Gwozdecky

[Jarhead_1775]

@Buccigross: Sources say George Gwozdecky, fired by Denver after 19 years, is currently in intense discussions to become next head hockey coach at UCONN

 

[Adios]

Come down to Berard, Cavanaugh (BC assistant) and Gwozdecky. Those are the three finalists. Well done, Warde.

 

[FDNY99]

No offense to Berard or the job he did this year but my preference would be in the following order:
1) Gwozdecky
2) Cavanaugh
3) Berard

Gwozdecky is a no-brainer...Cavanaugh has had a direct hand in BC's success over the years...especially as a recruiter. Someone brought up some interesting things about Berard and his time at PC on the USCHO D-1 forum.

 

[Afroabe224]

Not a bad final three!! Unlike most Bone yarders, I think Warde is not doing a bad job at all. He has done a decent job taking care of the things he has control of.

 

[Adios]

No offense to Berard or the job he did this year but my preference would be in the following order:
1) Gwozdecky
2) Cavanaugh
3) Berard

Gwozdecky is a no-brainer...Cavanaugh has had a direct hand in BC's success over the years...especially as a recruiter. Someone brought up some interesting things about Berard and his time at PC on the USCHO D-1 forum.

Gwozdecky is absolutely as big a splash hire as there can be for us right now. But Cavanaugh is linked to more national titles and is much younger.

 

[huskymedic]

Someone brought up some interesting things about Berard and his time at PC on the USCHO D-1 forum.

Sure sounded like that person had a hefty bone to pick w/ Berard.

 

[FDNY99]

Sure sounded like that person had a hefty bone to pick w/ Berard.

He was able to back up his statements with win-loss totals too. Definitely isn't A remake of the Kevin Ollie story.

 

[freescooter]

If Gwozdecky is available and committed to the job, I think its a no-brainer. As for Cavanaugh or Berard, I can only tell you what I saw this season. Now I'm not saying I saw every game, but I saw a few and I saw 3 good things. The team was disciplined, well coached and played hard. They didn't panic when things went wrong. And they played with more confidence than I've ever seen out of a UConn hockey club. And based on everything I've seen and heard the players would skate through a wall for Berard. And for a hockey coach, he is firey on the bench. That is sort of rare. Hockey guys usually stand there, arms folded. He was calling out instructions, talking to guys as they came off on line shifts, pointing things out. I have to say the guy impressed me as a head coach. And he had the first winning record in 13 years...

 

[SubbaBub]

Warde was the hockey guy at Michigan. It makes sense that he knows this landscape a little better. From a hockey standpoint Warde has been a home run.

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[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

From the Courant's UConn Women's Hockey Coached Named article:

"UConn is expected to announce the hiring of a men's coach early next week. More than 40 people applied for the job, and there are three finalists being considered. Interim coach David Berard interviewed Monday. BCU assistant Mike Cavanaugh interviewed mid-week. Former Denver coach George Gwozdecky was on campus for his interview Thursday. An offer could be made Friday (May 3). The process must go through the state and involve background checks. An announcement could come Tuesday."

Interesting observations on interim UConn coach Berard in the the USCHO Fan Forum.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Timing makes sense, the ACHA convention is going on right now or this weekend down in Florida, so many, many coaches are there right now. Don't know if Gwoz is or isn't, but it would make sense that they announce early next week, perhaps hashing out decisions over the weekend.

 

[FDNY99]

If Gwozdecky is available and committed to the job, I think its a no-brainer. As for Cavanaugh or Berard, I can only tell you what I saw this season. Now I'm not saying I saw every game, but I saw a few and I saw 3 good things. The team was disciplined, well coached and played hard. They didn't panic when things went wrong. And they played with more confidence than I've ever seen out of a UConn hockey club. And based on everything I've seen and heard the players would skate through a wall for Berard. And for a hockey coach, he is firey on the bench. That is sort of rare. Hockey guys usually stand there, arms folded. He was calling out instructions, talking to guys as they came off on line shifts, pointing things out. I have to say the guy impressed me as a head coach. And he had the first winning record in 13 years...

I understand what you are saying about Berard...but I also think some valid points were brought up about his tenure at PC as recruiting coord/lead recruiter and the corresponding slide into the toilet in the HE standings. I just think that someone like Cavanaugh may be better suited for the recruiting game that we will need. This is a very important hire...and it seems as though 2 VERY qualified guys from the outside are interested and want the job.

 

[kibblesnbits]

You really can't compare the difficulty of telling someone "Come to PC and play for Tim Army" (in poor facilities) with "Come to BC and play for Jerry York" (in excellent facilities). I'm impressed with some of the future recruits Berard has for upcoming seasons. If they don't get Gwozdecky (the obvious choice), UConn will have to decide if they've seen enough in two years with Berard (improvement on the ice and recruiting once the HE commitment was in place) to take a chance. On the other hand, with Cavanaugh you have the question of whether he can be the lead guy to build a program from a low-level and whether he will be committed to UConn in a few years when York retires (he's already in his late 60s, I think, and he's had some health issues in recent years). It may not be an easy decision, but it will be a program defining one.

 

[FDNY99]

I hope Warde and Gwozdecky can get terms worked out and the Berard Cavanaugh discussion becomes a moot point. One thing is for certain...for Gwozdecky to be this far into the interview/hiring process the effort that will be put into the upgrade to HE is more than just lip service. It also means that resource wise and facility wise he is more than satisfied with what he will get to work with. I hope this gets done with him.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

You really can't compare the difficulty of telling someone "Come to PC and play for Tim Army" (in poor facilities) with "Come to BC and play for Jerry York" (in excellent facilities). I'm impressed with some of the future recruits Berard has for upcoming seasons. If they don't get Gwozdecky (the obvious choice), UConn will have to decide if they've seen enough in two years with Berard (improvement on the ice and recruiting once the HE commitment was in place) to take a chance. On the other hand, with Cavanaugh you have the question of whether he can be the lead guy to build a program from a low-level and whether he will be committed to UConn in a few years when York retires (he's already in his late 60s, I think, and he's had some health issues in recent years). It may not be an easy decision, but it will be a program defining one.

With respect to Cav, he's been with York since York was at Bowling Green, so he's been with York for the entire length of rebuilding the BC program. When York took over in the mid '90s, they were really down in the dumps, and quickly turned around, so the argument of easier recruitment holds true these days, but that's in large part due to the work Cav and York's other staff have done. When Berard was at PC in the '90s, that was actually a pretty decent program, and they fell completely to the basement of HE during his time there, which has to raise questions. Certainly, recruiting at BC is different than at PC, but PC was not a doormat by any means until after Berard was there with the Pooley/Tim Army coaching staffs.

Now, the point about Cav waiting out York's retirement is the biggest drawback to him. He's long been speculated as being at the top of the list for York's replacements when he retires. I'm fairly certain this was one of the stated reasons he turned down the UMass job. Though 50,000 other coaches turned down that job as well. York seems to be going strong, though he's had a few health issues pop up, and he's in his mid 60's, so you never know when he'll hang it up. He certainly isn't losing his step in terms of coaching performance, in fact, it's going entirely in the other direction. But, with Parker now retired, them being close friends, a couple of health issues here and there, you have to wonder if the thought is creeping into his head a bit more now. I'd say him being the coach of BC in five years is on the low side of 50/50, and that's something you absolutely must consider if you're going to hire Cav.

That said, if he's willing to sign a five year deal and not ask for an outrageous salary, Gwoz has to be the guy. He can walk in and win now. There are no questions about whether he can recruit and win in a top league. It'd be a clear signal that UConn is taking the program seriously and looking to be a major player in the sport. The other two would be fresh coats of paint on a house, so to speak. Gwoz would be a sparkling brand new house.

 

[kibblesnbits]

I think everyone would like to see Gwozdecky at UConn. It would give instant credibility to the program as I don't think a guy with his credentials would take it unless he was also very comfortable with the plan to upgrade the facilities, provide competitive salaries for assistants, the recruiting budget, etc.

Regarding Cavanaugh, he rejoined York after the latter's first season back at his alma mater. The program was still in the early stages of rebuilding, but it had a respected, national championship coach and by far the best arena in the East (that was pre-Whittemore, pre-Agganis, etc.) Cavanaugh was, if I remember correctly, the junior assistant at the time, so how much of the rapid rise that followed (they were a tournament team within a few years) was due to him I'm not sure. However, he's been viewed (accurately or not) as a leading candidate for a lot of jobs in recent years and either didn't get them or withdrew from consideration. Given BC's success, that's got to lead to some due diligence questions. Hopefully WM is asking the difficult questions and will make the right decision (or better yet, the easy one if Gwoz is truly interested).

 

[Adios]

freescooter....you must have played hockey. You seem to find only peace when hockey is discussed. lol Used to floor with hockey players in Frats.

 

[huskymedic]

Wow... Just wow.

http://www.courant.com/sports/colle...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"George Gwozdecky was on a layover in Chicago Monday night, on his way back to Denver from the American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Naples, Florida. As he waited for a connecting flight, Gwozdecky took time to discuss his desire to be the next head coach of the UConn hockey team."

Bring it home big guy...

 

[Fishy]

Please, oh please, let this happen.

 

[IMind]

I don't see how this doesn't happen. If he wants the job I think you have to give it to him.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

And, a Courant interview with interim coach David Berard. Next, Mike Cavanaugh?

It's impressive for Gwozdecky to express such sincere interest in the UConn opportunity. Imagine, regular newspaper articles on Huskies' hockey ...

 

[Adios]

If UConn upgrades well enough, QU and Yale fans will attend our games.

 

[zls44]

I think Berard did a remarkable job and would feel bad for him- he's getting run over by two Mack trucks that he just can't compete with yet.

You take Gwozdecky ten times out of five. Then Cavanaugh.

And you root like heck that Berard gets a HC job someplace to prove his chops.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Personally, I think choice #1 is Gwozdecky (no-brainer). If for some reason we can't get Gwoz, I think you have to go with Berard. I don't think Cavanaugh would be a good hire....if he is a success, he will be gone within 5 years when York retires. You could argue that Gwoz would use this as a stepping stone to another job...but that is not a certainty. I would argue that Cavanaugh leaving for BC when York retires is a certainty if he is at all successful at UConn.

 

[SubbaBub]

Anyone know why he left Denver so suddenly? Not having followed it closely, it's a bit odd that such a coach is available and really interested in a program upgrading to HE. Why are no other hockey powers interested?

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