UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

[RSTuthill]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Eric, you will be surprised at how quickly UConn gets competitive in HE regardless of whether Berard or Gwoz is the coach. It's not gonna be 5 years let alone 10. One of Berard's advantages, btw, is that his salary is gonna be a lot lower and that will free up a LOT of budget to do all the stuff that needs to be done in the recruiting sphere. Recruiting is a lot more just the number of rides. A lot of it is travel budget for both coaches and recruits. That aspect does not get discussed here much.

[Jim]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

I'm not sure folks here could poo-poo Gwoz's track record any more if you set out to. Firstly, expecting to hire a coach who will stay 20 years is a pipedream, given today's ever changing D1 landscape. As for Gwoz, the guy's in the top 5-6 active coaches for wins, can recruit circles around anyone and has routinely sent guys to the pros - many to the NHL. Why would you not want the guy for 10-12 years as the legacy coach bringing you into HE ?? Not to mention the fact that the guy mentors his AC's, so if you had any luck at all, he'd be grooming his successor for they day he decides to head for the 19th hole. Any true UConn fan should be BEGGING the AD to bring him on board.

UConn fans need to understand one thing -- if they don't get the hire right you WILL be mired in the bottom of the HE. Cahoon, Sneddon and others arrived in HE with tons of experience, a lot of momentum and plenty of good intentions, but the results have not followed. HE is a **** hard league to recruit and play in.

Call me crazy, but I would think a coach like Gwoz - who is wired into blue chip recruiting - is exactly what you'd want.

Guy is a great coach, no doubt about it. I'm just not convinced he would want to come to UConn and face the following conditions: 1. Hockey is barely on the radar and to the extent it is, Quinnipiac and Yale are lightyears ahead of UConn in terms of prestige. 2. Even on the UConn campus he's going to be at best the 4th option, playing in front of 1500-2000 while up the street the Womens basketball team plays in front of 10000. 3. He is taking on a major building project. Does he want that at this point in his career? 4. he will be recruiting with facilities that probably rank 13th in the 12 team Hockey East Association. 5. He's a western guy. There are lots of good things happening in Storrs, particularly under the new UConn President. But Storrs isn't Denver. And he isn't going there for the research.

As far as along term hire, I think most hockey coaches, even the ones that aren't that successful, end up having pretty long tenures. Toot spent something like 12 years at UMass with at best modest results. Sneddon's been in Vermont for a decade now. Pooley was at PC for a decade. even Army was there for 6-7 years. And Hockey is not like basketball or football in that there just aren't all that many places to go. A guy like Pecknold brings QU to the Frozen Four and he's probably back next year in his same position. His basketball counterpart does something similar and he'll be coaching at Georgetown or someplace next season. I don't think this job is a quick fix either. I think it is a long term commitment and you need to be willing to accept that it will have some serious bumps. On the other hand, I don't think it will be a situation where the Huskies are a perpetual 12th place finisher, either. But it will be a while before they'll be championship contenders, too. I agree with dobbs that they need to know he is in it for the long term. Because I don't think this can be built in 2 or 3 seasons.

[Carmine Scarpaglia]

Eric, you will be surprised at how quickly UConn gets competitive in HE regardless of whether Berard or Gwoz is the coach. It's not gonna be 5 years let alone 10.

Good point. It will probably take 30-50 years to become competitive. If ever.

[LTsatch]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

I don't think UCONN can afford Gwoz. We already have hundreds of gadflies bemoaning the university coaches salaries. Bringing in a coach with his salary requirements will be very difficult for the admins IMO. That said, I think they should do it anyway, screw the gadflies and the high taxes, we want more good hockey in CT!

[RSTuthill]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Good point. It will probably take 30-50 years to become competitive. If ever.

Hehehe. A trash talker already. I didn't know he cared

[Jim]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

I don't think UCONN can afford Gwoz. We already have hundreds of gadflies bemoaning the university coaches salaries. Bringing in a coach with his salary requirements will be very difficult for the admins IMO. That said, I think they should do it anyway, screw the gadflies and the high taxes, we want more good hockey in CT!

Oh I don't know about that. On the scale of things, a college hockey coach is a relative bargain. And if they can fund it with booster money rahter than university funds like they did with Geno's recent extension, they'll get even less pushback.

[RSTuthill]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Some nice comments about David Berard and the fact that college hockey in CT is stepping out of the wilderness and into the spotlight.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey...7789470.column

[AspyDad]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Gwoz interested in UCONN. Awesome!!!!!
http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges...d-uconn/27082/

[hockeyjunkie10]

Gwoz interested in UCONN. Awesome!!!!!
http://blogs.denverpost.com/colleges...d-uconn/27082/

I think you guys have a better chance to land Osiecki & I think he's actually more of what you're looking for than Gwoz...obviously doesn't have a dozen consecutive 20+ win seasons and a couple national championships, but has a fantastic résumé, big time D1 HC & AC experience, international experience & a great recruiting network...oh, and he has to be stinging from the OSU thing & he's definitely hungry. UConn's administration being (seemingly) very passionate about growing hockey & I think it could be a match made in Heaven. He also has a great staff that I'm sure he'd bring along with him as well...

[Jim]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

I think you guys have a better chance to land Osiecki & I think he's actually more of what you're looking for than Gwoz...obviously doesn't have a dozen consecutive 20+ win seasons and a couple national championships, but has a fantastic résumé, big time D1 HC & AC experience, international experience & a great recruiting network...oh, and he has to be stinging from the OSU thing & he's definitely hungry. UConn's administration being (seemingly) very passionate about growing hockey & I think it could be a match made in Heaven. He also has a great staff that I'm sure he'd bring along with him as well...

That all might be true, probably is true in fact, but I don't see UConn going for a guy who was just fired because his teams didn't perform. It is a tough case to make I think that you want to upgrade by hiring a guy who just got fired. Gwoz is different because his situation was related to business issues. Osiecki was dumped because his teams didn't succeed.

[AspyDad]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

http://www.dailycampus.com/sports/co...conn-1.3029319

[RSTuthill]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

That all might be true, probably is true in fact, but I don't see UConn going for a guy who was just fired because his teams didn't perform. It is a tough case to make I think that you want to upgrade by hiring a guy who just got fired. Gwoz is different because his situation was related to business issues. Osiecki was dumped because his teams didn't succeed.

Agreed. Jim, you and I could write each other's posts. Gotta think it is between Gwoz and Berard. I like them both. I just think Berard has earned the shot. Full stop. But if they get Gwoz, I will understand completely. If it is a choice between those two, UConn can't really lose.

[AspyDad]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Check out the new hockey uniforms.
http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2013/04/wearing-uconn/

[jjmc85]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

^ They look as boring as the UMass home jerseys.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: UCONN Hockey 2012-13: Hockey East Here We Come

Nice little husky on the side there. Looks like what the Nordiques were going to use had they survived to 95-96.