UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Love the optimism and I am excited to see what they can do. They do need to step up on D in ways that we have not consistently seen of late. Not sure why this personnel has done so poorly. I wonder if the D has had the most effective coaching in recent years. I thought the short tenure with the Torts gave us some of the best defensive looks that we have had in the last 8-10 years. Can 3 forwards translate D effectively to these young guys? Not sure that they have the same view and philosophy that a former D-man or goalie might have.

haha well I try but it ain't always easy (optimistic view of things); I prefer to keep it in the here and now with what we have coz what's the alternative? Anyway you mention Torts and this has been commented on in the most recent past. Not a dig on the asst. coaches not sure who is in charge of the D, think it's Souza? I know he does the PK (correct if wrong). Personally I look forward to seeing Wyse on the ice; nice to have a big bodied blue liner out there which has been missed and forgot to mention Marks who should be more than ready to go. Looking forward!

 

[Snively65]

haha well I try but it ain't always easy (optimistic view of things); I prefer to keep it in the here and now with what we have coz what's the alternative? Anyway you mention Torts and this has been commented on in the most recent past. Not a dig on the asst. coaches not sure who is in charge of the D, think it's Souza? I know he does the PK (correct if wrong). Personally I look forward to seeing Wyse on the ice; nice to have a big bodied blue liner out there which has been missed and forgot to mention Marks who should be more than ready to go. Looking forward!

And, Nonis! Right?

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

And, Nonis! Right?

Indeed! And Nonis as well...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Actually, just the reverse, I think. Thomas Vanek was shown a photo of the Old Man of the Mountain when he was a little boy growing up in Austria, which for some bizarre reason infuriated him. Maybe he thought that the Old Man was constructed by aliens? In any case, being the only non-Minnesota-born player on the Gopher team in 2002-2003, he made demise of the Old Man a cause like no other, and a little less than three weeks after he stuck daggers into the hearts of Cats fans in Buffalo, the Old Man came tumbling down, succumbing to Vanek's voodoo pins.

Funny how some events seem tied to others - even silly random things like these. I've always remembered the Old Man tumbled not too long after the 'Cats lost in Buffalo. I didn't want it to be symbolic or an "omen" or anything, but it's kind of worked out that way. So far.

Maybe the Old Man's rubble landed on (then) BS25's camping gear?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Funny how some events seem tied to others - even silly random things like these. I've always remembered the Old Man tumbled not too long after the 'Cats lost in Buffalo. I didn't want it to be symbolic or an "omen" or anything, but it's kind of worked out that way. So far.

Maybe the Old Man's rubble landed on (then) BS25's camping gear?

And the curse of the bambino was real until they stopped cronyism and hired creative outsiders with intelligence and think outside the box (there's this guy, Millar who was sold to Japan, and the old boys club never blocks that, but why not?") Interestingly, some athletes actually want to play for a team that is trying hard all the time because they see where it Leila lead. Sometimes the gm actually has to sell a guy by passing on thanksgiving with the family. But that's only if winning is more important than resting on your laurels. If your mindset is less competitive, or you don't have a strong plan to sell, maybe you don't get the needed players.

 

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Funny how some events seem tied to others - even silly random things like these. I've always remembered the Old Man tumbled not too long after the 'Cats lost in Buffalo. I didn't want it to be symbolic or an "omen" or anything, but it's kind of worked out that way. So far.

Maybe the Old Man's rubble landed on (then) BS25's camping gear?

Just substitute Thomas Vanek and the Old Man of the Mountains for Billy Sianis and his pet goat, and the origin of the Cubs Curse of the Billy Goat, "Them Wildcats, they ain't gonna win no more."

 

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Indeed! And Nonis as well...

And, Boyd, too, right?

And, while we are at it, what do Maller and Boyd have in common?

And, was Frankie Cefalu really born in Buffalo, New Hampshire?

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

And, Boyd, too, right?

And, while we are at it, what do Maller and Boyd have in common?

And, was Frankie Cefalu really born in Buffalo, New Hampshire?

MK...I'll give your trivia a shot! Oh and how could I forget Boyd...speaking of him it was wild that night in Merrimack when he played center, and scored! No, Frankie C was born in Buffalo, New York and I'm guessing the thing that Maller and Boyd have in common they are both from Florida originally? How'd I do??

 

[Snively65]

MK...I'll give your trivia a shot! Oh and how could I forget Boyd...speaking of him it was wild that night in Merrimack when he played center, and scored! No, Frankie C was born in Buffalo, New York and I'm guessing the thing that Maller and Boyd have in common they are both from Florida originally? How'd I do??

Excellent! Florida, the hotbed for development of non-puck-moving blueliners.

Frankie's birthplace is listed as Buffalo, New Hampshire, on both the hockeydb and the USCHO websites. Of course, Buffalo, NH, does not exist any more than does Effingwoods, NH.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Excellent! Florida, the hotbed for development of non-puck-moving blueliners.

Frankie's birthplace is listed as Buffalo, New Hampshire, on both the hockeydb and the USCHO websites. Of course, Buffalo, NH, does not exist any more than does Effingwoods, NH.

Seriously???!!!!?? And all this time I thought Chuck was serious... I just don't think we have seen a healthy Dylan M out there; I honestly don't, but I am hopeful he can have a decent Sr. year...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Seriously???!!!!?? And all this time I thought Chuck was serious...

Moi? Serious??

We exist on YouTube so we must be real.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Bump so that this thread does not get onto page 5. Here is our chart, even though there has been no changes since this May 3 post.

2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
Dan Correale	Liam Blackburn	Liam Blackburn	Liam Blackburn	Liam Blackburn
Max Gaudreault	Joe Sacco	Joe Sacco	Joe Sacco	Joe Sacco
Collin McDonald	Patrick Grasso	Patrick Grasso	Patrick Grasso	Patrick Grasso
Kyle Smith	Justin Fregona	Justin Fregona	Justin Fregona	Justin Fregona
Jamie Hill	Jamie Hill	E.MacAdams	E.MacAdams	E.MacAdams
T.Kelleher	T.Kelleher	C.Kelleher	C.Kelleher	C.Kelleher
C.Bourque	----None----------	J. Cipollone	J. Cipollone	J. Cipollone
Andrew Poturalski	----None----------	TBD	TBD	TBD
Warren Foegele	BVR	BVR	BVR	BVR
Shane Eiserman	Shane Eiserman	Shane Eiserman	Angus Crookshank	Angus Crookshank
M.McNicholas	M.McNicholas	M.McNicholas	Jason O'Neill	Jason O'Neill
J.Salvaggio	J.Salvaggio	J.Salvaggio	Eric Esposito	Eric Esposito
Marcus Vela	Marcus Vela	Marcus Vela	Marcus Vela	TBD
A. Nazarian	A. Nazarian	A. Nazarian	A. Nazarian	TBD
Chris Miller	Chris Miller	Chris Miller	Chris Miller	TBD
Frank Cefalu	Frank Cefalu	Frank Cefalu	Frank Cefalu	TBD
Defense
Harry Quast	Nick Nonis	Nick Nonis	Nick Nonis	Nick Nonis
Matias Cleland	Matias Cleland	James Miller	James Miller	James Miller
Dylan Maller	Dylan Maller	Liam Darcy	Liam Darcy	Liam Darcy
Cam Marks	Cam Marks	Cam Marks	TBD	TBD
Rich Boyd	Rich Boyd	Rich Boyd	Corson Green	Corson Green
John Furgele	Anthony Wyse	Anthony Wyse	Anthony Wyse	Anthony Wyse
Dylan Chanter	Dylan Chanter	Dylan Chanter	TBD	TBD
Matt Dawson	Matt Dawson	Matt Dawson	Matt Dawson	Lucas Bahn

DEFENSE

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Bump so that this thread does not get onto page 5. Here is our chart, even though there has been no changes since this May 3 post.

You sly dog you.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Note to self: work on subtlety - and sentence agreement

Note to staff: work on recruiting

 

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Note to self: work on subtlety - and sentence agreement

Note to staff: work on recruiting

No worries. We held onto our 18th place in the All Time Greatest Teams thread this year, gaining 0.3983 points for a total of 88.1355. RPI still in 17th at 101.3526. Bowling Green at 20th with a total of 81.3949 points, followed by Northern Michigan at 21st with 81.2169 points and Ylae at 22nd with 76.0953 points.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

So 'Watcher, please excuse the naiveté but when you list our incoming forwards and we haven't replaced Pots/Borque, is this unusual even with the influx of new players (this years incoming). Last year we were desperate for a defender, got Matt Dawson...were we as anxious to get new forwards to replace those missing? I know...it's a lame q.

 

[Snively65]

So 'Watcher, please excuse the naiveté but when you list our incoming forwards and we haven't replaced Pots/Borque, is this unusual even with the influx of new players (this years incoming). Last year we were desperate for a defender, got Matt Dawson...were we as anxious to get new forwards to replace those missing? I know...it's a lame q.

Not a lame question, IMHO. My guess is that the brain trust thought that Pots would stay one more year. Also, if CK and/or Cippoloni had come this year, they could have replaced Bourque and/or Pots. I think that the larger concern is that none of recruits over the next 2-4 years are considered to be blue chippers, few if any NHL picks, etc., earning our brain trust #12 of 12 in recruiting for this year by Jeff Cox.

 

[E.J. Smith]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

Not a lame question, IMHO. My guess is that the brain trust thought that Pots would stay one more year. Also, if CK and/or Cippoloni had come this year, they could have replaced Bourque and/or Pots. I think that the larger concern is that none of recruits over the next 2-4 years are considered to be blue chippers, few if any NHL picks, etc., earning our brain trust #12 of 12 in recruiting for this year by Jeff Cox.

I blame C-H-C for adding the "and Beyond" to the thread title, the coaching staff clearly has a broad definition of beyond.

To be honest, I really don't care if they have 14 or 15 or 16 forwards on the roster this season. It's not that big of a deal. Maybe I'm giving the coaches too much of the benefit of the doubt but I'm actually going against my nature and looking at it as a glass half full scenario. In the past Umile would have gone out and gotten a couple of JAGs just to fill out the roster, and then those spots have been lost for 4 years. I'll be uncharacteristically positive and say not doing that this year is on purpose and a good thing.

However, I think the problem many of us have with the recruiting isn't on the left side of Watcher's list, it's on the right side. Where are the 00s, 01s, and even 02s that should be filling up those columns? BU, BC, Harvard, NU, among others are already well underway filling the 2019/20 and 2020/21 columns with some of the better players in those pools. While UNH has done absolutely jack in those areas.

 

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2016 and Beyond

I blame C-H-C for adding the "and Beyond" to the thread title, the coaching staff clearly has a broad definition of beyond.

To be honest, I really don't care if they have 14 or 15 or 16 forwards on the roster this season. It's not that big of a deal. Maybe I'm giving the coaches too much of the benefit of the doubt but I'm actually going against my nature and looking at it as a glass half full scenario. In the past Umile would have gone out and gotten a couple of JAGs just to fill out the roster, and then those spots have been lost for 4 years. I'll be uncharacteristically positive and say not doing that this year is on purpose and a good thing.

Agree. Nothing they could do to fix the Poturalski departure. Even Foegele's Thanksgiving departure was a bit late.

However, I think the problem many of us have with the recruiting isn't on the left side of Watcher's list, it's on the right side. Where are the 00s, 01s, and even 02s that should be filling up those columns? BU, BC, Harvard, NU, among others are already well underway filling the 2019/20 and 2020/21 columns with some of the better players in those pools. While UNH has done absolutely jack in those areas.

Especially when you factor in the money freed up by Farabee, Ryczek, Masonius, Foegele and Poturalski (and Aaron O'Neill) leaving since June of last year. Only Dawson -- probably at a lower clip -- was brought in. Remember that Borek's surrogate said UNH had to sweeten the money on this year's recruits in order to keep them, so they may have less money. They have been inactive during the typical USA recruiting period (after the Select festivals) is interesting. Next we have the Sept/Oct early period for Canadian juniors, where they would typically visit the training camps and get an early read on the 99s and 00s.

At this point I am of the view that Souza is wary of early commitments -- that is not really the Brown and U.Conn model from which he came. They are treading water hoping for late bloomers. That model can work (e.g., Lowell, occasionally Ferris State), but also fails often, so you see teams try and move from the late bloomer model to the early commit model once they get more credibility (e.g., Quinnipiac, Union). Until Souza brings in a real recruiter, in 2018, I am resigned to limited activity and unexciting fillers. Unless he hits on one of his wish list guys like Hillis, Cameron, or complete dream, like Shane Bowers. My current impression that Souza (hopefully) has skills as a coach but not as a recruiter. [I am trying not to let his lack of results as a recruiter impact my impression of his skills as a potential HC] If that is right, the next light at the end of the tunnel is the 2018 hiring of a a real recruiter with vision and an ability to sell.

 

[Drew S.]

Agree. Nothing they could do to fix the Poturalski departure. Even Foegele's Thanksgiving departure was a bit late.



Especially when you factor in the money freed up by Farabee, Ryczek, Masonius, Foegele and Poturalski (and Aaron O'Neill) leaving since June of last year. Only Dawson -- probably at a lower clip -- was brought in. Remember that Borek's surrogate said UNH had to sweeten the money on this year's recruits in order to keep them, so they may have less money. They have been inactive during the typical USA recruiting period (after the Select festivals) is interesting. Next we have the Sept/Oct early period for Canadian juniors, where they would typically visit the training camps and get an early read on the 99s and 00s.

At this point I am of the view that Souza is wary of early commitments -- that is not really the Brown and U.Conn model from which he came. They are treading water hoping for late bloomers. That model can work (e.g., Lowell, occasionally Ferris State), but also fails often, so you see teams try and move from the late bloomer model to the early commit model once they get more credibility (e.g., Quinnipiac, Union). Until Souza brings in a real recruiter, in 2018, I am resigned to limited activity and unexciting fillers. Unless he hits on one of his wish list guys like Hillis, Cameron, or complete dream, like Shane Bowers. My current impression that Souza (hopefully) has skills as a coach but not as a recruiter. [I am trying not to let his lack of results as a recruiter impact my impression of his skills as a potential HC] If that is right, the next light at the end of the tunnel is the 2018 hiring of a a real recruiter with vision and an ability to sell.

Why is Umile being allowed to carry on? Does be have a lot of support among admin and donors? As bad as Maine's admin has been they got rid of Timmy the second time the team faltered. I don't want to see UNH win any trophies but it would be nice to see them(and hopefully Maine as well) back in the top four.