Official Men's Hockey Recruiting Thread

[Dann]

http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=4489

 

[Dann]

#11 commit wise for uconn puck. the class is all set. he is a big time recruit for the staff to land. must be that upgrade.....

 

[ucjoet]

#11 commit wise for uconn puck. the class is all set. he is a big time recruit for the staff to land. must be that upgrade.....

Do you know were we can find a list of whole class. Also how good of a recruiting class is this.

 

[Yonick]

Where is this kid from, and did you mean he is UConn's 11th recruit? Or, is he ranked #11 in the country?

 

[kibblesnbits]

The best hockey recruiting lists are maintained by Chris Heisenberg at: http://tinyurl.com/3jxzxcd

UConn's class is still very much at the Atlantic Hockey level. Almost all the recruits (including Ferris) are from the NAHL (U.S. Tier 2) or lower level junior leagues. While you can get some D-I players from those leagues, the top talent will be from the USHL (U.S. Tier 1) or the better Junior A leagues in Canada such as the BCHL. UConn won't get many of those players until it can offer scholarships.

Unfortunately, the best young hockey players are committing very early to colleges. Most top schools are just about done with 2013 recruiting (see all the names by selecting the "Listing by college" tab at the top of the page) and focussing on 2014 and 2015. If Uconn commits this summer they might be able to bring in a few HE level players next year but it will probably be 2 to 3 years out before they really see a true HE type of class.

 

[Dann]

Where is this kid from, and did you mean he is UConn's 11th recruit? Or, is he ranked #11 in the country?

11th recruit i took it as.

 

[Dann]

linky

 

[freescooter]

Tehy needed some big ugly defensemen to keep shooters away from the goaltender...and a tougher call, they need to replace their leading scorer, cole Schnieder, who signed with the AHL at the end of the season.

 

[Adios]

Would Todd Krygier make a good coach?

 

[freescooter]

Butchy,
I have no idea whether he'd be a good or bad coach. I tend to think that bringing in your most illustious alumnus as the head coach is a bad idea in most cases, though I guess he is coaching in one of the Junior leagues. I'd be more likely looking at some of the same folks UMass has been looking at, head coaches at smaller schools, a few top college assistants like the guys at BC. I'd look at the assistant at UNH maybe, though he might get the UMass job. But in reality, marshall will be the head coach for the foreseeable future, at least for the first few Hockey East seasons. So it is a pretty theoretical discussion.

 

[kingdobbs]

He's coaching in Michigan right now, for a high school and a mites team (and neither one is his 'day job'), but I'm gonna agree with freescooter on this one. Whether he's a capable coach or not, it's not a move that, to me, speaks aloud any commitment to the future of the sport (neither is keeping Marshall, really, but something something horses something midstream). We didn't go after a famous UConn alum to be our first I-A football coach, nor did we do so for either our men's and women's basketball coaches.

What we'll be looking for, if we start looking, is a Karl Hobbs or Dave Leitao type of assistant from another program; has a good deal of coaching experience, albeit as a short-term assistant, but it's all in the shadow of the school's "Coach" (i.e. the guy that even when he retires, people will still talk about him as "Coach"), and isn't likely to move up in the queue anytime soon. We will need someone who knows the ins and outs of recruiting, can bring some connections with him, and can bring some different ideas into the fold.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Is the head coach at Northeastern available? That plan worked out well last time.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Is the head coach at Northeastern available? That plan worked out well last time.

Hah, no, Madigan is an NU guy through and through. He also sucks.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Hah, no, Madigan is an NU guy through and through. He also sucks.

.

 

[kingdobbs]

Hah, no, Madigan is an NU guy through and through. He also sucks.

We could always get Bruce Crowder. Although I'm not sure that technically qualifies as an improvement.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

We could always get Bruce Crowder. Although I'm not sure that technically qualifies as an improvement.

Oh god, he was worse than Madigan. He's a firm believer of the dump and watch strategy. One of these games the defenseman will score on his own goal.

 

[Whale22]

http://www.uscho.com/2013/01/16/fut...ed-in-nhl-central-scouting-mid-term-rankings/

UConn hockey good start on recruiting. Two future huskies on the NHL Central Scoutning Mid-Term rankings.

 

[freescooter]

Thanks for the update. yes, i think we are starting to see a bit of an uptick in recruiting.

 

[huskymedic]

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/042613aaa.html

"University of Connecticut men’s ice hockey interim head coach David Berard has announced the signing of eight student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to the join the team for the 2013-2014 season. UConn has added eight players from six different states, plus individuals from Canada and Finland."

 

[ucjoet]

Any idea on how highly regarded they are ?

 

[kibblesnbits]

This looks like a transitional class - still closer to Atlantic Hockey than Hockey East, which is not surprising given the decision to upgrade came long after teams began recruiting for 2013 (as an example of how NCAA hockey recruiting lead times have changed, most top teams have already wrapped up the majority of their 2014 classes and are focused on 2015 and beyond). The best players appear to be the goaltender, who played at a lower level but was dominant, and the forward from the BCHL. The program is still too reliant on the NAHL and the EJHL, which produce some Division 1 players, but a much smaller percentage than the USHL, BCHL and some of the other well-regarded Canadian Junior A leagues.

Berard received commitments from some younger players that show a lot of promise but rather than bring them in early and have them take their lumps, it looks like they've stuck to 2014 and 2015 enrollment dates so they can get tested by better competition. I'll bet several will be playing in the USHL next season and future classes will be weighted towards tougher junior leagues.

 

[freescooter]

I don't follow recruiting that closely, so I don't know that much about the individuals. But I would say 2 things about this class. First I agree with kibbles that it is likely more AHA than Hockey East, but I also think the future classes, we have a couple of guys lined up for 2014 and 2015, look like a step up. Second, we are more targeted in our recruiting this season. In past years it wasn't unusual for UConn to bring in 10-12 guys, probably on the assumption that several were really just borderline prospects. They brought in 6 this time which is more in line with what other teams do.

 

[huskymedic]

This looks like a transitional class - still closer to Atlantic Hockey than Hockey East, which is not surprising given the decision to upgrade came long after teams began recruiting for 2013 (as an example of how NCAA hockey recruiting lead times have changed, most top teams have already wrapped up the majority of their 2014 classes and are focused on 2015 and beyond). The best players appear to be the goaltender, who played at a lower level but was dominant, and the forward from the BCHL. The program is still too reliant on the NAHL and the EJHL, which produce some Division 1 players, but a much smaller percentage than the USHL, BCHL and some of the other well-regarded Canadian Junior A leagues.

Berard received commitments from some younger players that show a lot of promise but rather than bring them in early and have them take their lumps, it looks like they've stuck to 2014 and 2015 enrollment dates so they can get tested by better competition. I'll bet several will be playing in the USHL next season and future classes will be weighted towards tougher junior leagues.

Agree... next two classes will have higher ceiling.

Will Moran‏@goalmouthradio24 Apr
UConn commit Ryan Segalla was ranked #169 in Central Scouting Final Rankings amongst North American skaters.

Will Moran‏@goalmouthradio24 Apr
UConn commit Jason Salvaggio is ranked #97 in the Final Central Scouting Rankings among North American skaters.

Will is a good follow for all things UConn Hockey.

 

[kibblesnbits]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/40374-Joona-Kunnas.html

Interesting article about the Finnish defenseman Kunnas. Fascinating history - moving from Finland to California; being drafted by the USHL; somehow ended up in the BCHL for the '11-'12 season (after the article) and at first glance appears to have had a respectable 18-year old season; and then spent this past season in the EJHL (a transition which is actually down the juniors food chain). I have no idea what the back story is for all that movement, but he could be a sleeper.

 

[huskymedic]

goalmouthradio 3:39pm via Web
ICYMI: Incoming freshman Austin Azurdia called in for an interview back in November. He is one of 8 who signed NLI's. goalmouthradio.com/?p=173

Love the gooooooooooaaaaaaalllll call. Watch his last move in slo-mo.