Quite a few questions, mostly about the same subject. But let's
get to them ...
From Sam: How much do
you think playing in an inferior WCHA (in terms of big name schools and
programs) is going to kill MSU recruiting? That's my biggest worry, outside of
even more lackluster fan support. I follow Chris Heisenberg's recruiting
page and have noticed the Mavs haven't received any verbal commitments in what
seems like quite awhile. Could just be a coincidence.
Sam, there's no question that recruiting will get tougher —
maybe even a little more cutthroat, too — in a couple of years. However, I
think the jury's out on this. One reason is that the players MSU is getting now
aren't necessarily being recruited by the North Dakotas, the Denvers and the
Colorado Colleges or the top Big Ten schools. While I think MSU's sales pitch
has to be a little different in the "new" WCHA, I think they're still
going to go after the same type of player they're going after now. The coaches
do a pretty good job identifying smart, good-skating, hard-nosed players who
play with a lot of energy. The hope is that they also find a way to sneak in an
under-the-radar blue-chipper. That may get harder, but it's not that easy in
the team's current situation, either.
As far as verbals go, the Mavericks have a pretty full class
(six/seven) committed for next year already, especially considering the size of
this year's freshman class (seven). I see no reason to be concerned that they
don't have a bunch of kids committed for '13 yet. Sometimes when teams
stockpile for years down the road mistakes get made.
From Sam: Staying on
the subject of recruiting, what are the chances a guy like Teddy Bluegar (2012
or '13 recruit) reconsiders his options with the new leagues forming right
around the time he'll be starting his college career?
Sam (again), I don't know if players are going to change their
minds. I suppose it would depend on their reason for choosing a school like MSU
to continue their hockey careers. Do they like the coaches? The style of play?
The school? The campus? The proximity to the Twin Cities and NHL scouts? The
opportunity to play significant minutes right away (in the case of a potential
star)? None of that changes. If they picked MSU just to be in the WCHA (in its
current form) then maybe they'd have some reservations.
From Todd: Who does the
scheduling for the WCHA? Don't they have to check with schools about potential
conflicts at the school, such as basketball or wrestling? It seems strange that
all but one conference game for both basketball and men's hockey takes place on
the same night, making it impossible to go to both. So much for loyalty from
the league that MSU has given to them.
Todd, I don't know exactly how this works, but I would guess the
schedules aren't made in concert very often. It's too bad and not just for the
fans. Even from a manpower standpoint, MSU's athletics can't like this
situation (it's going to be tough for The Free Press, too!). But considering
that MSU, St. Cloud, Bemidji and Duluth are all in the same leagues right now
for both sports that they might have tried to find some flexibility to
switch around dates or even times for games. Even the University of Wisconsin
and the University of Minnesota move around games to accomodate the other
sports (the Badgers share a building, while the Gophers have all of their
facilities in the same general location). The Gophers already have played a
Sunday game, I believe.
From Jeff Williams: I'm
with Sam. I wonder about the quality of recruits. Also if we ever decide not to
renew Jutts contract what kind of coaching prospects can we hope for?
Jutting has another year left
on his contract after this one; let's not get ahead of ourselves. I could be
very wrong, but I still think, once healthy, that this year's team has a chance
to surprise some teams. I said that at the beginning of the year. But to answer
your question, there are just 58 Division I men's hockey teams in the country.
Almost all of them would be an attractive jobs to any coach.
From Hockey Girl: Why does
it seem like the current administration doesn't care about hockey? With it
being the only sport operating in the black, you would think they could put
more resources to making sure it can compete with the 'big' schools and maybe
tried harder to get into the future NCHC instead of settling for the 'new'
WCHA. St. Cloud and Duluth, both DII schools, have had success in DI
hockey. What are they doing differently than MSU and what can MSU learn from
them?
I wouldn't say that the
administration doesn't care about hockey, although I certainly understand the
criticism. There does seem to be a different philosophy at MSU when it comes to
hockey than there is at St. Cloud State and Duluth. Now, I don't know if hockey
is the only sport at MSU that operates in the black. In fact, I can't imagine
that basketball is in the red — fewer players, scholarships, their own
facility, etc. I'm not even sure if hockey is making big money. The last time I
checked it was close to being self-sustaining as well as pay for women's hockey
scholarships. As for trying to get into the NCHC, MSU wasn't invited; they were
on the outside looking in. In my opinion, the breakaway teams wanted a higher
profile in order to be on par with the Big 10, and they weren't going to do
that by inviting Mankato, Bemidji, Michigan Tech and Anchorage to their party.
I am still firmly
of the belief that St. Cloud would still be right with MSU had Notre Dame been
in the new league from the beginning. I'm not so sure Duluth is invited without
their brand-new building and their national title.
From BIGhkyfan: so, is
Huntsville coming back? New donors came forward
BIG, I saw that story, too,
but I'm wondering if it's too little, too late. Apparently donors say they can
fund the program for three more years. But what happens after three years?
Also, Huntsville is still without a conference, which is just a killer in
college hockey. I hope they can find a way to make something work down there,
but they have to get support from the school as well as in the rest of the
college-hockey community. And, given all of the dealings in this past
offseason, who’s going to come to
rush to UAH’s aid? It’s every program for itself right now, it seems.
From TMAVS18: On the
topic of recruiting can we get updates or interviews with our current commits?
Do you know any possible kids the Mavericks are looking at for 2013? Thanks.
TMAVS, I don’t have time to
do that update in this post, but I’ll plan on doing an update on the recruits
very soon. The early signing period begins next Wednesday (Nov. 9), so that
would be a good time for an updatee, maybe interviews, too. Once the players’
letters of intent are in, coaches can talk about them, too, so there will be
some fodder for some stories. One teaser: Forward recruit Dylan Margonari of
Youngstown was named USHL offensive player of the week last week
Thanks for your questions
everyone. We’ll do it again real soon.
