RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

I hope you are joking. ESPN doesn’t give a boatload of money to D-IIII or D-II schools. Nor does it give much to bad D-I FB schools. Here in CT the athletic dept is bleeding badly despite 15 NCAA basketball championships in the last 23 years. When they got left out of the major leagues they ended up in a group that cumulatively (all league schools for BB and FB) get less TV money than the P5 does per school. Think $20M in annual subsidies from general student funds. You don’t want be in that situation.

I’d rather see my alma mater go D-III across the board before it gets completely delusional about an across the board upgrade.

I wish I were joking in my perceptions. However, somehow I think you misinterpret this to be my wish, when it is not. However, I can't deny evidence placed in front of me. What else would explain the prominence of the football team and almost correlated decline of the hockey team?

[rpi82]

I wish I were joking in my perceptions. However, somehow I think you misinterpret this to be my wish, when it is not. However, I can't deny evidence placed in front of me. What else would explain the prominence of the football team and almost correlated decline of the hockey team?

I don’t think you have anything to worry about. D-I FBS requires an average attendance of 15,000. D-I FCS is an across the board money loser as revenues are lower but most teams give scholarships and overspend to try and be competitive. You don’t see many schools aspiring to go FCS. There is also non-scholarship FCS but that’s basically D-III level football played by small schools that play D-I basketball (so they must pretend that they play D-I football as well).

I think the reason we are competitive in football is that we play schools of comparable ambition and resources. It may be that RPI no longer has the ambition and resources to be successful in D-I hockey. I think they still can but with each losing season the questions get stronger.

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Final rankings out for the DIII football and RPI listed as #11 in the country. Congratulations to the team for a well earned rewarding season.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Maybe the next thread title should be "Over 100 Guys Run onto a Gridiron ..."

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Maybe the next thread title should be "Over 100 Guys Run onto a Gridiron ..."

Perhaps so. Just to point out that since 2000, our football team has reached a fairly high level of national prominence (albeit Division III) which is actually all I ask of the hockey program. And we must remember that the number of Division III football programs dwarfs the number of Division I hockey programs. i may be far off base in saying this but I have felt for a very long time that the talent levels on most teams are not all that far from each other and it comes down often to just making the best with what you have. We have had just too many boys come through this program in the past 25 years who have gone on to have very decent playing statistics at higher levels than the NCAA for us not to have had more success in the ECAC and nationally.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

A list of 8 players signing NLIs was posted today https://rpiathletics.com/news/2018/1...rom-eight.aspx.

It consists of one goalie (Miller), 4 defensemen (Babichuk, Davies, Klee, and Kjellberg) and 3 forwards (Ashbrook, Hermann, and McIsaak). It isn't clear if they are all arriving in the fall because all it states is that they are future players.

If they are all coming then it looks like we will be losing a few current players.

Miller is a one-for-one replacement for Perry in goal.

We have two seniors on defense, Grant and Moore. If all four are coming than we probably are losing two. Will Reilly turn pro?

We only are losing Wiffen up front. Conceivably two others won't come back.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

A list of 8 players signing NLIs was posted today https://rpiathletics.com/news/2018/1...rom-eight.aspx.

It consists of one goalie (Miller), 4 defensemen (Babichuk, Davies, Klee, and Kjellberg) and 3 forwards (Ashbrook, Hermann, and McIsaak). It isn't clear if they are all arriving in the fall because all it states is that they are future players.

If they are all coming then it looks like we will be losing a few current players.

Miller is a one-for-one replacement for Perry in goal.

We have two seniors on defense, Grant and Moore. If all four are coming than we probably are losing two. Will Reilly turn pro?

We only are losing Wiffen up front. Conceivably two others won't come back.

Ashbrook and Babichuk must come if they're going to at all; they are 98s. Hermann, Klee, and McIsaac are 99s (Miller is too but since he's a goalie there isn't much question). Kjellberg is a 00, while Davies is a 01.

For the uninitiated, the National Letter of Intent is a binding contract to attend a specific institution (read: not a specific sports program, which was a case of contention during the coaching change) via athletic scholarship for the next year, but may be cancelled (in all reality deferred, but the contract is still on a one-year basis) by the institution's administration.

Reilly was a late pick (in fact the last of the year) and dropped off a bit last year, so unless he really turns some heads in the 2nd half, I don't see him signing. Could Hayhurst advance as a free agent, given the year he's been having (similar to Zalewski a few years back)?

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Ashbrook and Babichuk must come if they're going to at all; they are 98s. Hermann, Klee, and McIsaac are 99s (Miller is too but since he's a goalie there isn't much question). Kjellberg is a 00, while Davies is a 01.

For the uninitiated, the National Letter of Intent is a binding contract to attend a specific institution (read: not a specific sports program, which was a case of contention during the coaching change) via athletic scholarship for the next year, but may be cancelled (in all reality deferred, but the contract is still on a one-year basis) by the institution's administration.

Reilly was a late pick (in fact the last of the year) and dropped off a bit last year, so unless he really turns some heads in the 2nd half, I don't see him signing. Could Hayhurst advance as a free agent, given the year he's been having (similar to Zalewski a few years back)?

Thanks for adding the years of birth.

Hayhurst could turn pro, but at his size I don't think that he will go higher than the ECHL. Does one give up a paid for college education for that? I don't think that he will be able to graduate at this time since he is still only 21 and probably did not take too many courses before entering RPI. But it is possible that he will leave.

[fr. joe]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

(Belated) Hanukkah Sameach! Merry Christmas!

Just writing to let you know I received a new assignment in July and have been pretty immersed in a new parish over the last several months.
I've been posting only sporadically and just wanted to reach out to everyone on our thread. Been well. Been busy. I hope to be posting a bit more in the New Year.

I did see Ralph during the SLU game -- his annual visit to HFH. Between that and starting the Brown game thread, I haven't done much with RPI hockey lately. I hope to see a few games soon.

[jmhusker]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Wow... just catching up after some time away. I must say I wish I could send all of you to Austria so you could hang out in a Christmas Market and drink Rum Punch or Gluhwein and work off your sorrows. Having seen only one game this year, and a good one at that (UML), I find the lack of faith here surprising. This team looked much better to me than they have been. Matter of time before it translates to better results. I'm not sure what the 3 new kids will add but I'll bet the UVM tourney games go better than the last couple.

And FDUDE... c'mon man. ESPN payday and "we do too many drop passes"? Really? Your first inference is absurd and the second one is just wrong. Nothing like a good drop pass to create offense. Check out Eichel's goal from last night (I had the honor of seeing it from the front row balcony). Neutral zone drop pass. Beautiful. The name of the game in hockey is getting the puck to the right place and a drop pass is one of many ways to do it.

[ServinisScores]

Wow... just catching up after some time away. I must say I wish I could send all of you to Austria so you could hang out in a Christmas Market and drink Rum Punch or Gluhwein and work off your sorrows. Having seen only one game this year, and a good one at that (UML), I find the lack of faith here surprising. This team looked much better to me than they have been. Matter of time before it translates to better results. I'm not sure what the 3 new kids will add but I'll bet the UVM tourney games go better than the last couple.

And FDUDE... c'mon man. ESPN payday and "we do too many drop passes"? Really? Your first inference is absurd and the second one is just wrong. Nothing like a good drop pass to create offense. Check out Eichel's goal from last night (I had the honor of seeing it from the front row balcony). Neutral zone drop pass. Beautiful. The name of the game in hockey is getting the puck to the right place and a drop pass is one of many ways to do it.

Well said, all of it. +1 for gluhvein, straight from Villach.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

And FDUDE... c'mon man. ESPN payday and "we do too many drop passes"? Really? Your first inference is absurd and the second one is just wrong. Nothing like a good drop pass to create offense. Check out Eichel's goal from last night (I had the honor of seeing it from the front row balcony). Neutral zone drop pass. Beautiful. The name of the game in hockey is getting the puck to the right place and a drop pass is one of many ways to do it.

If the drop pass is so effective at creating offense, why are we at barely 1.5 goals per game, and haven't seen double digit wins since 2016? I'm well aware that talented players can create good deceptions, especially the talents of Eichel, having recently taken FlagDUDETTE to her first NHL game. The fact of the matter is, the way that RPI executes the drop pass, it gives the defence ample time to set up. Not to mention, they do it so often (during the previous two years I'd say at least 2-3 times per period), it's now become an expectation where the opposition is prepared. Just like the cross ice pass during Appert's heyday. A great player with the puck has complete control over it and can do anything. The key is ANYTHING.

As for the other angle, why else would football be not only preferred, but heavily advertised over hockey? What is the administration either bringing in or expecting to bring in with this switch? Only one explanation when it comes to the RPI administration: Follow the money.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

(Belated) Hanukkah Sameach! Merry Christmas!

Just writing to let you know I received a new assignment in July and have been pretty immersed in a new parish over the last several months.
I've been posting only sporadically and just wanted to reach out to everyone on our thread. Been well. Been busy. I hope to be posting a bit more in the New Year.

I did see Ralph during the SLU game -- his annual visit to HFH. Between that and starting the Brown game thread, I haven't done much with RPI hockey lately. I hope to see a few games soon.

I didn't know that I was so privileged.

I assume that your new assignment is still in the CD.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

Information about the 8 players who signed NLIs. This is the same as what I post on the recruit thread. Decent size on defense besides for Babichuk whom I consider Moore's replacement.

 # Name                 Ps commitm. Team (League)                   Year  DOB      Ht    Wt  Hometown         NZ *
21 Tristan Ashbrook #*   C 10/10/17 Lincoln Stars (USHL)            2019  07/16/98 5'10" 173 Manistique, MI   3.75
55 Cory Babichuk #*     LD 11/02/14 Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)      2019  09/28/98 5'10" 176 Edmonton, AB     3.75
 2 Dylan Davies #       LD 10/10/18 Austin Bruins (NAHL)            2019  02/09/01 6'02" 190 Traverse City, MI3.75
12 Rory Herrman #       LW 08/21/18 Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)       2019  03/16/99 5'11" 195 Poway, CA        3.75
 4 Simon Kjellberg #    LD 11/08/18 Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)  2019  02/27/00 6'03" 202 Falun, Sweden    x.xx
 6 Mason Klee #         RD 10/02/18 Lincoln Stars (USHL)            2019  10/04/99 6'02" 185 Morrison, CO     3.75
12 James McIsaac #    RW/C 10/23/18 Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)     2019  04/29/99 5'11" 183 Winnipeg, MB     3.50
30 Brett Miller #        G 11/05/18 Austin Bruins (NAHL)            2019  04/26/99 6'02" 184 Northville, MI   3.50

* In the RPI directory
# Known to have signed National Letter of Intent

 # Name                 Ps Team (League)                       Gm- G- A-  P- PM Next Gm
21 Tristan Ashbrook      C Lincoln Stars (USHL)                14- 2- 3-  5- 12 12/28/18
55 Cory Babichuk        LD Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)          24- 6-12- 18- 22 12/19/18 
 2 Dylan Davies         LD Austin Bruins (NAHL)                24- 0- 3-  3- 23 12/28/18
12 Rory Herrman         LW Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)           25- 6- 8- 14- 42 12/27/18
 4 Simon Kjellberg      LD Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)      26- 1- 1-  2-  4 12/27/18
 6 Mason Klee           RD Lincoln Stars (USHL)                25- 2- 3-  5- 46 12/28/18
12 James McIsaac      C/RW Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)         22- 5- 7- 12- 31 12/19/18
30 Brett Miller          G Austin Bruins (NAHL)            11- 7- 2-0-1.78-.920 12/28/18
33                         Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)  1- 0- 1-0-5.00-.839 12/28/18 (most probably gone)
                           total                           12- 7- 3-0-2.04-.914

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2018 - 2019: 28 Guys Skate onto a Rink ...

We have two seniors on defense, Grant and Moore. If all four are coming than we probably are losing two. Will Reilly turn pro?

FWIW, there are 5 women recruits on defense listed for the fall with only 2 graduating. However, the women's team has not released a NLI list and only 2 are known to have signed NLIs.