Re: UNH Commits & Recruiting: 2017 and Beyond
I was going to respond to the post Watcher had made yesterday – but didn’t. However, with the Gildon news I think it’s worth revisiting whether UNH recruiting to date is by design or by result. I think it is clearly by result and you can put me in the Lemonade camp that UNH is lacking a defined plan or result for recruiting. I simply cannot give them credit for following a ‘Bazin Plan’ based on how they have recruited. To me, that is simply a hope that their haphazard approach to the most important part of winning in college athletics can be salvaged down the line…
Since Souza’s arrival, UNH has landed three types of recruits – early commitments, Borek holdovers and late grabs (many of whom have simply fallen in their laps).
The majority of the recruits in the pipeline were targeted early – it would be wishful to suppose that the long drought since most of those commitments represents a strategy and not a failure to land commitments. The silver-lining would be that instead of whiffing on top talents and executing a strategy of jumping on bottom-six or bottom pair commitments early just to get players in the pipeline has seemed to have abated, at least. The following players were ‘early’ (at least 2 years out and under 18) commitments…
Crookshank
Pierson
Sweeney
Wazny
Verrier
Bahn
Green
With this many early verbals – I don’t think you can make the argument that UNH is waiting to evaluate and move on kids late in the process. This group represents seven of the 11 kids in UNH’s pipeline (64%). Three others are Borek holdovers who, also committed early. The remaining is Stevenson who is still two years out, but committed just after turning 18. If you count those four – you’re at 100% early commitments.
The problem with this group is not when they committed, but that ONLY Angus Crookshank appears to have the floor of a top-six, top-four, truly-impactful recruit at the NCAA level. After that you’re stuck dreaming on Wazny (cut from his USHL team, ineffective on his NAHL team), Sweeney (still playing Prep Hockey) and Green (a raw and at-best league average USHL defensemen). That is a pretty bad place to be from a recruiting stand-point. Especially, considering the better talent remaining is being scooped up every single day and UNH hasn’t added to its incoming roster (save for one third-line type forward) in six months.
For all of the skills people claim Souza possesses that will “undoubtedly” make him successful on the recruiting trail, they sure don’t seem to be playing. And lets not gloss over the fact that during the season, as the ‘head coach in waiting’ he is always (has to be?) with the team while Stewart is the one leaving the bench/practice to go do the recruiting during, you know, hockey season…
Souza and the staff’s foray into late-game recruiting have earned him a reprieve from many – whether or not that is deserved is up for debate. This season’s early success is dependent on three factors – Souza’s last minute band aids, an incredibly weak schedule AND (often forgotten) the impact of Borek’s last gasp at UNH. I would argue that the development of Borek’s forward recruits that have UNH scoring at a solid-clip is every bit as critical as Souza’s finds on defense.
Lets also not forget, that in spite of Souza’s late defensive pick-ups and the strong forward production of Borek’s recruits UNH has still not proven to be a good enough team to compete with the better teams on their schedule. There is one recruit in the pipeline who projects to play NCAA hockey at the level of UNH’s current top defensemen or forwards. So I understand why people are hopeful, UNH is adopting a late recruiting strategy. But lets take a look at that late recruiting strategy under Souza…
Dawson
Wyse
Gildon
Maass
Sato
Stevenson
Pretty impressive! I can see why people want to hold on to this idea that Souza has a late-game recruiting plan. Unfortunately, a deeper look indicates that the majority of these finds were defenseman who UNH needed to fill immediate holes on the current roster. Wyse fell in UNH’s lap when he didn’t get into Dartmouth and had minimum options (read no offer from BU). Gildon fell in UNH’s lap when Wisconsin dropped him and he had minimum options. Sato is a fringe prospect. Dawson is mediocre. Stevenson is two years away and his ceiling indicates a second-tier scorer on a good team.
Maass is a great find. Souza deserves a lot of credit there. Unfortunately, along with Crookshank - that makes just TWO top-line/top-pair recruits in three full recruiting seasons, who committed to UNH and Souza through a true recruiting process. UNH has had plenty of recent seasons where they've had two or more very good players. That does not make a team. You cannot pick and choose individual recruits as a sign of success. The overall group and the big picture matters.
Maass makes one nice, under the radar, late find in Souza’s three seasons recruiting for UNH. Decommitments will not continue to fall in their lap. That is not a strategy. UNH is not adopting a Lowell plan. They are winging it, because they are unable to land or hang on to better players. I do not often agree with the description of Lowell recruiting as they land plenty of players I see and (at the time of commitment) would love for UNH to have.
More importantly, whatever Bazin’s strategy is it is celebrated because it is surprising to people that he makes it work. Lowell is the exception. It does not indicate some rule that is easy to follow. You know who else takes older players, from untraditional leagues, over looked by others schools? Maine, RPI, Alabama Huntsville, Alaska Anchorage, etc…
UNH seemingly has no plan. They are struggling badly on the recruiting trail. C-H-C’s intended defense of the coaching staff exposes incredible holes in their experience and track record. Souza had four years of primarily second-assistant coaching and recruiting experience (for weak programs) before he was given the keys to UNH’s recruiting and named head coach in waiting. Stewart has more years, but many came in the AHA – the rest at Merrimack. They have a HC, in Umile, who doesn’t care about recruiting and is an AWFUL example for them to learn from.
Is it really a surprise that they’re recruiting like a Brown, UConn or Merrimack? That’s their background! The bigger surprise is why anyone (AD’s included) would have looked at their experience and thought this would work. Giving him credit for landing kids who were forced out by other schools and had no where to turn to that had money remaining or hanging onto this idea that star-ranking matters more than the junior hockey production is grasping at straws. Michael Gildon is the cherry on top of the sundae. More on that later…
I was going to respond to the post Watcher had made yesterday – but didn’t. However, with the Gildon news I think it’s worth revisiting whether UNH recruiting to date is by design or by result. I think it is clearly by result and you can put me in the Lemonade camp that UNH is lacking a defined plan or result for recruiting. I simply cannot give them credit for following a ‘Bazin Plan’ based on how they have recruited. To me, that is simply a hope that their haphazard approach to the most important part of winning in college athletics can be salvaged down the line…
Since Souza’s arrival, UNH has landed three types of recruits – early commitments, Borek holdovers and late grabs (many of whom have simply fallen in their laps).
The majority of the recruits in the pipeline were targeted early – it would be wishful to suppose that the long drought since most of those commitments represents a strategy and not a failure to land commitments. The silver-lining would be that instead of whiffing on top talents and executing a strategy of jumping on bottom-six or bottom pair commitments early just to get players in the pipeline has seemed to have abated, at least. The following players were ‘early’ (at least 2 years out and under 18) commitments…
Crookshank
Pierson
Sweeney
Wazny
Verrier
Bahn
Green
With this many early verbals – I don’t think you can make the argument that UNH is waiting to evaluate and move on kids late in the process. This group represents seven of the 11 kids in UNH’s pipeline (64%). Three others are Borek holdovers who, also committed early. The remaining is Stevenson who is still two years out, but committed just after turning 18. If you count those four – you’re at 100% early commitments.
The problem with this group is not when they committed, but that ONLY Angus Crookshank appears to have the floor of a top-six, top-four, truly-impactful recruit at the NCAA level. After that you’re stuck dreaming on Wazny (cut from his USHL team, ineffective on his NAHL team), Sweeney (still playing Prep Hockey) and Green (a raw and at-best league average USHL defensemen). That is a pretty bad place to be from a recruiting stand-point. Especially, considering the better talent remaining is being scooped up every single day and UNH hasn’t added to its incoming roster (save for one third-line type forward) in six months.
For all of the skills people claim Souza possesses that will “undoubtedly” make him successful on the recruiting trail, they sure don’t seem to be playing. And lets not gloss over the fact that during the season, as the ‘head coach in waiting’ he is always (has to be?) with the team while Stewart is the one leaving the bench/practice to go do the recruiting during, you know, hockey season…
Souza and the staff’s foray into late-game recruiting have earned him a reprieve from many – whether or not that is deserved is up for debate. This season’s early success is dependent on three factors – Souza’s last minute band aids, an incredibly weak schedule AND (often forgotten) the impact of Borek’s last gasp at UNH. I would argue that the development of Borek’s forward recruits that have UNH scoring at a solid-clip is every bit as critical as Souza’s finds on defense.
Lets also not forget, that in spite of Souza’s late defensive pick-ups and the strong forward production of Borek’s recruits UNH has still not proven to be a good enough team to compete with the better teams on their schedule. There is one recruit in the pipeline who projects to play NCAA hockey at the level of UNH’s current top defensemen or forwards. So I understand why people are hopeful, UNH is adopting a late recruiting strategy. But lets take a look at that late recruiting strategy under Souza…
Dawson
Wyse
Gildon
Maass
Sato
Stevenson
Pretty impressive! I can see why people want to hold on to this idea that Souza has a late-game recruiting plan. Unfortunately, a deeper look indicates that the majority of these finds were defenseman who UNH needed to fill immediate holes on the current roster. Wyse fell in UNH’s lap when he didn’t get into Dartmouth and had minimum options (read no offer from BU). Gildon fell in UNH’s lap when Wisconsin dropped him and he had minimum options. Sato is a fringe prospect. Dawson is mediocre. Stevenson is two years away and his ceiling indicates a second-tier scorer on a good team.
Maass is a great find. Souza deserves a lot of credit there. Unfortunately, along with Crookshank - that makes just TWO top-line/top-pair recruits in three full recruiting seasons, who committed to UNH and Souza through a true recruiting process. UNH has had plenty of recent seasons where they've had two or more very good players. That does not make a team. You cannot pick and choose individual recruits as a sign of success. The overall group and the big picture matters.
Maass makes one nice, under the radar, late find in Souza’s three seasons recruiting for UNH. Decommitments will not continue to fall in their lap. That is not a strategy. UNH is not adopting a Lowell plan. They are winging it, because they are unable to land or hang on to better players. I do not often agree with the description of Lowell recruiting as they land plenty of players I see and (at the time of commitment) would love for UNH to have.
More importantly, whatever Bazin’s strategy is it is celebrated because it is surprising to people that he makes it work. Lowell is the exception. It does not indicate some rule that is easy to follow. You know who else takes older players, from untraditional leagues, over looked by others schools? Maine, RPI, Alabama Huntsville, Alaska Anchorage, etc…
UNH seemingly has no plan. They are struggling badly on the recruiting trail. C-H-C’s intended defense of the coaching staff exposes incredible holes in their experience and track record. Souza had four years of primarily second-assistant coaching and recruiting experience (for weak programs) before he was given the keys to UNH’s recruiting and named head coach in waiting. Stewart has more years, but many came in the AHA – the rest at Merrimack. They have a HC, in Umile, who doesn’t care about recruiting and is an AWFUL example for them to learn from.
Is it really a surprise that they’re recruiting like a Brown, UConn or Merrimack? That’s their background! The bigger surprise is why anyone (AD’s included) would have looked at their experience and thought this would work. Giving him credit for landing kids who were forced out by other schools and had no where to turn to that had money remaining or hanging onto this idea that star-ranking matters more than the junior hockey production is grasping at straws. Michael Gildon is the cherry on top of the sundae. More on that later…
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