The Barr Has Been Raised at UMaine

[Drew S.]

I think with any coach, leaving for an alma mater is always a risk but if Barr builds something at Maine, I don’t think it’s likely that he leaves for another rebuild.

It’s also probably a tougher rebuild than Maine as they have the scholarship limit. He’s at a hockey East school which there isn’t really a ceiling for. It’s a top 2 conference in the country. In my opinion, all of the hockey East schools with the exception of maybe Merrimack could be powerhouses with the right coaches in place. The state schools have the fan bases and the city schools have that going for them.

Really enjoyed my trip to Houston Field House when I went to see Maine in 2017, I would recommend for any college hockey fan.

I missed out on that in 2017 but hope to go next time round.

I think the more realistic scenario than him going to RPI is he goes to a bigger school that offers him $500K a year. Hopefully him and his wife like the Bangor area but I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they’re more lukewarm than absolutely love it. I say that with no knowledge of where she is from/spent her life. I doubt at this point in his life he has the same passion for RPI he had five or ten years ago.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

I missed out on that in 2017 but hope to go next time round.

I think the more realistic scenario than him going to RPI is he goes to a bigger school that offers him $500K a year. Hopefully him and his wife like the Bangor area but I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they’re more lukewarm than absolutely love it. I say that with no knowledge of where she is from/spent her life. I doubt at this point in his life he has the same passion for RPI he had five or ten years ago.

Agreed, that’s a good problem to have to though. I don’t see him potentially jumping at an NHL job as he never played professionally.

He hasn’t spent his career in the most happening places in the world so I think Bangor should stack up pretty well. He seems very family-centric which is another plus in that regard.(that was a pretty cool moment for his dad and him at the press conference). I don’t know that the big school brand is important to him, obviously money talks but he’s spent his career at schools that aren’t necessarily “hockey schools”. The biggest risk in my opinion is him and his family not loving the area. Winning solves a lot of those issues so we'll have to wait and see.

I could see him being more interested in Leaman’s trajectory where he’s coaching world juniors and still having his college gig.

 

[umhockey91]

Barr is from Minnesota so that might be one school that he would leave for. I'd also put Wisconsin, Michigan, Notre Dame.....and maybe BC in Hockey East as other possibilities.

 

[sezenack]

I think with any coach, leaving for an alma mater is always a risk but if Barr builds something at Maine, I don’t think it’s likely that he leaves for another rebuild.

It’s also probably a tougher rebuild than Maine as they have the scholarship limit. He’s at a hockey East school which there isn’t really a ceiling for. It’s a top 2 conference in the country. In my opinion, all of the hockey East schools with the exception of maybe Merrimack could be powerhouses with the right coaches in place. The state schools have the fan bases and the city schools have that going for them.

Really enjoyed my trip to Houston Field House when I went to see Maine in 2017, I would recommend for any college hockey fan.

RPI has the same scholarship limit as Maine, 18, so I'm not sure what you mean by that

 

[BlackBearFan19]

RPI has the same scholarship limit as Maine, 18, so I'm not sure what you mean by that

My apologies, I don’t know why I’ve always thought that, but after some fact checking, looks like it’s just the Ivy League and Union that don’t allow athletic. For some reason I thought the ECAC didn’t allow the rest of the schools to carry the full 18 but I’m mistaken.

The ECAC has definitely closed the gap on hockey east. RPI’s position and situation isn’t all that different to Maine’s. That rink deserves to rock. Like Maine, you can tell there are real college hockey fans there.

 

[Fishman'81]

Agreed, that’s a good problem to have to though. I don’t see him potentially jumping at an NHL job as he never played professionally.

He hasn’t spent his career in the most happening places in the world so I think Bangor should stack up pretty well.

If he likes to fish, he'll like Greater Bangor.

 

[walrus]

The guy hasn't even moved to Orono yet and you are talking about him leaving, give it a break folks. Lets see what he has before we talk about him leaving for greener pastures. He has 3 young kids, can't think of a better place to raise kids. Maybe he loves Micro brews, Orono has a ton of them

 

[BassAle]

The guy hasn't even moved to Orono yet and you are talking about him leaving, give it a break folks. Lets see what he has before we talk about him leaving for greener pastures. He has 3 young kids, can't think of a better place to raise kids. Maybe he loves Micro brews, Orono has a ton of them

There are worse places for sure.

 

[umhockey91]

Greater Bangor/Orono has come a long way in terms of livability for younger folks (ie. under 40). More entertainment, dining and brew options for sure....and there has always been the outdoor stuff within relatively short drives (Katahdin, Acadia, lakes, etc).

 

[Chuck Murray]

I think with any coach, leaving for an alma mater is always a risk but if Barr builds something at Maine, I don't think it's likely that he leaves for another rebuild.

Jerry York, Bowling Green (where he won a D-1 title), BC

 

[rw1733]

The guy hasn't even moved to Orono yet and you are talking about him leaving, give it a break folks. Lets see what he has before we talk about him leaving for greener pastures. He has 3 young kids, can't think of a better place to raise kids. Maybe he loves Micro brews, Orono has a ton of them

Exactly.

 

[KrbFlint]

That’s not completely true, they have removed the volunteer assistant and strength and conditioning coach from last year’s staff.

I’ll give you a few reasons why it might make sense. The first is timing. It’s the middle of May and a lot of coaches are already in their positions for next year. I love the Bangor area as much as anyone but $80k a year to be there probably isn’t super attractive to a lot of talented assistants. It’s even less attractive when they can make twice as much someplace else.

The next one is Maine’s budget. If Barr wants to get rid of one or both the money might have to come from another line item. Obviously Maine has financial issues without that hit so making that move could be very unappealing.

The next one is continuity in the program and knowledge transfer. Both coaches obviously have a lot of knowledge on the program and perhaps more importantly how to navigate the politics around the school. One of the tricky parts for Barr is going to be dealing with all the administrative bs he didn’t face when he was an assistant. By keeping Guite maybe it means Barr has more time for recruiting and working with the current players which would obviously be helpful.

I think having both of them probably makes it easier to hold on to the current recruits Barr wants to keep(my guess would be out of 15 he probably wants to keep half a dozen or so) and they can sell the school and area a little more easier than Barr can at this point. If Barr can bring in someone better and it will work financially he def should but not sure if that is feasible or not.

I believe the strength coach took another job

 

[AMC]

Holy cow guys, how about we let Barr coach a single game before deciding that he's the best coach ever and is going to leave for the Minnesota job.

99.9999% of coaches land somewhere on the spectrum of the best and the worst to ever coach. Let's let this breathe before declaring where Barr sits.

 

[Jackcurtis23]

Holy cow guys, how about we let Barr coach a single game before deciding that he's the best coach ever and is going to leave for the Minnesota job.

Exactly.

 

[Fishman'81]

Holy cow guys, how about we let Barr coach a single game before deciding that he's the best coach ever and is going to leave for the Minnesota job.

99.9999% of coaches land somewhere on the spectrum of the best and the worst to ever coach. Let's let this breathe before declaring where Barr sits.

Well, yeah, the unbridled enthusiasm might be unwarranted, but we have just endured 8 years of futility and regression, and this hire looks great on paper.

Barr has a track record of bringing top-shelf talent to a downtrodden UMass program which didn't have any real history of success, nor a fervid fan-base.

Maine has both, and I'm excited about his prospects in Orono.

 

[NorthMike]

Well, yeah, the unbridled enthusiasm might be unwarranted, but we have just endured 8 years of futility and regression, and this hire looks great on paper.

Barr has a track record of bringing top-shelf talent to a downtrodden UMass program which didn't have any real history of success, nor a fervid fan-base.

Maine has both, and I'm excited about his prospects in Orono.

Well, admittedly Im almost giddy over things. Ha.
KRalph is proving to have been a good hire. His next challenge, like he hasnt had enough in his short time here, is to see how his fund raising skills are to fund the balance of the facilities projects, which is his strength evidently.

Hiring Ben Barr was one if not the most positive direct consequential event to have occurred for the hockey program in a long time, very long time. Im optomistic good things will result. Im giving Barr five + years to see what he can do, its only fair. Improvements will take time, being there in two to three years just isnt realistic, thinking annual incremental improvements.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

"On loan"? I've never heard that in an NCAA context before. I have heard it in an NHL context, but that's far different, and involves actually signed contracts.

Many kids who's D1 programs were not playing schedules this past season went back to play on BCHL/USHL teams. The move This move is sometimes referred to by writers as "on loan" ...but its simply a case of a kid finding a place to play while his D1 team is idle.

 

[Runsub5]

The next step will be for Barr to hire coaches. I am looking forward to seeing who he selects. I am sure he knows many good candidates from his years of playing and coaching hockey. I would think we will know in a few weeks or perhaps even earlier.

 

[Chuck Murray]

The next step will be for Barr to hire coaches. I am looking forward to seeing who he selects. I am sure he knows many good candidates from his years of playing and coaching hockey. I would think we will know in a few weeks or perhaps even earlier.

Expect earlier. Other than whether or not to retain Michaud, I'm sure Barr has this all set in his mind, and his guys are likely ready to roll. If nothing else, the guy is a thorough planner, and you don't get this far into any hiring process without a firm handle on who is going to be working with you.

 

[Fishman'81]

Well, admittedly Im almost giddy over things. Ha.
KRalph is proving to have been a good hire. His next challenge, like he hasnt had enough in his short time here, is to see how his fund raising skills are to fund the balance of the facilities projects, which is his strength evidently.

Hiring Ben Barr was one if not the most positive direct consequential event to have occurred for the hockey program in a long time, very long time. Im optomistic good things will result. Im giving Barr five + years to see what he can do, its only fair. Improvements will take time, being there in two to three years just isnt realistic, thinking annual incremental improvements.

Hell, 6 years isn't unreasonable, considering the mess that this program has become.

I still get the alumni newsletter, but what again is the timetable for the new sports complex? That won't hurt recruiting!