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

Ralph Baer said:
We have added 6 from the portal quite rapidly after hiring Lang. If I knew whom we can expected from the recruit list, we would have an idea how many more we need. I currently expect Goffredo, Ozolins, Rullers, Tinling, Dorfman, McNeil, Tapper, and Bourgault back. My best guess is that Krawchuk, Lemieux, Hilditch, Klassek. Kyrkostas, and Ziliotto from the recruits. That would mean we need another 6 to get to 26. Perhaps Muzzatti will still return. Janus is another maybe. I would think that we would like Adrian, but the past year was a waste for him. (It was for Bourgault too.)

Comments are greatly appreciated.
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We have filled two of the six spots with Russell and VanDamme if I am correct above.
 
DrDemento said:
it has been fairly obvious that we lacked size on defense for several years. I appreciate this attempt to rectify what I saw as one of our biggest problems (among several others).
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Interestingly, I recently watched that '85 championship retrospective video with Pierre Langevin and he made mention of how big the D guys on that team were. Seems like a pretty critical ingredient.
 
tanman said:
Interestingly, I recently watched that '85 championship retrospective video with Pierre Langevin and he made mention of how big the D guys on that team were. Seems like a pretty critical ingredient.
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Which is why, no matter how talented they were, Martin St. Louis and Brian Gionta did not play as defensemen. Different positions in hockey necessitate players have certain attributes. And as the old adage goes - you cannot teach size! The game has changed over the years. When I played a big D-man might be 5'10" and 185 pounds. Today, most D players are listed as 6'2" or taller and 210 or bigger, with the larger boys being a couple inches above that and 15 or more pounds of muscle heavier.
 
DrDemento said:
Which is why, no matter how talented they were, Martin St. Louis and Brian Gionta did not play as defensemen. Different positions in hockey necessitate players have certain attributes. And as the old adage goes - you cannot teach size! The game has changed over the years. When I played a big D-man might be 5'10" and 185 pounds. Today, most D players are listed as 6'2" or taller and 210 or bigger, with the larger boys being a couple inches above that and 15 or more pounds of muscle heavier.
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Lane Hutson is only 5'10" and 165 lb. :) He might be the exception which proves the rule.
 
DrDemento said:
Which is why, no matter how talented they were, Martin St. Louis and Brian Gionta did not play as defensemen. Different positions in hockey necessitate players have certain attributes. And as the old adage goes - you cannot teach size! The game has changed over the years. When I played a big D-man might be 5'10" and 185 pounds. Today, most D players are listed as 6'2" or taller and 210 or bigger, with the larger boys being a couple inches above that and 15 or more pounds of muscle heavier.
Click to expand...
To a certain extent...but puck movers like Makar, Gostisbehere, Spurgeon, Fox, Hutson, Quinn Hughes etc. have changed the blue line. They are catalysts for the offense from the blue line. Of course, they are normally paired with some beefy guys ...just to keep everyone honest !

I should add: Any/all of the above are on occasion, defensive liabilities in certain "confined" circumstances .. :LOL: .....to prove Doc's point ! Ha ha
 
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Wicked Slappaahs said:
To a certain extent...but puck movers like Makar, Gostisbehere, Spurgeon, Fox, Hutson, Quinn Hughes etc. have changed the blue line. They are catalysts for the offense from the blue line.
Of course, they are normally paired with some beefy guys ...just to keep everyone honest !
Click to expand...
All those listed by you are really top notch-but none of them are really small guys. And certainly they play bigger than they are. Of course you need guys like them on the back line but as you point out, usually for them to succeed with what they do so well, they are paired with a mastodon. Newton's third law still holds in many areas of sports and especially on the ice. What else I have seen change is the size of the goalies. The days of the shorter, squatter tenders (think Gump Worsely) are no longer around. Now when the goalies get down into the butterfly, they are still taller than many of us!!!!!!!!!
 
DrDemento said:
Which is why, no matter how talented they were, Martin St. Louis and Brian Gionta did not play as defensemen. Different positions in hockey necessitate players have certain attributes. And as the old adage goes - you cannot teach size! The game has changed over the years. When I played a big D-man might be 5'10" and 185 pounds. Today, most D players are listed as 6'2" or taller and 210 or bigger, with the larger boys being a couple inches above that and 15 or more pounds of muscle heavier.
Click to expand...

So what you’re saying is…when it comes to the D, size matters?

Or is it how effective the D is?
 
jericho said:
So what you’re saying is…when it comes to the D, size matters?

Or is it how effective the D is?
Click to expand...
A bit of both. But given equal talent and speed - give me the bigger guy on defense all the time. The forwards at the NCAA Division I are now just huge and strong. Not unusual any more to see guys over 6'3" and over 215. They are a handful and I just cannot imagine a defensive player being able to handle them any more without at least being of equal size. When i watch all the Stanley Cup games and look at their rosters, they list more like football teams in the NFL these days. Not as easy any more to find players under 6' or under 200 pounds. May not be so obvious to some of the younger fans following hockey but I go back to when the NY Rangers had a forward named Camille Henry! And i used to marvel at the 'big' Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Elmer 'Moose' Vasco who I though was simply huge. And I think he might be an average sized college D-man these day!!
 
DrDemento said:
A bit of both. But given equal talent and speed - give me the bigger guy on defense all the time. The forwards at the NCAA Division I are now just huge and strong. Not unusual any more to see guys over 6'3" and over 215. They are a handful and I just cannot imagine a defensive player being able to handle them any more without at least being of equal size. When i watch all the Stanley Cup games and look at their rosters, they list more like football teams in the NFL these days. Not as easy any more to find players under 6' or under 200 pounds. May not be so obvious to some of the younger fans following hockey but I go back to when the NY Rangers had a forward named Camille Henry! And i used to marvel at the 'big' Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Elmer 'Moose' Vasco who I though was simply huge. And I think he might be an average sized college D-man these day!!
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Moose Vasko was 6'2", 201 lb, according to Elite Prospects. So, you are correct. :)

He had a grandniece (brother's granddaughter) , Alexa Vasko, who played forward for Mercyhurst and graduated (including COVID year) in 2022. She is 5'5". NZ gave her 4.50 *'s.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Moose Vasko was 6'2", 201 lb, according to Elite Prospects. So, you are correct. :)

He had a grandniece (brother's granddaughter) , Alexa Vasko, who played forward for Mercyhurst and graduated (including COVID year) in 2022. She is 5'5". NZ gave her 4.50 *'s.
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I stood next to Moose many years ago and have some stuff signed by him and later on, Bobby Hull and several other Blackhawks. was not a fan of that team but took every opportunity at the old Garden to get to see anyone and everyone. In those days you could find your way down near the locker rooms and if lucky, catch a couple players for an autograph or a puck or even a stick at times. With only 6 teams and not much changes made year to year in the rosters,, pretty easy to know almost all the players in the league.
Thanks for the info - at 201 pounds, Moose would not be his likely nickname these days.
 
Nick Bailen is one of the best defensemen in RPI history IMO. He was not the biggest dude in the world. Great player, could walk the line like no one else I have seen at the Tute. Like DrD, I like the size on the blue line
 
AspyDad said:
Nick Bailen is one of the best defensemen in RPI history IMO. He was not the biggest dude in the world. Great player, could walk the line like no one else I have seen at the Tute. Like DrD, I like the size on the blue line
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That guy was always bailen out his teammates
 
Code: 
 # Name                 Ps Team (League)                       Gm- G- A-  P- PM Next Gm
 8 Easton Adrian        LD Blackfalds Bulldogs (BCHL)           1- 0- 0-  0-  0 traded
24                         Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)        5- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           playoffs                             0- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           total                                6- 0- 0-  0-  0 season over
20 Ethan Bono           LW Merrimack College Warriors (HEA)    33- 5- 4-  9-  6 season over
27 Kamyl Chemrouk        C Stanstead College (CPSHA)           54-46-64-110- xx
28                         Victoria Tigres (QMJHL)              2- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           total                               56-46-63-110- xx season over
23 Tafari Chingwaru     RD Drayton Valley Thunder (AJHL)       28- 2- 2-  4- 33 season over
13 Ryan Dwyer            C Stanstead College (CPSHA)           57-36-38- 74- xx
21                         Drakkar de Baie-Comeau (QMJHL)       4- 0- 0-  0-  2
                           playoffs                             7- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           total                               68-36-38- 74- xx season over
29 Cole Gordon          LW Arizona State Sun Devils (NCHC)     34- 3- 2-  5-  4 season over
15 Matt Hanscom         LD New Hampshire Mountain Kings (NAHL) 16- 0- 1-  1- 52 traded
 2                         New Jersey Titans (NAHL)             6- 1- 1-  2-  6 no longer on team
25                         Worcester Railers JHC (NCDC)         0- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           playoffs                             0- 0- 0-  0-  0
                           total                               22- 1- 2-  3- 58 season over
 6 Landen Hilditch      RD West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)        18- 0- 2-  2- 19 traded
66                         Powell River Kings (BCHL)            0- 0- 0-  0-  0 traded
22                         Penticton Vees (BCHL)                6- 0- 0-  0-  2 reg season over
                           playoffs                             9- 0- 1-  1-  8 05/03/25
                           total                               33- 0- 3-  3- 29
19 Luke Janus           LW Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)         44-15-19- 34- 10
                           playoffs                             4- 0- 0-  0-  4
                           total                               48-15-19- 34- 14 season over
88 Thomas Klassek       LD EC-KAC U20 (Austria U20i)           26- 9-29- 38- 22
88                         EC-KAC (ICEHL)                      18- 0- 0-  0-  2
                           playoffs (EC-KAC U20)               10- 2- 9- 11-  4
                           playoffs (EC-KAC)                    9- 0- 0-  0-  2
                           total                               63-11-38- 49- 30 season over
30 Nate Krawchuk         G Sudbury Wolves (OHL)            47-19-20-5-3.45-.901
                           playoffs                         4- 0- 4-0-3.25-.908
                           total                           51-19-24-5-3.43-.902 season over
19 Jackson Kyrkostas     C West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)        54-13-44- 57- 16
                           playoffs                             5- 3- 1-  4-  4
                           total                               59-16-45- 61- 20 season over
12 Dylan Lariviere      RW Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)           54-12-17- 29- 19
                           playoffs                             6- 3- 2-  5-  0
                           total                               60-15-19- 34- 19 season over
16 Lucas Lemieux        LD Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)           53-13-28- 41- 32
                           playoffs                             6- 0- 3-  3-  4
                           total                               59-13-31- 44- 36 season over
28 Alfred Lindberg      RW AIC Yellow Jackets (AHA)            33- 7- 4- 11-  4 season over
24 Carter Matthews      LD Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)           50- 4-16- 20- 35
                           playoffs                             6- 0- 0-  0-  2
                           total                               56- 4-16- 20- 37 season over
24 Carter Oakenfold     LC West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)        30- 3- 8- 11- 16
                           playoffs                             5- 0- 3-  3-  2
                           total                               35- 3-11- 14- 18 season over
 8 Trevor Russell       RD Michigan Tech Huskies (CCHA)         0- 0- 0-  0-  0 season over
33 Ryan Sanborn          G Minnesota Mallards (NAHL)        1- 0- 1-0-8.00-.771 no longer on team
 1                         Jersey Hitmen (NCDC)             1- 0- 1-0-4.04-.871 no longer on team
30                         Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL)     22-20- 1-1-1.75-.938 reg season over
                           playoffs                        21-16- 4-1-1.97-.935 playoffs over
                           Centennial Cup                   0- 0- 0-0-x.xx-.xxx 05/08/25
                           total                           45-36- 7-2-2.04-.931
 2 Ryan Shaw            LW New Jersey Titans (NAHL)            19- 4-14- 18- 32 no longer on team
 9                         Blackfalds Bulldogs (BCHL)          10- 1- 2-  3-  4 no longer on team
 2                         Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL)      30- 9-15- 24- 22 reg season over
                           playoffs                             6- 3- 2-  5-  2 05/03/25
                           total                               66-17-33- 50- 60
 3 Kazimier Sobieski    RD UMass Minutemen (HEA)                5- 0- 0-  0-  2 no longer on team
 7                         Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)          38- 8-19- 27- 31
                           playoffs                             3- 1- 1-  2-  0
                           total                               46- 9-20- 29- 33 season over
 x Gunnar VanDamme      LD Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Ind)    35- 2- 3-  5-  2 season over
18 Tyler Wallace        LW Niagara Purple Eagles (AHA)         37-14-12- 26- 12 season over
 7 Luc Wilson           LW Minnesota State Mavericks (CCHA)    32- 7- 6- 13- 24 season over
23 Jack Ziliotto        RW Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL)           33-11-16- 27- 16 no longer on team
16                         Sudbury Wolves (OHL)                28- 5- 9- 14- 10
                           playoffs                             4- 0- 0-  0-  2
                           total                               65-16-25- 41- 28 season over
 
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