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Quinnipiac Bobcats 2024 Off-season: Rebuild and re-try

MarkEagleUSA

MarkEagleUSA

C'mon Q!
Sadly out 2023-24 campaign came up short but we defended our title quite admirably. For me it just felt like we were missing one little piece all season, but we still managed a deep run that almost put us in St. Paul.

There's some holes to fill with the early departure of our entire top line. Congrats to Quillan, Graf and Lipkin. Fun to watch and all 3 made major contributions. Fillion and Tellier leaving still has me confused but obviously they felt the time was right.

I believe we have a great core returning. Treloar, Marcellus and Cerbone should slide up to the 1st line and I can see them doing great things. D-corp looks promising as usual.

With just a couple of transfers coming in, Rand and his staff will need to massage a few recruits into the lineup but they seem to do it every year.

It was still a fun ride this past season and im looking forward to the next step in our evolution.

Is it October yet!
 
It’s probably going to be more of a reset and development year for this team after pretty much pushing all in these past few seasons with guys playing an extra year along with adding players via the transfer portal. They plugged a couple of holes in the portal already for next year and maybe they have one more portal spot up their sleeve but it’s going to be about going young as they couldn’t keep pushing players off any further.
 
I'm anxious to see what our OOC schedule looks like for next season. We know we'll be hosting UNH for a pair of games (October? Alumni Weekend?) and the CT Ice Tournament will be at SHU in January. I'd expect BU and Northeastern to come to Hamden to complete the home-and-home. Plus, road games at Holy Cross and (hopefully) Boston College.
 
DrewQU99 said:
I'm anxious to see what our OOC schedule looks like for next season. We know we'll be hosting UNH for a pair of games (October? Alumni Weekend?) and the CT Ice Tournament will be at SHU in January. I'd expect BU and Northeastern to come to Hamden to complete the home-and-home. Plus, road games at Holy Cross and (hopefully) Boston College.
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We need some western teams to come to Hamden. I know, easier said than done but it would be nice.
 
I think it was possible the program had long distance travel restrictions set for this year after Belfast and North Dakota last year along with the Frozen Four. That may have already been in place prior to the title win. It wouldn’t shock me to see more road western games with more money flowing into the program now. Interesting to see if Maine is flipped out for a western series.
 
20 years ago this month, Quinnipiac joined the ECAC.

From April 2004: QU hockey will join the ECAC - The Quinnipiac Chronicle (quchronicle.com)

While searching for other related articles, I came across this piece from the Yale Daily News: Quinnipiac ice hockey teams join ECAC - Yale Daily News. Read Yale coach Tim Taylor's remarks about QU joining the league:

“I had the opportunity to sit in on a couple of meetings, a couple of presentations they made,” said Yale men’s ice hockey coach Tim Taylor, who is also the chairman of the men’s coaches group. “It was clear they were extremely dedicated to the sport of ice hockey. They did a very good job substantiating the fact that they would be a good academic and social fit for the league.”

“I feel it was a great choice,” Taylor said. “We wanted to make sure we filled the vacancy with a school that would enhance our league.”
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Everything Coach Taylor said was/is true. Not many people realize this, but Yale was 100% for our entry into the league. Taylor, Wayne Dean and Tom Beckett were all vocal supporters of QU to the ECAC.
 
QUAlum2004 said:
It’s probably going to be more of a reset and development year for this team after pretty much pushing all in these past few seasons with guys playing an extra year along with adding players via the transfer portal. They plugged a couple of holes in the portal already for next year and maybe they have one more portal spot up their sleeve but it’s going to be about going young as they couldn’t keep pushing players off any further.
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Pretty sure we said this last year around this time.

I won't believe we're rebuilding until it actually happens.
 
The difference is we are losing pretty much the whole top line (Lipkin, Quillan, Graf and Lee) this year. As I said in the other thread it's going to be fun to see all the new faces. There will be growing pains but with the portal additions, we should have a solid team as usual.
 
Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

It's a college program that has turnover every year. Yes, we lost a lot but those holes are are being filled with some pretty capable players.

I have complete faith that the staff will be able to put another competitive team on the ice.
 
QU_Paul said:
The difference is we are losing pretty much the whole top line (Lipkin, Quillan, Graf and Lee) this year. As I said in the other thread it's going to be fun to see all the new faces. There will be growing pains but with the portal additions, we should have a solid team as usual.
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Don't get me wrong -- I totally get why we think next year is a rebuilding year. I just wonder if we'll be pleasantly surprised. I still think we can be at the top of the league even with the team we'll have.
 
QU87 said:
Hole filled. From the portal ... BC defenseman Charlie Leddy and Devils fourth round draft pick.
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From Fairfield, Connecticut too. Leddy has two years eligibility left.

Per Brad Schlossman, North Dakota D Nate Benoit (MIN 6th) is also heading here. He'll have three years of eligibility remaining.
 
Quinnipiac is not going to be rebuilding next season. If it weren’t for fifth years and transfers it would have no choice but to play and develop its underclassmen. But in the world of the transfer portal and COVID eligibility, Quinnipiac is never forced to rely on underclassmen and incoming recruits to succeed. The matriculating freshmen who aren’t that good simply won’t get ice time, and at the end of next season many of them will transfer out. Because Quinnipiac can do this and many of its conference opponents cannot (due to grad player/transfer restrictions), by definition Quinnipiac will be one of the top teams in the ECAC every single season going forward.
 
CornellFan13 said:
Quinnipiac is not going to be rebuilding next season. If it weren’t for fifth years and transfers it would have no choice but to play and develop its underclassmen. But in the world of the transfer portal and COVID eligibility, Quinnipiac is never forced to rely on underclassmen and incoming recruits to succeed. The matriculating freshmen who aren’t that good simply won’t get ice time, and at the end of next season many of them will transfer out. Because Quinnipiac can do this and many of its conference opponents cannot (due to grad player/transfer restrictions), by definition Quinnipiac will be one of the top teams in the ECAC every single season going forward.
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Quinnipiac is essentially rebuilding next year. There will be a lot of freshman coming on board and we are excited to see them. Plus a bunch of new faces from the portal. The portal is a reality and not going away so why not take advantage when we don't get the super high end talent. Plus the COVID years are pretty much over. Many teams in the conference can do the same so not sure why it's just QU that should be a top team every year. We play to win because that is what is needed to win championships. Sucks for schools to have antiquated rules (and I am an old school guy), but the old days of amateur sports is over.
 
QU_Paul said:
Quinnipiac is essentially rebuilding next year. There will be a lot of freshman coming on board and we are excited to see them. Plus a bunch of new faces from the portal. The portal is a reality and not going away so why not take advantage when we don't get the super high end talent. Plus the COVID years are pretty much over. Many teams in the conference can do the same so not sure why it's just QU that should be a top team every year. We play to win because that is what is needed to win championships. Sucks for schools to have antiquated rules (and I am an old school guy), but the old days of amateur sports is over.
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I view "rebuilding" to mean sacrificing current success in favor of developing younger players. Quinnipiac does (and will continue to do) the opposite. Quinnipiac will (by my count, at least) have at least four fifth-year players next season, including two incoming transfers, and at least four incoming transfers overall. (I have seen rumors of other players transferring to Quinnipiac as well, though nothing further has been announced yet, to my knowledge.) Rebuilding teams are not usually bringing in older players to take spots in the lineup. Talent-wise, Quinnipiac should easily be top four in the ECAC, and they still have an older team, so they'll clearly be a favorite for a top-4 ECAC seed with a good shot at the national tournament.
 
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