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RPI 2024 Off-Season: Was 2023 – 2024 Just a Bad Dream?

AspyDad said:
Marty and Kristie own this now. The portal should be used to bolster a team not build it.
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Although i would hate for it to happen, i am beginning to suspect that the portal may well become the major 'recruiting' tool used by many schools that are not in the yearly top 16 that make the tournament each year.
 
troyboy said:
So I keep waiting for Bowers or Schmidt to Explain to the fans the current state of RPI Hockey doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon so I guess it's time to do the most dangerous of things make some assumptions:
I assume They Have Decided to bring Smith back not only for this year but the remainder of his contract because if he was put on notice they would say that. Instead of maybe making a change or bringing in a new assistant or associate coach with some recruiting chops and start laying a foundation for future sustained success we are going to do it Via the Portal the NCAA version of a garage sale,and again I'm assuming they are eating up some scholarship $$$ curtailing our ability to recruit. JMO there are very few surprises in the portal for instance the player we are getting from Umass is on his 3rd team and will be 26 in Feb. I don't think any surprises there. The Kid from Brown didn't dress at all his freshman year and never dressed for every game in any year and has less than 30 career pts and the Goalie is also on his 3rd team and Watson has better numbers facing more shots. If this all works out at best its a short term fix.I hope it does work out but I believe there is a time and a place for the portal but using it to build a team is not it and again not looking to argue that's just my opinion.I thought at some point long before this Bowers would lay out Her vision of RPI Hockey instead we get crickets.
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Certainly the portal players are eating up some scholarship money, but that could be close to the amount that we are saving by some of our players entering the portal. This is not based upon any knowledge about what is going on. I am more and more wondering which recruits, besides for those born in 2003, are showing up this fall. From what we have already picked up from the portal and other rumors, it isn't too many.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Certainly the portal players are eating up some scholarship money, but that could be close to the amount that we are saving by some of our players entering the portal. This is not based upon any knowledge about what is going on. I am more and more wondering which recruits, besides for those born in 2003, are showing up this fall. From what we have already picked up from the portal and other rumors, it isn't too many.
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So we'll not be adding much of any offensive skill to a team that struggled to score and struggled even more keeping their opponents off of the scoreboard? Wonderful.

Who do you think we'll see enter this fall?
 
Wicked Slappaahs said:
So we'll not be adding much of any offensive skill to a team that struggled to score and struggled even more keeping their opponents off of the scoreboard? Wonderful.

Who do you think we'll see enter this fall?
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Tonelli and McDermott are both good defensively which is needed with the disaster we all witnessed this past season. The goalie from Ferris is a head scratcher. I agree with you not much offensively
 
Wicked Slappaahs said:
So we'll not be adding much of any offensive skill to a team that struggled to score and struggled even more keeping their opponents off of the scoreboard? Wonderful.

Who do you think we'll see enter this fall?
Click to expand...

Besides for the 3 2003's, Caron and two whom have not been mentioned yet. I am having trouble counting how many we expect back from the season which ended.
 
troyboy said:
So I keep waiting for Bowers or Schmidt to Explain to the fans the current state of RPI Hockey doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon so I guess it's time to do the most dangerous of things make some assumptions:
I assume They Have Decided to bring Smith back not only for this year but the remainder of his contract because if he was put on notice they would say that. Instead of maybe making a change or bringing in a new assistant or associate coach with some recruiting chops and start laying a foundation for future sustained success we are going to do it Via the Portal the NCAA version of a garage sale,and again I'm assuming they are eating up some scholarship $$$ curtailing our ability to recruit. JMO there are very few surprises in the portal for instance the player we are getting from Umass is on his 3rd team and will be 26 in Feb. I don't think any surprises there. The Kid from Brown didn't dress at all his freshman year and never dressed for every game in any year and has less than 30 career pts and the Goalie is also on his 3rd team and Watson has better numbers facing more shots. If this all works out at best its a short term fix.I hope it does work out but I believe there is a time and a place for the portal but using it to build a team is not it and again not looking to argue that's just my opinion.I thought at some point long before this Bowers would lay out Her vision of RPI Hockey instead we get crickets.
Click to expand...

Brown did not play in Tonelli's freshman year
 
troyboy said:
So I keep waiting for Bowers or Schmidt to Explain to the fans the current state of RPI Hockey doesn't look like that is going to happen any time soon so I guess it's time to do the most dangerous of things make some assumptions:
I assume They Have Decided to bring Smith back not only for this year but the remainder of his contract because if he was put on notice they would say that. Instead of maybe making a change or bringing in a new assistant or associate coach with some recruiting chops and start laying a foundation for future sustained success we are going to do it Via the Portal the NCAA version of a garage sale,and again I'm assuming they are eating up some scholarship $$$ curtailing our ability to recruit. JMO there are very few surprises in the portal for instance the player we are getting from Umass is on his 3rd team and will be 26 in Feb. I don't think any surprises there. The Kid from Brown didn't dress at all his freshman year and never dressed for every game in any year and has less than 30 career pts and the Goalie is also on his 3rd team and Watson has better numbers facing more shots. If this all works out at best its a short term fix.I hope it does work out but I believe there is a time and a place for the portal but using it to build a team is not it and again not looking to argue that's just my opinion.I thought at some point long before this Bowers would lay out Her vision of RPI Hockey instead we get crickets.
Click to expand...

Well said. It’s a little crazy nothing has been said about the direction of the program after yet another horrendous season under Dave.
What’s going on with the feasibility study?
I certainly hope bowers gives alumni and season ticket holders her vision of this dumpster fire.
 
Engineers said:
Well said. It’s a little crazy nothing has been said about the direction of the program after yet another horrendous season under Dave.
What’s going on with the feasibility study?
I certainly hope bowers gives alumni and season ticket holders her vision of this dumpster fire.
Click to expand...

This is a prime example of when an active hockey booster club could be of real use.
 
CMcGarvey said:
Brown did not play in Tonelli's freshman year
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Tonelli was a regular from the moment he arrived at Brown. In addition to the Covid shutdown he missed a handful of games his first couple of seasons with injuries and then was out for about 1/2 of this season. When healthy he's been a productive two-way player, including scoring 2 goals in Brown's win at the Field House in the '22-'23 season. There is really no basis to down play this pick up.

I'm also a bit optimistic about Gilson. It appears he was a first pair player at AA and, while they were a mediocre team, they still had some impressive wins this season (vs. Wisconsin, Penn State, Arizona State, Providence, etc.).

McDermott is a proven D1 defenseman. He didn't produce offensively as much at UMass as he did at Colgate, but he was a regular in HE. It's reasonable to hope he continues to provide solid defense, which we desperately need, and his points return to the range he achieved during his first pass through the ECAC.

As for Giesbrecht, he's an experienced D1 goaltender with over 50 games under his belt. At a minimum he's a significant step up at #2. At best, he's a legitimate competitor for the #1 job.

Yes, we need improvement in our recruiting classes. No, we are not going to compete for high draft picks in the portal. However, it is now a critical part of roster construction and we've got some interesting new players that fit critical needs.
 
troyboy said:
I assume They Have Decided to bring Smith back not only for this year but the remainder of his contract because if he was put on notice they would say that.
Click to expand...

Who would say that? Only an AD without a clue is going to publicly announce that the coach is on notice. It would be impossible to recruit or establish leadership in the locker room. If that happens both the coach and the AD should just be fired.
 
rpi82 said:
Who would say that? Only an AD without a clue is going to publicly announce that the coach is on notice. It would be impossible to recruit or establish leadership in the locker room. If that happens both the coach and the AD should just be fired.
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Isn't that what I said that in essence if they were looking to make a change this was their chance to cut him off at the knees and they didn't. I'll try to be less nuanced next time on the off chance some posters are day drinking !
 
troyboy said:
Isn't that what I said that in essence if they were looking to make a change this was their chance to cut him off at the knees and they didn't. I'll try to be less nuanced next time on the off chance some posters are day drinking !
Click to expand...

No, that's not what you said. You said because they didn't announce that they'd cut him off at the knees they must have decided to let him work out the remainder of his contract (3 years IIRC). That is not nuance, it's just a completely ridiculous conclusion. Publicly under cutting your own coach is just a formula to create further damage and serves no useful purpose.
 
Last edited:
Today is 11 April 2024. There are 177 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2024 for the start of next season.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Besides for the 3 2003's, Caron and two whom have not been mentioned yet. I am having trouble counting how many we expect back from the season which ended.
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I am excited to see Caron...given his numbers in the BCHL, I think we ought to be, no? Are you alluding to two players that you are aware of that have not been made public yet ? :) LOL
 
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