UNH 2025 Offseason: Where in the World is MS7?

[norbert]

So, which two players will be released to make room for the recent two additions?

Hopefully Mike Souza an Glenn Stewart.

 

[Sparkee]

Hopefully Mike Souza a Glenn Stewart.

What would happen if the players he recruited work wonders and UNH bounces back with a 20 win season leading to a MS7 raise and a new 3 year extension? Would folks be happy by then since it was a 20 win season?

 

[bakchk20]

What would happen if the players he recruited work wonders and UNH bounces back with a 20 win season leading to a MS7 raise and a new 3 year extension? Would folks be happy by then since it was a 20 win season?

Would you?

 

[Jellsville USA]

What would happen if the players he recruited work wonders and UNH bounces back with a 20 win season leading to a MS7 raise and a new 3 year extension? Would folks be happy by then since it was a 20 win season?

Don't take the bait!

 

[Robert Balin]

What would happen if the players he recruited work wonders and UNH bounces back with a 20 win season leading to a MS7 raise and a new 3 year extension? Would folks be happy by then since it was a 20 win season?

Considering Souza's track record of not developing players over his last 5 years I'd say NO. Let's face it he's being bailed out bye the new CHL rules and if it wasn't for it UNH would be a last place team. I like the mix he's gotten but we'll see.

 

[Scott]

Even with two incoming "sophmores", I think that this is one of the oldest incoming classes in recent memory?

 

[Robert Balin]

Even with two incoming "sophmores", I think that this is one of the oldest incoming classes in recent memory?

I think this class is the oldest ever. Eight twenty-one year old freshman has to be a record. The youngest player coming in is Connor Deharo with a 10-17-05 BD. This just exposes Souza not being able to snag guys ready when their 18-19.

 

[Chuck Murray]

What would happen if the players he recruited work wonders and UNH bounces back with a 20 win season leading to a MS7 raise and a new 3 year extension? Would folks be happy by then since it was a 20 win season?

I haven't seen this big a chunk of bait floating around since the days of Captain Ahab and Moby Dick

Anyway ... because it's the offseason, and we gotta talk about stuff to get us all to October ... I'll take the bait. Please take careful notes this time, sparkee ...

MS7 enters this season with two (2) more seasons left on his last 3-year deal, which he hornswoggled out of our AD f/k/a SB after his last/only 20 win season. Short of winning an NCAA D-1 title this coming season (obviously, highly unlikely), if it's me as AD, I'm not giving Souza another extension, unless or until he proves he can be a consistently winning coach, also with a capability of winning postseason games. He's established NEITHER of those things so far at UNH. That's the baseline from which we are working, in terms of MS7's long-term outlook at UNH.

To become a "consistently winning" coach, there is no question, he has to post winning seasons this coming season AND in '26/'27. Not one or the other, but BOTH. If he does that, he can point to three winning seasons out of four, and a clear upward trajectory in his career. He is clearly learning on the job by that point. In a profession that is usually measured by "What have you done for me lately?" he can then say he's producing winning teams 75% of the time in seasons directly attached to his current contract (these three and the last of his prior deal). Of course, that ignores Souza's 5 seasons of non-winning teams. And just to go one step further ... his predecessor had 23 winning seasons, one .500 season, and only 5 losing seasons (sadly, including the last three), which was closer to an 80% record of coaching winning teams (including 21 of his first 22, and 23 of his first 25, for 92%). So, 75% is not an unreasonable ask here.

POTLUCK TRIVIA QUESTION: What was Coach Umile's only losing season in his first 22 years in charge, and what was most memorable about that season?

Now, just a short look back at MS7's history behind the UNH bench, which can be broken up into tiny bite-sized 3 year segments, starting with Coach Umile's long goodbye seasons. So, first three seasons, Souza as Coach-In-Waiting ... he was lead assistant and presumably head recruiter (over Stewie) for all 3 years, which saw him take over from Scotty B, followed by the program tanking for the first time ever during the Umile Era. Remember the March to the NRN, that only required Umile 40 wins over three seasons to get to 600 total in his D-1 head coaching career? There were only four (4) two-year segments in the 26 years up to that point where Umile didn't achieve at least 40 wins over two straight seasons. But with MS7 being second in command ... just sayin' ...

So after an inauspicious start as second-in-command, MS7's "New Car Smell" first 3 years in charge saw him turning it around to regain .500 after 2 seasons, but then in his first "contract year" in charge, he was well on his way to running the SS Wildcat into the ground again (6-14-3) when the silly COVID adventure set in. Armed with a fresh new excuse, and a willing enabler in the corner office, MS7 coasted to his first HC extension because he could point to (1) starting with End Stage Umile teams, and (2) the virus ate my homework. Presto, Blue Skies extends his fellow paisan for another three seasons, in retrospect, likely knowing he was going to be out the door soon himself, and why dirty his hands and pee on his own sidewalk in ending the Souza experiment at that point?

So now we're into MS7's "That's What Friends Are For" stage of seasons 4 thru 6 in charge, where the winless streak of the UNH program extends 2 seasons more to 8 in a row, with two not-even-close losing records setting him up for the proverbial trap door final season in charge. This time, not even Blue Skies is around to save him. So MS7 pulls out all the stops for this one, including a transformative goalie transfer, a young crop of forwards seeming to blossom into legit D-1 talents, and becomes a semi-regular 3rd on the "Jack & Brick" NESN programming in what has since been tagged as "The Charm Offensive". Souza's carriage turns into a pumpkin the minute real postseason games start in Orono. But his fairy godmother f/k/a SB is smitten, and it's 3 more years after that.

Now seems a good point to turn to the second qualifier for a new deal, which as mentioned earlier is capability of winning postseason games. Since I don't count Make Believe Phony Baloney Everyone Gets A Medal (MBPBEGAM) round games as 'postseason", then MS7 really doesn't have a postseason record at this point, other than getting his guys trucked up in Orono season before last, in a performance that did nothing to shed us old-timers of the nightmares of the worst of Umile postseason "hits". So this is gonna be the most challenging bit of business for our Mikey to overcome - in my mind anyway - to give him a puncher's chance at coaching at UNH (or quite possibly anywhere else) beyond March 2027. And I don't see any realistic chance he's gonna pull that off.

So two back-to-back winning seasons is the easiest of the two, by far, and even that's a stretch, given the history to date, and the apparent lack of his ability to coach his guys up. But let's say he does get two winning seasons going ... what else does he need to do?? Well, winning records should keep him out of the MBPBEGAM round, so a single quarterfinals win in each of the next two seasons gets UNH to Boston for the first time(s) since Mikey returned. And then he's got a shot at getting the team back into the NCAA's. But you gotta walk before you can run. Establish a capability of winning any of these games?? Doubtful.

In answering sparkee's question today, the simple answer is NO - one winning season alone isn't enough. Or it shouldn't be enough. The AD f/k/a SB fell for that hook, line & sinker last time. Hopefully she abides by the whole "fool me once/fool me twice" thing, and the bar for further extension will be a lot higher.

I'm sorry if it's a long answer, but because there remain SO many things unproven by our current HC, it has to be. There is a lot he has to prove, if not to his boss, but also to the UNH fans that basically pay his salary. I've enjoyed seeing the work happening so far this offseason, as it stands in sharp contrast to the general inactivity we've seen in the past. It's good that MS7 hasn't waited to his next "contract year" to start pushing hard. Seems he's paying attention ...

 

[Snively65]

Potluck Trivia Question: What year did Towse Rink at the Whittemore Center in the Key Auto Group Complex (KAGC) open, Alex? That 1995-1996 team was the beginning to show the results of some top-notch recruiting efforts by Umile’s assistants, but perhaps was a bit weak on the blue line and in net. And of course, the skaters had to deal with the steep learning curve of skating on the Big Sheet until MS7 showed his teammates how to adjust on his arrival the next season.

 

[Sparkee]

Potluck Trivia Question: What year did Towse Rink at the Whittemore Center in the Key Auto Group Complex (KAGC) open, Alex? That 1995-1996 team was the beginning to show the results of some top-notch recruiting efforts by Umile’s assistants, but perhaps was a bit weak on the blue line and in net. And of course, the skaters had to deal with the steep learning curve of skating on the Big Sheet until MS7 showed his teammates how to adjust on his arrival the next season.

Wasn’t your goalie coach in net that year?

 

[Dan]

Wasn’t your goalie coach in net that year?

Trent Cavicchi & Brian Larochelle.

The ninth leading scorer on that team was a FR forward named Jason Krog, as the Wildcats scored 4.08 goals per game that season. However, they also allowed nearly 4.4 goals per game…

The next year brought Sean Matile; and the year after that Ty Conklin.

 

[Chuck Murray]

Trent Cavicchi & Brian Larochelle.

The ninth leading scorer on that team was a FR forward named Jason Krog, as the Wildcats scored 4.08 goals per game that season. However, they also allowed nearly 4.4 goals per game…

The next year brought Sean Matile; and the year after that Ty Conklin.

IIRC Larochelle was also the starting catcher on the UNH Baseball team at the time, before the program got axed due to Title IX compliance issues.

 

[Potluck]

The upcoming season will be one of the most interesting ever. Nobody really knows the impact the CHL recruits will have over the next 2-3 years. Wildcards. Over time, of course, the wealthiest programs with the best coaches will use NIL to iron out the wrinkles and dominate CHL recruiting but that probably won't occur for a few years.

It's possible that UNH could luck into being pretty decent.

 

[HockeyRef]

Hello everyone! Long time, no posts from HR. Back from an amazing retirement trip for Mr. HR to Alaska. Re-entry into a new mode of life with
both of us 'home' has been/will be/ interesting. Thanks for Grouchy and Mrs G for coming to his party! We had a great group from our UNH fandom and
were appreciative of you all coming (including deltabravo and a couple of others who aren't on this forum).

Am trying to 'catch up' with what's been transgressing for our 'Cats. Looks like we continue to pick up CHL players? Anything else I should be aware of?
Hope everyone is gearing up for a great Summer and are well! Sounds like we should be 'somewhat' hopeful or nah?

Anyway, let's gooo Florida, ha! Only say this for the Marchand piece tho Edmonton is due...

 

[Jellsville USA]

From Cinnamoroll- excellent info

two new USports transfers to UNH, both former QMJHL players. Both were not born in Nova Scotia but grew up in the area.

03 F Cam MacDonald transfers from Acadia University. 2021 5th round pick of TBL. Played one season in the USHL, considered a top 03 recruit, and was previously committed to Boston College. Decided to sign w Saint John Sea Dogs, where he played from 2020-2022, traded to Gatineau during the 22-23 season. Traded to Cape Breton Eagles for his overage season, where he played with incoming freshman Jacob Newcombe, often on the same line. Saint John won the Memorial Cup in 2022 as the hosts- interesting story here was that they had fired their head coach after the season (1st round exit) so just for the Mem Cup they hired Gardiner McDougall to coach just for the few weeks. Was nearly point per game with Acadia as a freshman, will likely be considered a sophomore. All-Rookie team USports, 2nd leading scorer. MacDonald was a young standout on a middling-to-bad team. Largely considered a responsible 200-foot player, good in face-offs, hard worker, strong on pucks. High IQ and processes the game quick.

03 RD Oscar Plandowski transfers from University of New Brunswick, 2021 5th round pick of DET, also went to Utah training camp on an invite. Played with Charlottetown Islanders from 2019-2022, played for Drummondville for half of 22-23 then traded to Moncton Wildcats, where he also played as an overage player. Teammates with Alex Carr in Charlotte, Carr went to Drummondville during the season before Plandowski did. Went to UNB last season, where they had a terrible season… by that I meant they lost 2 games instead of 0 and did not win the league, only conference champs. Was also on the All-Rookie team. Known for great skating, a 2-way defender.

Has a lot of family members in the hockey world, including current and former NCAA. His father is former Northern Michigan University forward Darryl Plandowski, played from 87-91, captaining them his final year. He’s been an amateur scout at the NHL level since 1998, currently with Arizona/Utah as Director of Amateur Scouting since 2020. His mom is a well-known skating coach. Oscar's younger brother, 05 F Jack, is a very prolific AJHL player, back to back champs with Calgary, lead the league in goals, assists, points this past season. Cousin Freddie Halyk was DU backup goalie the past 2 seasons and has recently transferred to Brown.

Both sound like prototypical solid college players, and both each crossed paths with two freshman commits in the QMJHL. I'm sure they were asked about the players, and there could be some chemistry to tap into, especially Newcombe and MacDonald spending most of the second half of the season on the same line (after Newcombe returned from chemo).

 

[Robert Balin]

Hello everyone! Long time, no posts from HR. Back from an amazing retirement trip for Mr. HR to Alaska. Re-entry into a new mode of life with
both of us 'home' has been/will be/ interesting. Thanks for Grouchy and Mrs G for coming to his party! We had a great group from our UNH fandom and
were appreciative of you all coming (including deltabravo and a couple of others who aren't on this forum).

Am trying to 'catch up' with what's been transgressing for our 'Cats. Looks like we continue to pick up CHL players? Anything else I should be aware of?
Hope everyone is gearing up for a great Summer and are well! Sounds like we should be 'somewhat' hopeful or nah?

Anyway, let's gooo Florida, ha! Only say this for the Marchand piece tho Edmonton is due...

Welcome back Ref.

 

[Snively65]

Welcome back Ref.

Yes, ditto, welcome back from Alaska, Ref. Did you get to see Denali clear of clouds?

This thread has been very exciting recently, even without you, given all the latest recruitment acquisitions from eastern Canada.

Go Oilers! Vive le Canada! I may need to immigrate there soon to avoid deportation to El Salvador.

 

[Aerman]

She was committed to Idaho I think? and the coach left so she transferred to UNH. I think she wanted out of Orono after being born and raised there . I went to school with her Aunts, I think her Father was many years behind me in School. And her grand father was a Principal at Orono elementary school along with owning a hardware store in town. Nice family and she really is a special athlete. I think US Olympic team is not out the question

I’m looking forward to following her career. When I watch her run she looks like she’s working hard all the time, which isn’t really a good thing for a distance runner. But it’s hard to argue with the results. She carries so little weight, perhaps it allows her to go harder, longer. Compare (if you watched her “semifinal” 10k) how comfortable the winner looked throughout the race. On to Eugene!

 

[HockeyRef]

Yes, ditto, welcome back from Alaska, Ref. Did you get to see Denali clear of clouds?

This thread has been very exciting recently, even without you, given all the latest recruitment acquisitions from eastern Canada.

Go Oilers! Vive le Canada! I may need to immigrate there soon to avoid deportation to El Salvador.

No unfortunately Denali wasn't to be seen but we did see some of the National Park, some moose, other cool things. Quite the trip loved it!
I figured you guys were cooking pretty good on your own lol. Yes, looks very interesting (that's all I"m a gonna say) about how things
seem to be shaking up.
I am cheering for Edmonton, if I'm being completely honest! Oilers in 6.

 

[Chuck Murray]

No unfortunately Denali wasn't to be seen but we did see some of the National Park, some moose, other cool things. Quite the trip loved it!
I figured you guys were cooking pretty good on your own lol. Yes, looks very interesting (that's all I"m a gonna say) about how things
seem to be shaking up.
I am cheering for Edmonton, if I'm being completely honest! Oilers in 6.

Welcome back, Ref! Hate to say it, but Panthers in 5. Better goalie, better defense, better postseason physicality, and they beat those guys last year. Barkov and Tkachuk will keep the dynamic duo under control, and Florida will wear down the rest.

Ironically, Toronto looks to be in the advanced stages of blowing up a team that pushed FLA to Game 7. Granted, Games 5 & 7 were embarrassing blowouts on home ice, but the Leafs are the only ones to have made Florida sweat (so far). Really good veteran TBL and Carolina teams were made to look puny and weak.

With each and every opponent Florida mows down, you gotta think chances of TML GM Brad Treliving actually moving heaven and earth to keep all his current guys on board for one more go at the Holy Grail is increasingly realistic. Wondering if the Toronto fans yet regret booing Mitch Marner off the ice ... 'cuz of all their offseason challenges, convincing MM to stick around after the rash of crap he took (after a fairly decent postseason) might be the trickiest part???