According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendrickson
@gator would love potulnyas a assistant
Potulny on the staff as an assistant? Absolutely.@gator would love potulnyas a assistant
Potulny as Head Coach, taking how things went at Northern into account?
Pat Ferschweiler has been great at WMU, and someone who would be a great hire. He is a WMU alum. He also has, from what I can tell, a 2.3 M buyout -- which seems high to me by college hockey standards (admittedly I am not even sure what real money in college sports is anymore).
Leaman would also done very well over a long period, it appears he makes $1M/year at Providence
The interest in Barr is a mystery to this uninformed observer, his record seems to be fairly mediocre.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
Pat Ferschweiler has been great at WMU, and someone who would be a great hire. He is a WMU alum. He also has, from what I can tell, a 2.3 M buyout -- which seems high to me by college hockey standards (admittedly I am not even sure what real money in college sports is anymore).
Leaman would also done very well over a long period, it appears he makes $1M/year at Providence
The interest in Barr is a mystery to this uninformed observer, his record seems to be fairly mediocre.
I don't get the interest in Leaman. His record at Providence since 2016 is meh. One Frozen Four in 2018-19 and that's it.
Ferschweiler would be awesome, but I am very doubtful. He's king at WMU.
As a head coach, he moved Maine from the Hockey East cellar to the #3 overall seed in the NCAA tournament last year.The interest in Barr is a mystery to this uninformed observer, his record seems to be fairly mediocre.
As an assistant, my understanding is that he did a lot of recruiting for the teams he was with. This includes for Union up through 2012 (so the upperclassmen on their 2014 championship team included a lot of his work). Providence from 2012-2014 (arguably setting up their 2015 title). And then UMass from 2016-2021, (once again, building the championship team).
Now, this all assumes that he did a lot of the recruiting. If so, he could be a great hire. If he was just an assistant on those teams and didn't have much of anything to do with recruiting, maybe not so great of a hire, but could still be a decent option.
Social media platforms tend to have more casuals who don't follow the team super closely so that's part of it. Probably going to get some hotter takes as a result, not to mention the sports media universe almost requires people spitting out hot takes constantly to drive up reactions/clicks so that's naturally going to have some people doing the same.People on social media is showing their hockey iq’s and their concept of reality. It’s really mind boggling and head scratching what people post.
As far as those 7 names, do Ferschweiller, Leaman, or Cashman have any ties to MN? Or are they just names of coaches who've had success at smaller universities?
@delafield-gopher You are right, and WMU is moving into a new arena in 2027, King of Kalamazoo does make me smile--- The sign driving into K-zoo says, “Kalamazoo, we make Battle Creek jealous”. I think the 2.3M buyout is a big deterrent. My opinion is that he would be the big get, on par with Muzerall for the women’s team.
Could UMass Greg Carvel be in the mix?
Social media platforms tend to have more casuals who don't follow the team super closely so that's part of it. Probably going to get some hotter takes as a result, not to mention the sports media universe almost requires people spitting out hot takes constantly to drive up reactions/clicks so that's naturally going to have some people doing the same.People on social media is showing their hockey iq’s and their concept of reality. It’s really mind boggling and head scratching what people post.
As far as those 7 names, do Ferschweiller, Leaman, or Cashman have any ties to MN? Or are they just names of coaches who've had success at smaller universities?
Cashman is a Red Wing native, though he has been out east for his entire hockey career. His overall record may he a tough sell but Dartmouth looks to be an ascending program; he has helped them reach new heights.
According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendrickson
darby literally cannot take the job without having finished his degree. there’s no reason to think Fersch wants to leave what he’s built at WMU. Leaman and Cashman are both head scratchers. people are just making these lists up I swear
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.
Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.
Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
I’m not only grateful for what Bob did as a coach, getting us back to where we belong in “23” but also off the ice. He opened the closed doors to people to tour the locker room and have pretty much unlimited access to mariucci when he came aboard. My 10 year old at the time was able to skate with the gophers and meet players. Idol Sammy walker, Brodzinski, Tyler Nanne, my photographic memory still sees Jackson Lacombe and him out on the ice hanging out just shootin’ the breeze. Playing bubble hockey in the players lounge. My late dad taking a leak in the locker room urinals
. Just a great overall full day and memory forever. Thank you Bob that was really cool.
“Good pace, a lot of north and south, or it could be east and west, I’m not sure but either way…” Wooger
Pohlad baseball ⚾️ it’s not arrogance, we really are “that good” #”Hey Siri, play “faithfully” by Journey max volume”
According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendricksondarby literally cannot take the job without having finished his degree. there’s no reason to think Fersch wants to leave what he’s built at WMU. Leaman and Cashman are both head scratchers. people are just making these lists up I swear
Leaman is absolutely a big name. One of the best in the biz. People saying his record is underwhelming are forgetting the fact he’s at effing PROVIDENCE. Remember where that program was before Leaman? Yeah me neither. He’s turned them into a perennial tournament team.
Only reason he’s not #1 on my list is because he’s almost 60.
That’s also part of the reason Barr is such an attractive candidate to me, he’s a chip off the Nate Leaman coaching tree.
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
Forgetting the biggest name on here Tristan Broz
According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendricksondarby literally cannot take the job without having finished his degree. there’s no reason to think Fersch wants to leave what he’s built at WMU. Leaman and Cashman are both head scratchers. people are just making these lists up I swear
Leaman is absolutely a big name. One of the best in the biz. People saying his record is underwhelming are forgetting the fact he’s at effing PROVIDENCE. Remember where that program was before Leaman? Yeah me neither. He’s turned them into a perennial tournament team.
Only reason he’s not #1 on my list is because he’s almost 60.
He is 53...ways off from 60. I do agree he is a good coach and would be a strong hire. It seems unlikely given his lack of ties, unless the raise is just too good to pass up.
According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendricksondarby literally cannot take the job without having finished his degree. there’s no reason to think Fersch wants to leave what he’s built at WMU. Leaman and Cashman are both head scratchers. people are just making these lists up I swear
Leaman is absolutely a big name. One of the best in the biz. People saying his record is underwhelming are forgetting the fact he’s at effing PROVIDENCE. Remember where that program was before Leaman? Yeah me neither. He’s turned them into a perennial tournament team.
Only reason he’s not #1 on my list is because he’s almost 60.
He is 53...ways off from 60. I do agree he is a good coach and would be a strong hire. It seems unlikely given his lack of ties, unless the raise is just too good to pass up.
Cant believe I need to say this but the Minnesota job is a step up from Providence. The question is would Coyle reach out. My guess is no. Leaman would absolutely take this job though.
According to ‘Bring Me The Sports’ here’s their top 7…
Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan)
Ben Barr (Maine)
Garret Raboin (Augustana)
Nate Leaman (Providence)
Reid Cashman (Dartmouth)
Grant Potulny
Darby Hendricksondarby literally cannot take the job without having finished his degree. there’s no reason to think Fersch wants to leave what he’s built at WMU. Leaman and Cashman are both head scratchers. people are just making these lists up I swear
Leaman is absolutely a big name. One of the best in the biz. People saying his record is underwhelming are forgetting the fact he’s at effing PROVIDENCE. Remember where that program was before Leaman? Yeah me neither. He’s turned them into a perennial tournament team.
Only reason he’s not #1 on my list is because he’s almost 60.
He is 53...ways off from 60. I do agree he is a good coach and would be a strong hire. It seems unlikely given his lack of ties, unless the raise is just too good to pass up.
Cant believe I need to say this but the Minnesota job is a step up from Providence. The question is would Coyle reach out. My guess is no. Leaman would absolutely take this job though.
It absolutely is. I am not stating otherwise. Different people look for different things, however, and college hockey can be all about connections so I am just saying I don't see the fit there...probably shouldn't mention the money aspect as you can clear Providence easily.
Ch 5 says Lou Nanne coming on soon.
I wouldn’t be opposed to Leaman. Especially if Gordon and/or Martin stick around for some alumni presence. I don’t know if he’s my top choice but he built Providence into a solid program and let’s not forget how he took a loaded roster to gold with Team USA against one of the most stacked Canada teams we’ve ever seen five years ago in 2021. That seems to show that he can coach both young talented rosters as well as gets the buy in from a lot of his older, veteran players that he probably coaches more at Providence. IF that’s the direction that Coyle and the U decide to go you won’t hear me complaining.
I wouldn’t be opposed to Leaman. Especially if Gordon and/or Martin stick around for some alumni presence. I don’t know if he’s my top choice but he built Providence into a solid program and let’s not forget how he took a loaded roster to gold with Team USA against one of the most stacked Canada teams we’ve ever seen five years ago in 2021. That seems to show that he can coach both young talented rosters as well as gets the buy in from a lot of his older, veteran players that he probably coaches more at Providence. IF that’s the direction that Coyle and the U decide to go you won’t hear me complaining.
I can agree with this. Some others have Leaman much higher than I do, and he's not my top choice, but I wouldn't complain. He's solid.
For those who don't use X
Motzko: "This was my 42nd year in coaching, and at this stage in my career, now is the right time for new leadership. I have dedicated 14 years to this program as a head coach, assistant coach and student. I am grateful for every minute of it. In addition to working with so many incredible student-athletes, it was great to see the arena full again and the passion restored to our program. One of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my eight years was reconnecting with and uniting our alumni and having them involved with our program. It was a tremendous honor to be part of this incredible University."
Sad day for me. Bob was my number one choice to replace Lucia. He is a good coach and from what I know a good guy. I do think it is time to make a change but I wish he wasn’t going out like this.
For those who don't use X
Motzko: "This was my 42nd year in coaching, and at this stage in my career, now is the right time for new leadership. I have dedicated 14 years to this program as a head coach, assistant coach and student. I am grateful for every minute of it. In addition to working with so many incredible student-athletes, it was great to see the arena full again and the passion restored to our program. One of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my eight years was reconnecting with and uniting our alumni and having them involved with our program. It was a tremendous honor to be part of this incredible University."
Grateful for what Bob gave to the program. Appreciate him taking it with class. First class person.
Aside from the selfish side of me as a Gophers fan, I really wish Bob could have helped close the deal in 2023. He truly deserves a title. A class act all around.
IMO a national title is nice and is the goal but in the end it doesn't really matter. I've been a Gopher fan for 40 years and 2023 was the best Gopher team I've ever seen. IMO the best team(s) are determined by the full body of work (the six-month season as a whole) not two weekends in March/April.
Not asking/saying people should agree with me or not. I understand why people say to be the best you have to win the last game of the season but with every passing year I realize that being a sports fan is A LOT more fun and WAY less painful if I accept that seasons don't need to be defined by the last game.
Just my two-sense worth.
*LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER SOUND*
Natties are what matter most. Although i understand the overall sentiment.
IMO a national title is nice and is the goal but in the end it doesn't really matter. I've been a Gopher fan for 40 years and 2023 was the best Gopher team I've ever seen. IMO the best team(s) are determined by the full body of work (the six-month season as a whole) not two weekends in March/April.
Not asking/saying people should agree with me or not. I understand why people say to be the best you have to win the last game of the season but with every passing year I realize that being a sports fan is A LOT more fun and WAY less painful if I accept that seasons don't need to be defined by the last game.
Just my two-sense worth.
agreed, regardless of how the very last play of the very last game went I still loved watching all 40 games that year. Well maybe not that late season dud we dropped at Wisconsin but even that one didn’t feel too bad.
Wouldn't have part of Raboin's reason for taking a HC job be for this exact scenario?
Wouldn't have part of Raboin's reason for taking a HC job be for this exact scenario?
Yeah he definitely took the Augie job with this moment in time in the back of his mind. He’s gotta be the front runner, right?
Classy statementFor those who don't use X
Motzko: "This was my 42nd year in coaching, and at this stage in my career, now is the right time for new leadership. I have dedicated 14 years to this program as a head coach, assistant coach and student. I am grateful for every minute of it. In addition to working with so many incredible student-athletes, it was great to see the arena full again and the passion restored to our program. One of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my eight years was reconnecting with and uniting our alumni and having them involved with our program. It was a tremendous honor to be part of this incredible University."
This action was one year too late, but I understand why Bob was brought back, and it can be argued that he deserved one last year shot.
Bob Motzko was a class act and a true hockey man. His record will speak for itself and he will always be remembered as a solid coach of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team. That can never be taken away, even if he ended that career on a down note.
But, Don Lucia was fired. Doug Woog was fired. Brad Buetow, who had a better win% (.689) than any of Brooks, Woog, Lucia, and Motzko, was fired. But the true fondly remember these coaches for their good years, not their bad. And we will put Bob Motzko on the same level as all of them.
I do think the game both on and off the ice had passed Bob by. "Amateur" hockey has changed to become a national sport and calling it "amateur" hockey is probably a the biggest change of all. The days when the Gophers can just go out and recruit almost all of the elite Minnesota hockey talent are long gone, and I think Bob was out of his element trying to recruit in some of the new talent pipelines that are now feeding the major D1 college hockey programs.
The next step is to bring in a coach that can maintain the brand of University of Minnesota hockey. One of the prerequisites should be if this coach can immediately bring in a couple of transfers and recruits that will follow him to campus and contribute to the 26-27 season, along with minimizing losses from the current roster talent and recruiting commits. I would be surprised if any of them are committed only to Bob Motzko though. If the new coach can build up from those commits that is the goal.
Where is this 10:30 pm podcast I keep hearing about? 😬
Late due to significant ISP issues at Chez Jupiter
I started watching the team in 2006 so that statement is accurate for me, I also agree with your overall point about the body of work/one and done tourney format. As much as losing the natty would’ve hurt no matter what, if he could’ve won a B1G tourney title at home that would’ve taken off some of the sting. With the teams he put together he deserved more hardware.IMO a national title is nice and is the goal but in the end it doesn't really matter. I've been a Gopher fan for 40 years and 2023 was the best Gopher team I've ever seen. IMO the best team(s) are determined by the full body of work (the six-month season as a whole) not two weekends in March/April.
Not asking/saying people should agree with me or not. I understand why people say to be the best you have to win the last game of the season but with every passing year I realize that being a sports fan is A LOT more fun and WAY less painful if I accept that seasons don't need to be defined by the last game.
Just my two-sense worth.
I had to look back but I kinda forgot the Gophers won the B1G tourney in 2021 in front of zero fans 😥. I thought under his tenure they’d won conference titles but none of the other hardware. 2021 seems like a lifetime ago and I wouldn’t doubt Motzko feels the same.
The man is a class act and his final statement reflects that. The good definitely outweighed the bad during his tenure and he left us with a lot of great memories, he was who I wanted them to hire after Lucia retired and I’m glad they did.
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
You left off the 2 most significant transfers in the recent era: Broz and Lucius.
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
You left off the 2 most significant transfers in the recent era: Broz and Lucius.
Neither Lucius transferred. Chaz signed with the Jets and Cruz decommitted before ever reaching campus.
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
Forgetting the biggest name on here Tristan Broz
You're right. Good catch. Weird that he wasn't on the transfer lists I was looking at on elite prospects.
IMO a national title is nice and is the goal but in the end it doesn't really matter. I've been a Gopher fan for 40 years and 2023 was the best Gopher team I've ever seen. IMO the best team(s) are determined by the full body of work (the six-month season as a whole) not two weekends in March/April.
Not asking/saying people should agree with me or not. I understand why people say to be the best you have to win the last game of the season but with every passing year I realize that being a sports fan is A LOT more fun and WAY less painful if I accept that seasons don't need to be defined by the last game.
Just my two-sense worth.
I tend to agree. Playoffs are just to RNG for me to hinge my entire assessment of the program. I also agree that 23 might have been the best this team has been in my 25 years. Including the 02 and 03 teams. (Though, completely valid arguments could easily be made either way.) It was an absolute treat to watch that team play.
I strongly suspect he’s retiring as opposed to being fired.
but I guess it’s possible after the last year if he decided against retirement.
I hope that’s the case. If he was fired, massive mistake. No clear hires that are upgrades.
Can't call it a mistake. Yeah, we have some talent coming in over the next year or two but it honestly feels like U of M hockey is getting passed by. Sounds weird beings we were just playing for a Natty in 2023 but every year, more and more programs are improving and becoming threats while the Gophers have been regressing and if this is ground zero, it'll be another couple years before we're in the convo for a natty as the Gophers should always be.
this is an absurd take in the portal era.
Is it, though?
Gophers aren't NIL powerhouses. We've gotten some decent players from the Portal but what's that gotten us? Wood for a season and being ousted in the regionals. A season of Souliere?
And, the portal works both ways. Is it a lock that we retain Motzko recruits after his departure?
The program just hit rock bottom in one of the worst seasons in 30 years with a new coach....I'm going to bet we're not a hot landing place for the top portal players this season.
Edit: Hell, maybe the new coach is more aggressive in the portal than Bob.
First, I think that changes if we have a coach the boosters are behind. Do we know that we aren't NIL powerhouses? How does our revenue sharing model compare to other schools? (We know we have a massive advantage there, IIRC it was around $10M in revenue.)
The NIL era has only been around for a couple years (21-22?) and moreover, there is no public reporting besides insider news on blockbuster deals. Even those are rumors. So unless there's reporting out there that I haven't seen (very possible, probably even likely!) we have absolutely no idea where we actually stand. Wood and Souliere were very good gets. Being a helmet school means you often don't need expensive free agents. You already have structural advantages that make you attractive without the need to attach cash to it. If you can, all the better.
Second, who have we lost?
Strobel, Pioniemi, FIsh in 2024.
Staudacher - 2023
Sorenson, Boynton, Brinkman, Cruikshank - 2022
Burke, Stucker, McManus, Moe - 2021
Wait - 2020
Phillips - 2019
None - 2015-2018. I stopped looking after 2015.Strobel played six games. Pioneimi played in 29 games and had 3 points. Fish, 10 games.
Arguably the biggest losses we had were pre-NIL.
Staudacher 31 games, Brinkman 35 games, SOrenson 43 pts in 63 games. Cruikshank (a transfer himself) had 38 pts in 41 games. Burke 73 games 52 points. Stucker 67 games, 29 pts. McManus 32 pts in 34 games. Moe had a good career at wisco but like souliere saw the writing on the wall. Wait had 42 in 61. Phillips had 79 games.Third: I honestly don't think it's that bad. Certainly a bad year, but we also lost a TON of players to the pros last year. 278 points total. 67% of our total. Plus two full defensive lines. I don't think there's an unfixable talent gap. I think we clearly needed new messaging in the locker room.
ANd finally, yeah, I'm guessing that yeah, a new coach is going to be expected to be more aggressive in filling hole with canadians and transfers. SOmething that was a hole in this team you could see from a mile away.
You left off the 2 most significant transfers in the recent era: Broz and Lucius.
Neither Lucius transferred. Chaz signed with the Jets and Cruz decommitted before ever reaching campus.
Yeah, I had chaz on there originally but took him off when I remembered that he wanted nothing more in life than to play 10 games a season in the AHL.
https://twitter.com/SchlossmanGF/status/2034644827707515240
I actually give a @#$* about the Twins
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
pay it if he’s actually willing to take the job. That’s less than 3 years of Bob’s salary, and less than 2/3 of the yearly profit that Gopher hockey just posted. He’s the best candidate around by far, it’s not even close considering that David Carle will never be on the market.
pay it if he’s actually willing to take the job. That’s less than 3 years of Bob’s salary, and less than 2/3 of the yearly profit that Gopher hockey just posted. He’s the best candidate around by far, it’s not even close considering that David Carle will never be on the market.
That would also be something like 3x what we paid WMU for PJ Fleck. I don't see gopher hockey committing 3 years of cash just for a buyout. Unless the boosters really get involved.
I know this would rub a lot of people the wrong way, but is there a current Canadian coach like in the OHL or WHL that would fit? Having someone who knows Canadian juniors could be a huge advantage over most coaches. Not saying the whole team would be made up of all Canadians, but it’s a market that college has only scratched the surface of.