Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Anyone still out there? This thread has completely died off this season. Sad

Anyway, a tie at #3 in the country is a great way to respond to a tough loss to an underwhelming St. Lawrence team. Luke Kania appears to be the real deal, and I'm happy he's playing with a level of confidence that he didn't show early in the season. Tony Stillwell continues to demonstrate his skill on and off the puck each week. Beaudoin is on a bit of a cold streak, but he has the talent to turn it around and finish the year strongly. The senior class has seen a drop-off in production, which is disappointing.

I learned that Max Willman tore his ACL, meaning his Brown career is likely finished. He may qualify for a medical redshirt and transfer elsewhere for one last season; I believe the Ivy League's archaic rules would prevent him from seeking a fifth year at Brown. Either way, I wish him the best. He was a joy to watch over the last four years, bringing creativity and speed to the table every game. He'll be a tremendous addition to any college team that picks him up next season.

[Hope Street]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Anyone still out there? This thread has completely died off this season. Sad

Anyway, a tie at #3 in the country is a great way to respond to a tough loss to an underwhelming St. Lawrence team. Luke Kania appears to be the real deal, and I'm happy he's playing with a level of confidence that he didn't show early in the season. Tony Stillwell continues to demonstrate his skill on and off the puck each week. Beaudoin is on a bit of a cold streak, but he has the talent to turn it around and finish the year strongly. The senior class has seen a drop-off in production, which is disappointing.

I learned that Max Willman tore his ACL, meaning his Brown career is likely finished. He may qualify for a medical redshirt and transfer elsewhere for one last season; I believe the Ivy League's archaic rules would prevent him from seeking a fifth year at Brown. Either way, I wish him the best. He was a joy to watch over the last four years, bringing creativity and speed to the table every game. He'll be a tremendous addition to any college team that picks him up next season.

According to Divver's tweet from Jan. 9: Smart money is on BU

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

According to Divver's tweet from Jan. 9: Smart money is on BU

Must have missed that – would be a nice landing spot for Max. He'd get to play with some bonafide NHL talent and possibly put up some monster numbers to impress the Sabres.

[Euler18]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

According to Divver's tweet from Jan. 9: Smart money is on BU

Smart money is finishing your degree in four years and getting on with your life. The Ivy League doesn't have a special five-year college plan for hockey players.

[cavbim]

Smart money is finishing your degree in four years and getting on with your life. The Ivy League doesn't have a special five-year college plan for hockey players.

Maybe I’m misreading you but that comes across as very snarky.

For Max to use his medical red shirt season anywhere else he has to graduate from Brown as part of the transfer. (Not sure if it has to be May or end of summer school—see SLU goalie who accelerated to grad and spend essentially his grad year at Wisconsin)

So I’d say Willman has a plan in place. Kid certainly good enough to have some type of a pro career. So if terms are right go right to Sabres else as KDiff says show on a good team prove your worth either get Sabres to Max offer (no pun) or wait it out for free agency (also possible to attain that too this year), meantime get your masters (again I assume BU has the right program for him and why smart money) then have an alternate career after hockey is done.

You come across like if he can’t stay at Brown you begrudge him playing.

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Tough loss to a team that was more preoccupied with cheap shots and demonstrating their acting abilities than playing hockey. Refs bought the act hook, line and sinker. Will absolutely be rooting against UConn the rest of the way.

[PizzaRing]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

I'm not really a Brown fan, but wonder what's happened to the program since ~2013.
Why hasn't the program done well, and what besides Whittet and high admissions
standards factor into this? ( Understand about the rink )

[paulfb]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

I'm not really a Brown fan, but wonder what's happened to the program since ~2013.
Why hasn't the program done well, and what besides Whittet and high admissions
standards factor into this? ( Understand about the rink )

Not a Brown fan either, but I'm giving away my age when I remember how great the atmosphere was at Meehan Auditorium in the mid-1970s. Then, a coach at the time had trouble establishing a rapport with the admissions office -- critical as schools such as Brown -- and the decline has been multigenerational. Sad to see the program in the shape it is today.

[PizzaRing]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Not a Brown fan either, but I'm giving away my age when I remember how great the atmosphere was at Meehan Auditorium in the mid-1970s. Then, a coach at the time had trouble establishing a rapport with the admissions office -- critical as schools such as Brown -- and the decline has been multigenerational. Sad to see the program in the shape it is today.

That's a lot of years/coaches & admissions teams ago... but maybe that's it. I just looked up the Brown hockey program history. ( I thought the program had done better than it actually has. ) Except for a few spurts of success under Gaudet and later Grillo ( in early 00's ) there's not been much success in last 25-30 yrs. Both coaches left with losing career records, and Whittet would be the 3rd. From the outside looking in, it seems Brown could have a successful hockey program, unless there's a pronounced, long-standing institutional bias. I know Dartmouth and Princeton struggle to reach .500 each season as well, so it's not just Brown.

[kdiff77]

I'm not really a Brown fan, but wonder what's happened to the program since ~2013.
Why hasn't the program done well, and what besides Whittet and high admissions
standards factor into this? ( Understand about the rink )

I’m far too tired to give this the nuanced response it deserves, but the problem, IMO, is twofold:

-Brown’s former president Ruth Simmons raised Brown’s admissions standards to heights unrivaled by any other Ivy, making recruiting an impossible task.

-Brendan Whittet has, in spite of that, done quite well with recruiting, but hasn’t been able to find a goaltender in years and has also utterly failed to develop any of the talent he has had at his disposal – especially on the defensive side of things, which is supposed to be his specialty.

The result is a team that at times exhibits a really high talent level and can skate with the better teams it plays, and at other times gets totally overrun by teams that are well-coached and have strong, detailed systems.

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Scouting the Enemy: Brown Bears

http://www.bobcatshockeyblog.com/201...own-bears.html

[PizzaRing]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

I’m far too tired to give this the nuanced response it deserves, but the problem, IMO, is twofold:

-Brown’s former president Ruth Simmons raised Brown’s admissions standards to heights unrivaled by any other Ivy, making recruiting an impossible task.

-Brendan Whittet has, in spite of that, done quite well with recruiting, but hasn’t been able to find a goaltender in years and has also utterly failed to develop any of the talent he has had at his disposal – especially on the defensive side of things, which is supposed to be his specialty.

The result is a team that at times exhibits a really high talent level and can skate with the better teams it plays, and at other times gets totally overrun by teams that are well-coached and have strong, detailed systems.

Doesn’t seem that the program has the potential to right itself with Whittet still at the helm.
Yep, he’s recruited some high end talent over the years ( a fair # making it to pro
hockey ) but I wonder if those guys would’ve made it no matter what. Probably awkward for Brown because if they fire him it would seem like its just because he can not win consistently— not a good look from the progressive Ivy Towers. I thought long ago that they should fire Grillo, but Whittet might be worse. Grillo had them playing ~ trap/dump & chase, but at least teams had to work hard to beat them. Anyway, they have to do something about this program. At the very least, hire an "associate" head coach to help the situation. Harvard did that a while back for Donato.

My cousin ( Brown ’09 ) would like to see the program hire a woman head coach( e.g. Meaghan Duggan or some alum high profile women's player like Katie King ) to make it a "signature Brown” hire that would mend fences with admissions, and force the U to institutionally to get behind the hockey program. That might be a bridge too far for the Old Guard, but it sure would be an interesting hire.

[kdiff77]

Doesn’t seem that the program has the potential to right itself with Whittet still at the helm.
Yep, he’s recruited some high end talent over the years ( a fair # making it to pro
hockey ) but I wonder if those guys would’ve made it no matter what. Probably awkward for Brown because if they fire him it would seem like its just because he can not win consistently— not a good look from the progressive Ivy Towers. I thought long ago that they should fire Grillo, but Whittet might be worse. Grillo had them playing ~ trap/dump & chase, but at least teams had to work hard to beat them. Anyway, they have to do something about this program. At the very least, hire an "associate" head coach to help the situation. Harvard did that a while back for Donato.

My cousin ( Brown ’09 ) would like to see the program hire a woman head coach( e.g. Meaghan Duggan or some alum high profile women's player like Katie King ) to make it a "signature Brown” hire that would mend fences with admissions, and force the U to institutionally to get behind the hockey program. That might be a bridge too far for the Old Guard, but it sure would be an interesting hire.

Totally agreed that Whittet is a lost cause. Better to start fresh with a new staff. And, yes; it’s likely that most of the players who have made it to the pros under his watch would have done so regardless of who they played for in college.

Your latter point is an interesting one. I’m very open to trying literally anything new, since the three coaches Brown has employed in my lifetime have all had losing records and the program hasn’t made the NCAA tournament in 25 years. Get some fresh blood in there, maybe stir the pot a bit with a non-traditional hire like a former Brown women’s player, and see if you can make strides by thinking outside the box.

I don’t think there’s any cause to worry about the “old guard” since it has all but abandoned Brown hockey already. Could be a good marketing/PR move, at the very least, and drum up some outside interest in the program.

[QUAlum2004]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Quinnipiac shutouts Brown 3-0

http://www.bobcatshockeyblog.com/201...brown-3-0.html

[kdiff77]

Re: Brown Hockey 2017-2018: The Quest for Prosperity Continues

Brown legend Yann Danis is calling it quits after what seems like 20 years in the pros (it's actually more like 14).

https://twitter.com/ydanis35/status/962844462215987200

Yann is the best goaltender in Brown history and he singlehandedly dragged his team to Albany in 2003 and had it on the verge of an NCAA tournament berth in 2004 prior to a late-season collapse. Those were not particularly adept offensive teams, but Danis kept them in just about every single game. He gave ECAC opponents nightmares for three years. Even in defeat, he was often dominant – the 66-save double-overtime effort against Harvard in the 2002 playoffs comes to mind.

I was young when Danis played at Brown, and he was my favorite athlete (yes, including professional players). I knew he was great when, in his very first game, he made a ridiculous glove save on a point-blank shot from maybe 8 feet away in the slot off a one-time pass from the corner (as is tradition for Brown hockey, there was no one defending the crease ). I was standing above the net and I remember screaming my head off when he made that save. Danis briefly inspired me to switch to playing as a goaltender, though my parents put the kibosh on that pretty quick due to the expense.

What a great player, and a great representative of Brown!