OT: UConn Hockey @ #9 Providence tonight...

[ZooCougar]

Oh I don't know. Multiple national championships at Maine. And Maine Hockey is to Maine what UConn basketball is to Connecticut. UNH is annually one of the top programs in the country. Over time I agree that UConn might well be a competitive program. Maybe play for and we hope win a National Championship. But it is going to take a while to get there. right now hockey players grow up dreaming of playing their college hockey at BC, BU, UNH, Maine. I'd guess most youth players right now don't even know UConn plays the game. I was at a dinner with a friend of mine and we were sitting with the Merrimack coach. He commented that he doesn't recruit lots of international players because he wants to. he does it because he has to since BC, BU et al get the cream of the Northeast crop. (Note they have 9 Canadians, a Swede and a Finn on the current roster. BU on the other hand has 7 non-New Englanders)

So how did we land this guy? And why can't we draw more like him?

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-hockey/mtt/ryan_segalla_859200.html

 

[huskymedic]

So how did we land this guy? And why can't we draw more like him?

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-hockey/mtt/ryan_segalla_859200.html

I get you are poking FS but for others... Couple of page thread on incoming commits/recruits in this thread. http://the-boneyard.com/threads/uconn-mens-ice-hockey-announces-nli-signees-recent-commits.38619/

Cav and staff doing a bang-up job already. More talent on the way. Need a few years pulling kids like the last 1/2 dozen or so UConn has grabbed (last two from Minnesota and a few New Englanders as well).

 

[freescooter]

Segalla, for what its worth, is a very nice hockey player to my eyes. When he's on the ice he is noticeable that he is just smoother than any other defense man we have. I don't know how else to describe it. We got him because we let him play right away and come to campus right away rather than sending him off to hone his skills for a year or 2 with the Muskegon Lumberjacks or the Sioux City Musketeers or some other godforsaken USHL program.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Here's the full recruiting list: http://collegehockeyinc.com/stats/commitments.php

Sort it by school and look for UConn.

 

[ZooCougar]

Segalla, for what its worth, is a very nice hockey player to my eyes. When he's on the ice he is noticeable that he is just smoother than any other defense man we have. I don't know how else to describe it. We got him because we let him play right away and come to campus right away rather than sending him off to hone his skills for a year or 2 with the Muskegon Lumberjacks or the Sioux City Musketeers or some other godforsaken USHL program.

So we can't land more players like him? Is he an isolated incident? I really don't know anything about college hockey. But we have wins against current HE squads so am I wrong in thinking that we won't do a little better once we are in that conference and we have more players on scholarship?

I love that Segalla is a Salisbury kid BTW.

 

[Palatine]

UConn will not have a recruiting advantage over every bolded team upon entry and not for a few years. Add ND to that list as well. UConn will not have a recruiting advantage over every underlined team for virtually ever. Add ND to that list as well. No one in the hockey world knows what the Yankee Conference is/was, nor cares.

Could you more thoroughly miss the point? Hockey East is basically the old Yankee Conference and we dominated that conference in most sports. Expect us to dominate those teams again.

And no one in that league, including the ones you have bolded, is in a class with UConn's athletic department and very few are academically and fewer still offer a major college experience.

You are wrong and will be proven wrong in a very short time.

 

[Afroabe224]

Apologize if it has been covered, but how was the UConn support in the crowd at PC? Did we have a few fans make the trip?

 

[The Viking]

Not sure, but after the breakaway goal, you could def. hear UConn fans.

 

[TheDoggPound]

Apologize if it has been covered, but how was the UConn support in the crowd at PC? Did we have a few fans make the trip?

It sure sounded like it in this vid

I spy UConn fans, bottom left of the screen.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I dunno.. College Hockey is different. Top recruits show up to schools from High Schools in places like Minnesota, Prep Schools and junior hockey, many are ALREADY drafted by NHL teams. It just doesn't seem like the same forces at play in football and basketball recruiting are in play for hockey. Go ahead and correct me where I am wrong..

What he said. Hockey recruits are not the same breed as BB and FB recruits. Many are from Canada, some from Europe, they only care what schools will put them in the NHL, what ones have the lineage, the opportunities to play in high profile games, etc. And those who do care about and know the history of the programs know that the UNH's and Maine's of the world have placed countless guys in the NHL, the Olympics, and won titles - well, not UNH. Perhaps one day Maine or UNH could be in sight, but I seriously doubt it. That would be decades away. BU and BC, never, Notre Dame never - they're the only school who gets the name brand leg up despite being a middling program.

 

[Palatine]

What he said. Hockey recruits are not the same breed as BB and FB recruits. Many are from Canada, some from Europe, they only care what schools will put them in the NHL, what ones have the lineage, the opportunities to play in high profile games, etc. And those who do care about and know the history of the programs know that the UNH's and Maine's of the world have placed countless guys in the NHL, the Olympics, and won titles - well, not UNH. Perhaps one day Maine or UNH could be in sight, but I seriously doubt it. That would be decades away. BU and BC, never, Notre Dame never - they're the only school who gets the name brand leg up despite being a middling program.

Time will tell. Not that long ago, you would have been considered crazy if you said that American college hockey would be as important to the NHL as the Canadian junior leagues. I'm comfortable with my prediction.

 

[Jimdish255]

I love this.

http://www.bcinterruption.com/2012/...t-hockey-east-uconn-notre-dame-boston-college

 

[Sportsman5]

I do not know college hockey as well as many commenting. However, for those of you saying UConn will never compete with certain schools I would say that what UConn is doing is pretty unprecedented. UConn brings everything to the table a very top school brings except tradition. Coach, facilities, academics, college experience, very well known sports brand, hockey fans, in the center of a great recruiting area. I get the argument about puting guys in the league just like UConn uses for basketball. However, our coach can say he coached all the BC players to prepare them for the league. I think UConn is in such a unique and unbelievably good position that it is almost too good to be true. We have got so screwed overall in conference re-alignment that it's hard for us fans to rap our heads around that we are in such a good position when it comes to hockey. It would be silly to predict that UConn will be a top 10 program nationally in 5 years, but it's very plausible in 12-15 due to having everything needed for success. It would be like if the University of Florida moved from 1AA to the SEC football. They wouldn't immediately be competing for conference championships, but due to everything the university can provide and the recruiting area they would likely surpass at least half of the SEC within 15 years and would have a good chance at competing for the conference championship if they had a great coach. If Cavanaugh makes UConn his home for the next 15-20 years, than they have a very good chance at rising very near the top.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Time will tell. Not that long ago, you would have been considered crazy if you said that American college hockey would be as important to the NHL as the Canadian junior leagues. I'm comfortable with my prediction.

I wouldn't go as far to say that college is AS important as the Canadian leagues, but it's gaining ground for sure. That said, that comparison is not valid to the one with UConn and the top HE schools. Just as the Yankee Conference thing makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't matter that UConn dominated the Yankee Conference in basketball 30 or 40 years ago.

Hockey recruiting is fundamentally different from all other college sports because of the presence of the Canadian leagues as a secondary, and often better option for US and Canadian players - leagues which are not governed by the NCAA, can pay players, can offer players $$ to leave their college and come play there. It's going to be a lot easier to pry kids away from coming to UConn to go play in the Q and get to the pros until there is a well-established pipeline to the pros from Storrs. That exists currently at the places I noted, BU, BC, UNH, Maine, and to a lesser extent ND. Could it happen? Sure. But will UConn ever be consistently getting the Johnny Gaudreaus, Kevin Shattenkirks, and James van Riemsdyks to come to Storrs instead of BC, BU, and UNH? No.

 

[Palatine]

I wouldn't go as far to say that college is AS important as the Canadian leagues, but it's gaining ground for sure. That said, that comparison is not valid to the one with UConn and the top HE schools. Just as the Yankee Conference thing makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't matter that UConn dominated the Yankee Conference in basketball 30 or 40 years ago.

Hockey recruiting is fundamentally different from all other college sports because of the presence of the Canadian leagues as a secondary, and often better option for US and Canadian players - leagues which are not governed by the NCAA, can pay players, can offer players to leave their college and come play there. It's going to be a lot easier to pry kids away from coming to UConn to go play in the Q and get to the pros until there is a well-established pipeline to the pros from Storrs. That exists currently at the places I noted, BU, BC, UNH, Maine, and to a lesser extent ND. Could it happen? Sure. But will UConn ever be consistently getting the Johnny Gaudreaus, Kevin Shattenkirks, and James van Riemsdyks to come to Storrs instead of BC, BU, and UNH? No.

Did you read the article about the newest female recruit? She took hockey out of the equation and picked UConn. Our advantages as a school, will have us recruiting above our weight class and it happen quickly.

 

[huskymedic]

Did you read the article about the newest female recruit? She took hockey out of the equation and picked UConn. Our advantages as a school, will have us recruiting above our weight class and it happen quickly.

You're talking a complete different dynamic when comparing women's college hockey recruiting to men's college hockey recruiting. Women do not have as many options as men do when choosing a hockey career path. The number of colleges and Junior Leagues are disproportionate to that of Men's Hockey.

I do think UConn WHOC will outpace UConn MHOC in this regard.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Did you read the article about the newest female recruit? She took hockey out of the equation and picked UConn. Our advantages as a school, will have us recruiting above our weight class and it happen quickly.

As huskymedic said, complete apples and oranges. Find me an example of a top-3 or 4 round NHL draft pick "taking hockey out of the equation" and choosing a lesser hockey program because of its academics. Hint: you won't.

The point isn't to say UConn can't be a competitive HE team, I believe they absolutely can, but to suggest that they're going to be consistently recruiting on the level of BC, BU, UNH, and Maine at any time in the foreseeable future is foolish. Fortunately, recruiting is only part of the game, and that's how schools like QU and Yale have been able to compete while not being able to pull in many blue-chippers. Cavanaugh comes from an incredibly strong coaching pedigree so there's no reason to believe he can't coach the B-level recruits UConn is most likely to get on a consistent basis into a fun to watch team that can compete in HE.

 

[Palatine]

The point remains. UConn has huge advantages as a school (and athletic department) versus the rest of hockey east. That's just a fact. I'm saying it will impact recruiting.

I will keep that position until proven otherwise. We'll know in a couple of years. Probably quicker.

 

[FDNY99]

My opinion about the future and how fast this program grows is that it will be tied directly to the on-campus facility that is built. If that facility is built to "UCONN athletics standards" like Burton/Schenkman football facility, Rentschler, the basketball practice facility and Gampel there is not a doubt in my mind this staff will do great things. If it is built on the cheap, and corners are cut...we most likely see Cav and his staff move on after getting us competitive. My money is on the facility being built the right way.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

My opinion about the future and how fast this program grows is that it will be tied directly to the on-campus facility that is built. If that facility is built to "UCONN athletics standards" like Burton/Schenkman football facility, Rentschler, the basketball practice facility and Gampel there is not a doubt in my mind this staff will do great things. If it is built on the cheap, and corners are cut...we most likely see Cav and his staff move on after getting us competitive. My money is on the facility being built the right way.

I would hope so, a renovation of Freitas with some games at XL would be a horrendous move for the program. They need a 4-5K new arena a la Notre Dame to be able to compete at a higher level in recruiting. That would definitely give a huge advantage over the likes of UMass, Vermont, PC, and to some extent Maine.