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UNH Hockey 2023 Off Season Thread Turn and Face the Strange

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Chuck Murray said:
I'm not sure "disparage" is the right word, 'Ref. Keep in mind, though, that Josh Ciocco related at some point in an interview that he quit playing and got into coaching because (to paraphrase) "the guys weren't trying hard enough to win" at the ECHL level. Rosters there tend to be pretty "seat of the pants" propositions, and most players are NOT NHL properties at that level. Some players I'm sure compete as if their next game could well be their last - which in many cases is often true - but others are there to do a job, get paid, and don't have compelling options outside of the game (yet). The movie Slapshot remains to this day a pretty accurate representation of 'Coast hockey, albeit with far less fighting today. Guys at all different stages of their careers, most hanging on for that paycheck and little else, as 'Coast players rarely get up to the NHL level.



It's not all that unusual for 'Coast regulars to get brought in to cover for AHL emergency situations that an organization's own contracted players cannot satisfy. Often, it's nothing more than a player who happens to be in the area, and fills a need. I used to work with a guy who was uncle to a UNH player during the Krog era, and post-grad he also gave the low minors a try for a couple of years (didn't do that well), but for years after that, he was on a lot of will-call lists for 'Coast AND AHL teams if there was an emergency needs for a spare set of skates.

But most kids seem to have a pretty good idea that if you're playing in the 'Coast at a certain point, that's going to be it, and it's time either to go find a real world job (something a little easier for college players to successfully pull off) OR head overseas to a suitably minor Euro league to further prolong the inevitable end of the dream. For many, they play on despite the dream having already died ... and that's how someone like Ciocco would come into an environment where motivation was spotty at best. Make of it what you will.
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Typically the only real NHL prospects that spend any amount of time in the 'Coast are goaltenders. For a player and a team it can be more beneficial for a long term development to start in the 'Coast vs being second fiddle in the AHL to a guy about to make the jump. Very few position players start in or play in the 'Coast for very long if at all.
 
deltabravo62 said:
Typically the only real NHL prospects that spend any amount of time in the 'Coast are goaltenders. For a player and a team it can be more beneficial for a long term development to start in the 'Coast vs being second fiddle in the AHL to a guy about to make the jump. Very few position players start in or play in the 'Coast for very long if at all.
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Between 1988/89 and 2021/22, 727 ECHL players went on to play in the NHL, and I doubt that they were all goaltenders, Tomas Vacoun notwithstanding.
 
Snively65 said:
Between 1988/89 and 2021/22, 727 ECHL players went on to play in the NHL, and I doubt that they were all goaltenders, Tomas Vacoun notwithstanding.
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Thank you Commissioner Crelin. ;-)

Maybe it's a coincidence then that in the following article, four of the five players cited were goalies, including 3 with Stanley Cup pedigrees, and the fourth who moved on from Colorado a year before they ascended to their most recent Cup. Also, our own Casey DeSmith began his ascent from the Coast after his unexpected early departure from UNH.

Five ECHL Players Who Made The Jump To The NHL - FloHockey

Eric Bogueniecki is a good example of a UNH skater who spent time in the 'Coast, and eventually got up to The Show, with one magical season as a regular where he was a 20 goal scorer and a +22 player for a very good St. Louis team just after the turn of the century, before morphing back into the AAAA type player he otherwise was for most of his career. Snives' fave UNH NHL duration king Daniel Winnik also got his start there.

My guess - and it's admittedly a guess - is that 50% of the ECHL alums who "made it" to the NHL, probably played less than 20 games overall in The Show for their "career". Here's a link to the entire list, courtesy of the Coast's website; I'll just say that you'd have to be a very dedicated follower of the NHL to recognize most of these names. I personally recognize only a small fraction of the players on this list, and I pay pretty close attention:

Microsoft Word - ECHL Players in the NHL (cloudinary.com)
 
One of our former players who spent a long time in the 'Coast league was Eric Knodel...'the big K' right e.cat? According to hockeydb, had a couple of 50 point seasons. Loved him at UNH and I do believe he rode the pine (injury?) most of his freshman season so I heard but you veterans would know best. Like I said, at least, they are still skating. Awesome to see Warren Foegele and Brett Pesce out there last night! Maybe one of them gets the cup but, doubt it since the Bruins will win it all....ha!
 
Two seasons of .875-ish save percentages and a losing record at North Dakota, who was 13 games over .500 the last two seasons combined. Hopefully, Muszelik emerges as a (near) every night starter this season...
 
Dan said:
Two seasons of .875-ish save percentages and a losing record at North Dakota, who was 13 games over .500 the last two seasons combined. Hopefully, Muszelik emerges as a (near) every night starter this season...
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Don't forget, a lot of us had some skepticism when Fessenden transferred here from UAH a couple of years ago......
 
Chuck Murray said:
Thank you Commissioner Crelin. ;-)

Maybe it's a coincidence then that in the following article, four of the five players cited were goalies, including 3 with Stanley Cup pedigrees, and the fourth who moved on from Colorado a year before they ascended to their most recent Cup. Also, our own Casey DeSmith began his ascent from the Coast after his unexpected early departure from UNH.

Five ECHL Players Who Made The Jump To The NHL - FloHockey

Eric Bogueniecki is a good example of a UNH skater who spent time in the 'Coast, and eventually got up to The Show, with one magical season as a regular where he was a 20 goal scorer and a +22 player for a very good St. Louis team just after the turn of the century, before morphing back into the AAAA type player he otherwise was for most of his career. Snives' fave UNH NHL duration king Daniel Winnik also got his start there.

My guess - and it's admittedly a guess - is that 50% of the ECHL alums who "made it" to the NHL, probably played less than 20 games overall in The Show for their "career". Here's a link to the entire list, courtesy of the Coast's website; I'll just say that you'd have to be a very dedicated follower of the NHL to recognize most of these names. I personally recognize only a small fraction of the players on this list, and I pay pretty close attention:

Microsoft Word - ECHL Players in the NHL (cloudinary.com)
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Just on Crelin’s payroll as a consultant, along with consulting gigs for Miss Thundercat at the Bottomfeeders Tourney (BTW, UNH beat Dartmouth in the SE Regional, so missed a chance to attend the Futile Four) and for Michelle Morgan with the AHA.

Yup, at 798 NHL games, Winnik is third all-time for UNH alums, and after 14 years in the NHL, now in his fifth year playing in Swiss league. But, he played a couple seasons in the AHA with the Coyotes system right after UNH, and only five ECHL games the second year, which seems largely irrelevant. Another “what if….?” had Winnik stayed his fourth year for the 2006/07 UNH season (26-11-2) when the Cats lost 5-2 to BC in HEA final and 2-1 to Miami in Manchvegas regional semi.
 
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Chuck Murray said:
We haven't held season tickets since the Snively days, but if they make the change NOW, I'll jump in for at least two more, and with other family members still sidelined, that could easily double or even triple in a year or two.

There are indeed hundreds, more likely thousands of stranded fans, just like us. And yes, give us hope. NOW.
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I've been getting a number of emails and phones calls looking for me to renew, which to be honest is a big improvement in communication as compared to the past couples of years and is good to see. I did respond to the email outlining my issues and complaints and my hesitancy to renew. Probably will not matter, but who knows maybe it will be seen by someone higher up. If enough STHs let them know what our issues you would figure it has to be run up the flag pole at some point.
 
Scott said:
Don't forget, a lot of us had some skepticism when Fessenden transferred here from UAH a couple of years ago......
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I won’t judge him until we see him play. Fessenden, however, had a .910 SPCT on a miserable UAH team. The Chargers second and third goalies were .854 and .785, respectively...

You are correct about the skepticism, but he had solid numbers well above how his team defended. These are so-so numbers on a much better team.

That said, UND #1 DeRidder did not have much better numbers with his SPCT just under .900...
 
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Dan said:
I won’t judge him until we see him play. Fessenden, however, had a .910 SPCT on a miserable UAH team. The Chargers second and third goalies were .854 and .785, respectively...

You are correct about the skepticism, but he had solid numbers well above how his team defended. These are so-so numbers on a much better team.

That said, UND #1 DeRidder did not have much better numbers with his SPCT just under .900...
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Another mediocre pick up by the stats but we'll see. I was hoping for a top notch portal player that might take a chance but thats waning as most are gone.
 
NCAA watcher said:
As for Chuck's concern that Dumais has other options, I think this year's hiring market is now complete. So unless something happens unforeseen this summer, Dumais will have to wait for March 2024.

So there will be lots of candidates, and as I indicated, other than Vermont, not a lot of openings in the East (or college hockey generally). AD Rich better be putting soft feelers out for people so she can move quickly in early March when UNH bows out of the play in game.
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Colgate opened up today.
 
Robert Balin said:
Another mediocre pick up by the stats but we'll see. I was hoping for a top notch portal player that might take a chance but thats waning as most are gone.
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It appears to me that on the Gopher Puck Live site, 162 of 277 portal players are still available. Is there a more up-to-date portal site somewhere?
 
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Snively65 said:
Per your quoted material, is Todd Woodcock already leaving UVM?
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The way I read 'Watcher's post on UVM/Woodcock is that he has to date underperformed his incoming expectations, so theoretically UVM could make a quick move IF they found the right guy.

With Dumais possibly being that "right guy", and with ECAC rival Colgate now open, does that get AD Rich moving??
 
If Union - where he had coached before - wasn't a fit for Dumais, I'm not sure Colgate would be a fit either. They have a newer arena, of course, but likely many of the same Union challenges...
 
Chuck Murray said:
The way I read 'Watcher's post on UVM/Woodcock is that he has to date underperformed his incoming expectations, so theoretically UVM could make a quick move IF they found the right guy.

With Dumais possibly being that "right guy", and with ECAC rival Colgate now open, does that get AD Rich moving??
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Woodcock has improved UVM’s record each of the past two years and beat UNH in the MBPBEGAM game this year, so I cannot imagine that he would get the boot after only three years before he has even had a chance to fill out the roster with his own recruits. In contrast, MS7 has had eight years of recruiting to fill out his roster, such as it is.
 
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