UMaine Offseason...Belly Up to the Barr Boys

[Drew S.]

I suspect the 4 at Maine is fewer than the coaches would like. They have to make room for incoming Freshman and any transfers they like. Only Michaelian, Henbrant and Sirota moved out of college hockey.

I definitely would have preferred keeping Duerr and Fawcett over some guys that are staying.

 

[NorthMike]

I definitely would have preferred keeping Duerr and Fawcett over some guys that are staying.

Still some housecleaning to go.

Having watched most of the hockey last week, hadnt seen most of them play this season, impressive what an elite skill level some teams have.

 

[OronoKO]

I expect we'll see a forward group that looks something like:

Nadeau Breen Houle
Poisson Renwick Nadeau
Freel Hanson Trudeau
Carney Lindauer Pabich

That leaves KO, Mancinelli, Calafiore. I don't know if any other freshman forwards are coming in (Weiss ages out of junior, but didn't play much last year), but it doesn't leave much room for incoming transfers.

 

[amkirby10]

I expect we'll see a forward group that looks something like:

Nadeau Breen Houle
Poisson Renwick Nadeau
Freel Hanson Trudeau
Carney Lindauer Pabich

That leaves KO, Mancinelli, Calafiore. I don't know if any other freshman forwards are coming in (Weiss ages out of junior, but didn't play much last year), but it doesn't leave much room for incoming transfers.

I bet KO gets regular playing time again next year, at least I hope so. I'm pretty sure he was hurt last year and I liked his game a lot, he was great on the faceoff dot.

 

[Puckstopper467]

I came on this thread before the season and you folks jumped on me for questioning the recruiting and the portal players. now here we are, do you like the picture at Maine? Remember your recruiting coach is key to the staff, and average portal players will not out do bringing in a player that will stay 4 years and get better every year

 

[walrus]

I came on this thread before the season and you folks jumped on me for questioning the recruiting and the portal players. now here we are, do you like the picture at Maine? Remember your recruiting coach is key to the staff, and average portal players will not out do bringing in a player that will stay 4 years and get better every year

The issues at Maine will not get solved with one or two recruiting classes. Patience will be needed. With the NIL no one knows who will stay and who will go. NIL puts small schools like Maine at a disadvantage.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

I came on this thread before the season and you folks jumped on me for questioning the recruiting and the portal players. now here we are, do you like the picture at Maine? Remember your recruiting coach is key to the staff, and average portal players will not out do bringing in a player that will stay 4 years and get better every year

I believe Maine had 11 in their freshman class this past year and the portal players they brought in were pretty effective.

Now they are adding the two top scorers in the BCHL and one of the best d men in that league. Maine has more players committed than any other school in hockey east. Maine has done everything but abuse the portal. Landing high level transfers isn’t the formula for Maine but it’s worth taking a shot on guys with potential.

 

[NorthMike]

I came on this thread before the season and you folks jumped on me for questioning the recruiting and the portal players. now here we are, do you like the picture at Maine? Remember your recruiting coach is key to the staff, and average portal players will not out do bringing in a player that will stay 4 years and get better every year

Not everyone here jumps on posters, some do for whatever odd reason. Civility is another thing sliding away with our culture.

Imo the situation here has improved from coaching, Barr notably improved locker room culture, player skills, player conditioning, brought the style of play more in line with how other successful programs play. Fans noticed all this and there was an uptick this year in fan enthusiasm.

The need for more skilled players in the roster is definite. This will take a while, a couple of top BCHL players, brothers from NB, will help but arent the full solution by a long shot. Several of Barrs recruits so far have been excellent, this is an encouraging sign for the future of his ability to recruit here. His players have improved defense in a big way as compared to the last several years. So the future looks brighter but I still say we need to wait until Barr year 4 or 5.
The alfond player facility improvements are absolutely necessary for the future of recruiting. How far off is this - unknown right now.

Having said all this the biggest downside/challenge we are going to continue facing, and may never get a leg over on is having enough funding to sustain a hockey program fans here would like to see again. Hard to do on the cheap and it seems the gap is widening around D1. I say that without any real data other than what can be seen for coach salaries throughout.

 

[amkirby10]

I came on this thread before the season and you folks jumped on me for questioning the recruiting and the portal players. now here we are, do you like the picture at Maine? Remember your recruiting coach is key to the staff, and average portal players will not out do bringing in a player that will stay 4 years and get better every year

I for one am still perfectly content with the recruiting situation for us. I was kind of surprised to see the borderline negative reaction to my post. I think the staff has a great formula and a clear vision in place and we should be excited but also patient.

 

[Drew S.]

I for one am still perfectly content with the recruiting situation for us. I was kind of surprised to see the borderline negative reaction to my post. I think the staff has a great formula and a clear vision in place and we should be excited but also patient.

I wish I shared your optimism. I think recruiting is going to have to improve significantly for Maine to even stay where they are. Barr has done a good job coaching but his recruiting has been very disappointing.

 

[NorthMike]

I wish I shared your optimism. I think recruiting is going to have to improve significantly for Maine to even stay where they are. Barr has done a good job coaching but his recruiting has been very disappointing.

Yes recruiting needs to get better by alot but there are pieces of the puzzle that yet need to come together, not all in Barr's control.
Im still cautiously optimistic, but no immediate fantasy of making the frozen four again.

 

[Puckstopper467]

Thank You for the feedback and a better understanding. I am glad they are recruiting better and building and not using the portal as a quick fix which is not a remedy for smaller schools. excited to see these younger player develop and build over the upcoming years

 

[walrus]

Not everyone here jumps on posters, some do for whatever odd reason. Civility is another thing sliding away with our culture.

Imo the situation here has improved from coaching, Barr notably improved locker room culture, player skills, player conditioning, brought the style of play more in line with how other successful programs play. Fans noticed all this and there was an uptick this year in fan enthusiasm.

The need for more skilled players in the roster is definite. This will take a while, a couple of top BCHL players, brothers from NB, will help but arent the full solution by a long shot. Several of Barrs recruits so far have been excellent, this is an encouraging sign for the future of his ability to recruit here. His players have improved defense in a big way as compared to the last several years. So the future looks brighter but I still say we need to wait until Barr year 4 or 5.
The alfond player facility improvements are absolutely necessary for the future of recruiting. How far off is this - unknown right now.

Having said all this the biggest downside/challenge we are going to continue facing, and may never get a leg over on is having enough funding to sustain a hockey program fans here would like to see again. Hard to do on the cheap and it seems the gap is widening around D1. I say that without any real data other than what can be seen for coach salaries throughout.

This site is very civil compared to this place back when Walsh was the coach. Way more fun back then.

Student population is dropping like a rock in Orono, has been for a couple years. If it keeps up Orono will be a ghost town.

 

[NorthMike]

Student population is dropping like a rock in Orono, has been for a couple years. If it keeps up Orono will be a ghost town.

Not just us, nationally enrollment in college has been declining. Its going to depend on how the umaine system responds. With the collection of small campuses it leaves Orono vulnerable.
Sports at Orono could be looked at by the Board as a liability or essential to the growth of Orono. It comes down to that I suppose.

 

[BlackBearFan19]

Yes recruiting needs to get better by alot but there are pieces of the puzzle that yet need to come together, not all in Barr's control.
Im still cautiously optimistic, but no immediate fantasy of making the frozen four again.

I agree with this, I think we also have to qualify it by saying that recruiting is improving and has already improved from the last 10 years. The defense is a testament to that.

Maine has the potential to be very good next year, beyond that is anyone’s guess. Are there enough high end scorers committed to maine right now? Probably not but the average recruit coming in has been better and the coaching has improved.

I’ve seen a lot of talk similar to this on the Lowell thread, they are happy with the job Bazin is doing coaching the team but are concerned with the lack of scorers. I think it is also a sign of the times, high end draft picks are not picking hockey East schools outside of Boston. For Maine to be competitive it is going to be on the backs of overlooked 4 year guys which I think Maine is landing (Freel, Holt, Breazeale)

 

[AMC]

Back when Maine was a national power, written in ink Final Four participant year-in-year-out, Maine spent a whole heck of a lot more on hockey than most schools (and if you ask certain people on Commonwealth Avenue, Maine spent a whole heck of a lot more illegally, too). That isn't the case anymore. The top athletic schools are separating themselves from the rest of us at an ever increasing pace. The sheer money being brought in by the Big Ten (and the SEC, but they don't have hockey) dwarfs everyone else. The Maines, the UNH's, even the BU's and North Dakota's, rely on institutional transfers and student fees to fund athletics so there will always be a cap on how much the athletic department can soak the academic side. Michigan and Wisconsin and Minnesota and Ohio State and Notre Dame don't have that problem. Their money is generated by TV revenue for football, plus gate receipts, merchandising, etc. The only thing limiting the amount of money they spend on athletics is good taste, of which they don't have much. And beyond that, the only thing limiting their spending on hockey is institutional desire.

Long story short, until there is systemic, structural change in hockey, the recruiting resources and on-campus facilities at the mega-schools are going to mean that the NHL draft picks funnel there. Even if Ohio State spends an equal amount as Maine in hockey, the rising tide that is football raises all boats of its athletic program by having shiny new training facilities and athlete only parts of campus that indirectly benefits their hockey programs. Walking someone around even the new facilities at Maine will pale in comparison. The draft picks aren't walking through the door. Maine and the rest of the non-Big 10 schools are going to have to develop players more than recruit finished products.

 

[Fishman'81]

(OK, I get it... Nobody wants to speak ill of the dead.)

But Red absolutely ruined Maine hockey. No doubt about it. His tenure made Tim look like Scotty Bowman, or John Tortorella, or Jimmy Montgomery, or pretty much *any* decent coach.

Barr is trying to exhume the program, but Red buried it so deep that's he'll need a back hoe to even get close.

Gendron was the worst hire in the history of Maine sports, and his was the most absurd contract extension some years later.

 

[umhockey91]

This is really the place to come for a pick-me-up.....yeesh. Step away from the ledge fellas.

Meanwhile athletic superpower Quinnipiac is in the Frozen 4.....must be pulling a Shawn Walsh down there in Hamden.

 

[Drew S.]

I agree with this, I think we also have to qualify it by saying that recruiting is improving and has already improved from the last 10 years. The defense is a testament to that.

Maine has the potential to be very good next year, beyond that is anyone’s guess. Are there enough high end scorers committed to maine right now? Probably not but the average recruit coming in has been better and the coaching has improved.

I’ve seen a lot of talk similar to this on the Lowell thread, they are happy with the job Bazin is doing coaching the team but are concerned with the lack of scorers. I think it is also a sign of the times, high end draft picks are not picking hockey East schools outside of Boston. For Maine to be competitive it is going to be on the backs of overlooked 4 year guys which I think Maine is landing (Freel, Holt, Breazeale)

How do you figure recruiting has improved? Barr has brought in 10 forwards and only one was a legitimate top six forward. The floor on the guys he has brought in other than the goalie has been decent enough but they really haven’t produced much. There are very few guys he has gotten to commit that show much potential and honestly the best recruits Maine has committed all have ties to the prior regime. It seems like this calendar year things have improved some but there is a long way to go.

 

[NorthMike]

The top athletic schools are separating themselves from the rest of us at an ever increasing pace. The sheer money being brought in by the Big Ten (and the SEC, but they don't have hockey) dwarfs everyone else.

Long story short, until there is systemic, structural change in hockey, the recruiting resources and on-campus facilities at the mega-schools are going to mean that the NHL draft picks funnel there. Even if Ohio State spends an equal amount as Maine in hockey, the rising tide that is football raises all boats of its athletic program by having shiny new training facilities and athlete only parts of campus that indirectly benefits their hockey programs. Walking someone around even the new facilities at Maine will pale in comparison. The draft picks aren't walking through the door. Maine and the rest of the non-Big 10 schools are going to have to develop players more than recruit finished products.

There is big chunk of reality here in what you say.
For example Wisconsin has poached coach Hastings from Minn State who paid him under his contract up to $350k. What an amazing job he did there.
News reports state Hastings will get $700k at Wisconsin. How does a small school compete against that. Can't.

However, there will always be the anomalies who aren't big rich schools making the 16 and frozen four.
This is where we need to fit in for the future of this program. Improve the program enough with coaching and recruiting including the critical player facilities improvements, where Maine isn't a middle to bottom ranked team but can pretty consistently stay above the 25 spot and periodically be in a position, when the celestial alignment is right, to make a deep post season run. This would be my realistic wish for the program these days.

Yeah Maine isn't going to accumulate a roster full of NHL draft picks for the reasons you mention. Barr realizes this and I think he can do what he has the intention of doing, bringing this program back into the conversation. The U best be ready to increase his salary when the time comes or it all starts over again, this will be the hard part.