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

[Huskies01]

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

There's more to hockey than filling up the scoresheet. I'll leave it at that.

Agreed. They are just missing way to many of those guys. ZAR is a good example of that type of guy. Probably wont fill the scoresheet, but brings some other stuff to the table.

The problem as I see it is that we have guys brought into to fill the scoresheet, who cannot, and are not good role players instead. Then we have guys who were brought in for role players, who add nothing.

I mean, I know its the 4th line and all, but did they do anything at all this past year? Play physical? Stir the pot? Guys used in PK situations? Nothing.

Otherwise its all puppy dogs and kittens and the sun is out and warm every day.

 

[retsap71]

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

I know we talked about this before but I can't scroll through this whole chain. Who are the top rated kids coming in next year? I thought when they got Cotton a couple of years ago he was thought to be a good pickup but I might be wrong.

 

[HHound]

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

Cotton is fine and had a good year in BC. The coaches thought he needed another year to polish his game. I think the top incoming forward is Ryan Rosenthal from NJ who is still playing at Coquitlam. Trevor Owens is the top incoming D IMHO

This totally subjective, and Huskies01 is free to assure us that none of our recruits could play on the 4th line of any other HEA school.

 

[NU_Husky]

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

Cotton is fine and had a good year in BC. The coaches thought he needed another year to polish his game. I think the top incoming forward is Ryan Rosenthal from NJ who is still playing at Coquitlam. Trevor Owens is the top incoming D IMHO

I could be wrong, but I think Cotton is slated for 2015. Heisenberg has him listed as '14 or '15, but I think the situation indicates he'll play one more year of juniors. Again, could be wrong. Without him, I agree on Rosenthal, who also had a stint at UVM before leaving that program. On D I also agree on Owens, I think he will step in immediately and help out.

The recent goalie commit, Ryan Ruck, is a '94...he has one more year of USHL eligibility correct? In the event Witt stays, Ruck would go back to Des Moines?

 

[retsap71]

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

Cotton is fine and had a good year in BC. The coaches thought he needed another year to polish his game. I think the top incoming forward is Ryan Rosenthal from NJ who is still playing at Coquitlam. Trevor Owens is the top incoming D IMHO

This totally subjective, and Huskies01 is free to assure us that none of our recruits could play on the 4th line of any other HEA school.

What about Cockerhill or Couture?

 

[Tilldog40]

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

I think if Witt was gonna leave he would have left by now.

 

[beanstalk]

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

I could be wrong, but I think Cotton is slated for 2015. Heisenberg has him listed as '14 or '15, but I think the situation indicates he'll play one more year of juniors. Again, could be wrong. Without him, I agree on Rosenthal, who also had a stint at UVM before leaving that program. On D I also agree on Owens, I think he will step in immediately and help out.

The recent goalie commit, Ryan Ruck, is a '94...he has one more year of USHL eligibility correct? In the event Witt stays, Ruck would go back to Des Moines?

Owens is the same age as Adam Reid and Kevin Roy and was playing in a lousy league with kids 3 years younger than him and only two other teams with any talent, so it is tough to gauge if he is going to contribute right away or at all. He could be talented, as great players come from all over, but there's no way to project based upon last year's performance in a sub-par league. Cockerill is a year younger and was productive in the USHL, a much better league. If we're projecting based on last year, I would feel more comfortable expecting more from Cockerill. However, this is all conjecture and I could be wrong. We won't know until we see them against better competition.

 

[Huskies01]

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

Owens is the same age as Adam Reid and Kevin Roy and was playing in a lousy league with kids 3 years younger than him and only two other teams with any talent, so it is tough to gauge if he is going to contribute right away or at all. He could be talented, as great players come from all over, but there's no way to project based upon last year's performance in a sub-par league.

Thank you. I was going to say something along the same lines, but since my "negativity" scares people off, decided to refrain. No doubt young Mr. Owens had a great season, but you need to look at the other pieces too. Could he have finally grown into a player since everyone develops at different rate, of course! Is he going to step in and be in the Top 4 on day 1? That remains to be seen and I lean towards no.

There does seem to be more players from the USPHL going to top schools in Hockey East and ECAC then the Ontario leagues we have been finding guys from of late, so hopefully he is better then those players, which in turn would be a step up for our 6th dman we put out there this past season.

 

[HHound]

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

What about Cockerhill or Couture?

Couturier was never expected to come in '14. He played in Des Moines this year with Cockerill until the latter was traded to Muskegon - another non-playoff team.

Cockerill is known for having a bomb of a shot. I suspect the coaches are going to help him to slim down by 8-12 pounds over the summer. Sauce cut weight last summer and, I believe, he benefitted from it in terms of quickness and overall speed.

I really don't know who we would accelerate if we lost another scholarship D. I've been told that Duschesne has been playing very well in Sioux Falls. Williams has had a great season for Aurora. Both are still involved in playoffs and are expected to join Couturier in the fall of 2015.
As usual, these plans are firmly set in Jello.

 

[retsap71]

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

Couturier was never expected to come in '14. He played in Des Moines this year with Cockerill until the latter was traded to Muskegon - another non-playoff team.

Cockerill is known for having a bomb of a shot. I suspect the coaches are going to help him to slim down by 8-12 pounds over the summer. Sauce cut weight last summer and, I believe, he benefitted from it in terms of quickness and overall speed.

I really don't know who we would accelerate if we lost another scholarship D. I've been told that Duschesne has been playing very well in Sioux Falls. Williams has had a great season for Aurora. Both are still involved in playoffs and are expected to join Couturier in the fall of 2015.
As usual, these plans are firmly set in Jello.

Couturier is a '15? He is listed as a '14. So they have 2 d coming next year. I thought that Duschesne was considered a big pickup.

 

[Huskies01]

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

What bothers me about Courtuier and Cotton being pushed out another year each is that these two, along with Cockerill were JM's first big real recruits that he landed. All were like 16-17 when they gave us a verbal, and they all had pretty nice backgrounds, all were going to move into the USHL the next season. None had instant success, which is ok, but to have 2 out of the 3 get pushed back to their last possible junior season, its underwhelming/scary to me. After all, one of the things sold to us about JM was his "scouting ability." But now we are saying the first few kids to say yes to him still have not developed to the point where the staff wants to bring them in?

These two kids are supposed to represent the "real" start to the JM machine. Kids not brought in last minute to fill a hole, kids who were not casts offs from other programs, kids who were not committed elsewhere first and changed their mind at the end of the process, kids who had no where else to go. The only kid I can come up with who had committed early on in the process, and made it here early is ZAR.

Everyone develops at their own rate, fine. But it would be nice for us to be able to move a kid here earlier the expected then have to keep pushing him out a year. But to have to now call the scouting portion of his job into question too? Not good.

 

[beanstalk]

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

I think if Witt was gonna leave he would have left by now.

Can't be sure. I think it was a good decision for him to stay another month and get his degree instead of leaving to sign a low-level contract with an ECHL team (as was rumored). A lot of these kids get caught up in the signing frenzy that occurs every year when their teams' seasons are over. He's a smart, very presentable guy who has a bright future outside hockey once his playing days are over, whether in a year or 15 years. Get the degree. The ECHL teams will still be around next year and willing to pay him crappy money for a few years until he goes to Europe to make six figures. By not signing, he has so many more options:

1. Come back to Northeastern next year and try to raise his profile with the pro teams.
2. Transfer to a school that he feels has a legitimate shot at a national title. I believe that if he gets his degree this year and takes grad courses at the new school, then he can play right away and not sit out a year.
3. Leave school and go to some pro camps and catch on with an AHL or ECHL team for next season.

No guaranty he'll be back at NU next year, but it would be great. I don't have any inside info, but I would think he chose the degree over an ECHL contract with a team that has 10-15 games left in the current ECHL season. That is a great decision and keeps a whole lot of options open for him, including coming back for another season at NU.

 

[HHound]

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

What bothers me about Courtuier and Cotton being pushed out another year each is that these two, along with Cockerill were JM's first big real recruits that he landed. All were like 16-17 when they gave us a verbal, and they all had pretty nice backgrounds, all were going to move into the USHL the next season. None had instant success, which is ok, but to have 2 out of the 3 get pushed back to their last possible junior season, its underwhelming/scary to me. After all, one of the things sold to us about JM was his "scouting ability." But now we are saying the first few kids to say yes to him still have not developed to the point where the staff wants to bring them in?

These two kids are supposed to represent the "real" start to the JM machine. Kids not brought in last minute to fill a hole, kids who were not casts offs from other programs, kids who were not committed elsewhere first and changed their mind at the end of the process, kids who had no where else to go. The only kid I can come up with who had committed early on in the process, and made it here early is ZAR.

Everyone develops at their own rate, fine. But it would be nice for us to be able to move a kid here earlier the expected then have to keep pushing him out a year. But to have to now call the scouting portion of his job into question too? Not good.

Please don't get all bothered about this, There are good reasons in each case.

Couturier was never a '14. Heisenberg listed it incorrectly and no one bothered to correct him. Duchesne was always a '15. Note that his dad is the GM/Coach of the Kingston Voyageurs and recognized that his son might benefit from a longer stretch in juniors. He moved up to the USHL this year and was named Defenseman of the Week twice while helping Sioux Falls make the playoffs (which began tonight - without him in the lineup). As things stand, we lose one D and are bringing in two. What is the point of bringing in anyone else and having one more player in the stands. We have four D's recruited for 2015 (Barry, Duchesne, Couturier, and Williams) while we lose just Lauwers. Are we planning to play with two forwards and three D's? That would be an interesting approach to shoring up the D.

Cotton had a great year in Kelowna. He was listed as either '14 or '15, but he and the coaches decided quite some time ago that he would play another year of juniors. I gather that he is fine with that decision. Not everyone is in a huge hurry to start college. He is the highest rated draft prospect in the BCJHL, which is nice, but no big deal.

We didn't have a lot of $ freeing up and appear to have done very well in lining up the class that we have. I just looked at Heisenberg for the first time in a while. I didn't see Jacob Theut on his list. He is the goalie from the Monarchs, who is supposed to replace Mountain. Maybe he had second thoughts about coming if Witt returns? Perhaps it's an oversight. Don't know.

 

[Happy Husky]

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

Here's the Josh Manson beatdown on Ben Sexton after Kolchachev was popped http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/123890

 

[retsap71]

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

The only kid I can come up with who had committed early on in the process, and made it here early is ZAR.

ZAR was committed to Brown decommited and committed here and was pushed to '14 which he was not happy about. Moved to '13 when Karlsson left.

 

[retsap71]

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

Speaking of Karlsson, here is another player that belongs in the leaving early for no reason at all column. Played 8 AHL games this year 0-0-0.
ECHL 39-11-13-24

Left 2 years early to play in the East Coast league. His adviser deserves a bonus.

 

[HHound]

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

Here's the Josh Manson beatdown on Ben Sexton after Kolchachev was popped http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/123890

"Beatdown" is a bit of an exaggeration. He landed one good punch, but it was at the end, and the announcer declared him to be the winner.

Johnny Gaudreau, The greatest player to ever decommit from NU, makes his pro debut tonight with Calgary in Vancouver. I'd hate to think that the Canucks enforcer will be assigned to welcome him to the "show".

Re: Karlsson: I suspect that, from comments attributed to him, that he might do things differently if only he could turn back the clock.

 

[Huskies01]

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

The only kid I can come up with who had committed early on in the process, and made it here early is ZAR.

ZAR was committed to Brown decommited and committed here and was pushed to '14 which he was not happy about. Moved to '13 when Karlsson left.

Good point. I forgot he was also a Brown commitment. So put him in the column of guys who come came here who changed their minds to come to us.

 

[Thiessen'sBetter]

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

I mean, I know its the 4th line and all, but did they do anything at all this past year? Play physical? Stir the pot? Guys used in PK situations? Nothing.

Pond was the only guy all year who consistently finished his checks and Belonger was probably 3rd or 4th among forwards in PK time. I'm not saying they're Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille but "nothing" is a bit harsh.

 

[beanstalk]

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

I think if Witt was gonna leave he would have left by now.

Witt was made an Alternate Captain for next year at the team banquet last night. That seems to indicate that he is planning to return. If it pans out, this is great news for all NU fans.