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RPI 2025 Off-Season: HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sezenack said:
I was about to post that here myself, thanks Ralph! Everyone McMahon named was already on our list, so it felt good that we're in the right ballpark. I like Greg Moore as a secondary option, surprised that no one else has brought him up. Another one I found was Chris Lazary at Saginaw, would be a homerun if they somehow landed him. Tapp and Chris Brooks also solid secondary options as top ECAC assistants
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So, are you officially back to posting here?
 
BTW, Reading these lists and discussions about what it would take to get an up and coming HC, hot assistant or junior coach to lead the program in Troy, I'm reminded of the importance of staff. The required commitment from the administration is not just in facilities and head coach salaries, but in the budget for staff. I don't know what our assistants make, but my guess is we aren't very high on the salary totem pole. I believe Weber was here because of family. Lange is an alum. Zirnis was rescued from the wilderness. Not to demean those guys because I really don't know the ins and outs of their performance (and I really do like being able to recruit Latvians), but if we are going to return to the upper reaches of the ECAC we'll need a skilled and aggressive staff both teaching and recruiting to complement the skills of our new head coach.
 
Ralph Baer said:
List on The Field House
thefieldhouse.substack.com

Potential Candidates for RPI's 14th Coach

A breakdown of the options to become the next head coach of the Engineers
thefieldhouse.substack.com thefieldhouse.substack.com
Click to expand...
Riley quote from article :

"We were on a ventilator when he came here," Army coach Brian Riley said about Lang's tenure as an assistant in West Point. "The first year he got us three players out of the USHL. We had never gotten anybody out of the USHL. He's a great recruiter, a brilliant hockey mind. And he's a relationship-type guy."
 
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Ralph Baer said:
List on The Field House
thefieldhouse.substack.com

Potential Candidates for RPI's 14th Coach

A breakdown of the options to become the next head coach of the Engineers
thefieldhouse.substack.com thefieldhouse.substack.com
Click to expand...
Another outstanding article.

But first the annual fire drill known as entering the transfer portal starts very soon. If the damned thing gets infested with our more talented underclassmen with multiple years of eligibility left and you add multiple decommits from over a dozen NON TRANSFER 2025 recruits, does it really matter who the hell they hire???

If neither of those things happen and it eventually all works out, then let's not ever forget that it was Coach Smith who rebuilt the recruiting pipelines that were completely severed and/or shut off by the prior administration.

Also remember that long ago there once was another self induced administrative genocide performed on the program. Performed in a far less competitive time with only one league in the East with less than a dozen and a half D1 programs along with only one established league in the West with a second one just getting off the ground. Despite that it still took Coach Kearns a complete FIVE YEARS to bring the program back to relevancy. Coach Smith was not given that time by people who did not hire him which at least makes the firing understandable. No one can know what may have happened had he been given that time. Another January and February of 2020 or more of the post Covid seasons????
 
tony/troy said:
...Also remember that long ago there once was another self induced administrative genocide performed on the program. Performed in a far less competitive time with only one league in the East with less than a dozen and a half D1 programs along with only one established league in the West with a second one just getting off the ground. Despite that it still took Coach Kearns a complete FIVE YEARS to bring the program back to relevancy. ...
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Have seen a couple comments like this. What is the full story of what happened in the 1960s? Have been a casual fan for years but never heard it.
 
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After reading the lists of people who would be available for the coaching vacancy, the one word that came to mind was insane.
This list has to be no bigger than five.
We need to be aggressive at this point in the off season if we want to have a reasonable roster in October.
It looks like there are some good candidates, and we should already be talking to those people.
The incoming coach has a lot to do concerning the current players and the recruits. Not to mention the portal.
The ssoner we get a coach, the better.
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
After reading the lists of people who would be available for the coaching vacancy, the one word that came to mind was insane.
This list has to be no bigger than five.
We need to be aggressive at this point in the off season if we want to have a reasonable roster in October.
It looks like there are some good candidates, and we should already be talking to those people.
The incoming coach has a lot to do concerning the current players and the recruits. Not to mention the portal.
The ssoner we get a coach, the better.
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No doubt most of those will not be seriously considered if considered at all. I do agree that the sooner the better, but we don't want to make the wrong choice again.
 
I’m pretty sure that Dr.Schmidt and Dr.Bowers already have a “Top 5” list in mind if, as someone had mentioned earlier, this has been in the works since January or February. In all likelihood we will never know who those Top 5 are. Gut feeling is that we will have a new coach named by the FF at latest.

Also, HAPPY PI DAY!!
 
RPI fan 4 life said:
I’m pretty sure that Dr.Schmidt and Dr.Bowers already have a “Top 5” list in mind if, as someone had mentioned earlier, this has been in the works since January or February. In all likelihood we will never know who those Top 5 are. Gut feeling is that we will have a new coach named by the FF at latest.

Also, HAPPY PI DAY!!
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I agree and hope that this timeframe is in fact reality. Given what some candidates might have going on with league tourneys at the moment, scheduling interviews is a bit of a hassle....but technology and Zoom calls make the world a lot smaller.
 
Ralph Baer said:
List on The Field House
thefieldhouse.substack.com

Potential Candidates for RPI's 14th Coach

A breakdown of the options to become the next head coach of the Engineers
thefieldhouse.substack.com thefieldhouse.substack.com
Click to expand...
Great work on this write up, as per usual. I think the "short" (4-5 max ) will have one or two names that have not been mentioned here. I'd be very pleasantly shocked if KMac or Muse were deeply interested -given their current employment - but I would love to be proven wrong !
 
I agree that it would be good to have a new coach in place sooner than later as long as they are thorough in their research. The transfer portal opens on 3/30, so ideally the new coach is in place before then in order to have time to convince current players to stay and recruit transfers to replace the ones that don't stay.
 
jericho said:
Not to mention, in all my years of watching and broadcasting hockey, both at the Field House and other rinks, I’ve only ever had to evacuate once due to a fire alarm. At least they and the smoke detectors work.
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The RPI Pep Band playing "Smoke on the Water" as fans re-entered HFH that night was hilarious.
 
Apologies if this was already posted, but I saw Dave Smith posted a farewell message on Twitter/X on Monday afternoon

Coaching the RPI hockey program for the past eight years has been an incredible experience. I am extremely proud of the dedication, growth, and resilience of the players I’ve had the privilege to coach. Their commitment to excellence, both on and off the ice, has been inspiring.

Hockey has always been my passion, and I remain committed to the game and the development of athletes. While this chapter is coming to an end, I’m excited for what the future holds and look forward to the next opportunity to contribute to the sport I love.

To the players, staff, alumni, and supporters who have been part of this journey—thank you. The relationships built and lessons learned will last a lifetime
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