Thanks for the heads up on this. If true, what a ****ing bummer--it's like getting kicked in the nuts, over and over. Who knows, maybe we can be competitive this season, but I'm inclined to agree with VTinNY. Half empty may be a little harsh, but the glass is not nearly as full as I'd like!
It's not just this off-season. We haven't had anything go our way since Viktor Stalberg decided to pass up his senior year after our FF appearance in 2009.It's official, can we take any more bad news, its been quite the offseason!
http://themackreport.com/
God that is the truth, its been a horrible few years!
FYI, according to this blog post by Ted Ryan, UVM was never a contender for the Roy brothers:
http://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/oncampus/
I'm a little surprised. With the loss of Stalberg and Girgensons, we sure could have used someone of his talent. To borrow a phrase from basketball, I thought we'd be in a full-court-press in an effort to land him. Apparently not.
I'm sorry, but I don't buy that at all. It sounds like a saving face attempt from Sneddon to me. It doesn't bother me, but I just don't think I believe what he's saying.
What bothers me most is the comment that Sneddon never talked to Kevin Roy. Gee whiz, even if there was "general knowledge" floating around that the Roy brothers were a package deal, don't you think as the head coach of a program that Kevin Roy reportedly had some interest in (whether true or not), he could have at least picked up the phone to assess the situation himself? It seems almost negligent not to take that one small step.
What you say makes sense. Hopefully it happened like that.Doesn't mean Sneddon didn't check around with people in Roy circle, just didn't talk directly to Roy because it was clear it was a package deal and UVM had one scholarship and two frosh goalies coming in. Also, in addition to general knowledge that Roys were a package deal, it seemed pretty much common knowledge that it was Northeastern from the time KRoy decommitted. Doubt Sneddon dismissed it entirely but read the tea leaves and realized he probably should spend time on search for assistants instead.
What bothers me most is the comment that Sneddon never talked to Kevin Roy. Gee whiz, even if there was "general knowledge" floating around that the Roy brothers were a package deal, don't you think as the head coach of a program that Kevin Roy reportedly had some interest in (whether true or not), he could have at least picked up the phone to assess the situation himself? It seems almost negligent not to take that one small step.
Well, yeah, that kind of was what I was expecting. Not necessarily from Sneddon, but I expected to read that we were heavily involved and lost out. Ryan's post made it seem like Sneddon was on the sidelines for this one--like "Oh well, we don't have room for another goalie, so why bother." I'd like to read they looked at it every which way, upside down and inside out, and only then did they come to the conclusion that it wouldn't work. Based on what I'm hearing from you and others, it sounds like that may have been the case.What do you expect Sneddon to say? "Yeah we were invovled and lost out."
What do you expect Sneddon to say? "Yeah we were invovled and lost out." Also, he can't comment by NCAA rules on a recruit who hasn't signed. Roy was on campus visiting, that is known. UVM was involved, and just flat out lost to Northeastern and the family had a relationsion with the prior Brown coach. Let's not over analyze this.
I think all can agree that UVM needs to show some real progress this year or Sneddon is out the door. That being said, does he need to make excuses for Girgensons or Deluca leaving? The quality ( in comparison to other Hockey East schools) of the facilities? Why Quebec's system of education and MJ is not condusive to College Hockey in general? I think not, all of these items have been discussed on this board and there is some pretty solid info supporting the limitations UVM has. Regarding the Roy situation, It was a package deal and his brother would have been a 4th goalie on a scholarship. And from whats posted, he may not even be that good of a goalie... Yeah, it would have been nice to have another MSL on the rink but at the cost and with thee needs of this team, burning a second scholarship and carrying 4 goalies isn't whats best for UVM in the coaches mind. I tend to agree. This team has worked hard to rebuild as a team in the offseason and I don't think adding Roy , who would mandate a second scholarship for his bro, would help the chemistry of this team at all. (Except he'd probably score a bunch of goals to make up for it...) Would have been nice but in hindsight, seems like it was a done deal a long time ago and this kids questionable character in how he decommitted from Brown isnt needed at this point either....
You make some really good points here, but facilities do matter. UVM isn't (often) competing with Union and Ferris for recruits, its more like BC, BU and UNH which all have vastly superior facilities. Don't get me wrong I love the Gutt, but for recruits comparing schools if other things are essentially equal having a really nice rink and athletic facilities can make the difference.He doesn't have to make excuses for Girgensons. Kid signed an NHL contract. You don't turn down that salary as an 18 year old. Deluca is unfortunate.
Facility argument is bunk. Sneddon went to Frozen Four in 09 with Gutterson as home rink. Anyone been to Union's rink? Nothing impressive, yet they were Frozen Four last year. Ferris State, not a great facility either. Gutterson might be on low end of Hockey East, but it's not an excuse. Gutterson was deemed worthy to host an international event this spring. I'd support a new facility, but it is not the reason this team is struggling. Vermont spends the most resources in the athletic department on hockey.
My point was we don't need to read article in the paper with Sneddon saying how challenging it is to do his job when we know that he's been successful with the same facilities, in the same league, and recruiting players before. Fact is, they have made mistakes evaluating players (on ice ability and character), got lazy with some staff hirings (Gasparini) and its hurt them. Needs to correct the culture. Needs to bring in guys like they had at core of 09 team. Lenes, Carlson, Strong, Roloff, Vock etc and get the big time player like Viktor Stalberg or Torrey Mitchell.
Quebec and Roy aren't the issues, the issue is that there is a need to highlight why they can't do something rather than focusing on what they can do. And the best thing you can do is win. No more of these excuses to hide a poor W-L record. I think we all know what UVM is capable of, it's up to Sneddon to remember what that is, and get back on track.
