UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

[After the Whistle]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

No. This is the way it will be. It is written and cannot be changed.

Lov Ya Watcher, just looking for some thoughts and discussion.

You suspect he'll come back as a fifth season 26 year old to see action in three games? I don't think Souza wants to start his first year with a stopgap goalie situation of untested Robinson and "proven" fifth year guy. He'll bring in a new guy to fill the spot until Commessio.

See, On this I could not agree more. Have no clue what the original promise was, but this guy got screwed in my mind. 26 and no resume in a resume driven field. Ouch!

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

You suspect he'll come back as a fifth season 26 year old to see action in three games? I don't think Souza wants to start his first year with a stopgap goalie situation of untested Robinson and "proven" fifth year guy. He'll bring in a new guy to fill the spot until Commessio.

Tend to agree, 'Watcher. I've heard rumblings before that Clark might not even be back for NEXT season, but that should play itself out in the coming months. I figure Souza will get a full year next season to see Robinson up close and personal, and that should enable him to make the evaluation as to whether Robinson is fit and ready to be the #1 guy starting his soph season (Souza's first season in charge) OR if he's going to need to go get someone to push Robinson. That's unlikely to work for Clark in either scenario ... unless somehow Tirone gets hurt next season, Robinson's not ready, and then Clark gets another chance to shine, and finally grabs it.

But yeah, that's why I said "technically" 'cuz at this point, it's crystal clear that Clark isn't highly regarded by Coach Umile, who brought in Tirone a semester early after "L'Affaire DeSmith" dropped the job in Clark's lap, and has rarely played him since. Unless Souza feels very strongly otherwise - or unless Clark develops a sudden interest in a graduate degree - it's difficult seeing Clark going longer than this time next year before getting on with the rest of his life. Ironically, at around the same time as the guy who lost faith in him 2+ years ago.

Clark's career arc at UNH is just plan weird. I can't offhand think of another goalie anywhere in D-1 who started his career as #1 (thanks CDS), spent the next two seasons (when healthy) as a mostly forgotten, very distant #2, and will now almost certainly finish his career as the #3 goalie. You don't see that every day, boys and girls ...

 

[JB]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

And the #1 isn't Ken Dryden...

There are times I wonder what Tirone is doing and what exactly would he need to do to get pulled.

 

[Snively65]

Dan, I don't want to be snarky ... but at least in a UNH thread, the DU references can be initially confusing, what with our legendary soon-to-be-ex-coach sharing the same initials as the soon-to-be-D1-champions? ((and isn't there just a wee bit of irony in that BTW)) Can the school/program just be "Denver" in here, while DU remains for our coach emeritus?

Or......, we could go back to using "The Umileator" instead of "DU" on our threads?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Or......, we could go back to using "The Umileator" instead of "DU" on our threads?

I prefer Bashar al-Assad. Clinging to power while destroying the thing he claims to care about. It's going to take more than tomahawk missles to get him to relinquish power.

 

[Darius]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

I prefer Bashar al-Assad. Clinging to power while destroying the thing he claims to care about. It's going to take more than tomahawk missles to get him to relinquish power.

Really?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

I prefer Bashar al-Assad. Clinging to power while destroying the thing he claims to care about. It's going to take more than tomahawk missles to get him to relinquish power.

Are you saying Bashar - oops, err - Coach Umile is coming back in 2018/2019 as Associate Head Coach?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Are you saying Bashar - oops, err - Coach Umile is coming back in 2018/2019 as Associate Head Coach?

No, you're thinking of the Putin/Medvedev switcheroo, in which Medvedev was the handpicked successor.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

And the #1 isn't Ken Dryden...

There are times I wonder what Tirone is doing and what exactly would he need to do to get pulled.

I don't think there's much he could do to get pulled; it was in the paper during the final rout, er game with UML that he was 'asked' if he wanted to continue so that speaks volumes. When you are down 6-1 in the first you'd expect the goalie to be pulled? I just think Coach U (this is how I refer to him) believes his work ethic is 'second to none' (his words, echoed many times when he speaks of DT) and unfortunately in the few games Clark has had as of late (and I think he started one this season, the AZ state game if I have that right) it didn't go well so there you go; one and done. Proved the point I guess and he hasn't had another chance since. And I've always felt that Clark was supposed to be CDS's back up until DT arrived and then, he'd be DT's back up. I do believe that was the initial plan.

Who knows what would've happened if Clark hadn't gotten injured in that Merrimack game last season after his great Union game but he never came back after that..I've always admired him and am grateful to him for stepping in when he did in that debacle; sometimes I wonder if the 'Cats have ever really recovered after that. But, water under the dam right? I know I'm not alone with those feelings either but that's besides the point. Like you Chuck, it won't be a surprise if Adam moves on this year and I would wish him the best.

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Coaching 101 - if you're plan isn't working, you try a new plan. Sticking with Tirone unchallenged has been a huge indictment on Umile. He simply hasn't earned it in the least...

If I'm Clark - I'm deciding if I still want to play after college. If I do, I'll head out. College, minor pro, wherever. Maybe he goes to Canisius and becomes and All-American. If not, I'm sticking around and milking UNH and my scholarship for all its worth on my way to a masters degree...

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Coaching 101 - if you're plan isn't working, you try a new plan. Sticking with Tirone unchallenged has been a huge indictment on Umile. He simply hasn't earned it in the least...

If I'm Clark - I'm deciding if I still want to play after college. If I do, I'll head out. College, minor pro, wherever. Maybe he goes to Canisius and becomes and All-American. If not, I'm sticking around and milking UNH and my scholarship for all its worth on my way to a masters degree...

I think you (and others) are being a little harsh on Tirone. Say what you will, but he's the best of the bunch (even if the "bunch" as a whole is below average at the D-1 level) and it's hardly his fault that whenever Clark has gotten his (admittedly limited) chances, he's spit the bit. Tirone deserves huge credit this season for the Merrimack series. Is his talent so great that he shouldn't have to earn his time? Nope. But if the guy who is supposed to challenge him can't muster up a battle ... again, is that Tirone's fault, or Clark's fault?

And of course, it's Coach's fault for not identifying goalie as an area where better talent needed to be recruited. Tirone/Clark was clearly supposed to be a 3 year plan, and that seems to have been a miscalculation. Might not have been so bad with better defensemen with more ability to get the puck out of the zone ... but again, Coach takes the blame there too for letting some apparently talented D-men sneak out on their commitments when he wasn't watching things closely enough.

I think you've fairly assessed Clark's outlook and options. If he still wants to play though, I'd say those options are limited at best. Tirone looks like a classic Coast League goalie ... so what does that bode for his backup?

To say it will be interesting to see if Coach allows Robinson to compete for significant PT this season - in a year when he's at the very least shooting for the NRN, or stretching it to 21 (*giggle*) to challenge for the D-1 tourney - is an understatement. DT is clearly his *binky*, so it's going to either take Robinson standing on his head and spitting nickels OR an injury to Tirone (and possibly both) to get Mr. Stubborn to change his thinking. Maybe the first hint we all get as UNH fans as to the transitional role/power for Coach Souza in this last year of the much discussed "3 year plan" will be to see if Robinson and/or Clark emerge to challenge for serious PT between the pipes. 'Cuz you know for sure that ain't never been part of the Coach Emeritus' long-standing playbook.

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

I disagree completely Chuck - we've been through this before and I've avoided commenting on the goalies often this season. While many others have seen what I see, I think there are also a lot of (especially on the coaching staff) Tirone apologists out there, who are happy to point of all the reasons Tirone is not to blame. The bottom line is he is NOT a capable DI goalie and he has simply done nothing to earn the monopoly on playing time he has been given.

I don't care if, in a vacuum, fans think he's better than Clark or if the coaches think he's better. The problem is in many games he has failed to produce for his team and is the biggest reason the team has struggled with goals against the last two years. Period. He gives up a lot of goals. He gives up soft goals. He gives up goals at the worst times (first minute/shot, last minute/shot, immediately after UNH goals, completely against run of play, etc). At the very least, he should be forced to compete for his spot - maybe he wins it and the competition forces him to focus, make a change or two to be better. Umile has cheated Tirone, Clark and most importantly the team by failing to hold his #1 goalie accountable in the least...

I've gone through the numbers in a previous post - but the fact remains if you throw out Clark's one FR clunker against UML his play through the two games he saw as a SO is right there with Tirone's FR season. Since then, Tirone was quite likely the worst regular goalie in DI as a SO and well below average this season.

You call Clark's opportunities limited? That's pretty generous considering Clark has played 133 minutes since his injury - as compared to Tirone's nearly 4300. I wouldn't call that limited I'd call that essentially non-existent.

When Tirone has awful games, he gets thrown right back in. I mean he was all-world awful for a couple stretches last season. And I don't believe Clark would have been given anything more than a chance to have a bad game before he was nailed back to the bench (if he hadn't been hurt). Later in the year when Tirone's horrible play continued, Regan came in and played a heck of a game. What happened? Tirone played every single minute the rest of the season and the team finished 3-8-2...

Meanwhile, Clark has to be thinking that with every goal that goes in he can add a month to ever seeing the crease again. And then when he sees the ice once a season if he doesn't produce immediately his chance is blown? Nice coaching job as far as confidence and putting players in a position to be successful by Dick...

As far as Tirone playing well against MC - he didn't. He faced a lot of shots. As our SOG aficionado you know better than all of us that totals don't matter and not all shots are created equal. Just like last year, MC threw everything they touched on net. He made a lot of easy counting saves and very few good ones. For every good save he makes, he gives up a soft one - like the goal off the wall from below the dots scored by the Warriors. Or the one when he dove out to challenge the shooter and gave up a walk-in...

If MC had finishers, they would have caught him out of position a number of other times when they missed nets or fanned on shots. The true heroes of that series were the defenseman who's blocked shot totals decreased the chances Tirone would get beat on another softy...

But MC doesn't have finishers - so their fans and announcers moan and groan about all the shots they took from the blue line, the wall and angles along the goal line and assume they must have been 'robbed'.

As Colby Cohen said during the Cincy regional - it's not how many saves it's when and can you make the key one. Tirone never seems to make the key save at the key time. While all of his dazzling saves - the ones that keep earning him PT rope - are nothing more than show after he gets beat by the next shot unscreened from 60 ft...

---

All I ask is that until he actually plays up to the level he is regarded by the coaching staff - he actually be judged on his performance and the other goalies are given a chance. I don't think it's too much to ask thar the coaching staff hold all players to the same standard and that players actually earn PT. At least FORCE Tirone to have to prove me wrong. Instead the job is just handed to him again and again, hardly the formula for bringing out the best in someone...

 

[Lemonade]

I disagree completely Chuck - we've been through this before and I've avoided commenting on the goalies often this season. While many others have seen what I see, I think there are also a lot of (especially on the coaching staff) Tirone apologists out there, who are happy to point of all the reasons Tirone is not to blame. The bottom line is he is NOT a capable DI goalie and he has simply done nothing to earn the monopoly on playing time he has been given.

I don't care if, in a vacuum, fans think he's better than Clark or if the coaches think he's better. The problem is in many games he has failed to produce for his team and is the biggest reason the team has struggled with goals against the last two years. Period. He gives up a lot of goals. He gives up soft goals. He gives up goals at the worst times (first minute/shot, last minute/shot, immediately after UNH goals, completely against run of play, etc). At the very least, he should be forced to compete for his spot - maybe he wins it and the competition forces him to focus, make a change or two to be better. Umile has cheated Tirone, Clark and most importantly the team by failing to hold his #1 goalie accountable in the least...

I've gone through the numbers in a previous post - but the fact remains if you throw out Clark's one FR clunker against UML his play through the two games he saw as a SO is right there with Tirone's FR season. Since then, Tirone was quite likely the worst regular goalie in DI as a SO and well below average this season.

You call Clark's opportunities limited? That's pretty generous considering Clark has played 133 minutes since his injury - as compared to Tirone's nearly 4300. I wouldn't call that limited I'd call that essentially non-existent.

When Tirone has awful games, he gets thrown right back in. I mean he was all-world awful for a couple stretches last season. And I don't believe Clark would have been given anything more than a chance to have a bad game before he was nailed back to the bench (if he hadn't been hurt). Later in the year when Tirone's horrible play continued, Regan came in and played a heck of a game. What happened? Tirone played every single minute the rest of the season and the team finished 3-8-2...

Meanwhile, Clark has to be thinking that with every goal that goes in he can add a month to ever seeing the crease again. And then when he sees the ice once a season if he doesn't produce immediately his chance is blown? Nice coaching job as far as confidence and putting players in a position to be successful by Dick...

As far as Tirone playing well against MC - he didn't. He faced a lot of shots. As our SOG aficionado you know better than all of us that totals don't matter and not all shots are created equal. Just like last year, MC threw everything they touched on net. He made a lot of easy counting saves and very few good ones. For every good save he makes, he gives up a soft one - like the goal off the wall from below the dots scored by the Warriors. Or the one when he dove out to challenge the shooter and gave up a walk-in...

If MC had finishers, they would have caught him out of position a number of other times when they missed nets or fanned on shots. The true heroes of that series were the defenseman who's blocked shot totals decreased the chances Tirone would get beat on another softy...

But MC doesn't have finishers - so their fans and announcers moan and groan about all the shots they took from the blue line, the wall and angles along the goal line and assume they must have been 'robbed'.

As Colby Cohen said during the Cincy regional - it's not how many saves it's when and can you make the key one. Tirone never seems to make the key save at the key time. While all of his dazzling saves - the ones that keep earning him PT rope - are nothing more than show after he gets beat by the next shot unscreened from 60 ft...

---

All I ask is that until he actually plays up to the level he is regarded by the coaching staff - he actually be judged on his performance and the other goalies are given a chance. I don't think it's too much to ask thar the coaching staff hold all players to the same standard and that players actually earn PT. At least FORCE Tirone to have to prove me wrong. Instead the job is just handed to him again and again, hardly the formula for bringing out the best in someone...

I couldn't agree more. There has to be competition at every position. Tiring isn't the caliber goalie that you should pencil in no matter what. Hopefully Robinson comes in a can improve that situation. Robinson was a 3rd round NHL draft pick so hopefully the potential is there for him to at least pressure tirone. To his credit I also think Souza has recognized the goalie situation and went out and got a blue chip recruit to fill the net in a few years. Building from the back end works.

 

[Snively65]

I couldn't agree more. There has to be competition at every position. Tiring isn't the caliber goalie that you should pencil in no matter what. Hopefully Robinson comes in a can improve that situation. Robinson was a 3rd round NHL draft pick so hopefully the potential is there for him to at least pressure tirone. To his credit I also think Souza has recognized the goalie situation and went out and got a blue chip recruit to fill the net in a few years. Building from the back end works.

I think that this entire goalie problem is a red herring. None of the Umileator's options in net have been any good for three years now. Competition to see who is most incompetent? Pu-lease! Why does Mike McShane at Div 3 Norwich have Cap Raider as an assistant coach instead of UNH? Ditto for the UNH blue liners for the past few years; just one or two D-men who can skate (not pass) the puck out of the zone does not cut it. Why does UNH not have a former blue liner as an assistant coach / recruiter? But, that was not the main point in my above post, as no head coach could get anywhere with the talent provided him the past few years. Yeah, I get the point that he should have been involved in recruiting, but it had come out that was probably never his bailiwick.

My point was/is that even when the Umileator had talented players, even when be put freshman Darren Haydar on his first line / first PP unit, he could not get the job done. Even when he had two excellent goalies, such as Matt Carney and Mike Ayers, along with 7-8 solid blue liners, like he had in 2001-2002, he could not get the job done. Just a lousy in-game, on ice coach, IMHO.

Edit: trivia question. What did Robbie Ftorek say to Cap when their Needham team fell behind 3-1 in the Mass Schoolboy championship (Greg Ambrose not allowed to answer)?

 

[NCAA watcher]

Ditto for the UNH blue liners for the past few years; just one or two D-men who can skate (not pass) the puck out of the zone does not cut it.

I really hope Souza recognizes DU's small mobile d. He has said he likes big d, like Wyse 6'4 Green 6'2 Miller 6'2, Gildon 6'2 and Mass 6'3. Lets get a puck handler or two. NCAA All-Tournament defensemen were 5'10 Pionk and 5'10 Butcher.

Denver's defense 5'10 Butcher, 5'10 Davies 5'8 Plant 5'10, Van Hooris 5'7 Hillman 6'1 and Hammond 6'2.

Edit: trivia question. What did Robbie Ftorek say to Cap when their Needham team fell behind 3-1 in the Mass Schoolboy championship (Greg Ambrose not allowed to answer)?

Isn't that John Candy?

 

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Dan, I'm not saying Tirone is an elite D-1 goalie by any stretch. I thought that was pretty clear. He's simply the best of a below average bunch of goalies. I don't think he should be guaranteed playing time, either. But when your chief competition either is (unluckily) injured for most of his original soph season and long stretches this season - and hacks up hairballs like ASFU when he does get a rare shot - is that Tirone's fault? I remember saying at the time (two plus years ago, when both were in their frosh seasons) that I thought it was tough for Clark to virtually see no ice after Tirone arrived, and he warranted better treatment. So I'm not even close to being a Tirone "apologist".

You also talk about making saves when they count ... how about winning postseason games, don't they count? Again, I'm not saying he's even Honorable Mention HE All-Conference quality. On his good days, he can be ... and when he's off, he's horrible. But he has won in the postseason, both as a frosh and now (albeit only the MBPBEGAM round) as a junior. You give him no credit for the Merrimack series, and you've always discounted his role in the surprising stretch run at the end of his frosh season. Maybe Umile's not the only one being unfair on this issue?

I do think we (somewhat) agree that Coach has put more faith in Tirone than his overall play has justified. I think we differ in that, I don't think Clark has done much to stake his claim. He had a 3 month head start dropped into his lap when CDS messed up. You downplay, if not completely overlook that simple fact in almost every argument you've made on this issue. Do you really think Coach wanted to burn a half-season/full year of "teacher's pet" Tirone's eligibility for kicks and giggles, if Clark had presented him with a realistic front line option?

If Umile, or Souza/Umile decide next October to really open up true competition at the goalie position, I'm all in favor. I only care that the best guy gets most of the time, and if it's close, then I have no issue with a rotation or a similar arrangement. Ferchissakes, let all 3 of 'em play (another fubar issue that's clearly gone awry at the coach's doing) just to hammer home DU's poor planning for all the world to see. I just happen to think Tirone will get the better of Clark, and Robinson (as a frosh) will need to be "Conklin" to Tirone's "Matile" to force the issue of a senior/frosh rotation.

Sometimes the most popular guy on a losing team is the back-up goalie, and with all due respect, I think that's somewhat in play here.

 

[Snively65]

Isn't that John Candy?

 

[Dan]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Chuck -

The FACT of the matter is this, Umile has mishandled his goaltending situation hurting the production of both and the results of the team/program. None of that is Tirone's fault. It's DU's. Clark would be better if he had more chances, the team would be better off with a competition and Tirone would be better off if he was challenged.

---

As for me being unfair to Tirone - I certainly have my opinions, but as always I dive deep into the numbers to see if I'm right in those opinions or not. The numbers don't lie. Tirone is NO better than Clark based on their overall production to this point. Which, again, leaves only one conclusion. Competition.

Unfortunately, DU has fallen victim (as have some fans) to the myth that Tirone is better because of his 2014-15 second half and his playoff 'prowess'.

Real quick on the playoffs - because, really?! He had one good playoff run - in his FR season. More on that later. Other than that he's 4-5 overall and 3-3 in a playoff round you don't even think should exist. Now you're using it as evidence he's a clear number one? Cmon. That's three playoff wins against another bottom feeder and a weak offensive bottom feeder at that. He played well enough to win. Good for him. What I said was the idea he stole that series or was the key reason the team won is balogna - and that's the simple truth. Go rewatch the games, few if any big saves and multiple soft goals...

As for the myth of 2014-15 Tirone, I'll bet most posters here are unaware that Tirone carried a 3.15 GAA and an .899 SPCT into the second to last week of the regular season. In other words, worse production than Clark.

(And this was his 'good' season. Since then he's finished 61st nationally in GAA and 50th in SPCT as a SO and 53rd/37th this season over 4300 minutes. That's OK - but we hold Clarks incredibly small sample size of 133 minutes against him?!)

Over the next three weeks, including the first round of the playoffs UNH played 4 games against a UConn team that finished 54th in the country with 1.86 GPG and two against Merrimack (47, 2.13 GPG) and UNH allowed just five goals in six games. It is these six games - against two of the worst HE offenses in league history - that continue to pump Tirone's tires to this day. Credit to him for carrying that confidence into the following weekend, when for the first and ONLY time in his career he stole a weekend for his team.

That's it - one good weekend and a couple of weeks against the dregs of college hockey forwards and he became untouchable. Unfortunately, he is not the goalie who showed up in Providence that weekend and there are no more games against 2014-15 UConn on the schedule...

And please don't come back and tell me I can't exclude those games. Any goalie in the country - including Clark - would have stood up to the (on average) 19.3 shot/game barrage and shut down those offenses. As evidenced by the fact that every goalie UConn and MC faced did just that. I wonder how many others were anointed as a result...

BTW, you're wrong about Tirone's arrival resulting from Clark's first half. When DeSmith (AHL All-Rookie, btw) was kicked off the team Tirone was immediately called back East and scheduled for a second semester arrival. His wasted half season of eligibility had nothing to do with the team's first half. He was set for the second semester because he couldn't come earlier.

Also interesting to note - once Tirone arrived the two goalies actually did rotate for two weeks. Clark allowed four goals in a loss at Omaha and a tie with Dartmouth. Tirone allowed two in a win over Omaha and one in a win vs PC - making 11 less saves. Then Clark had one bad start against UMass and the rotation was over. Even when Tirone's numbers ballooned up to 3.15/.899 pre-UConn Clark never sniffed a second chance...

Umile wanted Tirone to be the guy from the start - and has used every Clark struggle as rationalization for his pre-judgement while giving Tirone pass after pass. THAT is unfair. To Clark. To Tirone. To the team. Me calling for an open competition and accountability amongst the goaltenders while backing it up with evidence is not...

This may not matter to some, who think both are bad, but it should matter to the HEAD COACH. It certainly matters to the recruiters who would love to have the few more wins an open competition might have created added onto the team's record when pitching recruits. I bet it matters to those same recruits when they're gauging how far away UNH really is...

Finally, the coaches job is to make his players better and to put kids in a position to be successful. Umile's not making either goalie better and throwing Clark into a random game where it's shutout or get out is not exactly a recipe for success. He and the team deserve an open AND extended competition.

 

[Felger]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

I couldn't agree more. There has to be competition at every position. Tiring isn't the caliber goalie that you should pencil in no matter what. Hopefully Robinson comes in a can improve that situation. Robinson was a 3rd round NHL draft pick so hopefully the potential is there for him to at least pressure tirone. To his credit I also think Souza has recognized the goalie situation and went out and got a blue chip recruit to fill the net in a few years. Building from the back end works.

I'm with Lemonade and Dan on this issue - it pains me to be on a different side of an issue than my radio partner Chuck - though I freely admit that the entire UNH goaltending dysfunction merely proves the old axiom that you can't make chicken salad out of chicken excrement.

But lets not replace one false narrative with another one. I HOPE that Robinson can live up to his potential and the hype. But lets not forget he is now playing in that manure pile called the NAHL. If my numbers are correct, that means three incoming players are currently in the NAHL. Just seven more and we will be Merrimack.

Everytime I read another one of those pedantic, condescending posts on this thread about where so and so is ranked by Central scouting and where he will likely go in the NHL draft I think back to the 2004 team. Yes, it had lost a lot coming off back to back Frozen Fours. But also had two players selected in the top 60 of the NHL draft. Those two guys scored a whopping 19 points in 69 career games in Durham. Needless to say neither ever sniffed the NHL.

Not saying Robinson or any of the other saviors I read about on here will suffer the same fate. But lets see what they are - and perhaps make them earn their playing time? - before annointing them like many have Danny Boy.

 

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond

Interesting back and forth about the goal tending situation; let's say the goal tending situation didn't change in 14-15; that CDS finishes his career at UNH. DT is slated to come the fall of '15 as planned...I maintain that he was slated to be the successor to CDS I think most would agree that was the 'plan'. Who knows how Clark would've done that year (under CDS) if that was the case, but what we do know is that he (Clark) was pretty much cast aside when DT arrives. UNH goes on that second half 'run' of winning what, 9 games straight heading into the HE playoffs (and yes, I know who we played to do that) so DT looks pretty strong.

Lest we forget that we also had Brett Pesce, some decent forechecking players like Willows that helped the defensive cause. To me that's a big part of the Tirone 'back story'. While I agree he has had some stinker games I also think it's reasonable to say that he hasn't exactly had a ton of help back there in these past two seasons; I think that's been lost in this convo. He's had a ton of rubber come his way that's for sure; he's not 'super man' back there. Not that it matters but I really don't have a dog in this fight, and I emphatically agree that Adam Clark didn't get a fair shake, and that's a shame.

...and is it possible to reserve judgement on Mike Robinson until he gets HIS fair shake the following season? 'Coz that's when we will really know what he's capable of, if you ask me, if things remain the same. Not to mention the fact that our defense sans Cleland will need at least that long to re-establish itself with the newcomers (who I cannot wait to see arrive). Cam Marks...you're on.