May
11, 2008
10
for '09: Burning Questions - Part I
We're only a few weeks removed from the 2008
national championship game, but here at Inside College Hockey
we can't resist casting our gaze toward the future. A lot
can change between now and the drop of the puck in October,
but that doesn't stop our 10 For '09 feature.
We already took an early look at the
top 10 teams and the top
10 Hobey candidates headed into next season. Now we
take an early look at 10 burning questions for the 2008-09
season. We start with the first half of the questions, covering
topics ranging from surprise teams to the future of television
coverage in college hockey.
Which teams will be the pleasant
surprises of the 2008-09 season?
Putting this section together is tantamount
to picking three numbers on a 58-space roulette wheel. Still,
the odds never prevent us from taking a spin every year.
|
Trevor Bruess led
Minnesota State in scoring with 30 points during his
sophomore campaign. He's one of the reasons we think
the Mavericks will contend for WCHA honors and a berth
in the NCAA Tournament. |
Minnesota State: Do the Mavericks really count
as a breakout prospect? After all, they did win 19 games
and finish in a tie for fourth in the WCHA last season.
It might be a cop-out, but anything less than a top-five
league showing, a trip to the WCHA Final Five, and an NCAA
tournament berth for Minnesota State this time around would
be a disappointment. Mike Zacharias is back in goal for
the Mavs, and coach Troy Jutting also welcomes all but three
players from last year's team into the fold for 2008-09.
Northeastern: The Huskies broke out in the
first half of last season – on Jan. 18, they were
11-5-3 and 8-4-2 in Hockey East play. Then they broke down,
losing 13 of their final 18 games. Coach Greg Cronin hopes
the second-half slump was a learning experience because
everybody – and with all but forward Jimmy Russo coming
back, we mean everybody – is along for the ride this
time around. Forward Joe Vitale and goalie Brad Thiessen
are the centerpieces, and forwards Wade MacLeod and Tyler
McNeely hope to build off solid rookie seasons.
Northern Michigan: The Wildcats were the anti-Huskies,
starting the season by losing eight of its first nine, but
going 19-12-4 thereafter. Part of the slow start was due
to unlucky scheduling – the Wildcats’ first
three league series were against Michigan, Michigan State,
and Miami. Assuming coach Walt Kyle's team doesn't open
against the Penguins, Red Wings, and MoDo in 2008-09, NMU
should challenge for a top-four finish in the CCHA and an
NCAA tournament berth behind junior goalie Brian Stewart
and a pair of sophomores – sniper Mark Olver and puck-moving
defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
• The artist-formerly-known-as-CSTV
was heralded for bringing college hockey to the fore, but
reduced its commitment this past season. What is the future
of the television situation as it pertains to college hockey?
Regional sports networks will continue to
be the best source for college hockey coverage, and the
growth of online streaming video can provide access to people
all over the world. Entities like B2 Networks provided a
valuable resource in the online community allowing fans,
families, and alumni to see games involving their teams
from the comfort of home. The Fox Sports networks in addition
to other regional carriers such as NESN, Altitude, and SportsNet
New York provide a traditional resource and are becoming
more widely available through satellite packages. Niche
networks such as the Big Ten Network focus on an even more
highly concentrated market, and those may continue to grow.
The WCHA even began discussions on creating its own network
during the recent end-of-season meetings in Florida. Other
conferences may follow with "game of the week"
type packages on regional networks.
• Will we continue to see college
players leave for the professional ranks before they exhaust
their college eligibility? How about players leaving mid-season
as Kyle Okposo did?
Some of the best off-ice news from the recently
completed campaign was the beginning of dialogue between
the National Hockey League member clubs and the NCAA ice
hockey committee in finding ways to maintain college hockey's
requirements regarding amateur status and the NHL's utilization
of college hockey as a place where drafted players can develop.
Until official changes are written into the
collective bargaining agreement pertaining to the NHL draft
and the rights of the drafted players and NHL teams, the
best that college hockey fans can hope for is a verbal assurance
from professional teams that they won't raid college rosters
for quick solutions and instant roster help.
The other thing to consider is the player's
perspective. Unsatisfactory academic performance, off-ice
conduct, or personal financial circumstances could cause
players to make the decision to sign professional contracts
and strive for goals they've likely held since youth hockey.
• Frozen Four sites have been
established through 2012. What do you think of the event
and what do you see in store for its future?
Murmurs during the past Frozen Four in Denver
indicated that the NCAA was already committed to announcing
Frozen Four sites in the near future for the years beginning
2013 and beyond. That turned out to be an incorrect rumor,
but it doesn't mean that the future of the Frozen Four is
not worthy of discussion.
As a quick refresher, the next four Frozen
Four cities and sites are as follows: 2009 – Washington,
D.C. – Verizon Center; 2010 – Detroit –
Ford Field; 2011 – St. Paul, Minn. – Xcel Energy
Center; 2012 – Tampa, Fla. – St. Pete Times
Forum.
With the exception of the 2010 event held
in Detroit's football stadium, the arenas and markets share
the common trait that they are NHL arenas in significantly
sized markets. The NCAA has shown that it's not afraid to
award its signature event to cities (St. Louis, Washington,
D.C., and Tampa) and venues that aren't in traditionally
strong college hockey markets, and yet, the loyal college
hockey fans have traveled in strong numbers and sold out
every session of the event for the last nine years.
The game's popularity remains at a high level
as die-hard fans continue to show their loyalty. The sell-out
streak will likely continue in the nation's capital, but
will come to an end in the massive football stadium. The
trend is that big cities with professional arenas will continue
to land the bids, which will likely be an unfortunate result
for past Frozen Four regular stops like Providence, Albany,
and Milwaukee.
Which coaches need to see their programs
get positive results in the very near future in order to
keep their jobs?
Assuming no head coaches get turfed between
now and the start of the 2008-09 season, there will have
been a total of three vacancies in the last two off-seasons
– two of them at Alaska. So that means one of two
things: either schools are happy with their current coaching
situations, or we're on the verge of spate of changes. Three
high-profile possibilities:
Tim Whitehead, Maine: It's hard to argue with
Whitehead's success – six trips to the NCAA tournament
and four Frozen Four appearances in his seven seasons behind
the Black Bears' bench. And even though one would think
Whitehead would be safe in spite of last season's 13-18-3
overall record and ninth-place finish in Hockey East play,
which marked just the second time Maine failed to qualify
for the league postseason tournament, scuttlebutt out of
Orono is that the natives are restless. Another subpar showing
could heighten the clamor.
Scott Sandelin, Minnesota Duluth: Since guiding
the Bulldogs to 28 wins and a berth in the 2004 Frozen Four,
Sandelin's teams have won 15, 11, 13, and 13 games, respectively,
and in his eight seasons at UMD, the Bulldogs have finished
in the top half of the WCHA standings twice. Unless something
changes soon, UMD risks becoming a perennial also-ran in
the conference behind Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota,
North Dakota, St. Cloud State, and Wisconsin, and one could
argue that the Michigan Tech and Minnesota State programs
currently have more forward momentum.
John Markell, Ohio State: Markell's Buckeyes
are only three years removed from the last of three consecutive
trips to the NCAA tournament and it was four years ago that
OSU won the CCHA playoff championship. Given its resources
and name appeal, this program should be a perennial top-20
program nationally, not finishing 11th in the 12-team league
as OSU did in 2007-08. The Bucks had a solid crop of freshmen
last season; this year's group, featuring British Columbia
Hockey League standouts Zac Dalpe and Taylor Stefishen,
could be even better. But talent has to translate to wins
… and soon.