Eagles in Hunt For Top Canadian Defenseman

The Boston College Eagles are one of just a few schools in the sweepstakes for 6'0 defenseman Dante Fabbro out of Whistler, British Columbia. The right handed shot set a BCMML defenseman record with 61 points last season and will play for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL next season. 

Like I said the other day, we need to start adding defenseman and what better way to start than adding one of the top 1998's in North America? There is a chance Fabbro ultimately decides to go the CHL route but many believe college hockey is a legitimate option. The other schools believed to be in the hunt for Fabbro are Wisconsin, North Dakota, and.....Boston University. 

Go Eagles. 

Who Do You Have ?

While searching through the internet today, I came across a really cool chart from Yost Built, a Michigan hockey blog (he is no longer writing but still a great twitter follow). The chart listed five players from each position (goalie, two D, LW/C/RW) and each player had a price ranging from one dollar to five dollars. The best players were five dollars and it went down in descending order. Obviously, we've been fortunate to have so many great players throughout the history of our program but I narrowed the chart down from 1985 to the present. You have $18 to spend on your starting six guys. I know I left a lot of great players off. I tend to favor the recent guys because those are the ones I have been following. Anyways, have fun with it

If you would like, please comment your team using the comment function, you can also email it to me. bchockeyblog@gmail.com

My team would be- Johnny G, Marty Reasoner, Cam Atkinson, Matti Kaltianinen, Greg Brown, and Peter Harrold. That is $17.

Top 5 Program Improvements

I hate the offseason. It's killing me. I don't know about you but I'm ready for the snow to start falling again. Anyways, today I thought we would take a look at the top five things that the program, as a whole, can do to be more successful. I'm not really talking about x's and o's, rather what the athletic department and the staff can do to make the program that much better than it already is. 

1. One more forward in the 2014 recruiting class. I've probably said this over 1000 times but it's something I can't stress enough. Our top four scorers from last season are gone but for some reason, we only have three forwards coming in to replace them. As I said earlier, I expect each newcomer to earn a spot in the starting lineup come next October, heck Tuch/Milano/Hanifin will probably start and play first power play unit. I think the staff still plans on bringing one more guy in because I believe they do have one more scholarship (Johnny G's) to use. It's not going to be Miles Wood so I'm not really sure what they will do. Maybe Colin White? Highly doubtful 

2. Improvements to Kelly Rink. Let's be honest for a second here. There are probably five rinks in Hockey East that are much better than the Eagles home. Now, there is no chance they blow the place up and build a brand new state of the art rink like BU or Notre Dame but it would be nice to make some improvements. First of all, they have to get rid of the plastic seats. They're the most uncomfortable things ever. The chairs at Agganis are the type of chairs you could take a nap in. I stand up the whole game because BC's are so uncomfortable. Secondly, I would like to see them update their concessions. The hot dogs stink, the pretzels are horrible, and the ice cream is all packaged stuff. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, I would like to see BC buy Cleveland Circle rink (right across the Reservoir) update it, and use it as a practice rink. The biggest recruiting disadvantage the staff has is telling kids that they won't be practicing very much at their own rink. Coaches at BU and Notre Dame use this as a major emphasis when recruiting the same kids BC does. They have their own rink to practice in and use 24/7. We don't. 

3. New jerseys. I'm a uniform guy. Always have been. I flat out despise our current uniforms. They're the type of uniforms a squirt team wheres. They're not classic at all, they have too many stars and stripes, the lettering is awful, and most of all our helmets are the most plain things ever. My favorite uniform in college hockey is Minnesota's. I want to see BC go back to the gold helmets. Those things were amazing. At the very least, they have to go back to the ones worn from 2001-2011. The BC patch on the shoulder and the classic maroon and gold jerseys with two or three stripes were perfect. I don't know why the heck we got rid of them. Here is a nice article from the boys at BC Interruption on what they want to see in a new jersey. 

4. Trying to get more "big name" schools to come to Chestnut Hill. I am very confused as to why we play four games out in Minnesota yet they are only coming here for one game on the day after Thanksgiving? We've played out at Michigan close to five times in the last decade yet they haven't been here since before I was even alive (but they're coming this year). I saw an idea on a message board a few days ago that I liked. Why not have BC and BU each bring in a big name school (North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan) and have both games be played at the Garden. I think it would draw a tremendous crowd. The other thing I would like to see go on the schedule is a non-conference game against BU. When it comes to BU, I could care less if we're playing for a bag of M and M's. Why not schedule one or two non-conference games against them every year. Maybe even have it at the Garden like Michigan and Michigan State do @ Joe Louis Arena. As much as fans want to see the Michigans and Minnesotas of the world, nothing beats playing BU.  Nothing. 

5. More defenseman recruits. Right now, the staff has just two defensemen coming in over the next two years, Hanifin and Fitzgerald (2015). I expect that at least two guys from this upcoming years defensive core will be gone so they have to find a way to fill that void very quickly. Keep an eye out for USNTDP defenseman Zach Werenski. All signs point to him going to Michigan but maybe the staff will make one last push. There are also some great local talents such as Ryan Shea (BC High) and Luke McInnis (Hingham, Marty's son). 

Go Eagles. 

State of the Program Part Two....Recruiting

Let'a be totally honest for a few minutes. I could write the greatest post on Johnny G, a win vs BU, or some other big event but the only thing that REALLY matters to viewers is recruiting. Trust me, I'm the same way. Who we going after? Who's the next "one"? Is this kid any good? Did we beat out BU? Yhea. Everyday, 24/7...it's all about the recruiting.

Anyways, the landscape of college hockey recruiting is starting to really change. Back in the 80's and 90's you could get top end prospects to commit in their junior or senior years and almost all the time they came from prep schools or another local high school (in New England anyways). I mean, look at the number of players BC got straight from prep schools fifteen/twenty years ago and compare that number to now. Mary Reasoner, Craig Janney, Brian Leetch, etc all these guys came from the prep ranks. But that's not the biggest issue for the college game (it is for the high school game). The big issue here is that coaches need to try and get commitments from kids at such a young age. Look at Maine, they got a commitment from a 13 year old a couple months ago. 13! Between the ages of 14 and 19 (or whatever age you arrive on campus, 21 in Lowell's case) a lot can change in the hockey world. A lot. Unfortunately, coaches have to take risk on players at such a young age and sometimes those guys just don't pan out.

That leads me right into my next point, the so called "gentlemen's agreement". BC, more so than any other program, has taken a boatload of heat over the course of the past few months for gaining commitments from players that were previously committed to other institutions. For anyone to go out there and say the staff "tampers" with other schools recruits shortly before they are set to arrive is just pathetic. In most cases (Milano for example) the recruit will tell them they don't want to go to the school they are previously set to attend. In other cases, players will either not qualify academically or decide that the ECAC is not the level of hockey they want to play at (Wood, Bracco). BC isn't going out there and talking to every single committed prospect they can. If they catch wind that a kid they think is good enough to play here doesn't want to go to his previously committed school, then they're going to inquire about the possibilities of that kid potentially coming to BC. But to say they're recklessly breaking this agreement is totally, 100 % false.

Anyways, let's dive into some specifics. As I said last time, there is still one more question for next season's roster, they need one more impact forward but we've been over that 100 times and you know how that situation looks. The biggest issue right now for the future is the blue line. Our D core next season will be as good as any we've ever had but hypothetically, Matheson, Hanifin, McCoshen, and Santini could all bolt to the pros after the final game of next season. As of now, we have just one defenseman (Casey Fitzgerald) coming in the fall of 2015 so as you can tell, we need to get a couple of defenseman to sign on for that season.

The final piece of the recruiting puzzle I think we should discuss today is the goalie need. Personally, I think Thatcher Demko will be here for two more seasons but if he has the season he is capable of having next season, he could certainly bolt. Of course, Billett and Barone will be gone after this year so that leaves the Eagles without a potential starter for the 15-16 season if Demko does in fact leave. A couple of weeks ago highly touted USA u17 goalie Blake Weyrick decommited from Brown because he wanted to play at a more recognized program. He could certainly be a potential guy they could bring in to replace Demko. Yes, they have a commitment from Chris Birdsall for the fall of 2015 but he really struggled in the USHL in this season and if that continues next year, I'm not really sure what the future holds for him.

So, here are the biggest recruiting needs. 

1. As I've said over 100 times, another top end forward for this fall (cough, cough Miles Wood).

2. At least two more defenseman (one shut down, Santini type) for the fall of 2015. I expect Matheson and at least one of McCoshen/Hanifin/Santini to be gone.

3. Thatcher Demko's replacement. They always find goalies pretty late in the game. It's the toughest position to evaluate, I think.

Go Eagles

State Of The Program: Part One

That loss still stings. Not as much as a loss to BU but it still stings. However, mix in a huge commitment (Bracco) and decision by Matheson to stay, and things are suddenly looking a heck of a lot better in Eagle Hockey world. I didn't have time to elaborate much on this but I was super excited about the choice of Mike Matheson to be the next captain of the Eagles. I think he's a terrific teammate, possesses a certain amount of talent that I don't think any other defenseman in the country has, and most importantly, he is someone that will represent this school with class and dignity. I'm sure some were surprised that it wasn't a senior but let's be perfectly honest. The senior class hasn't met expectations. In his three years here, Johnny G recorded 175 points. The other four forwards in his class (Straight,Sit,Smith,Linell) have recorded a combined 109 points in that span. That's not the type of production we look for around here. That brings me to my first point in the state of the program, a feature that will cover all aspects of the program (what needs to improve, what is looking good, recruiting, scheduling, all that fun stuff).

1. This years senior class needs to step it up three or four notches. I have to be honest with you, I am really worried about these guys. 42 points this season between Straight, Sit, Smith, and Linell just isn't going to cut it. I mean, I don't even know if all of these guys are going to be in the lineup. I think Sit will be fourth line center, Smith fourth, maybe third line left wing, same situation with Straight and as for Linell, it doesn't look promising. This is going to be the youngest team of the Coach York era (I believe) and the incoming freshman are going to look at the seniors and go by their example. If you have senior leaders that are going out and having a good time even though they aren't performing on the ice, the freshmen are going to pick up on that. These guys have to change their whole mentality over the summer. They're not here to have a good time and party. That's not why they were given an opportunity to come to this institution. Work hard, set an example, and most importantly, beat BU.

2. One more question mark heading into next season. It's a big one. Go through the lineup yourself and you will see we need one more forward to be accelerated. Tuch, Milano, and Sanford will come in and play huge roles but if we get Miles Wood to campus next fall, we will have three lines that can score and a fourth line that can play against another team's first line. Milano can play first line left wing, Miles can play second line left wing, Tuch can play second line right wing, and Sanford can play third or fourth line center or right wing.  Accelerating Miles would allow the staff to move Fitzgerald to center which could greatly enhance the production of the guys playing with him. I wouldn't get my hopes up though, I think he is headed back to Nobles.

3. How much can the defense step up their offensive production. Overall, I think Matheson's offensive performance this season was just a tad below what they wanted, Doherty's was average, so was McCoshen's, Santini isn't really a guy you're looking at to score and distribute, and Savage was probably the biggest surprise of the group, recording 18 points on the year. The best part of next year's club is that every defenseman is going to possess the ability to skate north/south and make plays offensively. Our forward group is solid but it isn't what it was this year or what it will be in 2015. Our defensive group on the other hand, is as talented as any group we've ever had, rivaling the legendary D core of the 2009 Terriers. In a perfect world, you would like to see Hanifin and Matheson have 30+ points, McCoshen and Savage record around 23/24, and Doherty/Santini to be around 20. It is, without a doubt, a group to get extremely excited about.

Part two coming up tomorrow or later this week.

Go Eagles.

Matheson Named Captain

Junior Michael Matheson has been named the captain of the 2014-15 Boston College Eagles. Quinn Smith and Mike Sit will be his assistants.

Congrats Mike !