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UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

NCAA watcher said:
Between the USHL player of year and a second team allstar on D, added to two members of last year's Hockey East all rookie team, and Chuck may not be able to use his "U.Mass will never amount to anything" line much longer;)
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I may not be from Missouri, but I still consider myself a "Show Me" kinda guy. :D ;)

We've heard so many times about the sleeping giant out in Amherst. Last I checked, they still haven't awoken.
 
Chuck Murray said:
I may not be from Missouri, but I still consider myself a "Show Me" kinda guy. :D ;)

We've heard so many times about the sleeping giant out in Amherst. Last I checked, they still haven't awoken.
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If UMass-Flagship had successfully poached Umile a decade ago, maybe they would have been to a Frozen Four or two by now.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Snively65 said:
If UMass-Flagship had successfully poached Umile a decade ago, maybe they would have been to a Frozen Four or two by now.
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I think that was actually almost two decades ago now (2000 or 2001 IIRC)?

We'll never know of course, but I wonder how that would have turned out ... I'm guessing McCloskey would probably have been offered to replace Umile at UNH, so Umile would have had to either (1) get another lead recruiter, or (2) do a lot of the recruiting himself. Unless it would have been a package deal (Umile & McCloskey to UMass)? I can't see the #2 scenario in light of what followed at UNH, and I can't see how a package deal would have worked for McCloskey. The idea of Umile being without his recruiting binky in Amherst, could have been a recipe for early "retirement" for him, unless he might have been able to catch lightning in a bottle a second time?

:confused:

As stated before ... we'll never know ... but interesting to consider regardless.
 
Chuck Murray said:
I think that was actually almost two decades ago now (2000 or 2001 IIRC)?

We'll never know of course, but I wonder how that would have turned out ... I'm guessing McCloskey would probably have been offered to replace Umile at UNH, so Umile would have had to either (1) get another lead recruiter, or (2) do a lot of the recruiting himself. Unless it would have been a package deal (Umile & McCloskey to UMass)? I can't see the #2 scenario in light of what followed at UNH, and I can't see how a package deal would have worked for McCloskey. The idea of Umile being without his recruiting binky in Amherst, could have been a recipe for early "retirement" for him, unless he might have been able to catch lightning in a bottle a second time?

:confused:

As stated before ... we'll never know ... but interesting to consider regardless.
Click to expand...

Right you are; UMass-Flagship hired Umile's undergrad BU combatant Toot Cahoon for their 2000-2001 season. Wow, time sure flies, eh?
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

UNH Commits selected in the 2018 USHL Draft:
Phase I
Tim Stützle - Sioux City Musketeers, 4th Round, 52nd overall
Phase II
Nolan McElvaney - Muskegon Lumberjacks, 4th Round, 58th overall
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

C-H-C said:
UNH Commits selected in the 2018 USHL Draft:
Phase I
Tim Stützle - Sioux City Musketeers, 4th Round, 52nd overall
Phase II
Nolan McElvaney - Muskegon Lumberjacks, 4th Round, 58th overall
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike
I sure hope that Tim finds his way to Durham in 2 years! We could sure use a goal scorer going forward.
 
Denver cast-off Will Mackinnon. Defensive defenseman. Improvement over Corson Green for sure. I guess this IS the strategy...
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

HockeyRef said:
Coming this season ....? That's one of the two Dmen needed then!
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Yes, reported as 2018-19 in a couple of places. Leaves UNH with 16 F and 7 D, but they don't need another defenseman - what they need is more offense. MacKinnon will not bring that. They need to grab another F who will immediately slot into the top-six. Thats the bigger need than another defenseman to watch from the stands. They can get that in the walk-on bin...

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Dawson/Verrier

That's fine for what this UNH team will be. In fact, if MacKinnon can give them dependable defense and first-pass ability (as an 18 yo tFR) than that top four could actually be very good (he was a -20 in USHL games with the USNTDP as a U17 and was -9 last season with Des Moines - so it may be asking a lot immediately, we'll see). The interesting piece is that of their seven defenseman, six are left-handed shots...

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Offense was their biggest problem last year and, as currently constituted, probably will be again. They return just one player who has ever surpassed 22 points in a season - that would be Grasso, who did so riding shotgun to TK on the PP, and is returning from a season-ending injury. They are asking a lot if they expect PG, LB, BVR, CK and AN to all make significant jumps (30-40 range) in production and AC to make an immediate impact as a freshman. The forward group is where they can still make noticeable upgrades for next fall (through recruiting) and they need to add more offensive potential to the mix to give themselves a better chance of the desired result, IMO...
 
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Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Dan said:
Yes, reported as 2018-19 in a couple of places. Leaves UNH with 16 F and 7 D, but they don't need another defenseman - what they need is more offense. MacKinnon will not bring that. They need to grab another F who will immediately slot into the top-six. Thats the bigger need than another defenseman to watch from the stands. They can get that in the walk-on bin...

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Dawson/Verrier

That's fine for what this UNH team will be. In fact, if MacKinnon can give them dependable defense and first-pass ability (as an 18 yo tFR) than that top four could actually be very good (he was a -20 in USHL games with the USNTDP as a U17 and was -9 last season with Des Moines - so it may be asking a lot immediately, we'll see). The interesting piece is that of their seven defenseman, six are left-handed shots...

---

Offense was their biggest problem last year and, as currently constituted, probably will be again. They return just one player who has ever surpassed 22 points in a season - that would be Grasso, who did so riding shotgun to TK on the PP, and is returning from a season-ending injury. They are asking a lot if they expect PG, LB, BVR, CK and AN to all make significant jumps (30-40 range) in production and AC to make an immediate impact as a freshman. The forward group is where they can still make noticeable upgrades for next fall (through recruiting) and they need to add more offensive potential to the mix to give themselves a better chance of the desired result, IMO...
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Dan once again you are demonstrating that there is still some quality out there. Can't for the life of me figure out why we have not heard or seen more activity this spring. With all due respect, can't imagine that we are really waiting for someone else to pull the trigger for us. MS and GS have been our recruiters the past 3+ years and unless the mystery man has 2 or 3 up his sleeve, not sure what the story is.

Goal scoring was a problem this year and as noted will require several guys to really step up. In games that we lost by 1 goal or tied (16 games) it shows that we were in a position to win in 62% of the games that we lost. Add the 3 games lost by 2 goals (hockey's nemesis) and we were in 73% of the games. But you are not in a game if you can't score, and don't have 1 or 2 go to guys in those circumstances.
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Mike Lowry is reporting we have picked up a Swede for this Fall but I'll let him tell us about it!!! Might be just what the doctor ordered 😉
 
Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

After the Whistle said:
Dan once again you are demonstrating that there is still some quality out there. Can't for the life of me figure out why we have not heard or seen more activity this spring...
Click to expand...

Well, ask and ye shall receive! This is a good day with two nice pick-ups - one on each side of the puck. Two more 18 year old true freshmen, so who knows exactly what they'll get this season, but both should be good players in the future and perhaps UNH gets neither if they offer them enrollment at 19. That aggressiveness is appreciated and should pay off down the road. Now its time to apply this same type of aggression to future recruiting classes and not simply to recruits three months out from freshmen fall semesters...

MacKinnon is a sturdy and physical defenseman who will give them a different look in their top-four. He's not going to contribute a lot offensively, but as I said yesterday if he can D up, win pucks and make exit passes he'll contribute right away. Hopefully, he can also stay out of the penalty box (check out his PIM in Des Moines last season!). Des Moines was a bad team last season, so hopefully that is why his +/- wasn't great. He was a -9 for the season. For comparisons sake, Lucas Bahn was a -10 in just 14 games for Des Moines! I'd imagine Wyse and Maass stay together and hope to see MacKinnon play with Gildon. The third pair will hopefully feature Boyd and Verrier, over Dawson. If Verrier is coming a year ahead of schedule I want to see him playing...

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Verrier/Dawson

UNH needed another defenseman - and getting a capable top-four guy is a huge win - but offense remained the bigger need IMO. So getting a two-way center, who can hopefully step into the top-six should make a big impact. Engaras is another 18 year old - but I think plugging him into a major role immediately is the right move. He seems to have the talent and UNH needs to give him the opportunity to shine and develop. Playing a top-six role right out of the gate would certainly be beneficial for his long-term UNH career, if not immediately...

While much of the focus was on the defense and goaltending last season, UNH's offense was historically bad. Even worse when you consider they averaged nearly four goals per game (31 G/8 GP) over the first eight games and just 2 GPG over the final 28 games of the year. They scored 48 goals in 24 HE contests. I took a look at top-six forwards for the top-ten scoring offenses in the country to see just how far away UNH's forward group was in 2017-18. Those teams also featured better overall scoring depth than UNH - but strictly in terms of top-six scoring, those teams averaged 84-116-200 from their six most potent scorers. UNH posted 44-73-117 from its top-six scoring forwards last season. So they came up more than a goal per game short and produced 83 less points overall. With the graduation of McNicholas and Salvaggio their returning top-six totaled 39-61-100. That leaves them 45 goals and 100 points shy of being an elite NCAA offense...

Development of their returning (and now upperclass) forwards and immediate contributions from Crookshank and Engaras are the keys to a successful season in Souza's first year. In the old days, USCHO posters used to predict scoring output for the UNH roster pre-season. Scoring 45 more goals this season is probably too much to ask - but closing that gap is certainly more feasible than it was yesterday. Can they manage an extra 25-30 goals this season - and be a serviceable offensive group this year? Where do they come from? Best case scenario, their 2018-19 top six looks something like this (last season goals in parenthesis)...

BVR (5) - Blackburn (11) - Grasso (2)
Crookshank (0) - Engaras (0) - Kelleher (4)

Those are their six most-skilled players - though Nazarian and his 9 goals may find their way into the top-six. I think growing this group of six is their best bet for long-term production both this season and beyond. Nazarian - Vela - MacAdams gives them a nice depth scoring line and a buzzing line that can forecheck and defend. On the fourth-line, Id rather see the youth play (Esposito - Cippolone/Pierson - Fregona) than the limited upperclassmen...
 
Dan said:
Well, ask and ye shall receive! This is a good day with two nice pick-ups - one on each side of the puck. Two more 18 year old true freshmen, so who knows exactly what they'll get this season, but both should be good players in the future and perhaps UNH gets neither if they offer them enrollment at 19. That aggressiveness is appreciated and should pay off down the road. Now its time to apply this same type of aggression to future recruiting classes and not simply to recruits three months out from freshmen fall semesters...

MacKinnon is a sturdy and physical defenseman who will give them a different look in their top-four. He's not going to contribute a lot offensively, but as I said yesterday if he can D up, win pucks and make exit passes he'll contribute right away. Hopefully, he can also stay out of the penalty box (check out his PIM in Des Moines last season!). Des Moines was a bad team last season, so hopefully that is why his +/- wasn't great. He was a -9 for the season. For comparisons sake, Lucas Bahn was a -10 in just 14 games for Des Moines! I'd imagine Wyse and Maass stay together and hope to see MacKinnon play with Gildon. The third pair will hopefully feature Boyd and Verrier, over Dawson. If Verrier is coming a year ahead of schedule I want to see him playing...

Wyse - Maass
Gildon - MacKinnon
Boyd - Verrier/Dawson

UNH needed another defenseman - and getting a capable top-four guy is a huge win - but offense remained the bigger need IMO. So getting a two-way center, who can hopefully step into the top-six should make a big impact. Engaras is another 18 year old - but I think plugging him into a major role immediately is the right move. He seems to have the talent and UNH needs to give him the opportunity to shine and develop. Playing a top-six role right out of the gate would certainly be beneficial for his long-term UNH career, if not immediately...

While much of the focus was on the defense and goaltending last season, UNH's offense was historically bad. Even worse when you consider they averaged nearly four goals per game (31 G/8 GP) over the first eight games and just 2 GPG over the final 28 games of the year. They scored 48 goals in 24 HE contests. I took a look at top-six forwards for the top-ten scoring offenses in the country to see just how far away UNH's forward group was in 2017-18. Those teams also featured better overall scoring depth than UNH - but strictly in terms of top-six scoring, those teams averaged 84-116-200 from their six most potent scorers. UNH posted 44-73-117 from its top-six scoring forwards last season. So they came up more than a goal per game short and produced 83 less points overall. With the graduation of McNicholas and Salvaggio their returning top-six totaled 39-61-100. That leaves them 45 goals and 100 points shy of being an elite NCAA offense...

Development of their returning (and now upperclass) forwards and immediate contributions from Crookshank and Engaras are the keys to a successful season in Souza's first year. In the old days, USCHO posters used to predict scoring output for the UNH roster pre-season. Scoring 45 more goals this season is probably too much to ask - but closing that gap is certainly more feasible than it was yesterday. Can they manage an extra 25-30 goals this season - and be a serviceable offensive group this year? Where do they come from? Best case scenario, their 2018-19 top six looks something like this (last season goals in parenthesis)...

BVR (5) - Blackburn (11) - Grasso (2)
Crookshank (0) - Engaras (0) - Kelleher (4)

Those are their six most-skilled players - though Nazarian and his 9 goals may find their way into the top-six. I think growing this group of six is their best bet for long-term production both this season and beyond. Nazarian - Vela - MacAdams gives them a nice depth scoring line and a buzzing line that can forecheck and defend. On the fourth-line, Id rather see the youth play (Esposito - Cippolone/Pierson - Fregona) than the limited upperclassmen...
Click to expand...

Lest we not forget a change in net this coming season.
 
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