RPI 2025–26: Off the Critical List and In Recovery

[sezenack]

Yes, but I think the fact that he’s coming here rather than playing as an over-ager in the OHL tells us a lot about his timeline. Summer pick-up games, even with NHL players, undoubtedly lack the speed and intensity of play in corners, in front of the net, anywhere you could line up a guy for a heavy check, etc. of a real game. They have to take things carefully with a guy still rehabilitating and working his way back. If he was a good candidate to be a significant contributor this year it would make sense for the major junior team to take a shot. But if this is a season of easing him back to practice then maybe easing him into games (probably with a reduced workload) in anticipation of becoming a regular in ‘26-‘27 that makes no sense for the OHL because his eligibility would expire before they could get the primary benefit. Coach Lang, however, is playing the long game. He can take Jankovic’s transition year back into games as an investment for future seasons. I think that’s the most likely scenario.

i hope it’s not “a lot” of 6-4 losses but perhaps a few that become 4-3 or 4-2 wins later in the year as the team D solidifies.

Jovanovic is too old for junior hockey. He's an 04

 

[sezenack]

I expect 10-12 wins given the strength of the non-conference schedule with 15 wins max if they really exceed expectations. No top end players up front, a bunch of solid middle of the lineup types, which gives them good depth but it'll only go so far. Super young blue line that has talent but lacks experience. Same in net with Krawchuk. Anything more than 15 wins should win Lang ECAC coach of the year lol (not that it would because the ECAC refuses to give it to us even when they should. Smith absolutely should have won it in 2020)

 

[rpi82]

Wallace and Tapper are not as good as Hotson and Caron.

Talent-wise I agree. But Wallace and Tapper may be as valuable since our departed pair couldn’t keep their asses out of the penalty box.

Jovanovic is too old for junior hockey. He's an 04

Good point. I think at some point I even knew that but for some reason I had it in my head that he was an ‘05.

 

[Engineers]

18-20 wins is insane. Zero chance. Wallace and Tapper are not as good as Hotson and Caron. The only player on the roster capable of hitting 30 points on the year is Tinling. They'll be good eventually but not this year

Is it tho? Something tells me this team will exceed expectations. Maybe coaching? Wallace will put up 10-15 goals and tapper the same. That will Match or exceed hotson and Caron. Caron is a penalty machine let’s be honest. This years squad is much better balanced with talent. Dave was fired for a reason he couldn’t recruit or win.

 

[DrDemento]

Is it tho? Something tells me this team will exceed expectations. Maybe coaching? Wallace will put up 10-15 goals and tapper the same. That will Match or exceed hotson and Caron. Caron is a penalty machine let’s be honest. This years squad is much better balanced with talent. Dave was fired for a reason he couldn’t recruit or win.

Very similar thinking here. i am not expecting miracles against the better HE teams. And in our own league, Cornell and Quinnipiac are probably a couple of steps above us. But that still leaves us with a lot of competitive if not winnable games (18 in the ECAC and several OOC). With the massive turnover of players in college hockey (and 19 new faces in Troy) this is certainly the most unpredictable season I have seen.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I expect 10-12 wins given the strength of the non-conference schedule with 15 wins max if they really exceed expectations. No top end players up front, a bunch of solid middle of the lineup types, which gives them good depth but it'll only go so far. Super young blue line that has talent but lacks experience. Same in net with Krawchuk. Anything more than 15 wins should win Lang ECAC coach of the year lol (not that it would because the ECAC refuses to give it to us even when they should. Smith absolutely should have won it in 2020)

I think this is spot on. baby steps....

 

[DrDemento]

I think this is spot on. baby steps....

I'll just have to keep my "Beast of the East" sweatshirt from 1984 in the drawer for at least another year

 

[RPI Hockey Guy]

From ECAC coaches poll for women's hockey:
1. Cornell
2. Colgate
3. Clarkson
4. St Lawrence
5. Qpac
6. Princeton
7. Yale
8. Brown
9. Union
10. Harvard
11. Dartmouth
12. RPI
Looks like RPI women's hockey is going to be fighting an uphill battle this season. Hopefully they can prove the preseason poll wrong.

 

[DrDemento]

From ECAC coaches poll for women's hockey:
1. Cornell
2. Colgate
3. Clarkson
4. St Lawrence
5. Qpac
6. Princeton
7. Yale
8. Brown
9. Union
10. Harvard
11. Dartmouth
12. RPI
Looks like RPI women's hockey is going to be fighting an uphill battle this season. Hopefully they can prove the preseason poll wrong.

Guessing they expect us to really feel the loss of #89 and #91. I have only a slightly better feeling than what that list is showing but only as far as us fighting for a better position in the bottom 4. I don't think anyone could argue against the top 6 positions being pretty much locked in.

 

[sezenack]

Is it tho? Something tells me this team will exceed expectations. Maybe coaching? Wallace will put up 10-15 goals and tapper the same. That will Match or exceed hotson and Caron. Caron is a penalty machine let’s be honest. This years squad is much better balanced with talent. Dave was fired for a reason he couldn’t recruit or win.

10-15 goals is good but nothing special. Brown had 3 players in that range and had 14 wins. Depth is good but you win with top end talent. Every top ECAC team (Qpac, Cornell, Clarkson, etc) had at least one player over 15 goals. Dartmouth is the only exception but they had 6 players in the 10-15 range. We don't have a single player on the roster that will score more than 15, MAYBE Tinling if he really broke out, but he's more of a playmaker so I doubt it. And we certainly don't have 6 players who will be in the 10-15 range.

If by "better balanced with talent", you mean more depth, I agree, but make no mistake about it, this year's team is not more talented. Hotson might not have scored as many goals last year but he had 14 as a freshman. Caron was very young and would have only improved. 21 points as a freshman is excellent even if it was more assists than goals, plus he has a rocket shot. They lost Gilson, Smolinski, Hotson, Caron, and Muzzatti to the portal and replaced them with downgrades (offensively) across the board because Lang got a late start in the portal. Sitar, Wallace, Wilson, Bono, and Lindberg aren't as good as any of the forwards lost to the portal. Sobieski is talented but struggled with UMass and won't match Gilson's impact, possible to match Smolinski's impact if he has a good year. Russell and VanDamme aren't offensive types. Not Lang's fault, just the way it worked with the timing.

Say what you want about Dave, but the team had no issues scoring the past couple years, so clearly he was able to recruit offensive talent. The issues were all on defensive side, which is why he got fired. Will we be improved there? Maybe, hard to be worse, but our blue line and goaltending room are both extremely young. I'm not counting on immediate significant improvement there

I'm always captain optimism, but expecting more than 15 wins is setting yourself up for disappointment imo. They have depth which will keep them competitive most games, but the talent isn't there yet. I think 15 is the max if they truly exceed expectations in numerous areas

 

[Ralph Baer]

In honor of Aylah Cioffi, today is 12 September 2025. There are 23 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2025 for the start of next season.

 

[MikeMidd]

Agree with those who have modest (reasonable) expectations.

RPI has won 15+ games three times in ten years, and won 10+ in the ECAC twice in ten years. I have no doubt Lang is a step up as a coach compared to what we've had - but he's coming into an environment with a losing culture, a lack of a hockey system, a large number of new players who will need to mesh together with existing players, and uncertain fan reaction.

This is a big climb upwards. Coming into the hire, we all recognized it was a full rebuilding project. In the podcast last month, I think Lang did a good job of managing expectations. I'm very optimistic for the future but am realistic that this may be a tough year.

(Of course, it could be a big turnaround, they come together under Lang and his system, and we are way better than expected!)

 

[rpi2004]

I think regardless of how good the players are, having 22 new players and a new staff and going up against the cream of the crop in Hockey East will be a rocky start. A reasonable but successful season to me is as follows.

- 1-2 really high end wins. (Cornell, QU, Providence, BC, Mankato, etc.)
- Home ice in ECAC playoffs. We are not top 4 good yet, but get a home game in Lang's first year would go a long way for morale and progress.
- I think Krawchuk is really good. Its hard to project recruits out of the CHL without a track record, and I am not expecting Savory/Kazzy type frosh years, but him taking the net and establishing himself as a cornerstone for the next few years would be a big W
- There was a point pre Covid where RPI had a very young D core that was growing together. It never really came to fruition as Babichuk, Ferner, Kjellberg left early, but Id like to see Lemieux, Sobieski, Klassek, maybe Jovanovic, and Hilditch be playing really well at the end of the year and for all them to stay.
- There is good depth up front so I hope that rising tide lifts all boats. Stephen is right that on paper, Muzzatti, Caron, Hotson were much more talented than anything we have now. That doesn't mean that this year's team wont play better though given better coaching... I hope 1-2 guys (Wallace/Tapper?) can elevate as top line guys. Bc I think we have the depth to fill in the gaps from there.
- Couple big recruiting wins throughout the year
- The talented jr player that struggled early on or went too early pipeline continues to work with Sitar and Sobieski. They could be really good if they get time and stay put here.

 

[rpi82]

I think regardless of how good the players are, having 22 new players and a new staff and going up against the cream of the crop in Hockey East will be a rocky start. A reasonable but successful season to me is as follows.

- 1-2 really high end wins. (Cornell, QU, Providence, BC, Mankato, etc.)
- Home ice in ECAC playoffs. We are not top 4 good yet, but get a home game in Lang's first year would go a long way for morale and progress.
- I think Krawchuk is really good. Its hard to project recruits out of the CHL without a track record, and I am not expecting Savory/Kazzy type frosh years, but him taking the net and establishing himself as a cornerstone for the next few years would be a big W
- There was a point pre Covid where RPI had a very young D core that was growing together. It never really came to fruition as Babichuk, Ferner, Kjellberg left early, but Id like to see Lemieux, Sobieski, Klassek, maybe Jovanovic, and Hilditch be playing really well at the end of the year and for all them to stay.
- There is good depth up front so I hope that rising tide lifts all boats. Stephen is right that on paper, Muzzatti, Caron, Hotson were much more talented than anything we have now. That doesn't mean that this year's team wont play better though given better coaching... I hope 1-2 guys (Wallace/Tapper?) can elevate as top line guys. Bc I think we have the depth to fill in the gaps from there.
- Couple big recruiting wins throughout the year
- The talented jr player that struggled early on or went too early pipeline continues to work with Sitar and Sobieski. They could be really good if they get time and stay put here.

Good analysis and prognosis. I have high hopes for Sitar and Sobieski. Sitar went to HE directly from Swedish juniors. His fellow leading scorer in 23-24, Daniel Jencko, left Malmo mid-year to play for Youngstown in the USHL and then had an excellent freshman season for UMass (6g, 11a). Each player's mileage may vary, but Sitar's adjustment would have been better had he been exposed to North American style hockey and rink size in the USHL before being thrown into HE. The early season suspension for having played in a "pro league" (something that presumably wouldn't happen now?) also set him back. Now that he's had his transition season hopefully we benefit. As for Sobieski, defensemen develop slower and he apparently did struggle at UMass (not the first freshman D to have issues in a very tough league), but it looks like he had an excellent overage campaign back in the USHL so I'm very optimistic that he will be ready to step forward for us. Let's hope Coach Lang can get the best out of second chances for two talented players.

 

[DrDemento]

One aspect to also consider (hopefully) is the new assistant coach and his ability to fashion an effective power play during his tenure at Clarkson and AIC. As many of us had pointed out for the past several season, special teams were a major failing for us. Honestly believe special teams play cost us several and perhaps many games. Keeping finger crossed and looking for whatever positives I can find!

 

[Ralph Baer]

In honor of Landen Hilditch and Michaela Littlewood, today is 13 September 2025. There are 22 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2025 for the start of next season.

 

[jericho]

One aspect to also consider (hopefully) is the new assistant coach and his ability to fashion an effective power play during his tenure at Clarkson and AIC. As many of us had pointed out for the past several season, special teams were a major failing for us. Honestly believe special teams play cost us several and perhaps many games. Keeping finger crossed and looking for whatever positives I can find!

Is “several” different than “many?”

 

[DrDemento]

Is “several” different than “many?”

i was attempting to be tactful and kind. Many is probably more correct.

 

[DrDemento]

A forgettable football game today. Could not stop the Utica passing offense at all and paid for it. Last i saw was 41-14 and it could have been worse.

 

[Engineers]

A forgettable football game today. Could not stop the Utica passing offense at all and paid for it. Last i saw was 41-14 and it could have been worse.

Not good doc.