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Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

Every comment so far concern Tim Army not Derek so get off the kids ice time as he went out when told to go out as did the others on the team.......Tim Army was a very bad coach and we all know it ......now leave the kid, doing as he is told, alone. Find another target, maybe Driscoll for the extention but not the kid
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

satyking said:
First everyone remember the kid is in the middle, it can't be easy playing for your father and when he is performing poorly as coach its even harder......I thought Derek played well when compared to all the others on the team with his same time in HE and believe he will be better this year.....don't know if NCAA rules would prohibit a full ride as part of a settlement but that would be nice (Cav will hopefully answer that) I know I would have asked for it if I were Tim......so now we all have to treat the kid as any other player and forget why he came to PC as he may have been welcome elsewhere and we will never know where....again we need shooters we stop them real good we shoot them real bad.....go Friars lets make the playoffs this year
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Basically I agree with you.

First the NCAA would not allow what you suggested. Second Boston mentioned not sure what was included as an employee if they got room and board, the answer was that employees families don't get that. That is as far as I'll say on that part of the matter.

Next the worst thing you can accuse Derek of is that he is unfortunate that he did not have more talented teammates that in essence Derek is no more or less talented then most of the 18 or so forwards we had on the team. If he had played on a team with 4 or 5 standout forwards I don't think the complaints would be there. I think that Derek is a legitimiate Hockey East player--granted a 3rd or 4th liner on Providence or most middle of the pack and down teams. He gets a bad rap because he was not heralded coming in but he kind of got lost in the shuffle....he bounced around a few places in his life, he didn't get pushed to jump early like many to prep and juniors instead stayed in the RIIL and let's face it he was always going to Providence. From what I could see he more then held his own as a freshman when compared to most freshman and as a 19 year old he still is younger then most. Key is how much he can improve. He needs a bit more discipline on the ice while still maintaining the gritty edge he has but he was no more guilty of that then any member of this year's senior class when they were freshman and I believe with the exception of Farrar he was younger then any. You will also note he actually had more points as a freshman then any of the seniors did when they were freshman. He was basically a 3rd liner the O'Connor/MacKInnon line was top line and I would say the Schaller line was considered the 2nd line. You can quibble that he has just some basic moves as he tries to stuff shots and the same move to drive past defensemen but hopefully he learns what it takes to improve. If he adds say 5 points each year from here on out he would been a far more productive player then anyone had a right to expect,

Bottom line is this is part of the core that is returning, with the daily interaction the team has he has to have carved out his own niche, if anything as long as he comes to play I would think things will only be better for him. Hopefully he is one of the first to benefit Leaman's ability to get the most out of his players and have them improve...by and large for the past 20 years seeing players get better as they getter older has not happened at PC.

I actually think Derek might be the easier waters to navigate for Leaman. I wonder what the feeling would be like if Velischek does come back. While I advocate for them to try to get him to return I'd say that might be the tricker situation. There is somethings about leaving a team that may open questions about trust, loyalty, motives etc

God help Nate Leaman because one thing I'm still convinced is that he is not getting much help elsewhere.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

BostonFriar said:
Noel Acciari is also a Tim Army recruit not a Leaman recruit.
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Interesting note:

Army recrited Dempoulos when he was at Avon. Obviously the kid wanted to be more then prep school filler and improve his game by playing in the USHL, but remember his numbers are as one of the older players in the league. With this team he certainly will have his opportunity but he is not the start of us turning around.

Brown came in for his official vist the same day Acciari came in for his again brought in by Army. Why he picked Union over Providence I don't know--he's 19 he could have tons of reasons. He's not a hometown kid like Acciari, maybe the warts were more obvious to him, maybe it was because Providence does not have much money to dole out for this class or next. They will have 3 goalies on scholarship next year and Cross is a now a red shirt freshman so his 'ship is extended out not till '14 but '15
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

Were MacKinnon and O'Connor on every single power play the entire season as freshman? Was either out there as the center while other players were rotated around them? They might not have been standouts but came in with far superior fan fare I dont believe for a minute that any other Hockey East school would ever have recruited him. I was led to believe he didnt make the Monarchs and thats why he ended up at Gunnery, where he was the third leading scorer and neither of the two players ahead of him went D 1. Funny how they stopped recruiting there and moved their efforts to Gunnery..
Maybe he was on 3rd line but it was clear in the games I watched who Army favored on every power play, the end of the game and ot. My point was not to pick on anyone but I also feel it was wrong to do that to the senior class and it cost the team several wins. The one game I did enjoy was the come back win at home vs Merrimack, to finish off the season. Not trying to be a dbag but it sure looked to me like the team speed and flow improved when young Army got tossed. With the returning players and the 5-7 new players coming in I would look for this to mirror image what Brown did and cant see a scenerio where he fits in over the next three years.
 
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Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

BostonFriar said:
The bottom line is Tim did not relate to this generation of players. Even he will admit to that. You could have played any of our offensive guys 60 minutes and the result would have been the same. Perhaps we would have won 2 more games but there is no way we would have been higher than 7th place.
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I'll start by saying I like Timmy then add I agree with the jist of what you say about him. Throw in I think the school ended up hanging him out to dry (which more and more I believe they did to Pooley and even to McShane).

Like Pitino who had counted on revitalizng the Celts by getting the first pick in the draft, Army envisioned picking up a couple of snipers for his third year. (like now his hands were tied his first couple of years recruiting also). He really thought just like when he was here the first time he could go out and find a Rob Gaudreau or Chad Quenville etc. For a variety of reasons those days were gone and rhe system and everything he planned were totally predicated on this. There was truly no Plan B. In fact my question is what the hell was Driscoll thinking when Army shared this visiion as he interviewed and talked about his first year. There was a reason Pooley played the system he did and brought he players he did in...we as fans might not have liked it but it kept our heads above water.

This past senior class was not the players he envisioned as his 3rd class. He went hard after some of those snipers, but we got beat out, several times very late in the game and after being held "hostage" as the guys he really wanted want to the glamour schools when opening from players leaving came and we had to turn to late choices (and even splitting more ships then most which is why we had such a big roster compared to the Pooley days). From there it was downhill. We tried the gamble to get the true freshman out of the west but they are not the top of the class and take time to mature. We might luck and finally find the gamble pays off if guys like Jamnick Landman and Maloney produce. By last year he was almost back to the Pooley system. Try to build around defense and goaltending and get older freshman. That really backfired since the key freshman Cross was basically injured and out from the first period of he first game.

Now throw on top of that that I think Army had become a "pro" coach. He was way too much into breaking down tape. he had gigantic binders full of plays. The kids are not able to absorb that type of breakdown on this level. That he expected more developed players when he was bringinng in raw high school kids. Then a couple a head scratchers. He clearly had little idea to get anyting out of his defensemen--you would think someone who had coached with Ronnie for so long would have that down. He also seemed to become more and more obssessed that he had tocontrol everything. the assistants had smaller and smaller roles. he ran the practices, he really andled far more of the recruiting then most coaches. In short I think it became a downward spiral.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

F O F room fan said:
One thing i am concerned about is there is no goalies coming in as far as i've seen.
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Heard he was out in the USHL looking. Not a big rush it is not for the coming year really he's got Beaudry, he's got Gates and he's got Stein. That is a 1/6 of your scholarship money for next year. Beaudry is going to play close to 30 games.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

hockeymascot said:
I wonder if Leaman will keep Berard or hire his own guy. I'm leaning towards him choosing a goalie coach.
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My understanding is nothing has come down yet. At this point Berard still his finishing out his year which I believe runs till the end of June. At least he gets a chance to display to Leman why he should be kept. I was told that from Ricky's side there was contact but clearly that does not look like a path he will be taking or it would be done. If he shows his value becuase of the continuity and knowledge of the situation at PC he certainly could bring something to the table and go another year and see if he fits into with Leman's overall plan. Certainly Leaman has the background on him, I'm sure Bennett is quite forthright in talking about him and since there are signs Ricky wanted him that alone must mean something.

On the other hand continuity for this situation is questionable. Barr clearly has his role on the offensive side so again Beard would be tasked with the defense. I think if Leaman does find his next "Rick Bennett" you take the opportunity to bring tha person in.

Actually am glad I don't have to really make this call
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

MikeLogan said:
The Friars goaltending and defense will be solid next year. You have two returning goalies who both played well last year and six returning defensemen along with the two incoming freshman. The question is going to be offense as a majority of your top point getters graduated. However, I think Bergland and Jamnick have bounce back years...Schaller, Rooney and Army should all increase their point total. You hope some other guys can chip in along with the two incoming freshman forwards and Cross who missed most of last year. Also keep in mind, the Friars have 19 home games in 2011-12 including 8 of their first 10, which could lead to getting off to a solid start. 6 of those games are league games.
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I will bet we are picked 10th in the preseasons polls and realistically we will be the underdog in every league game. I think a new attitude with Leaman's leadership will steal some games but I don't see the playoffs.

I think Goaltending is set with Beaudry but while I think he is mentally tougher then Tyler was he is not as athletic, he not Nolan Schaefer, Chris Terreri or Mario Proulx who could carry a team and the hump they need to be carried over is far greater then what any of those 3 had to carry their team over.

The defense is a disaster. You don't go to seek to bring back Alex because they are in good shape. His return could open a can of worms if not handled properly. Baier was the only one of the gorup with offensive potential, without him they played 3 man offense. Of the returning group the only one who was defensively sound is Harvey. Adams has hope as he was a true freshman, but Shamanski was a 21 year old freshman. New has regressed. If you want to point to anyone Tim layed favorites with it was Hart. Wyszomirski has great potential but remember he turns 19 just after school starts so he is relatively young and te pains Adam had last year might very well be repeated. While only 1 game, Kaib did not impress when the U18's came to town last winter and he was orginally slated to spend the year in the USHL before being accelerated to take Velischek's place.

The offense actually had some potential if things had gone right as noted. There was marginal increase in scoring (though attribute it to the seniors who are gone). However if Bergland had not fallen off the face of the earth and Cross had played (say Bergland had matched his sophomore numbers and Cross had matced Bergland's freshman numbers) you are looking at producing an extra 18 goals and 22 assists on potential goals someone else could pick up. At this time that is just under half the production the departing seniors gave you. Without conceding automatic spots to them if Drew Brown, Acciari, and Luke can each put up number between what Derek Army or Jamnick produced in their freshman year and what Bergland did his freshman year you have the beginning of some offensive improvement. Theoretically it is possible. From all comparisions I have seen Acciari is slightly more talented then Derek and Brown rated slightly higher then Acciari. Luke will be a 21 year old freshman.. Key is that guys like Landman and Jamnick who did not produce with regular time last year need to step it up t either hold their job or solidify their position. The time has come for the true freshman we were gambling on maturing will playing at PC to do so. And if those 2 need to step it up even with the returning players and the new guys mentioned there is room for 1 more guy to step into the top 4 lines. After 3 seasons of little playing time from Maloney and 2 from Simon you would hope there is plenty of ceiling from those 2. Beyond that you are looking at Demopoulous or Ferullo to step forward,,,,,In general I'd say a lot of IF's that have to go right to go better to move right.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

PC hockey actually got a bigger space than PC basketball for a story in todays ProJo what a shock
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

http://www.projo.com/brown/content/college_hockey_leaman_05-15-11_1UO7MIU_v2.2885a1f.html

A couple of weeks after hiring Nate Leaman as head coach, Providence College is already gaining traction on the recruiting trail.

This week, the Friars reeled in winger Drew Brown of the Kent School in Connecticut. Brown, a 19-year-old from Michigan, will start school in the fall.

Brown’s roommate at Kent for the past two years has been Noel Acciari of Johnston, the former Hendricken star who also is headed to PC this year. Brown and Acciari visited PC together early in 2010, but Brown eventually committed to Union last October.

When Leaman took the PC coaching job last month, Brown started to have second thoughts.

“The big reason I was going to go to Union was Coach Leaman,” Brown said by phone on Friday.

After discussing his options with Kent coach Matt Herr, Brown decided to decommit from Union. He contacted PC and Michigan, the schools that had recruited him before he chose Union. Both schools were still interested.

“I gave Coach Leaman a call to see if maybe they had a spot for me,” Brown said. “Everything worked out.… I think it’ll be a great fit,” he said.

At Kent, Brown and Acciari were linemates and were the top two scorers on a team that reached the finals of the New England prep school tournament this season. While they don’t figure to be impact players as freshmen in Hockey East, they are projected to develop into solid contributors.

“I have pretty good vision. I don’t mind giving up the puck,” said Brown. “I’m a finesse guy. I’m not a big grinder.”

“The thing that Drew brings to the table is he’s a pure goal-scorer.… He’s a kid that’ll work for everything he gets,” said Herr, a former Providence Bruin.

Brown, who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, had 22-29-51 totals in 27 games at Kent. Only Acciari, with 31-21-52, had more points.

Last week the Friars also received commitments from 20-year-old forward Stefan Demopoulos of the United States Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers and 16-year-old defenseman Truman Reed of Shattuck-St. Mary’s, the Minnesota prep school.

Demopoulos, a native of La Mesa, Calif., and a graduate of Connecticut’s Avon Old Farms prep school, will enroll at PC this fall. A 5-foot-8, 170-pounder, he had 16-24-40 totals in 60 games.

Reed, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Anchorage, Alaska, is finishing his junior year at Shattuck. In 50 games for Shattuck’s Midget AAA team last season, Reed had 13-25-38 totals.

New PC assistant coach Ben Barr, who was a member of Leaman’s staff at Union, graduated from Shattuck, which has produced such NHL superstars as Sidney Crosby, Jack Johnson and Zach Parise.

Leaman said this week that the Friars are still talking with Alex Velischek about returning to the school. Unhappy with a cut in playing time, the 20-year-old defenseman left school in December. Velischek, a fifth-round draft pick of Pittsburgh in 2009, played out the season with Sioux City of the USHL.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

cavbim said:
My understanding is nothing has come down yet. At this point Berard still his finishing out his year which I believe runs till the end of June. At least he gets a chance to display to Leman why he should be kept. I was told that from Ricky's side there was contact but clearly that does not look like a path he will be taking or it would be done. If he shows his value becuase of the continuity and knowledge of the situation at PC he certainly could bring something to the table and go another year and see if he fits into with Leman's overall plan. Certainly Leaman has the background on him, I'm sure Bennett is quite forthright in talking about him and since there are signs Ricky wanted him that alone must mean something.

On the other hand continuity for this situation is questionable. Barr clearly has his role on the offensive side so again Beard would be tasked with the defense. I think if Leaman does find his next "Rick Bennett" you take the opportunity to bring tha person in.

Actually am glad I don't have to really make this call
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Leaman defintely does have some Walsh in him. Whatever steps he needs to take to improve the team going forward.

Round about way I've heard he has made a decision and we will be getting a new top assistant.......one of the former head coaches whose backgrond is defense.
Also from what I hear Velischek is not the only iron in the fire to still get another player on board for next year......would seem to indicate some roster movement is afoot.
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

cavbim said:
Source is outside my usual circle so I'm not sure if is true. Name I hear is Jamie Russell.
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I do not see anything good about him on this site or any other place......if anyone knows something good I hope they will post it here
 
Re: Providence College Summer 2011: The Hockey Guy Adventures

bball has had two more players leave in the past like two weeks...i think they've officially beaten hockey's number now.
 
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