nice matt, your alam usually has a decent program on there hands.
for uconn getting ct kids, it will take time. the best will go else where at first for a bit. there are great puck roots in ct from minis up thru hs and club. the wolves and pics(springfield) come to mind as good feeder programs among others i'm sure in the area. i would say it would be realistic to grab a couple ct prep kids a year from any of the great prep schools(ch/Steven Krajewski/aof/salis...). those are easily way above all hs puck in ct. there are only 2 ciac programs that would even have the talent on a good year to play with those guys, those schools are hamden and fairfield prep. there league is easily the best/deepest in the state every year and its not even close for ciac and usually those 2 programs are way ahead of the rest. those schools have some big time alum in the nhl(drury and quick both were on the last team usa) and would be a good place to start recruiting wise on a local level if uconn is looking to reach the public thru school systems even with the talent not being on par with what they need. but for uconn to be competitive in HE they won't have a roster full of ct/ne kids, no where close actually.
I think that just like the upgrade in FB helped CT football, I think an upgrade in Hockey will help the hockey program in high school (and maybe even start new hs teams).
i expect a normal uconn roster to be 50% northeast, 50% non northeast. over time being in HE i think that will become more northeast heavy but it will be hard to win recruit battles in ny/pa/ne until were more established or we have a facility that trumps the rest of the league, plus from what i hear a new coach. but hey, get that guy on the food network going with the media and lets see what happens. i would love nothing more than the next quick, drury or archebelo to be from uconn.
I'd love to see UConn students playing hockey from CT/NE, Canada, MN, FL (don't laugh Durant High here is a good hockey school, no, they may not beat a CT team but they been playing since 1998 when the school opened.), CA and maybe Sweden.
also ct-yale/uconn/quinn/shu at the xl or outdoors at the rent every year for the "insert name here". GET IT DONE!
My UCONN hockey following days go pretty gar back...I actually did color for a game on WHUS at the old outdoor rink...man was that place cold...I'd be absolutely thrilled with this move. And while I don't love the XL Center as a home, it is simply too big and even if you have a successful program, it will always feel empty...as ann interim step I'd say go for it. Probably play the season there much like the basketball team did in pre-Gampel Days...non-conference games at Frietas and maybe a few lesser league games (UMass-Lowell, Vermont Merrimack) whith BC, BU, and the other Big names at XL. The goal ought to be a 4-5000+- seat on campus arena. I know HEA says its "requirement is 5000, but virtually nobody has that. Even Agganis is only around 4500 I think. Schnieder Arena at Providence and Merrimack are both around 3000-3500 I think. So I doubt there is too much problem with an arena in the 4500 range.
I remember them stopping a game because the puck was lost in a snowbank at the outdoor rink. The puck was lost!!
Now my regular defense of Bruce Marshall...first off, I'm not suggesting for a second that he is another Jerry York or Jack Parker (god am I old...my first college game I saw York play) . But he isn't some bum either. If you look at his record it is at least credible given the limitations...In the old D-3 daus he built UCONN into a regional power of some renown. Took them to the ECAC Championship game at least once, maybe twice. As a D-1 school, they were ineligible for the NCAA D-3 tourney under the rules at the time. In the D-1 era he has been playing a pretty tough hand...UCONN has no hockey scholarships right now while the league has allowed 11-12 since its inception. The NCAA limit is 18. None the less he has managed most years to put at least competitive teams on the ice. There have been a few duds, but for the most part, the program has always managed to rebound and become competitive in the league again. They ususally manage an non-conference win along the way, which is likewise a mismatch in terms of who they recruit vs their opponents. This year's team sort of fell apart late in the year, which was disappointing, too. But given that Bruce is forever searching for diamonds in the rough, and he has found a few, he hasn't been as bad as some say, in my view.
Ok, sorry people of Windham...but Willimantic is a dump. (Only good thing in Windham, Hosmer Mountain Sodas!!)
What does Willimantic being a "dump" as you call it have anything what so ever to do with this topic?Thanks ... Tolland and Windham?? I thought they do drugs in Windham!!
bc internet hockey fans are among the strangest and idiotic people in the world. a few of them make their football fans look like mother teresa.
