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Originally posted by Chuck Murray
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Excellent post, and can't disagree with your basic premise. It's why the term "20 year old freshman" is seemingly synonymous with college hockey, and really nothing else. Whether it's to capitalize on the excess supply coming out of Canada and/or giving prep schools another raison d'etre, it's hard to justify a kid matriculating at 20 or *graduating* at 24 (or even running out of eligibility at 25 in some cases). Heck - our youngest graduates UNH this weekend at age 20, and our eldest graduated several years ago with a Masters at age 22. A good slice of the hockey program's players are virtually just getting started at those ages. And when the best answer you get to the question "Why?" is "Just because" then maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board and get a better answer.
I'm also not a huge fan of the so-called "redshirt" either. I think (assume?) that's been around for most of my lifetime, but it seems like just another device for the schools to maximize an asset's lifespan within their programs. While redshirting isn't a big factor in most D-1 hockey programs, it seems to be the tool of choice for the big-time football factories. Tighten all of that stuff up, and *maybe* the NCAA can make a convincing argument they're prioritizing the "C" (collegiate) instead of the $$$$$.
Totally agree, HR. It's why I try to only be generally aware of the recruiting game (while respecting those who know the various ins and outs down cold) for D-1 hockey ... which was admittedly a lot easier in the first half of Coach's UNH career, when they had things working and you just trusted that most of the new kids would find their D-1 footing and keep the program moving forward competitively. Now that it's not happening, I suppose it's only human to want to see what's gone wrong with the process and understand how to fix it. I'm running out of time to see UNH back in the mix at the top of D-1, and they still seem to be either stuck in neutral or falling slowly deeper into the competitive quicksand. So I guess then it's all about me.
I'm also not a huge fan of the so-called "redshirt" either. I think (assume?) that's been around for most of my lifetime, but it seems like just another device for the schools to maximize an asset's lifespan within their programs. While redshirting isn't a big factor in most D-1 hockey programs, it seems to be the tool of choice for the big-time football factories. Tighten all of that stuff up, and *maybe* the NCAA can make a convincing argument they're prioritizing the "C" (collegiate) instead of the $$$$$.
Totally agree, HR. It's why I try to only be generally aware of the recruiting game (while respecting those who know the various ins and outs down cold) for D-1 hockey ... which was admittedly a lot easier in the first half of Coach's UNH career, when they had things working and you just trusted that most of the new kids would find their D-1 footing and keep the program moving forward competitively. Now that it's not happening, I suppose it's only human to want to see what's gone wrong with the process and understand how to fix it. I'm running out of time to see UNH back in the mix at the top of D-1, and they still seem to be either stuck in neutral or falling slowly deeper into the competitive quicksand. So I guess then it's all about me.
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