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UVM Offseason 2023

Wicked Slappaahs said:
I always feel for the players in these circumstances. Regardless of the details, the players end up dealing with the fall out. Here's hoping they rally around each other and the new coach this season.
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I agree with you. Bummer for the players. Sadly, the portal may be very busy at the end of the year.
 
Lots of interesting comments. Our history with these types of things isn't the best. Also believe there is a high level of scrutiny on the hill following the curious school reaction to Men's BB issue they had with their star player over the past few years. Unfortunately, with the law firm that Woodcroft has and their initial comments it does not appear that Todd is going to go away quietly. It's his choice and right to fight for his reputation and ability to have a future livelihood in the world of hockey. So, this will be in the background as the team moves forward.

I also felt that the program was making slow progress and with the talent level heavily slanted in the Jr class (really Woodcroft's 1st recruited class) and some nice incoming freshman we were going to continue to make strides over the next 2 years. I hope the coaching staff and Steve W. has a tight connection to the players and were keys to their coming to UVM. If not and players jump ship then we've got a real problem. Not to be dismissed is this Noise level surrounding the program and impacts to future recruiting. Good players and their families read all this stuff and have to ask themselves if they want to be here while this is going on. Additionally, the "sell" for the past few years has been the international connections, the pro connections and what Todd and his team could do for recruits. Steve W. and company have to figure out a new angle and be able to keep the recruiting on the tracks. As I said previously not what the program needed for sure.
 
Wiedler has a ton of international connections and is a great recruiter from everyone I know. He brought in tons of international guys at before he came to UVM, and of course after. I don't think that international connections angle would be the problem. The issues as I see them are whether issue/scandal causes anyone to leave, if it prevents future recruits from being interested, and whether we have the "game coach" going forward. For all I know Wiedler did all the on ice strategy and plays, no idea, but if that was Woodcroft then someone needs to step in there.

I'm just watching the portal and commitments....if key guys start leaving then that's the main issue.
 
Wiedler always seemed like someone who had the makings of a future head coach. Spent a lot of time at AIC working with Eric Lang and they did an incredible job turning that in to a real hockey program. I think there is a real chance he is able to keep this rebuild going. I don't know if it's the most likely but there's a chance.

The portal and commits will tell the story. There was always so much hype around Woodcroft being able to use his connections, scouting ability, and coaching methods. Wiedler was probably the main recruiter but I worry that they always used Woodcroft as the selling point to recruits. It will be interesting to see. According to instagram, Caeden Herrington was on campus yesterday. Imagine taking a recruiting visit in the middle of all this...

Also, I guess this crushes whatever hope there was of Artyom Levshunov being a Cat. He would've been the biggest recruit in program history, if they could've managed to pulled it of. Ughhh
 
NYCatamount89 said:
Wiedler always seemed like someone who had the makings of a future head coach. Spent a lot of time at AIC working with Eric Lang and they did an incredible job turning that in to a real hockey program. I think there is a real chance he is able to keep this rebuild going. I don't know if it's the most likely but there's a chance.

The portal and commits will tell the story. There was always so much hype around Woodcroft being able to use his connections, scouting ability, and coaching methods. Wiedler was probably the main recruiter but I worry that they always used Woodcroft as the selling point to recruits. It will be interesting to see. According to instagram, Caeden Herrington was on campus yesterday. Imagine taking a recruiting visit in the middle of all this...

Also, I guess this crushes whatever hope there was of Artyom Levshunov being a Cat. He would've been the biggest recruit in program history, if they could've managed to pulled it of. Ughhh
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I'll admit I know very little about Wiedler, but I do agree with you there are some reasons for guarded optimism here. As with Ben Barr (although not to the same degree) he's shown an ability to lead the recruiting for multiple programs now (and AIC was impressive), so it's not like he lacks flexibility, or is tied into a specific school/coach. As an outsider, the impressions I'd formed to date on Woodcroft hadn't moved far past the hype (a word you used as well), and the events of the last few days aren't likely to shake that impression anytime soon. So it's not like Wiedler has to live up to some amazing legacy (see UMaine, Whitehead v. Walshy, or BC, Cedorchuck v. Ceglarski).

Opportunity has unexpectedly arrived on Coach Wiedler's doorstep, and he can either embrace it, throw himself into everything, and hope he has established sufficient connections and credibility with the current and future UVM players to get past this obstacle, and continue to rebuild their program in his image ... OR just assume everything will be fine, try to emulate his predecessor and go through the motions, which will not work (UNH fans have had a front row seat to this option for several years now). That they still had a recruit on campus within 24 hours of this stuff is probably a very good sign. A quiet summer and inactive portal would help too. We'll see ...
 
Sad that such circumstances led me to remember my account login but this is so embarrassing for UVM. Nothing but scandal in that department and it leaves me seriously questioning the direction of how things are going. It's been really hard to support them in recent years and this doesn't help.

Chuck Murray: that office is a fancy name for the Title IX and anti-harassment and discrimination office basically - https://www.uvm.edu/aaeo
 
Chuck Murray said:
Serious question, as I don't know or pretend to know the answer ... but is it notable that the internal investigation was overseen by UVM's Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, unless there were racial overtones?

UVM men's hockey: Todd Woodcroft fired after internal investigation (burlingtonfreepress.com)
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That's just the University department charged with Title IX compliance, which this falls under. Does not have to be bias, just compliance with University policies.
 
While this is certainly a major embarrassment for the school and the program, it doesn’t have to be a disaster. From what I read Woodcroft’s behavior was involving his contacting someone inappropriately on campus. Apparently? It wasn’t like what went on at Northwestern with the football team or what happened with Michigan’s hockey program. It is yet to be seen what will happen at Northwestern, but Michigan seemed to weather their scandal and has come out of it in good shape. I hope the same happens at UVM.
 
Dolphin1717 said:
The real question is how do they round the staff out this late?
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Like I said earlier, Wiedler is just gonna have to double down in the short term and do everything. At least if he wants to stick around and make Burlington a go for his unexpected next step in his coaching career. Not knowing his family situation, it may or may not be realistically do-able, but since he has been a lead recruiter for a while now, lots of away time is par for the course in his life. Getting someone to run quality practices in his absence, in keeping with his anticipated style of play, may be the trickiest thing of all.

Can he ID that candidate, and get them through a hiring process at this point of time, so the new guy is ready to go on Day One? I'm sure those discussions have already been had with the AD ...
 
Brendan Bradley is listed as volunteer assistant coach on the website. Perhaps they'll put him on the payroll. A hire from outside is possible. It's a good opportunity despite the long term uncertainty.
 
Chuck Murray said:
Like I said earlier, Wiedler is just gonna have to double down in the short term and do everything. At least if he wants to stick around and make Burlington a go for his unexpected next step in his coaching career. Not knowing his family situation, it may or may not be realistically do-able, but since he has been a lead recruiter for a while now, lots of away time is par for the course in his life. Getting someone to run quality practices in his absence, in keeping with his anticipated style of play, may be the trickiest thing of all.

Can he ID that candidate, and get them through a hiring process at this point of time, so the new guy is ready to go on Day One? I'm sure those discussions have already been had with the AD ...
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Am I missing something .....Did Scott Moser leave UVM? Folks are talking like Wiedler is the lone remaining coach in the program.....
 
Wicked Slappaahs said:
Am I missing something .....Did Scott Moser leave UVM? Folks are talking like Wiedler is the lone remaining coach in the program.....
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People have gotten (too?) comfortable with the concept of larger coaching staffs in college and pro hockey over the years. Now the NCAA has allowed for a fourth paid staff position, whereas it was most recently three with the obligatory volunteer assistant. Wasn't that long ago ('70's?) when there was a single head coach, and no assistant coaches - either not recognized or non-existent, be it in the NHL or at NCAA D-1 level.

I believe official assistants started to surface sporadically in the '70's and it kind of exploded in the '80's? Freddy Shero (Flyers) might be the guy who started expanding bench coaching presence in the '70's, as he was an innovative type. Doing some research, it looks like Punch Imlach had King Clancy (former Leafs HC) as his assistant during his multiple Cup runs in Toronto, but guys like Toe Blake, Scotty Bowman and Harry Sinden weren't carrying assistants when they won their Cups in Montreal, Montreal and Boston respectively. Bowman started carrying assistants in the early '80's when he moved to Buffalo. I think Al Arbour won his Cups on the Island with one assistant (with Butch Goring as a player/coach one or two years?), while Glen Sather ramped up from zero to one to two (Muckler/Green) during the Edmonton dynasty years later in the '80's.

Recruiting has always existed in D-1 hockey, but the range of recruiting has probably expanded since the old days, so having multiple coaches around to cover the various tasks probably makes things more manageable in a more competitive D-1 structure these days. But if your point is that Wiedler and Moser can take care of things (albeit with less down time) in the absence of their former boss, at least in the short run, I totally agree.
 
Scott Moser is still listed on the web site as an assistant coach. It was announced on 6/27 that Drew Michals had left for HC:

WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross men's ice hockey head coach Bill Riga announced the addition of Drew Michals as assistant coach.
Michals most recently served as the director of hockey operations at Vermont. In the role, Michals was responsible for pre-scouting opponents, post-scouting games, running team video sessions, and managing the team budget. As a volunteer assistant coach at Vermont the year before, Michals assisted in practice planning and recruiting efforts for the Catamounts.

It would make sense to me that the program picks up 1 more assistant paid position for this year.

This is a great opportunity for Scott Wiedler. If wants to be a long-term head coach, he has the chance to keep the momentum moving in a positive direction and after the year be the one selected for the permanent job. He knows these players and has a good background. He needs to keep the pipeline coming on recruits that were already slated to come to UVM.
 
Catfantoo said:
This is a great opportunity for Scott Wiedler. If wants to be a long-term head coach, he has the chance to keep the momentum moving in a positive direction and after the year be the one selected for the permanent job. He knows these players and has a good background. He needs to keep the pipeline coming on recruits that were already slated to come to UVM.
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It's surprisingly rare for a D-1 college assistant to get a chance to move into a HC position without relocating. Think about it - either you attach yourself to a successful coach who stays forever, and you either go along for a long ride and hope you're still up to it by the time your boss calls it a career OR peel off at some point to pursue your own HC job somewhere else. OR if the HC you are attached to doesn't succeed in the short run, the school usually starts the search for a replacement elsewhere, well beyond the scope of the failed HC's own staff.

By all accounts, it seems like Wiedler was responsible (at least in part) for bringing in a decent cache of prospects, and he already knows all of these players. If he has their respect, and can move the program forward this season (and let's face it, the bar is hardly set high at UVM), then come this time next year, no one is gonna even remember that Woodcroft existed, much less care what he did to get his a$$ booted out of Burlington.

Wiedler just has to be focused on the next few months, put everything else aside and coach like his professional life is on the line. Not taking this approach early in his UNH term is what's sunk MS7, but can be the making of Wiedler.
 
And in case Wiedler doesn't work out, can they at least start talking with Dom Ducharme (though I don't know how long he signed to be an assistant with the Kings for).
 
SoucyWasNoSieve said:
And in case Wiedler doesn't work out, can they at least start talking with Dom Ducharme (though I don't know how long he signed to be an assistant with the Kings for).
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Considering how many scandals this athletic department has had, not sure hiring the coach of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team is a great idea. If Wiedler doesn't work out, Eric Lang should be their top priority IF they can even get him.
 
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