Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2026-27

[Timothy A]

Hopefully, Mac moves on to the PWHL.

Did I mention that I hate the new 5 year eligibility rules?

I also hate the 5th year rule, but I don't want to push any top end talent out the door.

 

[TJ77]

I also hate the 5th year rule, but I don't want to push any top end talent out the door.

I think I'm on the other side but it is going to be tough. If all five seniors stay, then you have to tell 5 of the 8 recruits, who are some of the top recruits in the country, we don't have room for you. That will be a really bad look. Plus you end up with a class with only 3 players, which will really screw things up down road. For me, I would rather have the 5 recruits for 4 years, than the 5 players for 1 year. The transfer portal is going to return to the chaos of the covid extra year, but now it won't go away.

 

[BuckyB]

I think I'm on the other side but it is going to be tough. If all five seniors stay, then you have to tell 5 of the 8 recruits, who are some of the top recruits in the country, we don't have room for you. That will be a really bad look. Plus you end up with a class with only 3 players, which will really screw things up down road. For me, I would rather have the 5 recruits for 4 years, than the 5 players for 1 year. The transfer portal is going to return to the chaos of the covid extra year, but now it won't go away.

Every school is in the same boat... it's not going to be easy... of course not every school wants their seniors to stay.
It's going to be an advantage for the lesser programs as more top level talent will be available

 

[Moosefan1]

For me, I would rather have the 5 recruits for 4 years, than the 5 players for 1 year.

I'm not well-informed on this subject, but I would have guessed that coaches will generally feel the same way. There will be exceptions, sure, but in order to promote the long-term health of their programs, won't most coaches sort of nudge (push?) most eligible 5th-years into the portal (or the real world) in order to make way for the incoming class?

 

[Timothy A]

I'm not well-informed on this subject, but I would have guessed that coaches will generally feel the same way. There will be exceptions, sure, but in order to promote the long-term health of their programs, won't most coaches sort of nudge (push?) most eligible 5th-years into the portal (or the real world) in order to make way for the incoming class?

If I were a coach, I'd cull the herd of players that aren't working out like you had hoped they would to keep the 5th year players you want and have room for the new recruits. It's a bit cut throat and I am a huge loyalty guy, so I don't feel good about it, but why keep a C player and lose an A to someone else? That's essentially what is happening already with the portal in other sports, including men's hockey.

Nugget from a Cerruti/Box presser.....I believe Jones will play this weekend. Check that, Badger Breakaway says Jones was in a boot last weekend. Yikes.

 

[robertearle]

Jones was on skates while she took part in the banner raising. That doesn't necessarily mean she isn't in a boot the rest of the time. But she was on the ice skating.

 

[TJ77]

Jones was on skates while she took part in the banner raising. That doesn't necessarily mean she isn't in a boot the rest of the time. But she was on the ice skating.

There is a video on their Facebook page posted yesterday. Jones is in full gear for practice.

 

[robertearle]

There is a video on their Facebook page posted yesterday. Jones is in full gear for practice.

Volleyball players will "regularly" spend their off time walking around in a boot, and then play when game time comes. I remember one year, the UW team was introduced during a break at a football game, and there were four or five of them wearing boots out on the field. Hockey could be a different thing altogether, I don't know. But at least with VB, "boot" doesn't necessarily equate to "not available".

 

[Timothy A]

There is a video on their Facebook page posted yesterday. Jones is in full gear for practice.

There is an airport picture and she's in it, so she's at least on the plane.

 

[Gurth 2.0]

I don't want to push people out the door either, but at some point, it's the understudy's turn - for better or worse.

For me, the turnover in college sports is one of its greatest qualities. That you get to see these young people come in and then watch them develop and reach their potential (or fall short of it) for a set time and then they move on. And they don't move on to another team like in pro sports, but rather they move on with their lives.

I worry that players sticking around for a 5th year will either dissuade young prospects from wanting to come or will cause talented underclassmen to transfer to get their opportunity.

I want to see the freshman phenom play. I want to see the freshman and sophomore projects-with-potential play too. I don't care to see the 5th year player who is hanging on to stave off the end of their career.

On the flip tho, it's likely that coaches and players will now adjust to a 5 year recruiting cycle as it is permanent, unlike the Covid exemptions. Will be a few years of volatility and then should stabilize into the new norm.

Will be tough to get used to all the 5th year players being around and sure, some will be a benefit. Just another fundamental change to adjust to (for the worst) in college athletics.

Thankfully the PWHL exists so the very best women have a place to move on to.

 

[robertearle]

Way back when, NCAA rules were that freshmen couldn't play varsity. That meant that players only had three years of varsity eligibility. There are stories about how the UCLA men's basketball team, already winning NCAA championships, would have the varsity scrimmage the freshmen class of Lew Alcindor, AKA Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the freshmen would win. Then the rules changed, and freshmen were allowed onto varsity teams.

And it was all OK. Nobody needed to be "pushed out" etc. The college sports world adjusted just fine.

This is the same thing. Three years turned into four, and now four will turn into five, and we and they will all get used to it.