UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

[Greg Ambrose]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

Dan, I was in Madison the weekend we lost back to back games to the Badgers in 2009. The Saturday afternoon of that weekend, all the UNH fans who had made the trek were invited to the Kessel’s house in Verona. While there, and it was a great time (we met sister Amanda), I remember Scott Pavelski’s mother talking about how, very late in the process, with her son having no junior eligibility left, out of the blue Scott got an offer from UNH. Didn’t think much of it at the time but, obvious now. Settle for mediocre, or less. The Borek mantra. When Borek has the email fiasco, he should been fired on the spot. Nice guy, good family man who overcame enormous tragedy twice during his tenure at UNH, but not anyone’s idea of a lead, aggressive recruiter. We need someone with McCloskey’s DNA. Aggressive and ruthless.

[Dan]

Dan...tell an under educated fan (me) how they recover?

Ok Ref, here goes. None of this is ground-breaking stuff or anything that hasn't been discussed here, but this is what I think needs to happen. While I'd love to see UNH get a dynamic recruiter - I'm going to discuss this coaching staff neutral, because I think these are things that can be accomplished (for the most part) by any staff if they make the effort and have the right attitude...

RECRUITING
It all starts with recruiting - so this is the MOST important factor by far. UNH needs to get better players. Here's how they can do that.

First they need to establish a plan. UNH really needs to outline an approach for who, where and how they want to approach recruiting. Right now everything seems so haphazard, while they hope for the best and scramble when things don't work out.

For starters - where are they going to recruit? For me, that means a focus on local (NE/MA), Ontario, Eastern Canada, British Columbia and the USHL. Right now UNH is everywhere and it's too much to cover, while still getting real good and extended looks at kids. Those are also the areas where UNH has had its most success. At the same time, UNH absolutely needs to be open to investigating kids outside this region (MI, MN, CA, foreign, etc) who they stumble across at showcases/games, hear about or hear from. But, you can't traipse across the globe for the sake of casting a wide net. Excel in these areas and be opportunistic otherwise...

Secondly - why type of player are they looking for? Offensively, first and foremost, I'm looking for high-skilled types who can score goals. Goals are paramount. Ideally I'm looking guys with great stick skills and hands who can skate fast. Skill, skating, scoring. That's my blueprint. And if I find a Brett Hemingway type - awkward skater but a scorer - I'm jumping on him too! No more role players. Role players in juniors will never be more than role players in college (and have you ever noticed who fills the 'roles' (PK) for most college teams? Hint it's the best guys!). Get the best talent you can and let them sort out who plays where - them being more talented will create better role players anyway.

Defensively I'm looking for a mix of offensive guys and defenders. Offensive guys are great IF they're truly offensive guys. I want Gildons or TVRs or Staffords. If I can't get that I'm not settling for Furgeles or Bahns. Instead I'll grab defense first guys who can skate and make strong first passes.

Goaltending is so important and the quickest way to make - at least an incremental - turnaround. I hope, like you, that Robinson plays much more down the stretch. If he's a GUY and they can grab about big, sound, successful goalie with ability and potential in 2019 then that position is set for the next five years. Pick up a stud every two years and you're in business.

Now, how do they get these guys despite their struggles? By embracing three simple philosophies. First, they're much more aggressive and confident on the trail. Second, they spend. Third they take chances.

UNH needs to invest a ton of time into recruiting and they need to believe what they're selling. No more excuses. Get out and maximize your allotted time, see the kids you need to see, find the best and target them. Aggressively pursue them and show no mind to who else is after them. Find skill and go get it.

In the beginning UNH may need to offer more money to get kids. That's fine. Overspend for talent. Spreading t around on a number of OK kids has gotten them nowhere. Cost is still and always will be the primary factor for players and parents making college decisions. Make UNH the affordable option by giving larger offers than the competition!

I mentioned before Goumas arriving early to UNH. If he doesn't come early he may not end up at UNH at all. While there were some growing pains getting him sure paid off! Give kids opportunities to play college hockey a year early - opportunities they may not get other places! Once you re-establish (in recruiting and I'm games) yourself you can start worrying about bringing kids in at the right time or getting scholarship value. Until then do whatever you need to do to get speed, skill, scoring and puck-moving...

Whatever it takes to get that first guy - the first guy is so important. Skill guys want to play with other good players. It's why lending Commesso was so hugh and failing to cash in on other commits was even huger! They lost Farabee for the same reason (coaching change also a factor) - he was a big recruit but they never built on it. When you land a big fish work even harder!

TBC

[billb]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

Hi, Everybody,
Quest for what, and I must admit I did read with some degree of glee that Mr. Umile is, indeed and at long last, no longer going to disappoint alumni after this season. I often thought when seeing statistics that are important, e.g., faceoffs won, that they are considered important for a reason. UNH has consistently been poor in this category. Has this been because Mr. Umile does not understand the importance of winning faceoffs, or it because he does not know how to teach players how to win faceoffs? I'd say pretty much both, and the same theory for successful power plays, recruiting and developing quality players, and other aspects of coaching that produce victories.
I believe this is banter about the quest for a new coach; it might be about the magic number 600; it is definitely not about the future in the playoffs of this year's amazingly mediocre UNH men's hockey team.

[Dan]

How does UNH make the most of this improved recruiting?

COACHING

There are three things that I think are severely lacking in how UNH is developing players.

1. Competition - being a family program is great. You can be that type of program and still foster an environment of healthy competition. UNH needs to do a better job of integrating competition into every practice - both between players fighting for roles and within players fighting to improve every day! Facing competition in practice regularly will allow UNH to rise to the challenge of competition in games and be their best selves! No more periods getting outshot 17-3 because they're to competitive (and used to competing) to allow it. No more gift-wrapped roster spots. No more seasons where you run out the same line-up all year (injuries excluded). The best players earn their spots and everyone is expected to consistently improve...

2. Flexibility - UNH seems to game plan pre-season and never change. Here are our top 20 guys, here are our lines, this is how we PP, this is how we PK - no matter what. Enough. That is lazy coaching. Make adjustments when necessary. When teams take away shooting lanes on your PP other options. When line combos aren't working change them. Get different guys in and out of the line-up so everyone is experienced and competing. You can't expect to have depth if you never create it. I watch teams all the time (DU) who are constantly tinkering with lines within games, using different lineups or trying multiple PP looks early in the season. They're learning Who they are, trying things out, letting guys compete and when it matters they're ready. UNH never changes and is completely scouted out late in the year - add that to the list of reasons they always come up short...

3. Lead with confidence - coaches need to do the work and walk the walk. They need to believe completely in their teams and what there program is capable of. They need to be able to put players in the position to be successful and show utmost confidence in those players doing the job. That doesn't mean they can get on kids, or work kids hard - they can and should. But kids will pick up on doubt, disbelief and excuses and won't be at there best. If there's doubt in the coaching staff as to what a team and program is capable of than doubt will also exist in the players and the recruits...

[Dan]

Finally, what can the UNH administration do to help UNH Hockey get back to the top of Hockey East??

Budget - UNH has the major pieces in place to be successful. Any complaint about facilities is just more excuse making. But, the AD needs to make sure the coaches have what they need to operate on an annual basis. Most importantly the financial support to ensure that they can get out and recruit on the same level as any other program - they're not restricted on where or how often they can travel, why tourneys they can make, etc. It's also critical they can play the schedule they need to play to build the program. If they're playing loads of AH teams because they know they're a bad team that's one thing. If it's because they can't travel out west and earn PWR points (when finally competitive) any longer that's a problem.

Atmosphere - Give away tickets. Slash prices. Get groups to campus. Market to the ENTIRE state. Whatever you have to do to fill the building. The atmosphere is so important to the current team and recruiting. An electric building will get more out of the team on the ice. I feel bad for the recruits who claim UNHs atmosphere attracted them to UNH. They have NO idea what it used to be like. It was outrageous. Kids would visit UNH and commit on the spot because the atmosphere was unreal. A better Whittemore Center atmosphere results in more wins and more money. Bite the short-term bullet...!

Additionally, the new cheers and traditions that the student section - and other fans - have learned ober recent years are sub-par and often half assed. I despise the hands over head dancing back and forth to that obnoxious music pre-face off with a passion.

When I was a kid there was always a group of blue painted and blue haired students who wandered the arena to ensure the whole building was cheering. Hire some students/interns (pay if you have to) and get some experienced fans to teach them about the old traditions. Hand out 'Go UNH' cards to aid in cheering that also have the cheer run down on the back (at least until things are re-established. Bring back 100 U-N-H cheers per game, get the entire arena back into the sieve chant, bring back clap you suck, bring back beat 'em smash 'em, bring back winning team losing team, bring back Black Betty (1st, 3rd and big moments). Work to make it happen and revive tradition and energy don't just hope it will happen. Turn those hired students into the new 'blue-haired' cheer ambassadors. Beat 'em... had to be coordinated. Coordinate it. Make the effort to remind the fans (new and old) what the UNH traditions and cheers are (yes, Marty, the ones you tried so hard to bury). And stick with it if it doesn't take right away...

One idea, host a pre-season event/pep-rally to teach the old cheers to the new students and to the fans who have forgotten. As well as when they could be used, etc.

---

Nothing worth doing is easy - it's going to be hard (all three areas). Have a plan, believe, work and keep working...

Do all that. UNH wins again. Your welcome.

[Chuck Murray]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

Dan, I was in Madison the weekend we lost back to back games to the Badgers in 2009. The Saturday afternoon of that weekend, all the UNH fans who had made the trek were invited to the Kessel’s house in Verona. While there, and it was a great time (we met sister Amanda), I remember Scott Pavelski’s mother talking about how, very late in the process, with her son having no junior eligibility left, out of the blue Scott got an offer from UNH. Didn’t think much of it at the time but, obvious now. Settle for mediocre, or less. The Borek mantra. When Borek has the email fiasco, he should been fired on the spot. Nice guy, good family man who overcame enormous tragedy twice during his tenure at UNH, but not anyone’s idea of a lead, aggressive recruiter. We need someone with McCloskey’s DNA. Aggressive and ruthless.

I think the most underplayed and overlooked discussion out there over the last decade of UNH Hockey is why the guy who really drove the best recruiting era in UNH history (McCloskey), was never really given a look at the job he probably wanted all along, which was the one Mr. 599 will be walking away from in about a month's time. Not a slight on the UNH Women's head coaching job, which McCloskey took when Coach Umile was still close enough to the top of his game to make his departure any time soon seem quite improbable. And that Women's job was something Coach McCloskey did very well at for a number of seasons.

When the fortunes of the UNH Men's program began to gradually slide, as Coach Umile began to grow more and more distant, and Coach Borek ran into his e-mail problems, it would have been a brave yet bold move for BS32-ish to cut ties with Borek, find a make-work job for Umile, and slide McCloskey back across to run the Men's program. If there was ever a time for McCloskey, that was it. Instead, we saw BS32 kick the can down the road, apathetically comfortable with the slow slide to mediocrity that most of us sensed underway, in much the same way a boiling lobster might barely notice the temperature rising until it's too late. McCloskey probably lost his drive and focus with the Women's program, which ended badly for him in a moment of (very understandable) frustration.

Even at that juncture ... let's say with the Men's program slip-sliding further into murky mediocrity, BS35+1 decides to suspend the best recruiter either of his Hockey programs ever had, instead of overreacting and going for the nuclear option. Then McCloskey coaches out the rest of that season after suspension, and BS35+2 has his second chance to move McCloskey to head up the Men's program, kicking Umile upstairs, and removing a pressure point from the Women's program.

Now, such a change in the aftermath of the Borek e-mail issues was probably still too close to Umile's teams being reasonably in the mix on a secondary level nationally to be a realistic possibility. And the other time, 4 or so years later, it would probably have had a degree of controversy ... but had UNH and BS35+1 not gone into panic mode over an "incident" that may have been the single most overblown and exaggerated "incident" ever in the history of UNH Athletics, the move could have been managed with a minimum of fuss and blowback ... but at that point, the legit question would have been, was it too late to reap the benefits of McCloskey the super recruiter by then anyway?

I guess my impression was always that Coach McCloskey took the UNH Women's head coaching job, with an eye towards staying around so when Coach Umile finally moved on, he would be well-positioned to step into that job. As fate would have it, the pieces never really lined up for him, and maybe - just maybe - that frustration boiled over in some way to contribute to the "incident", or into discussions with BS35+1 after the "incident" that led to the parting of ways, which (at least to me) always seemed to have been a very rash outcome for a situation where the alleged "victim" was hardly blameless, and even arguably initiated the chain of events that would play out afterwards.

Otherwise, with that ship having officially sailed 4 years ago now, it's water under the bridge, but with the recent discussion on Lassonde, it seemed timely to discuss maybe the biggest "what if?" scenario of them all in recent UNH Hockey history. How "that guy" was around working in the same building for so long, but personalities/events transpired to deprive him of a chance at something he was probably the best qualified person to do (successfully). What a shame. JMHO.

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

Interesting that Danny T doesn't get the start yesterday when he most likely has a ton of family there...but I guess when you give up 2 goals and lose loyalty isn't a factor. Esp when it's a "must win" weekend??Don't get me wrong it's great Robinson got the start just a thought.

[Felger]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

Interesting that Danny T doesn't get the start yesterday when he most likely has a ton of family there...but I guess when you give up 2 goals and lose loyalty isn't a factor.[/B] Esp when it's a "must win" weekend??Don't get me wrong it's great Robinson got the start just a thought.

Wow. The metamorphosis continues. Never thought we would here the coaching staff isn't loyal ENOUGH

[HockeyRef]

Wow. The metamorphosis continues. Never thought we would here the coaching staff isn't loyal ENOUGH

Well given the history...

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

People carry their resumes into recruiting networks. Shawn Walsh was a brand new HC, but had five years of destroying recruiting for Michigan State. David Quinn had recruited a national championship team for BU, then went on to the AHL. Tony Granato and Osiecki have years of pro and All American recruiting at Wisconsin. Michigan State's Danton Cole has years of USA hockey experience. Norm Bazin had recruited a half dozen Colorado College NCAA teams, then was HC at DIII. Greg Carvel built St.Lawrence before being hired at U.Mass. Nate Leaman was a volunteer under Shawn Walsh's 1999 Championship team, then went to four years at Harvard's NCAA teams before Union hired him.

Leaman helped rebuild the Harvard program into one of the top teams in the ECAC, taking the squad from eighth place in the league to an ECAC tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2001-2002, and an ECAC runner-up finish and NCAA appearance in 2002-2003. During his four years on the Harvard coaching staff, Leaman had a hand in recruiting 13 NHL draft picks and helped the program to be consistently ranked near the top of college hockey in the number of players with NHL rights.

Jim Montgomery won the USHL title and had many years as an assistant at RPI

Montgomery spent three seasons with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL), holding the title of general manager in addition to being the head coach. He guided the Fighting Saints to the Clark Cup championship during two of his three seasons and was also recognized as the USHL General Manager of the Year by his peers in both of those title-winning campaigns (2011, 2013).

Penn State's Gadowsky built up Princeton for many years as its HC. Northern Michigan's Grant Potulny had recruited Minnesota's NCAA championship teams, and had USA hockey experience. Bowling Green's Chris Bergeron had years recuriting for Miami-Ohio's NCAA teams.

It doesn't always work (see Seth Appert), but it is a pre-requisite. Sometimes that resume also takes a while to take hold, until the program proves itself. (See Donato at Harvard)

Any of these guys can walk into an arena and are known, with mindget and junior coaches not just saying "he's a nice guy and he'll be fair" but more importantly, "he's got the program going in the right direction and you can trust that he'll improve the teams and be a winner."


One cannot ignore the contrast with Mike Souza, who had two average years at Brown with no notable signature recruits, and two average years at U.Conn as it moved from the weakest conference (the Atlantic) to the cellar of Hockey East. He may be the most sincere, nicest, and glib guy in the world, but he simply never had the unspoken "you can take me seriously because I've done it." Sure, he has a small network of Malden coaches who can refer locals (MacAdam, Sacco, Verrier etc.) to him, but he never had a USA hockey reputation where he can walk to the USA Select 16 festival in July (let alone coach one of the team), watch the hotshots and then tell the coaches or advisors "I'd love to talk to ....., please ask them to give me a call." You can see that when Farabee and Ryczek walked immediately. Ryczek you can say was a relationship with the coach who recruited him (Borek), but Farabee just walked away and didn't follow Borek. That speaks volumes about the regard he (or more realistically and critically, his advisors and community) held for the coaches he would play under. Who????

The second signal is "does Souza know the market?" Every new coach immediately signs up 6 or so recruits, guys they had had their eye on while elsewhere, and now that they are calling the shots, they call the kids, and say "I want you to be my first class, to be the foundation of something great that I'm building." It makes the kids feel special, and send the message that the guy has a plan. Even if you hate recruiting 15 or 16 year olds, you go to the Select festivals that summer and nab one or two just to send a message to the world that you are now in the game.

The third signal is "does he have a vision and drive?" Go back to C-H-C's August 2016 interview and you get three messages -- a) Umile was great to me b) we had a good history and c) I want to build a family, UNH is a family. Not a message of bravado anywhere about getting the best and challenging the powers.

UNH literally went seven months with a single recruit, MacAdams, after Souza "took over the program." Does that signal a plan to the hockey world?

The idea that you throw him to the wolves, or throw him to the wolves with three years of guidance by a non-recruiting entity Umile, and expect him to have the gravitas required was borderline insanity.

================================================== ===

Now, to the question that we can't reverse history, what do you do now? Dan talks about top level outlines, but I have no doubt that UNH has been doing that ... trying to recruit skilled kids, identifying a model, etc. The problem is none of the known kids are taking the offers. So right now they are fishing in pools of unknowns, hoping they can spot a hidden talent. Take a look at the list I posted of what other teams were pursuing our players.....most are "UNH was the first school to take notice, or to offer." Do we trust the ability to find those unknowns. the Lucas Bahns and Corson Greens of the world?

Two things need to happen. First, a known "coach" is needed, so recruits and current players have a feeling that UNH's on-ice play will level off and gradually improve. Lassonde fits that bill, and while I would give him a special title to signal that to recruits (Co-Coach" or "Special Assistant in charge or on-ice decisions" and gives instant credibility. (and for his network, something he can point to to give comfort that he will be running the ship in an important manner). Not dynamic that will result in the pop I would have expected if UNH had gone the route of a search and promising hire after Umile retired, but at this point they are doing triage, which stabilizing is important. I do trust Lassonde to be able to do that, and with a bit of luck, gradually improve the talent level for a seven year gradual climb from 10 to 9 to 8 to 7 to 6. Not sure I see a return to the top 5, but at this point, any prospect for climbing is an improvement.

Second, hire a known recruiting assistant. This is more challenging. You do not have a great story line to sell to recruits, of "new sherif in town, driven to win, you get in on the ground floor of rebuilding a program that has a fanbase and situation just ready to reclaim its glory.") You are essentially trying to sell a lame duck/neutered young guy and a veteran who may be there for only three years if this salvage fails. Does one of the known recruiters want to tie his career to this? Even if you assume there might be an opportuntiy down the road, at that point there would have to be a complete housecleaning, so you aren't next in line.

Third, if the three years of co-coaches doesn't work, do something creative, like setting up a committee of 5 guys not tied to Umile and perhaps one or two from outside of the UNH bubble, and then sifting through resumes and pick someone who is (a) under age 50, but (b) has had some actual success at some level. And let that guy go out and sell the "new sherif in town" storyline that is needed.

[Aerman]

As fate would have it, the pieces never really lined up for him, and maybe - just maybe - that frustration boiled over in some way to contribute to the "incident", or into discussions with BS35+1 after the "incident" that led to the parting of ways, which (at least to me) always seemed to have been a very rash outcome for a situation where the alleged "victim" was hardly blameless, and even arguably initiated the chain of events that would play out.

Lest we forget, BS had a significant role setting the stage. After a problematic freshman campaign, McCloskey removed the bad actor from the team. BS insisted she be reinstated.

[e.cat]

Lest we forget, BS had a significant role setting the stage. After a problematic freshman campaign, McCloskey removed the bad actor from the team. BS insisted she be reinstated.

BS obviously an activist AD. Had the opportunity to terminate McCloskey because he (McCloskey), didn't have the cache of a DU or Sean McDonnell. It was a PC move on his part IMHO!

[HockeyRef]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

So is it safe to say we were just swept (again) by Mike Souza's recruits? (Or at least some of them)

[e.cat]

People carry their resumes into recruiting networks. Shawn Walsh was a brand new HC, but had five years of destroying recruiting for Michigan State. David Quinn had recruited a national championship team for BU, then went on to the AHL. Tony Granato and Osiecki have years of pro and All American recruiting at Wisconsin. Michigan State's Danton Cole has years of USA hockey experience. Norm Bazin had recruited a half dozen Colorado College NCAA teams, then was HC at DIII. Greg Carvel built St.Lawrence before being hired at U.Mass. Nate Leaman was a volunteer under Shawn Walsh's 1999 Championship team, then went to four years at Harvard's NCAA teams before Union hired him.


Jim Montgomery won the USHL title and had many years as an assistant at RPI


Penn State's Gadowsky built up Princeton for many years as its HC. Northern Michigan's Grant Potulny had recruited Minnesota's NCAA championship teams, and had USA hockey experience. Bowling Green's Chris Bergeron had years recuriting for Miami-Ohio's NCAA teams.

It doesn't always work (see Seth Appert), but it is a pre-requisite. Sometimes that resume also takes a while to take hold, until the program proves itself. (See Donato at Harvard)

Any of these guys can walk into an arena and are known, with mindget and junior coaches not just saying "he's a nice guy and he'll be fair" but more importantly, "he's got the program going in the right direction and you can trust that he'll improve the teams and be a winner."


One cannot ignore the contrast with Mike Souza, who had two average years at Brown with no notable signature recruits, and two average years at U.Conn as it moved from the weakest conference (the Atlantic) to the cellar of Hockey East. He may be the most sincere, nicest, and glib guy in the world, but he simply never had the unspoken "you can take me seriously because I've done it." Sure, he has a small network of Malden coaches who can refer locals (MacAdam, Sacco, Verrier etc.) to him, but he never had a USA hockey reputation where he can walk to the USA Select 16 festival in July (let alone coach one of the team), watch the hotshots and then tell the coaches or advisors "I'd love to talk to ....., please ask them to give me a call." You can see that when Farabee and Ryczek walked immediately. Ryczek you can say was a relationship with the coach who recruited him (Borek), but Farabee just walked away and didn't follow Borek. That speaks volumes about the regard he (or more realistically and critically, his advisors and community) held for the coaches he would play under. Who????

The second signal is "does Souza know the market?" Every new coach immediately signs up 6 or so recruits, guys they had had their eye on while elsewhere, and now that they are calling the shots, they call the kids, and say "I want you to be my first class, to be the foundation of something great that I'm building." It makes the kids feel special, and send the message that the guy has a plan. Even if you hate recruiting 15 or 16 year olds, you go to the Select festivals that summer and nab one or two just to send a message to the world that you are now in the game.

The third signal is "does he have a vision and drive?" Go back to C-H-C's August 2016 interview and you get three messages -- a) Umile was great to me b) we had a good history and c) I want to build a family, UNH is a family. Not a message of bravado anywhere about getting the best and challenging the powers.

UNH literally went seven months with a single recruit, MacAdams, after Souza "took over the program." Does that signal a plan to the hockey world?

The idea that you throw him to the wolves, or throw him to the wolves with three years of guidance by a non-recruiting entity Umile, and expect him to have the gravitas required was borderline insanity.

================================================== ===

Now, to the question that we can't reverse history, what do you do now? Dan talks about top level outlines, but I have no doubt that UNH has been doing that ... trying to recruit skilled kids, identifying a model, etc. The problem is none of the known kids are taking the offers. So right now they are fishing in pools of unknowns, hoping they can spot a hidden talent. Take a look at the list I posted of what other teams were pursuing our players.....most are "UNH was the first school to take notice, or to offer." Do we trust the ability to find those unknowns. the Lucas Bahns and Corson Greens of the world?

Two things need to happen. First, a known "coach" is needed, so recruits and current players have a feeling that UNH's on-ice play will level off and gradually improve. Lassonde fits that bill, and while I would give him a special title to signal that to recruits (Co-Coach" or "Special Assistant in charge or on-ice decisions" and gives instant credibility. (and for his network, something he can point to to give comfort that he will be running the ship in an important manner). Not dynamic that will result in the pop I would have expected if UNH had gone the route of a search and promising hire after Umile retired, but at this point they are doing triage, which stabilizing is important. I do trust Lassonde to be able to do that, and with a bit of luck, gradually improve the talent level for a seven year gradual climb from 10 to 9 to 8 to 7 to 6. Not sure I see a return to the top 5, but at this point, any prospect for climbing is an improvement.

Second, hire a known recruiting assistant. This is more challenging. You do not have a great story line to sell to recruits, of "new sherif in town, driven to win, you get in on the ground floor of rebuilding a program that has a fanbase and situation just ready to reclaim its glory.") You are essentially trying to sell a lame duck/neutered young guy and a veteran who may be there for only three years if this salvage fails. Does one of the known recruiters want to tie his career to this? Even if you assume there might be an opportuntiy down the road, at that point there would have to be a complete housecleaning, so you aren't next in line.

Third, if the three years of co-coaches doesn't work, do something creative, like setting up a committee of 5 guys not tied to Umile and perhaps one or two from outside of the UNH bubble, and then sifting through resumes and pick someone who is (a) under age 50, but (b) has had some actual success at some level. And let that guy go out and sell the "new sherif in town" storyline that is needed.

Ralph Cox is not walking through that door. Rod Langway is not walking through that door. Neither are Jason Krog or Darren Haydar....

[NCAA watcher]

Re: UNH Wildcats 2017-2018 Season - The Quest Continues

So is it safe to say we were just swept (again) by Mike Souza's recruits? (Or at least some of them)

Players recruited during Souza's two years at U.Conn, with players who played this weekend in bold.

Derek Pratt
Will Golonka
Miles Gendron
Jeff Wight
Ben Freeman
Liam Murphy
Corey Ronan
Kasperi Ojantakanen
Will Garin
Spencer Naas
Johnny Austin
Marco Richter
Tyson McLellan
David Drake
Tage Thompson
Connor Mayer
Tanner Creel
Mike Young
Adam Karashik
Evan Wisocky
Max Kalter