UNH 2025 Offseason: Where in the World is MS7?

[Scott]

Hey, looks like MS7's stock is rising! He was just named assistant coach of the US Collegiate Selects. FWIW.

Another feather in his cap as far as AD Rich is concerned....and I'm sure another contract extension

 

[Jellsville USA]

Another feather in his cap as far as AD Rich is concerned....and I'm sure another contract extension

I am not fully on his bandwagon, but I think MS7 is having a sound offseason (capitalized on CHL rule change, has secured new donation money and facility upgrades are in motion, and has some excellent younger talent coming down the road). On top of that, he is only 1 year removed from the first 20 win season in 10 years! I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. Kudos Mr. Souza. Let's get back some of that Wildcat magic. Go Blue!! (Forever Optimistic)!

 

[norbert]

Hey, looks like MS7's stock is rising! He was just named assistant coach of the US Collegiate Selects. FWIW.

What number on the call list was he?

 

[Robert Balin]

Another new recruit for 2028. Cole Sabourin right wing born 1/23/2008 played for Mount St Charles 16 and under had 58 points in 56 games. Plenty of potential.Ryan Sikes on X has a nice article. He states that he was one of the better players from team New England and states he's an elite skater with a rocket shot from anywhere. Another nice pick up.

 

[Jellsville USA]

Another new recruit for 2028. Cole Sabourin right wing born 1/23/2008 played for Mount St Charles 16 and under had 58 points in 56 games. Plenty of potential.Ryan Sikes on X has a nice article. He states that he was one of the better players from team New England and states he's an elite skater with a rocket shot from anywhere. Another nice pick up.

Wow another good get. This kid can play!!

 

[Potluck]

Not going to suggest I have any idea who this kid is, but good for him and UNH. Hope it goes great. Just wondering about the number of recruits. Is UNH over recruiting, meaning that it expects kids currently committed may back out? Does UNH plan to back off some of the partial scholarship recruits (dicey thing to do, if so) ?

 

[Jellsville USA]

Not going to suggest I have any idea who this kid is, but good for him and UNH. Hope it goes great. Just wondering about the number of recruits. Is UNH over recruiting, meaning that it expects kids currently committed may back out? Does UNH plan to back off some of the partial scholarship recruits (dicey thing to do, if so) ?

UNH will graduate 6 next year and 7 the year after... seems like they are lining things up just right. The timing for the CHL'ers was perfect, with a graduating class of 11 plus 3 transfers.

 

[cinnamoroll]

Another new recruit for 2028. Cole Sabourin right wing born 1/23/2008 played for Mount St Charles 16 and under had 58 points in 56 games. Plenty of potential.Ryan Sikes on X has a nice article. He states that he was one of the better players from team New England and states he's an elite skater with a rocket shot from anywhere. Another nice pick up.

Mark Divver pointed out that U17 Selects New England team happened to be coached by Jeff Giuliano, i think you might be familiar with him...

 

[norbert]

Not going to suggest I have any idea who this kid is, but good for him and UNH. Hope it goes great. Just wondering about the number of recruits. Is UNH over recruiting, meaning that it expects kids currently committed may back out? Does UNH plan to back off some of the partial scholarship recruits (dicey thing to do, if so) ?

I don't think there is ever an over recruiting issue. It is a recruiting issue to start.

 

[Chuck Murray]

What number on the call list was he?

Probably a few others were passed over. The other assistant is the Niagara HC. Not sure how Ms. MS7 feels about it, seeing how it's smack dab in between the late December holiday season, a rare downtime usually for the big guy. I'm relieved at least to see MS7 getting his name out there, with another UNH extension unlikely, short of a pair of 20 win seasons, or real postseason success. Preparing for his next job, be it in college hockey, scouting, etc.? Good for him, it can't hurt, only help.

 

[Snively65]

Don’t’cha think that even the one 20-win season coming up will get MS7 another 3-year contract extension, if not a lifetime contract like his mentor’s? The only question in my mind is whether MS7 will be able to charm his way to a higher annual salary than either the UNH BB and/or FB head coaches have, or the AD for that matter, like did his mentor?

 

[freak]

 

[Chuck Murray]

Don’t’cha think that even the one 20-win season coming up will get MS7 another 3-year contract extension, if not a lifetime contract like his mentor’s? The only question in my mind is whether MS7 will be able to charm his way to a higher annual salary than either the UNH BB and/or FB head coaches have, or the AD for that matter, like did his mentor?

One thing the last decade's worth of UNH AD's can at least point to is budget cost certainty on the Men's Head Hockey Coach line-item. That he's been at it for about a decade, with no discernable raise over at least the 7 years he's been head coach (plus, he's signed for two more, on the same terms), means his salary now is effectively about 25-30% less than it was when he first took over the HC job in 2018. There were a lot of years in there with small wage growth/inflation but a couple of years in the middle where inflation did take a big bite, and those figures get compounded year-to-year.

Now let's look at his relative time on the job as compared with his HEA head coaching peers ... MS7 currently stands tied with Scott Borek (Merrimack) as the 5th most tenured head coach in HEA, behind only Bazin (UML), Leaman (PC), Luce (UConn) and Carvel (UMA). FWIW Borek has two winning seasons in his 7 years at MC and is FAR more experienced as a D-1 coach (HC and assistant) than MS7. So Coach Souza is solidly in the middle third of the league in tenure, at a time where there are literally zero (0) current coaching legends among his competitors. 3 of the 4 guys who've been tenured in their current jobs longer than Souza have at least won one (1) Penrose National COTY award (I'll let you guess which one hasn't lol). One of those 3 guys won the Penrose at their previous school.

As a brief aside ... Coach Umile was also a Penrose winner (1999) who racked up almost 600 wins at UNH against bona fide D-1 coaching legends like Jerry York, Jack Parker, Shawn Walsh (and then basically Grant Standbrook post-Walshy), plus bits and pieces of Lenny Ceglarski and Jeff Jackson. All due respect to the current cast of HEA coaches, but none of them - zero (0) - crack the line-up of the true greats Umile was doing battle with during his time in charge.

Now consider, based on the available data, and subject to revision if alternate data shows otherwise ... MS7's won-lost percentage has clearly been in the bottom third of HEA coaches in their current jobs throughout his time in charge at UNH ... and not surprisingly, so has his (virtually unchanged) salary.

Imagine staying in the same job 9 years without a raise, though ... he must really love his job ... or he is satisfied not to rock the boat too hard, knowing he'll never get another job like this if he forces UNH's hand into dismissing him ... or UNH is at a stage where cost certainty means more than usual to the new AD? Or a combination of two or more of the above, or other reasons I haven't thought to mention here??

There has been some luck with timing in the past, and rounding back to your question Snives about whether a single 20 win season allows "Charming Mike" to stack another extension, I'll cop out and say "it depends" on what the sequence of the program's development looks like this season and (probably) next, and what else might come attached to that one 20 win season. IF there is postseason success would seem to be the biggest potential variable that could go his way ... two winning seasons, with one between 17-19 wins, the other 20+, could do it? Someone out in the private sector who might decide to fund the job (as happens at some other programs) who has an affinity for the guy, that could be another lucky break to go his way. In the end, I guess we'd have to know the priorities of the AD, and just how important the "budget certainty" factor is going to be, now that the next two-year USNH budget has been sorted?

I also wonder, with the newfound surprising largesse coming from private donations, whether this group might also be motivated at some point to test their strength, and challenge the AD herself if she were to reward their generosity with another undeserved extension for further head coaching mediocrity??

I hope you were kidding around about the "lifetime contract" Snives, because nothing Souza has accomplished to date makes that even remotely justifiable. But yeah, it all definitely points towards some of the most interesting off-ice seasons in my lifetime as a UNH Hockey fan. Buckle up for a bumpy ride, y'all ...

 

[2013hockeyfan]

it looks like that one will be the 3rd one i post, CCHA will be before that. i can definitely say you guys are likely in the top 4 of hockey east CHL recruiting classes. theres 4 standout CHL classes in HE- UNH, Maine, Providence, UML. will need time to sort out how they stack up against each other though

what is your substack? can you send a link?

 

[Snively65]

One thing the last decade's worth of UNH AD's can at least point to is budget cost certainty on the Men's Head Hockey Coach line-item. That he's been at it for about a decade, with no discernable raise over at least the 7 years he's been head coach (plus, he's signed for two more, on the same terms), means his salary now is effectively about 25-30% less than it was when he first took over the HC job in 2018. There were a lot of years in there with small wage growth/inflation but a couple of years in the middle where inflation did take a big bite, and those figures get compounded year-to-year.

Now let's look at his relative time on the job as compared with his HEA head coaching peers ... MS7 currently stands tied with Scott Borek (Merrimack) as the 5th most tenured head coach in HEA, behind only Bazin (UML), Leaman (PC), Luce (UConn) and Carvel (UMA). FWIW Borek has two winning seasons in his 7 years at MC and is FAR more experienced as a D-1 coach (HC and assistant) than MS7. So Coach Souza is solidly in the middle third of the league in tenure, at a time where there are literally zero (0) current coaching legends among his competitors. 3 of the 4 guys who've been tenured in their current jobs longer than Souza have at least won one (1) Penrose National COTY award (I'll let you guess which one hasn't lol). One of those 3 guys won the Penrose at their previous school.

As a brief aside ... Coach Umile was also a Penrose winner (1999) who racked up almost 600 wins at UNH against bona fide D-1 coaching legends like Jerry York, Jack Parker, Shawn Walsh (and then basically Grant Standbrook post-Walshy), plus bits and pieces of Lenny Ceglarski and Jeff Jackson. All due respect to the current cast of HEA coaches, but none of them - zero (0) - crack the line-up of the true greats Umile was doing battle with during his time in charge.

Now consider, based on the available data, and subject to revision if alternate data shows otherwise ... MS7's won-lost percentage has clearly been in the bottom third of HEA coaches in their current jobs throughout his time in charge at UNH ... and not surprisingly, so has his (virtually unchanged) salary.

Imagine staying in the same job 9 years without a raise, though ... he must really love his job ... or he is satisfied not to rock the boat too hard, knowing he'll never get another job like this if he forces UNH's hand into dismissing him ... or UNH is at a stage where cost certainty means more than usual to the new AD? Or a combination of two or more of the above, or other reasons I haven't thought to mention here??

There has been some luck with timing in the past, and rounding back to your question Snives about whether a single 20 win season allows "Charming Mike" to stack another extension, I'll cop out and say "it depends" on what the sequence of the program's development looks like this season and (probably) next, and what else might come attached to that one 20 win season. IF there is postseason success would seem to be the biggest potential variable that could go his way ... two winning seasons, with one between 17-19 wins, the other 20+, could do it? Someone out in the private sector who might decide to fund the job (as happens at some other programs) who has an affinity for the guy, that could be another lucky break to go his way. In the end, I guess we'd have to know the priorities of the AD, and just how important the "budget certainty" factor is going to be, now that the next two-year USNH budget has been sorted?

I also wonder, with the newfound surprising largesse coming from private donations, whether this group might also be motivated at some point to test their strength, and challenge the AD herself if she were to reward their generosity with another undeserved extension for further head coaching mediocrity??

I hope you were kidding around about the "lifetime contract" Snives, because nothing Souza has accomplished to date makes that even remotely justifiable. But yeah, it all definitely points towards some of the most interesting off-ice seasons in my lifetime as a UNH Hockey fan. Buckle up for a bumpy ride, y'all ..

Regarding a lifetime contract for MS7, I purposely wrote “…. if not a lifetime contract ……”

As far as salaries, I was not comparing with other institutions but rather in house, where I found online that as of 30 June 2024, MS7 stood at $240k/yr (I agree that his flatline is actually a salary drop in real dollars), Nathan Davis at $250k/yr (he actually has won something with a couple Patriot League titles and was COY twice before coming to UNH), Rick Santos at $270k/yr (UNH football GOAT?), and Allison Rich at $255k/yr.

 

[cinnamoroll]

what is your substack? can you send a link?

here is part 1. updated a few days ago after two new recruits were announced

 

[Potluck]

Imagine staying in the same job 9 years without a raise, though .

Perhaps you should compare his situation with other UNH faculty and administrators. The State of NH does not prioritize higher education. The entire institution suffers. Any future head hockey coach likely will run into a similar situation

 

[Potluck]

I remain fascinated by all the posters that view $240K or $270K as being rich. It's simply amazing. New Hampshire really is a cross between Central Massachusetts and Mississippi. It's a good salary but not that good relative to comparable institutions. East of Rte 128 in Massachusetts, it doesn't position a person to purchase a home that doesn't need a complete renovation or rebuild.

 

[norbert]

I remain fascinated by all the posters that view $240K or $270K as being rich. It's simply amazing. New Hampshire really is a cross between Central Massachusetts and Mississippi. It's a good salary but not that good relative to comparable institutions. East of Rte 128 in Massachusetts, it doesn't position a person to purchase a home that doesn't need a complete renovation or rebuild.

Not sure anyone ever said rich. That is not house in the Hamptons money but would allow for someone to live comfortably along with the benefits from the state.

 

[norbert]

Alex Gagne to the Avalanche on a 2 year contract.