Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

One surprise. Justin Fillion is on that list.

I saw that yesterday, but I chalked it up to poor communication/laziness within the department.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

One surprise. Justin Fillion is on that list.

Maybe our source was mistaken about Fillion not qualifying?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

Maybe our source was mistaken about Fillion not qualifying?

It's possible, though not likely IMO, that he's decided to attend as a partial qualifier, take classes, and sit out a year. Being 21, he doesn't have the major junior option that CPZ had - if he wants to keep playing competitive hockey his other options would be to try and get a minor league deal (which may come, but most likely from a team in league like the SPHL or CHL), or try to get accepted into a Canadian university and join a CIS team.

Your source could also be wrong.

[oldish husky]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

It's possible, though not likely IMO, that he's decided to attend as a partial qualifier, take classes, and sit out a year. Being 21, he doesn't have the major junior option that CPZ had - if he wants to keep playing competitive hockey his other options would be to try and get a minor league deal (which may come, but most likely from a team in league like the SPHL or CHL), or try to get accepted into a Canadian university and join a CIS team.

Your source could also be wrong.

In the case of a partial qualifier, is that essentially a redshirt year? He is listed as Fr, not RFr.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

In the case of a partial qualifier, is that essentially a redshirt year? He is listed as Fr, not RFr.

In the case of partials, you can attend, take classes, and practice with the team. You lose your entire freshman year of eligibility and cannot play any games, but you can gain it back and be granted a fifth year if you earn a bachelor's during the first four years. In Fillion's case though, I believe that would be irrelevant since he would turn 25 during his senior year, and my understanding is that 25 is the red stop sign for all eligibility regardless of any exemptions or hardship claims.

We don't know if he's a partial yet though. SG's source could've been wrong, or (most likely) this could just be a lack of communication within the athletic department and he's not coming at all.

[oldish husky]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

In the case of partials, you can attend, take classes, and practice with the team. You lose your entire freshman year of eligibility and cannot play any games, but you can gain it back and be granted a fifth year if you earn a bachelor's during the first four years. In Fillion's case though, I believe that would be irrelevant since he would turn 25 during his senior year, and my understanding is that 25 is the red stop sign for all eligibility regardless of any exemptions or hardship claims.

We don't know if he's a partial yet though. SG's source could've been wrong, or (most likely) this could just be a lack of communication within the athletic department and he's not coming at all.

Thanks. I was just curious on how the system worked. I know nothing of the athlete in question.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

In the case of a partial qualifier, is that essentially a redshirt year? He is listed as Fr, not RFr.

the RFr is because Heitila was at Michigan Tech last year and sat out due to injury, Fillion would not be listed as a RFr. He just might not be able to play this season, but has to enroll this year to be eligible at all.

[JOHN SCOTT ROCKS]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

Well what positive moment have you actually seen? So far, Mel has gotten a high school senior to commit to playing at Michigan Tech this season...how often does that work well for a kid out of Michigan? I have high hopes for the future, but I would have thought Mel would have pulled in some recruits for the future by now...

I've seen perennial losing coach released from his duties and one of the most (if not the most) successful assistant coaches brought in as a replacement; the new coaching staff he has put together has 5 combined championships; they've locked in the top recruits for next year and brought another in a year early who otherwise wouldn't have been coming (this year); that's a great start and and definitely positive momentum IMO. Regarding his first commit (it appears you're writing him off already which indicates you don't believe Pearson can recognize talent- I'm giving him more credit after 21 straight NCAA appearances), it's a refreshing change to recruit a 18 year old "kid" "who is a great skater" (along with having great character) as compared to 21 year old "men" who are great character guys with apparent lack of skating ability. While I agree it would have been nice to see more recruits for this coming year, I'll start to get worried in February if there hasn't been more commits for next year. It's going to be a slow process but locking in Kero, Pietila and Johnstone for next year is a good start.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

I've seen perennial losing coach released from his duties and one of the most (if not the most) successful assistant coaches brought in as a replacement; the new coaching staff he has put together has 5 combined championships; they've locked in the top recruits for next year and brought another in a year early who otherwise wouldn't have been coming (this year); that's a great start and and definitely positive momentum IMO. Regarding his first commit (it appears you're writing him off already which indicates you don't believe Pearson can recognize talent- I'm giving him more credit after 21 straight NCAA appearances), it's a refreshing change to recruit a 18 year old "kid" "who is a great skater" (along with having great character) as compared to 21 year old "men" who are great character guys with apparent lack of skating ability. While I agree it would have been nice to see more recruits for this coming year, I'll start to get worried in February if there hasn't been more commits for next year. It's going to be a slow process but locking in Kero, Pietila and Johnstone for next year is a good start.

Im not writing of Davis, he has potential, but to expect an 18 yo that wasn't already committed elsewhere that is coming in straight out of Mich HS hockey its hard to expect him to do much until the 2nd half of this season at the earliest...that learning curve is pretty steep.

So far Mel has brought in Davis and lost Labrecque whom Russell had locked up and was unable to convince Ben Johnson to go to MTU. That's not a great start for "the golden one." I'm most certainly saying he wasn't a great hire, I just want to see something positive. If this new recruit that is supposedly going to be announced soon is someone like DJ Jones or Molenaar, I'll stop questioning how things are going...

[JOHN SCOTT ROCKS]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

Im not writing of Davis, he has potential, but to expect an 18 yo that wasn't already committed elsewhere that is coming in straight out of Mich HS hockey its hard to expect him to do much until the 2nd half of this season at the earliest...that learning curve is pretty steep.

So far Mel has brought in Davis and lost Labrecque whom Russell had locked up and was unable to convince Ben Johnson to go to MTU. That's not a great start for "the golden one." I'm most certainly saying he wasn't a great hire, I just want to see something positive. If this new recruit that is supposedly going to be announced soon is someone like DJ Jones or Molenaar, I'll stop questioning how things are going...

Until Labrecque proves something, I'm still skeptical and will not consider it a loss. Regarding Johnson, Berenson was unable to as well. Apparently we disagree on the positives so far but yes if he could bring in a stud defensemen for next year, I'd chalk it up as another positive. And I'm going to assume you meant "not saying he wasn't a great hire".

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

As I pointed out, Pearson is probably not going to be making headlines this late in the 2011 recruiting cycle. Let him win some games next year, show some positive progress, and focus on the 2012 and 2013 classes. Then we can start judging his ability to recruit good players to Tech. You can argue that the bar for him is a lot higher than the bar for Russell when he was hired, and I won't disagree, but you've also got to afford him the same things that we afforded Russell back in 2003 - he's inherited a situation with little recent success, and a sustained losing culture. Few kids are going to want to get on-board with that until he proves that he has things going in a positive direction (which will hopefully happen with several more wins next year).

You also have to remember, it's not just about recruiting, but also about player development. If Mel can pluck a young and seemingly unheralded guy like Davis with almost no junior experience, and with the help of the assistants, mold him into a solid d-man in a year or two, that will say a lot about his ability to rebuild the program as well.

Pearson has to play with the hand he's been dealt - he's got some decent cards to start with, but he's got a long game to go.

[oldish husky]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

Im not writing of Davis, he has potential, but to expect an 18 yo that wasn't already committed elsewhere that is coming in straight out of Mich HS hockey its hard to expect him to do much until the 2nd half of this season at the earliest...that learning curve is pretty steep.

So far Mel has brought in Davis and lost Labrecque whom Russell had locked up and was unable to convince Ben Johnson to go to MTU. That's not a great start for "the golden one." I'm most certainly saying he wasn't a great hire, I just want to see something positive. If this new recruit that is supposedly going to be announced soon is someone like DJ Jones or Molenaar, I'll stop questioning how things are going...

I find it hard to believe that there are a whole lot of high quality players sitting out there this summer ready for fall. The cream of the crop for 2011-12 committed 2 years ago. This summer is about shoring up the existing roster and getting some depth for a change. The roster has 32, compared with 28 last year, so it seems that depth is improving, especially if a 33rd is on the way.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

As I pointed out, Pearson is probably not going to be making headlines this late in the 2011 recruiting cycle. Let him win some games next year, show some positive progress, and focus on the 2012 and 2013 classes. Then we can start judging his ability to recruit good players to Tech. You can argue that the bar for him is a lot higher than the bar for Russell when he was hired, and I won't disagree, but you've also got to afford him the same things that we afforded Russell back in 2003 - he's inherited a situation with little recent success, and a sustained losing culture. Few kids are going to want to get on-board with that until he proves that he has things going in a positive direction (which will hopefully happen with several more wins next year).

You also have to remember, it's not just about recruiting, but also about player development. If Mel can pluck a young and seemingly unheralded guy like Davis with almost no junior experience, and with the help of the assistants, mold him into a solid d-man in a year or two, that will say a lot about his ability to rebuild the program as well.

Pearson has to play with the hand he's been dealt - he's got some decent cards to start with, but he's got a long game to go.

I agree with everything you've said, I have been a bit surprised that he didn't pull a quality recruit yet but I agree that your second paragraph is the part I'm most interested in...what he does with the recruit after they get to Tech. I want to see consistent improvement over a players 4 years, not slumping through their junior & senior years...hopefully Mel can develop players better than Russell.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

I find it hard to believe that there are a whole lot of high quality players sitting out there this summer ready for fall. The cream of the crop for 2011-12 committed 2 years ago. This summer is about shoring up the existing roster and getting some depth for a change. The roster has 32, compared with 28 last year, so it seems that depth is improving, especially if a 33rd is on the way.

Not saying that it will happen, but there could easily be a cut or two made yet.

[oldish husky]

Re: Michigan Tech Offseason III: Two Years To Prove It Can Be Done

Tech needs senior leadership this year. You can't compete with youthful energy and coasting upper classmen. It all goes back to culture...