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Jim you bring up some valid points but let's look at this hire from a different angle. It isn't like Cavanaugh is replacing a legendary coach like Gwozdecky or York at UCONN. Berard was able to do a great job with hand he was dealt this past season, but he was an interim coach. Cavanaugh is going to do a good job here. The experience he has gained as York's right hand man in big spots like NCAA championship games can inly be obtained by being there. If you want to aspire to get to that level at some point you need to compete at that level. As for the your comments about the AHA...yes it has improved BUT it still isn't the level of competition night in and night out of HE. I would say if anything the recent success of AHA teams shows the amount of parity in college hockey right now. We are in the AHA for one more season then it is time to move up with the big boys. I thought Gwozdecky or Cavanaugh gave us the best shot to compete at that level. We will see what Cav has
A poor first year would be perhaps not disasterous, but quite bad. The Huskies are looking to dramatically increase their following and there is widespread skepticism that they will be ready. Going backwards at this juncture would not be a good thing. It would delay the growth of the fan base by several years and significanly reduce season ticket sales in their first year at the XL. The current UConn fans are looking for a trip to the AHA championship final at an absolute minimum as an indicator. That is where the bar is set.
Why set the bar so low? Undefeated baby... or run his arse outa town.
No disappointment. Just the riskiest pick that could have been made.
That is what I think too. Cav was the high risk high reward choice. And I think the AHA season will be tricky partly for the reasons BC/HE raised and partly because you never know what will happen when a new guy takes over. There is often a learning curve for the current players,and in this case maybe one for the head coach. And there is always the issue of whether you try and fit your system to the players or the players to the system you want to play going forward. Some coaches are perfectly happy to take a step back before going forward, others want to win now to set a precedent. Nobody really knows Cav's approach to these matters. And in this case he'll have to win over the locker room that was pretty firmly behind Berard. The problem with a disappointing final AHA season is that there is already skeptism about this move in the state, and not a little resentment too. If UConn ends up 12-24 in 9th place that will hurt the overall effort to market the program as one that's ready for the new move. Doesn't kill it permanently, but sets it back. If UConn ends up competing for participation medals in the next 5 years, it will be much trickier. On the other hand going to Hockey East as AHA Champ/with an NCAA bid will send a really positive message to both the fans and Hockey East that this is a real deal.
