Re: Yale Bulldogs Hockey 2011 -2012
I know these kids first hand and they are all in love with Red and talk about what a great upgrade he is. One exact quote is, "Red is the most knowledgeable coach I've ever had. Wallack never said a word to a kid in practice or in the game and provided no insight. Red teaches us everything."
I appreciate that someone out there is close enough with the team to be able to get actual insight. If only the team could be as open with the media so the rest of us fans could know what's going on. As for saying he never said a word to a kid, that directly contradicts the visual evidence. I have also seen him with recruits and their families on numerous occasions. I think you go a little far in your bashing of him to prove a point, but I am glad that we are wrong about Gendron. I hope he is a great coach.
Klumpypants, I did not comment on your tussle with Coach Allain and while I agree he should be more media-friendly, your comments are way off and prove your lack of knowledge to the college hockey game.
First off, I welcome your comments if you are man enough to make them instead of alluding to them while acting like you are above the fray. Just be careful about criticizing Allain if you want to stay in the inner circle. Just because you know Yale players personally and are able to get inside knowledge doesn't give you license to criticize my entire knowledge of the "college hockey game." I've been around the block a few times. I know people too. Yale just runs the tightest ship of any team in college hockey. They even make all the players lock their Twitter accounts. They are so uptight over the football scandals as a department as well. In fact, your whole "I know something you don't know" attitude is the epitome of Yale's overall arrogant attitude that says if you aren't in the inner circle, you're just a nobody only good for your ticket money but not entitled to any information. You must be friends with Steve Conn. I wonder, since you have the inside scoop, can you tell us what exactly Sean Backman was doing when he broke his foot clowning around the pool?
Every kid on that team would go through the wall for Coach Allain and I know this for a fact. Wallack was a great guy and the kids liked him but he was not the motivator or teacher that you play him out to be. Do some research, Red does have 3 Stanley Cup Rings and was a head coach in the AHL for two seasons.
Since we're talking about doing research, I doubt Wallack would have been hired by one of the top recent teams in the USHL (to a post held by Jeff Blashill 2 years ago) and have them with the 2nd best record in the league if he were not a great teacher or motivator. I also know that Holy Cross and now Yale both got worse after he left. And there should be no lack of emphasis placed on your saying Wallack was a "great guy." That's basically what I know of him other than what I saw. I talked to Allain countless times as a member of the media, including when I covered every game they played for USCHO 2 years ago, and he always treated me and every other media member like a piece of ****. I spoke to Wallack once or twice in person, after he coached the team in Allain's absence last year, and it was a breath of fresh air. Open, honest, friendly. That goes a long way. Maybe they go so hard for Allain because they know that when they lose, no matter how well they played, he will say they did nothing right.
No wonder the support is not what it should be, everyone in the stands is pointing fingers as if they actually know what is going on with this team when, in reality, no one does. But what i do know is what some of you guys have said is simply just wrong. If you truly are a Yale fan, it is ok to discuss and be frustrated with the way the team has played, but cut it out when it comes to point fingers and blame, you are displaying your ignorance.
Maybe people are pointing fingers because there are no honest answers from the coach about accountability. Normally, if a coach doesn't want fingers pointed, he mans up and takes the responsibility himself. But I have never heard Allain do that. I've only heard him call out his team en masse. And then people like you call us "ignorant" for speculating, which is all we can do. Oh and thanks for spelling out the rules for being a "true Yale fan" to all us fake Yale fans. You can now go back to your high and mighty thrown.
For someone that supposed to be so passionate about Yale hockey you certainly picked a convenient time to join the USCHO forum.