Offseason 2023

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Swankler's gone, I'm hoping he turns pro rather than portalling to the Nachos. Gotta figure Mamlstrom is gone too. Would not be surprised to see Pitters and/or Coyle use their 5th year. Assuming the above and with the incoming freshmen we'll be looking to the portal for a few forwards and a defenseman or two.

Tech and Mankato will be better than us next year. So will St. Thomas. Gotta figure Bemidji and Northern will as well. That leaves us, Ferris, and Lake State to fill out the bottom 3. Blech.

[pdt1081]

League meetings this summer should prove to be very interesting. Wish they were available to the public.

[jpfalcon09]

I'd expect one of either Carr or Stavros not to return next season. Maybe both. The Huger news means there likely isn't a head coaching change. I do have it on good authority that Scott Slater is not happy with the direction of the program. He has the resources to personally pull that trigger if the university is on board.

Swankler, Barber, Gresock, Schneider, Malmstrom, Lellig, Dougherty all gone. I've heard Scardina may go pro. Next year is going to be very painful.

[BGhockeyfan94]

Is there any way that Parker can take a redshirt this year since he was his almost all year?

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Firing assistant coaches now smacks of Rico’s last year. After being forced to fire his assistants before his make-or-break season he hires Peter Mannino who subsequently gets flushed out the door a year later when Rico finally gets the ax. You’re much more plugged in than I am (I am not plugged in at all BTW) but what decent assistant would sign up with one more year on Ty’s contract unless there was an unspoken agreement that he’s getting the job? Seems like you roll the dice one more year with the current crew and see where things land.

[pdt1081]

Is there any way that Parker can take a redshirt this year since he was his almost all year?

He is taking a medical redshirt. Eigner mentioned it in a post game presser from the Northern series.

[TommyG]

It’s clearly not an assistant coaching problem…if Scott Slater has the money to make the change, then why not do it now?
When that almost the whole Sr class transferred after 21 that should have been an alert that things were not heading in a good direction.
After a bad 21-22, people were saying 22-23 would be better….not so much

[BGhockeyfan94]

Is there any way that Parker can take a redshirt this year since he was his almost all year?

He is taking a medical redshirt. Eigner mentioned it in a post game presser from the Northern series.

Nice, thanks for the info!

[Falconwriter]

It’s clearly not an assistant coaching problem…if Scott Slater has the money to make the change, then why not do it now?
When that almost the whole Sr class transferred after 21 that should have been an alert that things were not heading in a good direction.
After a bad 21-22, people were saying 22-23 would be better….not so much

I'm actually in the school of thought that thinks having fired the basketball coach makes it easier to do the same in hockey. Changes are desperately needed for all three men's sports and now one has been started. If Slater really pushes, I don't see why this can't happen, too, especially if he's willing to put up some funds toward that end. It really is ridiculous that BG has gone 35 years without a league title. I never imagined this would happen when I was in school. The future seemed to very bright (and it was). However, things just went off a cliff at some point.

[mbenecke]

If Slater is willing to foot the bill, I think the time for a change could be right now. We’re backsliding hard. Why wait and let it get even worse?

New AD. Newly renovated arena. Let’s get a new, exciting coach that can change the trajectory of the program as we move into a new era.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I updated my roster matrix taking into account JPs projected departures. I would not be surprised if Pitters and Coyle were back so for now I kept them in. Not sure about Vanell so I left him out for now. I'm also assuming Moore is coming in which means Rose would be moving on.

Looks like there is a need to raid the transfer portal for some forwards.

[mbenecke]

The trajectory of the program is pretty clearly in bad shape. This is why I'm worried.

2015: 23-11-5 (3rd), won a series
2016: 22-14-6 (3rd), won a series
2017: 21-18-2 (4th), won 2 series
2018: 23-12-6 (3rd), won a series
2019: 25-11-5 (3rd), won 2 series, made NCAA tournament

*Eigner is hired*

2020: 21-13-4 (5th), won a series
2021: 20-10-1 (3rd)
2022: 15-19-3 (6th)
2023: 15-19-2 (3rd)

He's 71-6-10 overall. 30-38-5 the past 2 seasons combined. That's not good at all. At some point, the record has to mean something. Even in a down year in the CCHA, we couldn't be above .500. I like the man that he is, but I just think it's becoming clear that this isn't working out.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I think he's done reasonably well with incoming portal transfers. Burke scored 33 goals in 2 seasons, Gresock went 11/20/31. As a whole, incoming recruiting classes have been decent but not spectacular -- he isn't recruiting at the same level as Hastings or Shawhan but I don't think it's been horrendous. Still, lots of room for improvement there. I think the injury situation this year made things difficult. Did he handle it perfectly? I honestly don't know but rolling 5 defensemen two games in a row is a lot to overcome.

Swankler showed year-over-year improvement in his game as has O'Hara and Scardina so it's not as if the kids are ignoring what he's saying - he never seemed to lose the team. However, there are others who have stagnated or regressed (Wozny). To me the problems are Xs and Os (breakouts, neutral zone play, PP, etc.), way too many mistakes/discipline, getting kids to play hard every shift, establishing our identity (as pointed out earlier, we are no longer hard to play against). I see the same trendlines and am concerned that next year may be a real problem for us. I can't quite quantify my next comment, but it feels like we're stuck in that 4-5-6 band in the league and not a top tier program and I can't find a way to explain why. So, if I'm sitting at a Starbucks with DVDM, how would I put it to him? I don't know that I can, it's all just "feelings' right now.

Edit: throw the January/February swoon into the mix. Forgot that initially.

[mbenecke]

Anton Malmstrom signed an ELC with the Blues. He's reporting to their AHL franchise for the rest of the season.

Congrats to him on a solid 3 years here.

[BillyLP]

Anton Malmstrom signed an ELC with the Blues. He's reporting to their AHL franchise for the rest of the season.

Congrats to him on a solid 3 years here.

Can't blame him there. He plays well in Springfield and he's on a fast track to the NHL.