Looked like a hockey player, had the skills to be a hockey player, attached to a ten cent head.

There really wasnt much positive to say about this team except that Roy, Szmatula were fun to watch and Witt stood on his head. If he comes back, he will have to do it again based on the inability of the coaches to put any kind of defensive system together along with a roster that is starved of talent.

Well, you wore me out by (i) being irrelevant (bringing up Pimm's first 3 years, when the discussion was solely about last year), (ii) being argumentative, even when we agree (of course superstars matter - duh), (iii) not understanding hockey (anybody who is not a superstar is, by default, a role player - whether or not they are good at that role is up for discussion, but you can't say that they are not role players), and (iv) not understanding hockey (comparing Cody, who was arguably the worst defensive forward in Hockey East and who gives up at least 2 goals for every goal he scores, to Pimm, who was arguably the best defensive forward in Hockey East, is ludicrous). I join the ranks of the others who have tried to reason with you and failed. I give up. You win. Chalk one up for negativity and pessimism. Have you considered going into politics?

 

[SkinsFan09]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Yes, superstars matter. No, I do not think that as freshmen, that the freshmen forwards, outside of ZAR proved to be role players. Stevens was an absolute mess the 2nd half of the season. And that is being kind. Hedges was a no show in 2014. Pond adds nothing. About as much as Belonger does. I mean, if they cannot score, which I am fine with, at least play a physical game, mix it up some, be a pest, and they do not even do that.

Maybe Stevens and Hedges can adjust. Actually, they BETTER adjust, or we are in trouble.

As for Cody, he put up 12 goals as a Junior and would have hit 15 if given the chance, and not screwing himself up with the slash earlier in the year. Who would you rather have on a 2nd line, Cody or McMurty and Snydeman? Again, two more "role players" who add nothing.

Pimm had a great year. It only took him 4 years and being probably the oldest guy in the league at 24 to get there. He was a wasted talent his 4 years here. Looked like a hockey player, had the skills to be a hockey player, attached to a ten cent head.

There really wasnt much positive to say about this team except that Roy, Szmatula were fun to watch and Witt stood on his head. If he comes back, he will have to do it again based on the inability of the coaches to put any kind of defensive system together along with a roster that is starved of talent.

There's more to hockey than filling up the scoresheet. I'll leave it at that. Pimm did far more on the ice than Cody ever did.

 

[HHound]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Well, you wore me out by (i) being irrelevant (bringing up Pimm's first 3 years, when the discussion was solely about last year), (ii) being argumentative, even when we agree (of course superstars matter - duh), (iii) not understanding hockey (anybody who is not a superstar is, by default, a role player - whether or not they are good at that role is up for discussion, but you can't say that they are not role players), and (iv) not understanding hockey (comparing Cody, who was arguably the worst defensive forward in Hockey East and who gives up at least 2 goals for every goal he scores, to Pimm, who was arguably the best defensive forward in Hockey East, is ludicrous). I join the ranks of the others who have tried to reason with you and failed. I give up. You win. Chalk one up for negativity and pessimism. Have you considered going into politics?

Congratulations Huskies01!!!
You've left another bummed out poster in your wake - just as you have on the Diehard Dogs board. Is it your goal to drive all of the other "normal" posters away with your pervasive negativity? If there is is an emoticon for "shaking my head in disgust and/or pity, I would insert it here.
How about taking a break for the summer. If you can't or won't do that, perhaps you can practice creating posts that have nothing negative in them. Try swinging 180 degrees in the other direction on these boards. If you apply that approach to your life and to your interactions with others, I'm pretty sure you will be much happier as will those around you -including your fellow posters.

 

[Split-N]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Lighten up guys. It's the posters with divergent opinions that keep boards like this from becoming a digital sleeping aid. If everyone on here had the same thoughts about everything, I'd probably find something else to pique my interest. Maybe even to the point of watching Oprah reruns.

 

[Tilldog40]

There's more to hockey than filling up the scoresheet. I'll leave it at that. Pimm did far more on the ice than Cody ever did.

You just summed it up perfect. Nothing more to say.

 

[northeastern]

Re: Northeastern Huskies 2013-14 Season Thread II: In Witt we Trust

Congratulations Huskies01!!!
You've left another bummed out poster in your wake - just as you have on the Diehard Dogs board. Is it your goal to drive all of the other "normal" posters away with your pervasive negativity? If there is is an emoticon for "shaking my head in disgust and/or pity, I would insert it here.
How about taking a break for the summer. If you can't or won't do that, perhaps you can practice creating posts that have nothing negative in them. Try swinging 180 degrees in the other direction on these boards. If you apply that approach to your life and to your interactions with others, I'm pretty sure you will be much happier as will those around you -including your fellow posters.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_GkqmWdtdBrk/TSU8NDuFBFI/AAAAAAAAAeM/DpwGK6WKqWc/s200/half+empty.jpg