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UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

UConn home schedule announced, which includes UNH visit to Hartford on February 25th; what does this post have to do with recruits?
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

C-H-C said:
"UNH Recruits Update: Final 2015-16 Stats"
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Of all the names listed / commented on in CHC's nice summary, the one that sticks out most prominently, numbers-wise, is 2018 recruit:

> Player Team League GP Goals Asst Pts PIM
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Angus Crookshank (F) BWC Prep CSSHL 35 42 19 61 56

Nearly 2 pts./game, and a controlled skater to boot, averaging less than a single minor penalty/game. What's the skinny re: the quality of the competition he's facing in the CSSHL? Is anyone aware of any comparables, i.e., other players from this league who've successfully transitioned to impact players at a DivI school? Is he likely to move up to a higher quality league in the 2 years before he (hopefully) shows up in Durham? For all of Watcher's talk re: UNH's continuing failure to lock up a proven (League Top 10 or 15) scorer, is there enough upside here with Crookshank to think he might make that leap at his next pre-NCAA stop? Is Wildcat Nation justified in turning its lonely eyes to Angus? Random thoughts/questions on a lazy Sunday afternoon ...
 
Mark Divver had a tweet today saying Joona Koppanen has drawn interest from UNH. Of course he named other HEA schools too. So I guess unless Tampere is a section in Reading don't pencil him in your line charts yet.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

cavbim said:
Mark Divver had a tweet today saying Joona Koppanen has drawn interest from UNH. Of course he named other HEA schools too. So I guess unless Tampere is a section in Reading don't pencil him in your line charts yet.
Click to expand...

I'm going to the B's dev camp scrimmage Friday, Divver also tweeted Nate Leaman was there checking out the camp today. I'll see if anyone we know is in the stands...;)

Update: didn't see any UNH coaches (doesn't mean they weren't there) but did see Norm Bazin...
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

NCAA watcher said:
Jeff, I'm a bit confused given your scouting report of him at the Select Festival last summer (http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/col...kings-scouting-reports-99s-defensemen-goalies), rating him the 26th best defenseman. You also noted his skating issues, with which I agree. So, you have a big kid dominating a weak league. Lots of kids with a stick skills and a physical advantage can take advantage of that. He has raw skills, so if he can improve his skating he'll be a good D, but at present, he has not elevated when head to head with more talented players.
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From the Select 17 Festival, Jeff Cox ranks Corson Green as 19th best defenseman (he was 26th ranked D last year at the 16 Festival) with the following writeup:

http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/col...pment-camp-rankings-2017-nhl-draft-amherst-ny

19. Corson Green, Black #4, Left Shot, 6'2"/206, Potsdam, NY, Chicago Steel (New Hampshire) -€” He's an intriguing prospect because of his size and mobility. His stride isn't the prettiest, but he's able to move the puck up ice with his skating and outlet passes due to his above average vision. He has a hard shot and likes to jump into the offense. Once he works on his first step with more explosiveness, he could be even more of a threat. He'll always be an offensive-minded blue liner, but he has the size and physical tools in order to become better defensively.
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UNH's only other 99er, Lucas Bahn, did not make the tournament.

Newburyport's Ben Mirageas -- going to Providence -- was top ranked D.

This 13-year old kid looks like he may amount to something.

http://collections.banq.qc.ca/erezF...=http://collections.banq.qc.ca/fsi/188334.fsi
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Jeff Cox ‏@JeffCoxSports 33m33 minutes ago
Former Junior Bruins defenseman Josh Couturier is leaving Boston College. Look for him to end up north off 95 at another Hockey East school.

‏@AB670 12m12 minutes ago
@JeffCoxSports UNH or UMO?

Jeff Cox
‏@JeffCoxSports
@AB670 UNH

Looks like you guys are getting a new defenseman
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

FDNY99 said:
Jeff Cox ‏@JeffCoxSports 33m33 minutes ago
Former Junior Bruins defenseman Josh Couturier is leaving Boston College. Look for him to end up north off 95 at another Hockey East school.

‏@AB670 12m12 minutes ago
@JeffCoxSports UNH or UMO?

Jeff Cox
‏@JeffCoxSports
@AB670 UNH

Looks like you guys are getting a new defenseman
Click to expand...

Weigh in 'Cat fans...how do we feel about this is this happening?!? Here are his Freshman stats for the Eagles:

AS A FRESHMAN (2015-16): Played in 33 games … tallied two goals and four assists; notched five points – two goals and three assists – in 19 Hockey East contests … recorded one multi-point performance against Connecticut (1/23) … recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Colin White’s first collegiate goal against Wisconsin (Oct. 16) ... scored his first-collegiate goal at Connecticut (Nov. 24).

So if this player is really coming to the U and can skate the puck out of the zone well then hey I'm psyched!
 
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HockeyRef said:
Weigh in 'Cat fans...how do we feel about this is this happening?!? Here are his Freshman stats for the Eagles:

AS A FRESHMAN (2015-16): Played in 33 games … tallied two goals and four assists; notched five points – two goals and three assists – in 19 Hockey East contests … recorded one multi-point performance against Connecticut (1/23) … recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Colin White’s first collegiate goal against Wisconsin (Oct. 16) ... scored his first-collegiate goal at Connecticut (Nov. 24).

So if this player is really coming to the U and can skate the puck out of the zone well then hey I'm psyched!
Click to expand...

For next season, right?
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Snively65 said:
For next season, right?
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He will have to sit out this coming season to transfer. Looks like he is leaving because he is almost certainly BC's 8th D on the depth chart. IMO he is at best a 3rd pair D in Hockey East and not some player to get "psyched" about, HockeyRef.
 
Agganis said:
He will have to sit out this coming season to transfer. Looks like he is leaving because he is almost certainly BC's 8th D on the depth chart. IMO he is at best a 3rd pair D in Hockey East and not some player to get "psyched" about, HockeyRef.
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Well at this point UNH needs strong defenseman and of course I know nothing about the player...so will be interested in hearing more about him. And while I hate to say it..3rd Dpair for a BC team looks quite different for UNH at the present I'll just leave it at that.
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

HockeyRef said:
Well at this point UNH needs strong defenseman and of course I know nothing about the player...so will be interested in hearing more about him. And while I hate to say it..3rd Dpair for a BC team looks quite different for UNH at the present I'll just leave it at that.
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He's 4th pair at BC, 3rd pair at a UNH type school, IMO.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Agganis said:
He will have to sit out this coming season to transfer. Looks like he is leaving because he is almost certainly BC's 8th D on the depth chart. IMO he is at best a 3rd pair D in Hockey East and not some player to get "psyched" about, HockeyRef.
Click to expand...

Bear in mind also that before moving over to BC, he was at Northeastern, where he couldn't seem to be more than a spare part on a team that needed defense.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Over the course of his freshman year, Couturier struggled to find consistency in his game and firm up his spot on the depth chart. Couturier ended up playing in a total of 33 games for BC, though he did not play in the Frozen Four.

Couturier scored two goals and added three assists in 2015-16, showing occasional flashes of the two-way skill that brought him attention of colleges as a player for the Boston Jr. Bruins and the Des Moines Buccaneers. UNH’s up-tempo style of play is likely a solid fit for Couturier and will allow for a smooth transition in to the next phase of his career.

With four defensemen joining the program this fall, there was likely to be a logjam for playing time, though that logjam has eased with the departure of Couturier and Ian McCoshen. That said, this group is going to be extremely inexperienced next season.
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http://www.bcinterruption.com/2016/...-hockey-defenseman-josh-couturier-to-transfer

He's from Newburyport, where the Eisermans are from.
 
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Split-N said:
Bear in mind also that before moving over to BC, he was at Northeastern, where he couldn't seem to be more than a spare part on a team that needed defense.
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I believe he was an NU verbal, but never played for the Huskies. Regardless of what you think of his ability he is an instant top-4 defenseman in the current group at UNH...

He'll sit a year and then join Wyse for the next three and should give UNH at least two defensemen who can break out of their own end. Something that was a huge problem last season and may be again this year...

More importantly, it's a noticeable culture shift at UNH which likely points to more Souza impact. First transfer in to UNH in a LONG time and likely the first impact transfer since another BC defenseman in Todd Hall. Unfortunately, those Todd Hall teams still weren't very good...
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Dan said:
I believe he was an NU verbal, but never played for the Huskies. Regardless of what you think of his ability he is an instant top-4 defenseman in the current group at UNH...

He'll sit a year and then join Wyse for the next three and should give UNH at least two defensemen who can break out of their own end. Something that was a huge problem last season and may be again this year...
Click to expand...

I'd put him on par with Furgele in that regard, so.....

More importantly, it's a noticeable culture shift at UNH which likely points to more Souza impact. First transfer in to UNH in a LONG time and likely the first impact transfer since another BC defenseman in Todd Hall. Unfortunately, those Todd Hall teams still weren't very good...
Click to expand...

Todd Hall was a 3rd round NHL pick. Mike Heinke was a 5th round pick. I guy seeing he wont play for BC even after they lose 4 defensemen, and coming to a team with space (no indication of any real recruiting of him as a transfer) doesn't scream culture shift, any more than it screams "players fleeing BC." These sorts of spare parts moving is fairly common. It's like UNH getting Greg Dumont from Air Force.

Who are you, and what have you done with Dan? On the larger front of recruiting, its been a pretty quiet summer, even as the summer tournaments roll on. One culture change is that they are actually joining the rest of the college world and expressed interest in a Euro, even though they seem well in the back of the pack on the Finn mentioned -- and after UNH declined to pursue any of the Finns that would have helped them this year, e,g., NHL first rounder to Denver, BC getting two, Providence and U.Conn getting one. With open spots this year, they didn't move quickly at all to try to use that opportunity, such as possibly stealing Kawaguchi when PC deferred him and he decommitted (like Laleggia and Vecchione). In the year plus post-Borek, we have one notable recruit (not a blue chipper, but an interesting potential top kid) -- Crookshank. UNH remains "waiting" on Shane Bowers, Cam Hillis, Jack Cameron. Until one of those guys makes a decision I don't see any real "wow" signs of kids voting with their feet.
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Split-N said:
Bear in mind also that before moving over to BC, he was at Northeastern, where he couldn't seem to be more than a spare part on a team that needed defense.
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He never actually reached Huntington Ave.
After a so-so year in Des Moines, NU suggested that he should do another year in the USHL before enrolling. With the "loving" guidance of his father, he decommitted saying that he thought he was ready for D1. Unfortunately for him, no D1 coach agreed with him. He ultimately spent '14-15 with the Jr. Bruins in the USPHL. I think BC recruited him as a hedge against one of their high draft pick Ds leaving.

Now, after decomitting to NU, he has effectively done the same thing to BC. He was benched during the last few games and didn't play against NU in the HEA semifinal game. Another Junior Bruin, who joined the team in January, Kim, played in his place. I have no idea why he waited so long to announce his intentions, but perhaps he was searching for a team that needed/wanted him.

I hope it works out for the Cats. Hopefully last year was an aberration.
 
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