We do have to remember that there are a lot of pieces that this team was supposed to have... and didn't.
The consensus seems to be that Brandon Thompson was supposed to bring a bit of a physical presence to the team, but he had to sit out the year. And one of the big complaints this year is that we don't have a McReynolds-type or Favot-type player who just loves to bang folks around.
Rajan Sidhu is 6-3; had he stayed on the team, he might have brought a more physical presence on the blue line. (Of course, Brownell is 6-4 and hasn't played hardly at all... not even Saturday when we only had 17 skaters on the ice. Perplexing?)
Greece native Woody Hudson was slated to come to RIT but decommitted. Not sure what kind of role he was intended for, but it may have left a hole in this year's class.
Adam Mitchell was a big part of our front-of-the-net presence and played a significant role in our improved play at the beginning of 2013, then got injured.
So look at next year -- we lose a good goal-scorer in Smith, and a good faceoff guy in Hartley, and our best defenseman. But we'll hopefully be getting Thompson back, and maybe Sidhu. Adam Mitchell should hopefully play a full season. Potts, thanks to a redshirted junior year, can hopefully rebound from an off season to be a big senior presence. We don't need new goalies. We'll have a strong core of three senior defensemen, with now-fully-acclimated Shumway and Kuqali backing them up. McGowan/Garbowsky/Schuler should mature into one of the best forward lines in the league.
I mean, just look at how many games we played without a full bench. Fixing that alone would be good for another win or two. =) But it looks like we also will be able to fill some holes that our team had this season.
Powers &8^]
But seriously, as of right now, I see zero reasons for Watson to get any starts the rest of the season or to start next season. Ruby has played by far the best in net. Consistancy is still an issue, but at least he shows some signs of being a #1 goaltender.
