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University of Maine 2024–2025: Freel-ing good

WhistleBB009 said:
I understand that my post has sparked reactions. I was simply expressing my perspective based on the information I have—information that you obviously don’t all have. We have to remember that it’s not just about hockey. These are young men who are also students. And we must also keep in mind that the NCAA has a principle—the principle of student-athlete well-being—which states that programs must be conducted in a manner that protects the physical and educational well-being of student-athletes. They must also protect their mental health environment.

That’s where the issue lies, and that’s the point I wanted to raise. There’s a real problem in that regard. And I’m not the only one saying it. Today, I’m speaking out. I’m sounding the alarm. Because this has to stop.

Some players are suffering—not all, of course. Some have privileges. But others are struggling quietly, and that is unacceptable in college hockey.

We need to be more aware and more sensitive to what these young men are going through. Behind the jerseys and stats, they’re human beings—students, sons, teammates—who deserve respect, fairness, and support.
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You decide to take a stand on this fan message board? You would be better served emailing the coaching staff and/or the athletic department.

I have not heard anything negative like this about Barr. If anything I’ve heard his players like him and the team first atmosphere. I think this is what the transfer portal is for… unhappy players. So far we are seeing guys that weren’t getting the ice time they want leaving. And we are attracting good players from the portal(Scott, Makar, Russell, Djuresevic, Mitton, Fowler, Niemo). These players are asking their connections on the team what it is like before transferring in.

Now, I could see Niemo being unhappy with his ice time. I could see Lesakowski upset with his ice time. Other than that I don’t see a case where ice time was warranted based on performance. And with the way Antonacci and Nobes played at the end you can see coaching staff must have made the right choice on the pairings since they both played well. Barr coaches the defense specifically.

Is your info coming from a player that thinks he deserves more ice time?
 
WhistleBB009 said:
I understand that my post has sparked reactions. I was simply expressing my perspective based on the information I have—information that you obviously don’t all have. We have to remember that it’s not just about hockey. These are young men who are also students. And we must also keep in mind that the NCAA has a principle—the principle of student-athlete well-being—which states that programs must be conducted in a manner that protects the physical and educational well-being of student-athletes. They must also protect their mental health environment.

That’s where the issue lies, and that’s the point I wanted to raise. There’s a real problem in that regard. And I’m not the only one saying it. Today, I’m speaking out. I’m sounding the alarm. Because this has to stop.

Some players are suffering—not all, of course. Some have privileges. But others are struggling quietly, and that is unacceptable in college hockey.

We need to be more aware and more sensitive to what these young men are going through. Behind the jerseys and stats, they’re human beings—students, sons, teammates—who deserve respect, fairness, and support.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the point you're trying to make however it doesn't make the grade. The idea of student-athlete was thrown out the window with the advent of NIL. If you're going to take the money, then you are going to have to eat any crap that comes with it - that's real life. And if anything it shows that the NCAA doesn't really care about either the student or the athlete - it's all about their $$. It's a problem they have created.

Now, on player mental health in general - yeah, I'm with you. These are young men who may or may not be well equipped to deal with the pressure and stress being placed on them. I'm all for whatever it takes to set them up to be mentally and physically healthy. But these are not folks around whom you need to walk on emotional eggshells.
 
amkirby10 said:
I really disagree with the idea that Maine would have been at the bottom of the conference without stellar goaltending. Thats a statement that was true about 19-20 with Swayman, but this team was far better than that. I think with average goaltending (by HEA standards) Maine would have been in more like 4th or 5th place. They are still defensively structured and limited chances. I agree with NorthMikes post in particular. I do agree with the larger overall point that they need to find some more consistency in performance, but that's a separate point in my opinion. Point stands, I think it's safe to say we all agree that the team needs more offensive firepower; we'll see if they can get it. It could either come from a newcomer, or if someone on the current roster can have a Joey Muldowney-esque improvement in one year. Unlikely, but maybe not impossible I would say.
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I may have slightly exaggerated. I think your assessment is fair.
 
The worst things I can think of that Barr openly said via press conference or the like is when he’d say that guys were struggling. Don’t think it was ever by name but the lineup and ice time was probably ultimately reflective of those comments.
 
Outside of the seniors, I feel like we may see some of the following:

Brandon Holt goes pro

Lesakowski, Arnott hit the portal.

Anyone else?
 
Blackbear96 said:
Outside of the seniors, I feel like we may see some of the following:

Brandon Holt goes pro

Lesakowski, Arnott hit the portal.

Anyone else?
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Boija is most likely to go pro. He’s a Richter finalist and is a free agent. An NHL team that signs him is essentially getting a 2nd or 3rd round equivalent talent without using any of their draft capital. I think it is very likely he signs.
 
Blackbear96 said:
Outside of the seniors, I feel like we may see some of the following:

Brandon Holt goes pro

Lesakowski, Arnott hit the portal.

Anyone else?
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This is about what I'm thinking but maybe add Carney who has trouble staying healthy. Holts parents are trying to get season tickets for next year as a few weeks ago so there is that.

Boija I think is 80 to leave and 20 to stay. We are going to need some transfers and impact players as we are losing some good players.
 
I can see Boija benefitting from another year in college. Don’t see Holt going anywhere. As for the transfers, could see Lesakowski, Arnott, and/or Carney hitting the portal.
 
WhistleBB009 said:
I understand that my post has sparked reactions. I was simply expressing my perspective based on the information I have—information that you obviously don’t all have. We have to remember that it’s not just about hockey. These are young men who are also students. And we must also keep in mind that the NCAA has a principle—the principle of student-athlete well-being—which states that programs must be conducted in a manner that protects the physical and educational well-being of student-athletes. They must also protect their mental health environment.

That’s where the issue lies, and that’s the point I wanted to raise. There’s a real problem in that regard. And I’m not the only one saying it. Today, I’m speaking out. I’m sounding the alarm. Because this has to stop.

Some players are suffering—not all, of course. Some have privileges. But others are struggling quietly, and that is unacceptable in college hockey.

We need to be more aware and more sensitive to what these young men are going through. Behind the jerseys and stats, they’re human beings—students, sons, teammates—who deserve respect, fairness, and support.
Click to expand...
I understand the point you are making. Calling out players publicly is very risky. I think it has the potential to be detrimental to team building. In my opinion it would be best to keep those discussions about player performance private. Perhaps there are other issues you are referring to that we don't know about.
 
If Maine doesn’t lose players early, I could see next years team being pretty solid. I expected Holt (graduating early), Boija, freel(graduating early), djurasevic to seek pro/other opportunities. If they all hang around Maine should be in the tourney no doubt.
 
I really hope Holt sticks around. He's my favorite player and in my opinion is our best defenseman. Would be happy for him if he moves on of course but man I hope he stays.
 
amkirby10 said:
I really hope Holt sticks around. He's my favorite player and in my opinion is our best defenseman. Would be happy for him if he moves on of course but man I hope he stays.
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Holt was one of the few defenseman who could consistently get the shots through from the point.
 
Seems like Maine will likely have transfers on D due to limited playing time. Bringing in Usereau and Langlois is a sign Barr wants to replace some defensemen at the bottom of the defensemen depth.

For upfront on the forward lines need a couple or few centers it seems. Either from portal or from major junior is my guess.

Maine 2025 Lineup

Seniors - 4
Juniors - 10
Sophmores - 4
Freshmen - 5

Freel(3.5)/?/J. Nadeau(4.5)
Fowler(3.75)/?/Russell(3.75)
Scholle(3.5)/Komarov(3.5)/Niemo(3.5)
Gerrior(3.75)/Pichette(3.5)/Peluso(3.75)

?, James(3.75), Califiore(3.5)

Holt(3.5)/Chabrier(3.75)
Langlois(4.0)/Djurecevic(3.75)
Usereau(4.0)/Peterson(3.75)

Antonacci(3.5)/Nobes(3.5)

Bioja
Berzins(3.75)
Stewart

Transfer
********
Dalton
Arnott
Morse
Lesakowski
Carney
 
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