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RPI 2026 Off-Season: Please Pardon Our Appearance As We Upgrade This Area

We gambled on a bunch of guys that had closed the door on NCAA hockey years ago only to have the door unexpectedly re-opened by a rule change. They made their original decision because they thought it was the best path to a pro contract. Some of them continue to use that as their guiding light. I predict Evaschesen will never see NCAA ice. Would you recruit him knowing he will only have 3 years of eligibility and he'd probably skip out on that for the first pro offer that came his way. He's made his choice and will have to play it out. At least 7 of the major junior players appear to have followed through on their commitment so maybe we should be thankful for that.

P.S. I wonder if Medicine Hat reached out to Evaschesen or he got cold feet and his advisors reached out to the Tigers and said, "If you can get his rights he'll cash in his plane ticket." They certainly gave up a lot to get single season rights to a guy only a year removed from a 15 point season in the BCHL. He’s a good player but not a guaranteed star.
 
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rpi82 said:
We gambled on a bunch of guys that had closed the door on NCAA hockey years ago only to have the door unexpectedly re-opened by a rule change. They made their original decision because they thought it was the best path to a pro contract. Some of them continue to use that as their guiding light. I predict Evaschesen will never see NCAA ice. Would you recruit him knowing he will only have 3 years of eligibility and he'd probably skip out on that for the first pro offer that came his way. He's made his choice and will have to play it out. At least 7 of the major junior players appear to have followed through on their commitment so maybe we should be thankful for that.

P.S. I wonder if Medicine Hat reached out to Evaschesen or he got cold feet and his advisors reached out to the Tigers and said, "If you can get his rights he'll cash in his plane ticket." They certainly gave up a lot to get single season rights to a guy only a year removed from a 15 point season in the BCHL. He’s a good player but not a guaranteed star.
Click to expand...
Evaschesen was in the BCHL in 2024-5, so he had not closed the door earlier to the NCAA.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Evaschesen was in the BCHL in 2024-5, so he had not closed the door earlier to the NCAA.
Click to expand...
Good point. I argued against my own data in Evaschesen's case. The interesting thing is that he was on a team wtih 4 guys we've probably cut ties with (Lemieux, Lariviere, Ziliotto and Matthews) and he finished behind all of them in scoring. His Kamloops WHL season really came out of nowhere.
 
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DavidNardolillo said:
Some days you are the hammer, some days you are the nail. But if recruits are not committed to the requirements of being a student-athlete, it is better in the long run that they don't come.
Click to expand...

With these guys these days it is not hammers or nails nor some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you or any of the other analogy you may have heard.

No, now it's more like some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow gets the GIGOLO!!! and some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow loses the GIGOLO!!! to the younger, still more shapely and still more attractive even richer widow. Some may even prefer SALAMIS ON A HOOK!!! to GIGOLO!!!. If so, so be it. What's the hell is the difference???

First it's the two GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!! that stiffed the program at the last minute for Northeastern a few years ago and now these two who all basically use this program as a way station until something better comes along. Ditto the half dozen or so who bolted to the portal in both 22-23 and 23-24, the nine who bolted after 24-25 and the ten who bolted after 25-26. That is over thirty!!! Sure some jumped at the "advice" of coaching personnel but many jumped because they too are just plain and simple GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!

Unfortunately, I fell for all this bunk which came in the form of stuff on this thread and the "The Fieldhouse" emails and renewed my season ticket with parking for the first time since 19-20 in person. However, alarms were going off in my head warning me I was buying a bill of goods and before I even left the lobby I kind of knew it. It was just too good to be true. I my as well have put the $293 in my hand and flung it out the window of the car as soon as I left the ------- driveway.

Throughout this century and especially this decade, I have been drawn more and more to the D3 level of college football and baseball where you still get the feeling you are watching genuine college athletics being played by real student athletes who also happen to be very good at what they play. I should have kept it going in that direction and limited my investment to the same as always $100 for two football season tickets (baseball has no admission). It is fall less aggravating and cheaper there than putting up with garbage like this that is going on in D1 these days. Kind of nice when you hear from a D3 player himself or his parents that tech major baseball player X just accepted a job offer with a starting salary I never even reached until the latter end of my career and did so not only before he even graduates but also before he plays his last several baseball games!!! Occasionally, you even hear the same thing about a tech major football player who also has a couple of games to play and has not even completed his second last semester!!! Watching these guys play just plain and simple feels and smells a whole lot better than watching GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!
 
in honor of Brad McNeil, today is 20 August 2026. There are 43 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 2 October 2026 for the start of next season.
 
I caught wind of this trade yesterday and hoped it wasn’t true. In Smith’s case I think he was always looking for a pro deal and jumped at the AHL opportunity. I’d throw him in the category of never had the NCAA dream. For Josh someone mentioned he was BCHL so that door wasn’t closed but I believe he was BCHL because he wasn’t good enough for WHL at the time. He’s obviously come a long way so I imagine pro hockey is the goal now but the timing of it is really shitty. He put the school in a tough spot. Medicine Hat is his hometown and it sounds like they put the full court press on him. Disappointing but it is what it is. The downside of recruiting NCAA players. I don’t believe he was a game changer for us so let’s focus on the guys who are coming.
 
I noticed that his Elite Prospects page has Evaschesen going to RPI in 2027. I suspect that he will turn pro then, but does anyone know if that is a change by Elite Prospects?
 
Ralph Baer said:
I noticed that his Elite Prospects page has Evaschesen going to RPI in 2027. I suspect that he will turn pro then, but does anyone know if that is a change by Elite Prospects?
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Yes, that’s a change as up until yesterday they, like everyone else, listed him as an ‘26 recruit. I’d be shocked if it happens, however, because the quotes from Evaschesen were all about wanting a pro deal, not delaying his dream of attending college. I also don’t know why Lang would trust someone that was signing with another team when he was supposed to be checking in for the first leg of his trip to Troy.
 
tony/troy said:
With these guys these days it is not hammers or nails nor some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you or any of the other analogy you may have heard.

No, now it's more like some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow gets the GIGOLO!!! and some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow loses the GIGOLO!!! to the younger, still more shapely and still more attractive even richer widow. Some may even prefer SALAMIS ON A HOOK!!! to GIGOLO!!!. If so, so be it. What's the hell is the difference???

First it's the two GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!! that stiffed the program at the last minute for Northeastern a few years ago and now these two who all basically use this program as a way station until something better comes along. Ditto the half dozen or so who bolted to the portal in both 22-23 and 23-24, the nine who bolted after 24-25 and the ten who bolted after 25-26. That is over thirty!!! Sure some jumped at the "advice" of coaching personnel but many jumped because they too are just plain and simple GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!

Unfortunately, I fell for all this bunk which came in the form of stuff on this thread and the "The Fieldhouse" emails and renewed my season ticket with parking for the first time since 19-20 in person. However, alarms were going off in my head warning me I was buying a bill of goods and before I even left the lobby I kind of knew it. It was just too good to be true. I my as well have put the $293 in my hand and flung it out the window of the car as soon as I left the ------- driveway.

Throughout this century and especially this decade, I have been drawn more and more to the D3 level of college football and baseball where you still get the feeling you are watching genuine college athletics being played by real student athletes who also happen to be very good at what they play. I should have kept it going in that direction and limited my investment to the same as always $100 for two football season tickets (baseball has no admission). It is fall less aggravating and cheaper there than putting up with garbage like this that is going on in D1 these days. Kind of nice when you hear from a D3 player himself or his parents that tech major baseball player X just accepted a job offer with a starting salary I never even reached until the latter end of my career and did so not only before he even graduates but also before he plays his last several baseball games!!! Occasionally, you even hear the same thing about a tech major football player who also has a couple of games to play and has not even completed his second last semester!!! Watching these guys play just plain and simple feels and smells a whole lot better than watching GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!
Click to expand...
To be fair, some of the 9 who transferred last year and all but 1 of the 10 who transferred this year were choices by the coaching staff not the players
 
rpi82 said:
Yes, that’s a change as up until yesterday they, like everyone else, listed him as an ‘26 recruit. I’d be shocked if it happens, however, because the quotes from Evaschesen were all about wanting a pro deal, not delaying his dream of attending college. I also don’t know why Lang would trust someone that was signing with another team when he was supposed to be checking in for the first leg of his trip to Troy.
Click to expand...
For some context, Evaschesen switched agents very recently; his old agent was a former player of Lang's. The door isn't fully closed on him coming, but I personally doubt it. I do have to say that it's very funny that him (or his agent really) think that playing as a 20 year old against teenagers is a better way to develop and earn a pro deal instead of jumping to a higher level against better players and getting top 6 minutes right away at RPI.

My personal guess is that the agency switch combined with his hometown team acquiring him was enough for the last minute change. I also wonder if they threw some money at him too because a lot of top CHL teams have done that to keep players. MH was able to keep the Ruck twins somehow
 
sezenack said:
For some context, Evaschesen switched agents very recently; his old agent was a former player of Lang's. The door isn't fully closed on him coming, but I personally doubt it. I do have to say that it's very funny that him (or his agent really) think that playing as a 20 year old against teenagers is a better way to develop and earn a pro deal instead of jumping to a higher level against better players and getting top 6 minutes right away at RPI.

My personal guess is that the agency switch combined with his hometown team acquiring him was enough for the last minute change. I also wonder if they threw some money at him too because a lot of top CHL teams have done that to keep players. MH was able to keep the Ruck twins somehow
Click to expand...
I thought the same thing about the development part. Get top 6 minutes at the D1 level or beat up on teenagers?
 
tony/troy said:
With these guys these days it is not hammers or nails nor some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you or any of the other analogy you may have heard.

No, now it's more like some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow gets the GIGOLO!!! and some days the older, plumper and bloom off the rose rich widow loses the GIGOLO!!! to the younger, still more shapely and still more attractive even richer widow. Some may even prefer SALAMIS ON A HOOK!!! to GIGOLO!!!. If so, so be it. What's the hell is the difference???

First it's the two GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!! that stiffed the program at the last minute for Northeastern a few years ago and now these two who all basically use this program as a way station until something better comes along. Ditto the half dozen or so who bolted to the portal in both 22-23 and 23-24, the nine who bolted after 24-25 and the ten who bolted after 25-26. That is over thirty!!! Sure some jumped at the "advice" of coaching personnel but many jumped because they too are just plain and simple GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!

Unfortunately, I fell for all this bunk which came in the form of stuff on this thread and the "The Fieldhouse" emails and renewed my season ticket with parking for the first time since 19-20 in person. However, alarms were going off in my head warning me I was buying a bill of goods and before I even left the lobby I kind of knew it. It was just too good to be true. I my as well have put the $293 in my hand and flung it out the window of the car as soon as I left the ------- driveway.

Throughout this century and especially this decade, I have been drawn more and more to the D3 level of college football and baseball where you still get the feeling you are watching genuine college athletics being played by real student athletes who also happen to be very good at what they play. I should have kept it going in that direction and limited my investment to the same as always $100 for two football season tickets (baseball has no admission). It is fall less aggravating and cheaper there than putting up with garbage like this that is going on in D1 these days. Kind of nice when you hear from a D3 player himself or his parents that tech major baseball player X just accepted a job offer with a starting salary I never even reached until the latter end of my career and did so not only before he even graduates but also before he plays his last several baseball games!!! Occasionally, you even hear the same thing about a tech major football player who also has a couple of games to play and has not even completed his second last semester!!! Watching these guys play just plain and simple feels and smells a whole lot better than watching GIGOLOS/SALAMIS!!!
Click to expand...
The beatings will continue until morale improves....lol. Are we talkin' regular salami or soppressata ? ..... I'm partial to the spicy stuff....ha ha
 
Wicked Slappaahs said:
The beatings will continue until morale improves....lol. Are we talkin' regular salami or soppressata ? ..... I'm partial to the spicy stuff....ha ha
Click to expand...
Whatever kind(s) hangs from a hook at the end of a rope hanging from the ceiling of a foreign import food store like DeFazio's on 4th Street in Troy. However, those hanging salamis are usually not the genuine article but are instead plastic replicas. Just like the D1 scholarship athletes of these times.
 
sezenack said:
To be fair, some of the 9 who transferred last year and all but 1 of the 10 who transferred this year were choices by the coaching staff not the players
Click to expand...
Regardless of your extremely close connection to the inner workings of the program, I will stick to my instincts as a now retired accountant of four decades. Those instincts set off alarm bells that your numbers are way too high and that you may be being fed figures that are nothing more than face, image and brand saving horse manure.
 
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