Author's preface - I'm hoping this will be the first of several similar posts, in which certain "What if?" scenarios are discussed and explored, in the hopes that genuine discussion and debate will follow about how things might have played out, had certain landmark events reached the proverbial "fork in the road", and gone in another foreseeable direction?
Further topics are under development, so any ideas, feedback or suggestions for similar future threads are welcome. As a final disclaimer ... having been known to have strong opinions on this topic and some of the other candidates for future discussion, I want to make it clear in posing the topic question for discussion, I'm doing so only to foster some genuine discussion and debate, and (although I may include certain playful references here and there) there is no intent to defame the subject(s), or deny the subject's accomplishments. With all that said, I present "Chapter One" of Hockey East "What If?" for everyone's enjoyment and consideration (apologies for any overlap with previous discussions) ...
In the 30+ years of Hockey East history, it's hard to think of anyone who made as significant an impression on the league as none other than late UMaine head coach Shawn Walsh. The man who would eventually become known to many on this forum as the "Downeast Dark Prince" or the "Human Lightning Rod", and to others simply as "Walshy" had his D-1 college hockey roots far away from Orono at Bowling Green University, where as a 3rd string goalie, he eventually put away the pads and served as a volunteer assistant during his time as an undergrad. After being hired by his future father-in-law Ron Mason to a full time assistant's position upon completion of his undergrad studies, Walsh would follow Coach Mason to Michigan State in the late '70's, where they transformed the MSU program from an also-ran to a national contender.
At the tender age of 29, Walsh was hired as UMaine head coach in time for the inaugural '84/'85 Hockey East season, succeeding Jack Semler, who had coached the UMO program since its relatively recent rebirth in '77/'78, but had really never established the program beyond being an also-ran in the ECAC. After two nondescript transitional seasons, Walsh gave the program its first taste of what was to follow with the first two of many trips to the NCAA Tourney before making what may have been the all-time greatest single assistant coach hire in Hockey East history with Grant Standbrook, who came over from a similar role at Wisconsin to become the right-hand man in Orono for the next 20 or so years.
During the first five seasons of the Walsh/Standbrook partnership, UMaine made it to five (5) consecutive HE Finals and took home the tourney trophy three times, and in '92/'93, they oversaw what was arguably the greatest team in Hockey East (if not entire D-1) history amass a 41-1-2 record on its way to the D-1 title. Keep in mind Walsh was still only 37 years old when the Black Bears took that D-1 title.
To say the events of the next few seasons have been previously debated at length on these pages in years gone past would be an understatement of epic proportions, and at the very least introduced the USCHO universe to murky concepts not often encountered in the world of D-1 hockey, including the infamous "retroactive financial aid". Certain actions led to certain penalties, and Walsh not only had to step away from his job for a year (split over two seasons IIRC?), but certain restrictions were also placed on his program. Nevertheless, the '94/'95 Black Bears competed for another National Title, but came up short. It would be their last appearance in the D-1 tourney during this period.
Despite widespread speculation about Walsh's future in Orono, he stuck around and worked through the period of time where the NCAA restrictions on the program gradually expired. And the Walsh/Standbrook team didn't waste their time. as they returned the program to the D-1 pinnacle in '98/'99 with the 3-2 OT win over archrivals UNH, answering critics the best possible way - winning on the ice. Things were again looking rosy for UMaine's continued presence at or near the top of D-1 ... which is where fate sadly intervened. Shortly after UMaine had won another HE Tourney in March 2000 and got themselves to the Frozen Four, in June 2000 Walsh was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He would coach most of the following season - qualifying for the NCAA's yet again - but he would tragically pass away in the offseason at age 46.
"What if ... Coach Walsh beat cancer?" He certainly had strong teams lined up for the foreseeable future, and with Coach Standbrook continuing in his support role under Walsh's hand-picked successor Tim Whitehead through the end of the last decade, the program returned to the NCAA Finals in '02 and '04, and made two more FF trips in '06 and '07.
* Would UMaine have won at least one more D-1 title - certainly with Walsh's players in '02 and/or '04?
* Would Walsh have stayed at UMaine, or would he have answered the call to the next level in the NHL?
* If Walsh stayed ... would he still be there (aged 60 now), and would Standbrook also have continued?
* And IF Walsh beat cancer AND stayed ... does his program then deprive BC of some of its recent glories?
With the passage of time, it seems the transformative accomplishments of the Walsh era have only taken on more shine, considering where the program began, and where it has since gone. And for detractors (like myself) who point to what happened around the time when the UMaine program was on the rise ... the events from '99 and after (when scrutiny of the program would have been intense) shows a coach who knew how to find the right players, and then get the best out of them on a regular basis ... all under the brightest of lights - just the way "Walshy" enjoyed it most.
Had fate taken a different turn in '00/'01 ... what impact do you think it would have had on Hockey East not only for the past decade, but possibly right up to the present??
Further topics are under development, so any ideas, feedback or suggestions for similar future threads are welcome. As a final disclaimer ... having been known to have strong opinions on this topic and some of the other candidates for future discussion, I want to make it clear in posing the topic question for discussion, I'm doing so only to foster some genuine discussion and debate, and (although I may include certain playful references here and there) there is no intent to defame the subject(s), or deny the subject's accomplishments. With all that said, I present "Chapter One" of Hockey East "What If?" for everyone's enjoyment and consideration (apologies for any overlap with previous discussions) ...
In the 30+ years of Hockey East history, it's hard to think of anyone who made as significant an impression on the league as none other than late UMaine head coach Shawn Walsh. The man who would eventually become known to many on this forum as the "Downeast Dark Prince" or the "Human Lightning Rod", and to others simply as "Walshy" had his D-1 college hockey roots far away from Orono at Bowling Green University, where as a 3rd string goalie, he eventually put away the pads and served as a volunteer assistant during his time as an undergrad. After being hired by his future father-in-law Ron Mason to a full time assistant's position upon completion of his undergrad studies, Walsh would follow Coach Mason to Michigan State in the late '70's, where they transformed the MSU program from an also-ran to a national contender.
At the tender age of 29, Walsh was hired as UMaine head coach in time for the inaugural '84/'85 Hockey East season, succeeding Jack Semler, who had coached the UMO program since its relatively recent rebirth in '77/'78, but had really never established the program beyond being an also-ran in the ECAC. After two nondescript transitional seasons, Walsh gave the program its first taste of what was to follow with the first two of many trips to the NCAA Tourney before making what may have been the all-time greatest single assistant coach hire in Hockey East history with Grant Standbrook, who came over from a similar role at Wisconsin to become the right-hand man in Orono for the next 20 or so years.
During the first five seasons of the Walsh/Standbrook partnership, UMaine made it to five (5) consecutive HE Finals and took home the tourney trophy three times, and in '92/'93, they oversaw what was arguably the greatest team in Hockey East (if not entire D-1) history amass a 41-1-2 record on its way to the D-1 title. Keep in mind Walsh was still only 37 years old when the Black Bears took that D-1 title.
To say the events of the next few seasons have been previously debated at length on these pages in years gone past would be an understatement of epic proportions, and at the very least introduced the USCHO universe to murky concepts not often encountered in the world of D-1 hockey, including the infamous "retroactive financial aid". Certain actions led to certain penalties, and Walsh not only had to step away from his job for a year (split over two seasons IIRC?), but certain restrictions were also placed on his program. Nevertheless, the '94/'95 Black Bears competed for another National Title, but came up short. It would be their last appearance in the D-1 tourney during this period.
Despite widespread speculation about Walsh's future in Orono, he stuck around and worked through the period of time where the NCAA restrictions on the program gradually expired. And the Walsh/Standbrook team didn't waste their time. as they returned the program to the D-1 pinnacle in '98/'99 with the 3-2 OT win over archrivals UNH, answering critics the best possible way - winning on the ice. Things were again looking rosy for UMaine's continued presence at or near the top of D-1 ... which is where fate sadly intervened. Shortly after UMaine had won another HE Tourney in March 2000 and got themselves to the Frozen Four, in June 2000 Walsh was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He would coach most of the following season - qualifying for the NCAA's yet again - but he would tragically pass away in the offseason at age 46.
"What if ... Coach Walsh beat cancer?" He certainly had strong teams lined up for the foreseeable future, and with Coach Standbrook continuing in his support role under Walsh's hand-picked successor Tim Whitehead through the end of the last decade, the program returned to the NCAA Finals in '02 and '04, and made two more FF trips in '06 and '07.
* Would UMaine have won at least one more D-1 title - certainly with Walsh's players in '02 and/or '04?
* Would Walsh have stayed at UMaine, or would he have answered the call to the next level in the NHL?
* If Walsh stayed ... would he still be there (aged 60 now), and would Standbrook also have continued?
* And IF Walsh beat cancer AND stayed ... does his program then deprive BC of some of its recent glories?
With the passage of time, it seems the transformative accomplishments of the Walsh era have only taken on more shine, considering where the program began, and where it has since gone. And for detractors (like myself) who point to what happened around the time when the UMaine program was on the rise ... the events from '99 and after (when scrutiny of the program would have been intense) shows a coach who knew how to find the right players, and then get the best out of them on a regular basis ... all under the brightest of lights - just the way "Walshy" enjoyed it most.
Had fate taken a different turn in '00/'01 ... what impact do you think it would have had on Hockey East not only for the past decade, but possibly right up to the present??
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