UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

The things you learn on this board ... if nothing else, it's a treasure trove for fascinating stuff, including:

* EJ is apparently a BC fan. No, really - 1932 says so;
* It costs about as much to go to NoDak now than it did to put our kids in daycare 25 years ago;
* UNH1932 is doing the snowbird "I'm leaving the forum" thing. Again;
* The hockey camp at The Whitt attracts many of the best teens around, but few return for college

Keep it coming!!

[Felger]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

Most likely the truth is BC was the kid's first choice. They didn't have a space for him so he moved towards UNH but York told him don't do anything until X date, that's when my flight risks have told me they'd give me their decision. That date came, flight risks flew, good bye UNH, hello BC.

At the risk of Chuck accusing me of being a BC fan I must say I agree that this is/was the likely scenario.

[Felger]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

You hit the nail on the head with Stafford and Hemingway. Haydar and Murray were big hits too. We have recruited some stars as you noted. Admissions took out some of our big hits over the past 6-8 years and we have had a pretty tough time. I know the Hemingway story quite well. We have had quite a few all-americans but for many they did not get their first choice and that was great for us in Kevin Regan's case as he killed BU during his time to show Parker his mistake in not signing him. There are many others in that era as well and we got very good players for sure but not the top kids in the country as a general rule. We find those kids that others do not know. Our Waterloo connection brought four stars in one year in the mid 2000's. None but Kessel was considered a sure thing but that is our best team in a long time.

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/...p?mbu_unh1.m17

[JB]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/...p?mbu_unh1.m17

The goalie BU was happy to see leave was Ayers.

Over 3 seasons Goals against - 1,3,3,5,0,0,0,0,3,4 record was 6-3-1 most importantly in the middle of that 4 game+ shutout streak was a HE tournament and NCAA regional final wins.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/...p?mbu_unh1.m17

Another "Umiliation" for those who may have lost track of how many, and how often in the postseason ...

[zoofer]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

EJ, if any hockey player, no matter the age, doesn't have an appreciation for what family means, then he/she hasn't noticed the commitment their parents have made for them....in the cost of the sport, driving them to the rink since they were 4 or 5, their parents sitting in a cold rink for hours, many hours spent at tournaments and weekend games in the car driving.....and you think all this is the same as a kid grabbing a B-ball or soccer ball, and leaving the house for awhile? Maybe said kind of player isn't worth the trouble than......not every player is meant to play on any team!

[Snively65]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

http://www.hockeyeastonline.com/men/...p?mbu_unh1.m17

Ouch.

[Greg Ambrose]

Exposure to UNH is only a small part of the problem. Belief that winning is a consuming passion so that it will be willed into being is something that has to be communicated. That is how Walsh did it when Maine sucked. There was no doubt with his energy that it would happen, and he had a track record at Michigan State to lend some support for the belief that he had the ability to do that. If you have that underlying message, and then one domino falls (Jack Capuano - or for Yorkie, Farkas) the hockey world suddenly takes note. That was the message at UNH in the mid-90s.

Mike Souza's mellow message does not scream determination. He comes across more as a nice guy than intense. If that is who he is, he needs an intense, passionate recruiter who can will it into being. Sean Coady (included for Greg's benefit) and Mark Osiecki at Wisconsin fall into that group. I look for signs of this (see the serial commits at Wisconsin when the new staff went there), but was a bit disappointed that (1) Kelleher/Gildon didn't cause Limoges to flip, and (2) Commesso wasn't able to bring his classmate Liam Connors along with him. Either one of those things might have sent a stronger message to the community.

Edit: Boston College has managed without the intense assistant, but Yorkie had a NCAA title in his back pocket to show recruits he knew how to get there.

Watcher, I've never understood this mindset that because Player A commits to a school, his teammate, Player B should also. Are you taking into account that Player A may not be a leader or the Player B may not be a follower? Or, more likely, regardless of their personalities, most of these kids want to forge their own path? College recruiting is a cut throat business as well. Maybe coach doesn't want Player B. Ever think of that.

I also want to chime in on ways to increase interest in the program. When I was on the FOH board, myself and others tried to get Umile interested in different ways to get new people on board with the program. His default position was that he was going to leave that to the marketing department. Fine. My experience over those many years was that marketing was tone deaf. The fact that, after dropping my season tickets this (had them for 20), I never received a call as to why tells you all you have to know.

I have two suggestions though. First, how about making it a priority that UNH recruit hard on the top couple of New Hampshire players each year. I can tell you that people in the stands question why BU, BC or even Lowell has a NH kid who is killing us. Why didn't e rcuit him, they'll ask. Second, how about having some pre-season practices outside of Durham? Maybe in Concord, Manchester, Salem, Nashua. Have the youth hockey teams there, do some autographs and the like. Seeing college guys in the flesh is a big deal to ten year olds, believe me.

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

Watcher, I've never understood this mindset that because Player A commits to a school, his teammate, Player B should also. Are you taking into account that Player A may not be a leader or the Player B may not be a follower? Or, more likely, regardless of their personalities, most of these kids want to forge their own path? College recruiting is a cut throat business as well. Maybe coach doesn't want Player B. Ever think of that.

Not a mindset, its a strong correlation to have someone on the inside selling the program. Maybe Player A does hate B, but more often than not, teams build a pipeline this way. UNH had Stratford until Flanagan took that to BG. Word of mouth is the best recruiter. Especially since Drew and Liam were classmates, you'd assume a stronger connection.

I also want to chime in on ways to increase interest in the program. When I was on the FOH board, myself and others tried to get Umile interested in different ways to get new people on board with the program. His default position was that he was going to leave that to the marketing department.

So like recruiting, not on the job description. Just make sure the check comes in on Fridays, and I'll make sure I'm on the ice from 4-6 Monday through Friday.

[Lemonade]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

Not a mindset, its a strong correlation to have someone on the inside selling the program. Maybe Player A does hate B, but more often than not, teams build a pipeline this way. UNH had Stratford until Flanagan took that to BG. Word of mouth is the best recruiter. Especially since Drew and Liam were classmates, you'd assume a stronger connection.




So like recruiting, not on the job description. Just make sure the check comes in on Fridays, and I'll make sure I'm on the ice from 4-6 Monday through Friday.

I am sure players that are committed to schools do everything they can to recruit their buddies. According to the scouts I know Connors was coaches by Scott Young (BU assistant coach) during his youth hockey days with the Minuteman Flames therefore had a connection with BU. That being said do we know if UNH was even interested in Connors? Finally, if you are a forward and you have the choice between BU and UNH right now I am willing to bet BU wins in that recruiting war a large percentage of the time based on the current situation of both programs. It will be interesting to see if Souza can land a few 02 prospects since he has one already. Most of the blue chip 01s are already committed.

[Snively65]

Watcher, I've never understood this mindset that because Player A commits to a school, his teammate, Player B should also. Are you taking into account that Player A may not be a leader or the Player B may not be a follower? Or, more likely, regardless of their personalities, most of these kids want to forge their own path? College recruiting is a cut throat business as well. Maybe coach doesn't want Player B. Ever think of that.

Greg, you mentioned earlier that UNH brought in a player (I forget the name) in an attempt to get Sean Collins to play at UNH; I heard at the time that Sean's teammate Steve Saviano, a year ahead of Collins at Reading High, was that player.

I have returned from snowbirding in Florida to replace 1932 here. :-)

[ClOuD 9]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

Something I came across tonight that may be relevant to some of the recent discussion here:

What should perhaps be of even greater concern to clubs and the league, however, is that high prices threaten to stop the next generation of supporters coming through. "I think what's significant is the age of the matchgoing supporters now," Herhily suggests. "At Arsenal, the average season ticket holder is in their fifties and, with the best will in the world, a fiftysomething is not going to make the same amount of noise and contribution to the atmosphere as someone in their teens or early twenties. What teenager can afford an Arsenal season ticket now?," he asks. In an economy that's already hostile to a debt-ridden generation being faced with prohibitive house prices and exploitative zero-hour contracts, the answer is very few.

Squeezed fans, silent stadiums: the myth of Premier League atmosphere

In addition to finding new ways to engage current students, UNH should be aggressively targeting recent grads who still live in the area. Beer sales would also help capture those over 21 in the 18-35 demo. Major League Soccer has had great success targeting the energy and exuberance of this age group.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

In addition to finding new ways to engage current students, UNH should be aggressively targeting recent grads who still live in the area. Beer sales would also help capture those over 21 in the 18-35 demo. Major League Soccer has had great success targeting the energy and exuberance of this age group.

Excellent point, Cloud. No one - and I mean no one - is doing a better job of courting the younger demographic right now than MLS. You look at it, and it's a league that's barely 20 years old, built off the back of the '94 World Cup in the US, in the aftermath of a string of failed leagues and failed strategies to short-cut the development of the world's game. It got off to a slow start, but they had a plan, working with grassroots support as opposed to "Let's buy Pele and Beckenbauer, pack 'em into Giants Stadium, and they'll bring everyone else along." It took incredible patience and vision, but finally - despite the doubters and the naysayers - it's a legitimate 5th North American major league, and they got there because they worked hard, worked long, targeted to grassroots 20 years ago .... and now those kids are young adults, who identify with the sport, and are not only supporting a booming domestic league (MLS) but also have the various networks fighting with each other for rights to things like the Premier League, Bundesliga, etc. that no one a generation ago would have ever imagined possible. Eureka.

In the meantime, the UNH "marketing" department has squandered a waiting list that could choke a horse from the turn of the century, is leaking long-time supporters like the post-iceberg Titanic (did that just for you, EJ ), and people like Greg and dozens of friends of mine who used to be season ticket holders don't even so much as get a call when they drop their tickets. And as I've said on here several times before ... I have been surrounded by young athletes living within a 10 mile radius of Durham for the last 15 or so years, and when I mention "UNH Hockey" to most of them, they seem surprised that this actually exists two towns over. To them, "hockey" means either the Bruins, or the so-called "Kings of NH (Goon League) Hockey" playing over in ManchVegas.

I'm not sure if I'm more P.O.'ed at the folks in charge of marketing UNH Hockey - starting with our very own BS35+5 - or with Joey Buttons at Hockey East HQ, who has been handed one of the greatest possible competitive league concepts ever invented - y'know, a league where you can pretty much drive to ALL of your school's games, home and away, where games are affordable, with storied programs with a ton of history everywhere, all these subtle little regional squabbles waiting to be exploited, in what is generally described as a hotbed area for the sport - and they STILL play second banana to irrelevant local hoops programs when it comes to press/overall exposure.

Did I mention how much it hurts to watch this great part of the season from the sidelines yet again?

[ClOuD 9]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

While I still possess a modicum of credibility I'm going to go ahead and suggest that, sticking with the music theme, the title for the season thread should be "The Final Countdown"

And, it's gone...

[Felger]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017 Off-season: The Clash Question

While I still possess a modicum of credibility I'm going to go ahead and suggest that, sticking with the music theme, the title for the season thread should be "The Final Countdown"

And, it's gone...

I thought next season's thread title should have something to do with "Blackjack"...you know the quest for that magic number of 21