Ferris State Offseason Thread - The Honeymoon Edition

[ferrisfan1]

Losing:
Chad Billins D (2nd team All-USCHO)
Derek Graham C
Tommy Hill D
Taylor Nelson GK (2nd team All-USCHO)
Aaron Schmit D
Michael Trebish D
Brett Wysopal D (sooooo underrated)
Jordie Johnston C

Returning:
Eric Alexander Jr. RW
Jason Binkley Fr. D
Kyle Bonis Jr. LW
Justin Buzzeo Fr. F
Scott Czarnowczan So. D
Justin DeMartino So. RW
Simon Denis Fr. D
Rob Granett So. GK
Andy Huff So. RW
Cory Kane So. C
Matthew Kirzinger Jr. RW
Nate Milam Fr. F
CJ Motte Fr. GK
Travis Ouellette Jr. C
Dominic Panetta Fr. F
TJ Schlueter Fr. F
Garrett Thompson So. LW
Travis White Fr. D

So there is some good talent leaving but a large freshman class will be a year better and there is still a strong returning group. I could not find any information about the recruiting class.

I am very curious, as I was in 2003, if this recent hockey success will lead to recruiting success. I didn't see any change in the talent of Ferris hockey players after 2003. The most highly-touted offensive player recruited after 2003 was probably Matt Stefanishion who promptly left the program and is currently tearing it up for the South Alberta Institute of Technology. It seems like the focus of the program is a certain type of offensive player and they avoid the blue chipper purposely in favor of a physical gritty forward. I can't help but think they now have the opportunity to go sign a 17 year old blue chipper (or 2). I don't necessarily think that's what Ferris needs. Some teams have 8 blue chip players and don't do anything.

What are your thoughts?

[Hammer]

I wondered about starting an offseason thread, since there's only a few of us here. I decided against starting one, since most of this will be covered at the start of the 2012-2013 season thread. I already have the thread title lined up for that, by the way.

Anyway, since we're here, the first thing that sticks out is the number of defensemen that are leaving. BTW, I believe that Graham was on the blue line for the better part of the last two years. That would make 6 defensemen leaving this year. Over the last two years, we've graduated Redmond, Wietecha, Billins and Wysopal, among others. That's a helluva top 4 right there. I've got to wonder whether that's going to take its toll. And if I'm reading this properly, we've only got 4 defensemen returning on this team to start with. I think that's where we should target any initial concerns.

I suspect that Coach Daniels will conjure up another goaltender to go along with Motte. After all, we've had Osaer, Nagle and Nelson over the last decade or so (don't bring me Mike Brown, please). I think we'll be fine there.

Bonis and Kirzinger should help anchor the scoring, and if Alexander can eliminate the silliness that gets into his head and sends him to the box for 5 minutes at a time, he can take a big step forward.

As for signing any potential blue-chippers, I'd rather have the talent than not.

[Nightfall]

I have been a Ferris State fan since I went to school there in 1993. In that time, we have only seen 2 teams in the last 20 years get to the NCAA tournament. The track record is not great for this team, primarily because of recruiting. Getting to the Frozen Four this year will be a huge help when it comes to recruiting. I really hate to say it though, but it seems like we caught lightning in a bottle this year. Can we really expect Ferris State to come out and have a good season next season? Its just very hard for me to fathom that right now.

I think the realistic expectation would be for Ferris State to contend in the top four spots in the CCHA next season. With who they are losing, so much will depend on new recruits to fill the void. Use the NCAA Runner Up title as a way to recruit good players and set a goal of getting back to the NCAA tournament ASAP.

The one thing I don't want to see is Ferris State not make it back for another 10 years. Remember, the last time they even made it to the tournament was back in 2003 when Kunitz was playing. I don't want to wait another 10 years. This program is in need of building up.

[Hammer]

Man, you sound like I usually do.

I got out of the prediction business for this team a few years ago. When I thought we'd go to the Joe we'd find a way to finish 9th. When I thought we'd finish 9th we found ourselves in Detroit, drinking copious amounts of bourbon and watching Ferris play....somebody.

Over the past 10 years or so, after Kunitz, Milam, and company graduated, Bob Daniels and his staff have been pretty good at three things:

1) Find quality goaltenders
2) Find quality defensemen
3) Confound me with inconsistent scoring and power play

Having seen what I have over the past few years, and given the benefit of the doubt that he has earned from me due to this season, I have no doubt that he will continue to take care of #1 and #2, although re-tooling the defensive corps may take a couple years, given my previous post. We lose a lot on defense. And if Bonis, Kirzinger and the rest of the crew continue to improve, he just might start to fix issue #3.

This program is light years ahead of where it was when you and I were in school. Ewigleben appears to be in much better shape than it was years ago, and the university gets full credit for that. But the coaching staff has done their part to take full advantage of that, too.

[bueller]

I didn't see any change in the talent of Ferris hockey players after 2003. The most highly-touted offensive player recruited after 2003 was probably Matt Stefanishion who promptly left the program and is currently tearing it up for the South Alberta Institute of Technology. It seems like the focus of the program is a certain type of offensive player and they avoid the blue chipper purposely in favor of a physical gritty forward. I can't help but think they now have the opportunity to go sign a 17 year old blue chipper (or 2). I don't necessarily think that's what Ferris needs. Some teams have 8 blue chip players and don't do anything.

Don't forgot Pat Maroon, who was poached by the OHL before ever setting foot on campus. That being said, there will probably be an uptick in the number of recruits, but I think Daniels will stick to his game plan of targeting guys who will stick around for four years.

[paulfb]

This longtime BC fan congratulates Ferris for an outstanding season. Ferris may well have been the only Division I team I had yet to see in person until Tampa. Your fans were great and your bulldog mascot was gracious, shaking hands with some of us Eagle fans on the way out of the building. I took a picture of my girlfriend with the bulldog mascot and she got a kick out of it.

Good luck in future seasons and congratulations for your CCHA regular-season title and Frozen Four appearance.

[Hammer]

Thank you for your kind words. Best of luck to you guys as well.

[Hammer]

Don't forgot Pat Maroon, who was poached by the OHL before ever setting foot on campus. That being said, there will probably be an uptick in the number of recruits, but I think Daniels will stick to his game plan of targeting guys who will stick around for four years.

Yup. And it appears he made the right move, as he got his feet wet with the Ducks this year.

Judging by his PIM totals, he would have fit in perfectly here.

[Gopha23]

Just my random thoughts. but i assume the defense would look like this:
Czarnowczan - Binkley
Denis - White/Highly touted Freshman
White/HtF - Whoever else

Other than that, I think our goaltending will be fine, as Motte has shown what he can do, and if he can even get close to the numbers he put up in limited time this season, then we should be fine. Of course, that will be representative of how well we can put together our back line.

Scoring should be as usual. Inconsistent at times, ingenius at others. It all depends on the day.

[FRICKER]

Big Rapids might not be as hard a recruting location as the Soo, but it's close. Cherish your SUPER season and good luck in the future. Amazing having five CCHA teams in the NCAA
tournament and having Ferris make it to the finals against juggernaught, BC!!!

[MeridianStreet]

I second what Fricker said. Great job by FSU and thank you for carrying the CCHA flag. The other teams fell flat but Ferris got it done. Congrats on a great season.

[ferrisfan1]

what happened in the early part of the century that allowed them to recruit the likes of Kunitz, Rallo, Nesbitt, Legue, and Bomersback? And why haven't we gotten guys like that since? Neither of them were so highly thought of that they were drafted out of high school but they were constant scroring threats; guys you could rely on down by 1 with the game winding down.

[totalx]

Congrats to Johnston and Billins for signing pro contracts within the past week. Grand Rapids picked up Billins for the rest of the season and Johnston is going to Bridgeport (NY Islanders).

Good work, gentlemen. If Chad can stick around with the Griffins, who knows...we may see him in a Wings uniform at some point

[SerenFSU]

Good work, gentlemen. If Chad can stick around with the Griffins, who knows...we may see him in a Wings uniform at some point

That would be awesome. I live in Detroit so this is definitely what I have my fingers crossed for. I mean we already have a former Bulldog assistant coach.

I'm not sure what my expectations are for next year. I don't think I have any yet, just kind of still savoring the moment. A lot will depend on who steps up next year. I think there is the potential to make some noise (at least within the CCHA) but I don't think we can yet say for sure if it will be realized.

[totalx]

I'm not sure what my expectations are for next year. I don't think I have any yet, just kind of still savoring the moment. A lot will depend on who steps up next year. I think there is the potential to make some noise (at least within the CCHA) but I don't think we can yet say for sure if it will be realized.

Here's the deal. If my math is correct, Ferris returns 67% of its scoring output next season. I hate to use the term offense because I feel like several guys every year make an offense better even though they don't appear on the stat sheet as frequently. Derek Graham, for example. Scrappy little guy who fought for loose pucks and was all over in the 2nd half of the season.

Bonis, Kirzinger, Ouellette, Thompson should all have very solid years. I am hoping that Ouellette will have a year similar to Johnston had this year because I think he has the potential to. If Alexander can increase his scoring and reduce the boneheaded penalties, along with Kane, who has a wicked shot...this team could have an exceptional offense, which isn't something any Bulldog fan has really experienced in the last 10+ years. Heck, even Schlueter showed a strong potential as a freshman.

The defense is a little suspect. Losing Billins and Wysopal (who I feel was always terribly underrated) will hurt, and Czarnowczan actually had surgery after that hit he suffered in the national championship game. Hopefully he can recover quickly and get himself ready for a big year, because he will need to step up. I have been impressed with him from the start, but he will be relied on even more than before with losing the aforementioned d-men and Schmit. I think Denis provided the team with a nice little spark when he was inserted in the lineup, and I look for he and Binkley to be solid blueliners for years to come. I am not terribly worried about the defense, but I could still be riding the optimism that this season provided.

And Motte...the kid should be good. He proved his worth pretty well when he got the opportunity as a freshman and you would expect him to really hone his skills over the summer, knowing he will be taking over behind two consecutive All-Americans in Nagle and Nelson.

Who knows, really. We have to wait until October to find out, and it's hard to gauge what the team has coming as with this year's recruiting class. It's also hard to gauge leadership on and off the ice. I think we saw what guys like Billins, Nelson, and Johnston provided on and off the ice as far as character is concerned, and Hill was touted as one of the hardest working, most dedicated individuals that ever played at Ferris. Senior leadership is huge and can really influence the attitude of the team.

Regardless of everything I just said, I am just as excited for next season as I have always been. It doesn't really matter what the season is looking like and who is saying what (predicted to finish 9th this year?). I think the expectations may have been raised as a result of this season, and I would imagine the players will want to rise to the occasion and build off the success this year.

[DawgPoundCrazy]

At the Hockey Banquet Coach announced the captains for the upcoming season. Wearing the C for the Bulldogs in 2012-2013 will be Kyle Bonis. Wearing the A's will be Czarnowczan and Ouellette.

[Yeti]

Ferris State picked up a goaltender today. ('92) Charles Williams - 6'0", 175 pounds. From Canton, Michigan. Played this season for the Lincoln Stars (USHL).

http://www.lincolnstarsblog.com/2012...-williams.html

I run the above blog and had the opportunity to watch Charles this season. Quality goaltender and a great kid off the ice. I was hoping he'd come back to Lincoln for one more season, but apparently he'll be start at Ferris State this fall.

[Deejpuck]

Ferris State picked up a goaltender today. ('92) Charles Williams - 6'0", 175 pounds. From Canton, Michigan. Played this season for the Lincoln Stars (USHL).

http://www.lincolnstarsblog.com/2012...-williams.html

I run the above blog and had the opportunity to watch Charles this season. Quality goaltender and a great kid off the ice. I was hoping he'd come back to Lincoln for one more season, but apparently he'll be start at Ferris State this fall.

Look like CJ Motte will have work hard to earn full time starting job, will this kid be the next Pat Nagle or the next Rich Nagy

[vizoroo]

At the Hockey Banquet Coach announced the captains for the upcoming season. Wearing the C for the Bulldogs in 2012-2013 will be Kyle Bonis. Wearing the A's will be Czarnowczan and Ouellette.

DU's Luke "Goal Czar" Salazar graduated sp I guess it's Czarnowczan to take up the slack. ;-}

[ferrisfan1]

here's your recruiting class. one more is expected...

Kenny Babinski 5' 10" 180, Forward, Midland, MI 11 goals 13 assists 53 games USHL

Dakota Klecha 5' 10" 155, Forward, Taylor, MI 17 9 57 USHL

Connor Schmidt 5' 10" 180, Defender, Flat Rock, MI 1 11 46 USHL

Zach Dorer 6' 1" 175, Defender, Holt, MI 7 17 94 NAHL

Brandon Anselmini 5' 9" 200, Defender, Guelph, ON 18 24 59 CCHL

Matt Robertson 6' 0" 161, Forward, Rohnert Park, CA 74 104 130 CCHL

Charles Williams 6' 0" 175, Goalkeeper, Canton, MI 20-4-3 2.61GA .907% USHL