Recruits

With alot of people saying that we have the best recruiting class this coming year, where does everyone see our team down the road?

Also, has anyone seen Matt Mckeown play? What type of player is he?

"Best" here is "best in the conference." I haven't heard anybody call this the best recruiting class in the country, though it may be among them.

Next year will be determined by how last year's freshmen develop. If Hynes, Moulson, Pegoraro and the Abbotts get better, we ought to do okay despite a lot of early defensive lapses and challenge for a first round bye. If they slump, Cornell will have a tough time staying above .500.

Down the road 2-3 years looks great, assuming Coach can close on another great goalie during the coming recruiting season.

A tough time staying above .500? I know you get your shits n giggles in the offseason by being Mr. Anti-Woof, but I think that's going a bit too far. If Cornell were in HEA, then maybe you'd have a point, but for God's sake, who in the ECAC other than Harvard and maybe Dartmouth and SLU can consistently beat Cornell to make them lose more than every other game?

I'm going to have to go with Age on this one. I definitely know how easy it is to be overly optimistic following a couple of good seasons (see 97-98), but especially given our cupcake non-conference schedule, I think this team will be closer to winning 2 of 3 than it is to 1 of 2. Anyone want to take me up on that? For the record, I'm taking .586 (17-12) or better at the end of the RS.

I have no idea how the rest of the league will be, but other than the .500 issue, Greg seems right IMHO (and his). In fact, I'd take his comment about defensive lapses further -- it could be a problem all year. This will be a fairly young team, with freshman and sophomore being asked to do a lot (and upperclassmen being asked to step up their roles), and the key to any good defensive team is discipline, both in terms of not taking bad penalties and keeping the proper position on the ice. It could very well take all season (or longer) for some of the freshman to learn that discipline. We really have no idea.

I saw Matt Mckeown play at this years prospects tourney in Toronto. He led his team in scoring and he has a great touch around the net and is very difficult to move from in front. However this kid loves to hit and i saw him totally destroy several players who tried to skate behind their net with the puck. If your wearing a different color than he is and are moving then look out. The kid plays a lot like Hornby but is a bit bigger heightwise and i think overall a good pickup for Cornell.

Robb '94 wrote:
...I think this team will be closer to winning 2 of 3 than it is to 1 of 2. Anyone want to take me up on that? For the record, I'm taking .586 (17-12) or better at the end of the RS.

Sounds like a poll topic to me.

Take a pill, Age.

I'll go on record that The Big Red will be one of the top three teams in league. The only way this won't happen is if they stop playing as a team.

Also saw the Mckeown kid play twice throughout the year and at prospects. He was very aggressive and does hit very hard...he seems to have a knack of catching you off guard and then punishes you .....also has the ability to put the puck in the net and drives hard to the front of the net.In my opinion will be a very good D1 player.

> I think this team will be closer to winning 2 of 3 than it is to 1 of 2. Anyone want to take me up on that?

Yep, I'll take the "under" of that over/under of .583, for a bucket of Rocks. I figure either I win the beer or the team does better than I expect -- win/win.

Greg wrote:
a bucket of Rocks.

Ah, I see the advertising campaign has had the desired effect on the lingo. I'll think of you guys as I enjoy my next half-liter of Weißbier.

> Yep, I'll take the "under" of that over/under of .583, for a bucket of Rocks. I figure either I win the beer or the team does better than I expect -- win/win.

You're on. I figure either you can buy me the celebratory beer or I'll buy my own beer to drown my sorrows - beer/beer.

Haven't seen any ads for it. Robb and I have already had Rocks in our heads at Albany -- why change a good thing? (Plus, you can't get RR in Oregon except at, and I kid you not, gourmet stores.)

Greg wrote:
(Plus, you can't get RR in Oregon except at, and I kid you not, gourmet stores.)

Really? I can get half-liters of Erdinger Hefeweizen at my local supermarket for like 70 cents each. Of course that's 70 Euro-cents, which is probably about $2 US by now.

JTW, living off his supply of Swiss Francs

[Q]Marty said:

I'll go on record that The Big Red will be one of the top three teams in league. The only way this won't happen is if they stop playing as a team.[/Q]or maybe if they lose a certain goalie. For my mind, as long as he returns we have time for the team to gel around him, and will be a top three team. I can't see him losing more than he wins.

JTW, living off his supply of Swiss Francs

And Swiss references...

(We kid because we care.)

I agree with you Jim. I also think that David wants a degree! I hope I'm right but my clairvoyance leaves a lot to be desired.

How did everyone find out who the new recruits are? I can't find a list of them anywhere. A link, or just their names would be helpful!

Thanks.

[members.aol.com]

[q]JTW Said:
Really? I can get half-liters of Erdinger Hefeweizen at my local supermarket for like 70 cents each. [/q]

Mmmm....Erdinger. I need to go pick up a new case of beer, and I'm probably going to try and get some Erdinger....I quite like it. Right now, I've got 3 bottles of Park Hefeweizen left. It's ok, but it's not astounding. BTW, you never returned my e-mail....we should get together sometime before you leave Deutschland. And 70 cents? Most places around here work out to around 45-50 cents.

Jordan

[canadiens.com]

[q]I think it’s part of the game. You know, getting drafted is just the first step, then the next two years or so you’ve got to work hard and go to college, and I’m looking forward to that. [/q]

Hmmm...

I second the "hmmm." Hopefully Shane Hynes doesn't have similar thoughts, especially after Lenny setting the precedent. Also, I'm sure that one of the things that Schafer originally liked about all these guys was their apparent willingness to truly commit to CORNELL hockey (as opposed to viewing college as a quick stepping stone to the NHL, i.e. looking ahead a little too much), so he might have said a little "hmmm" himself.

(quick side note: now-former Yale forward Chris Higgins - who is grossly overrated in my opinion - was also at the Montreal camp)



Post Edited (07-11-03 18:49)

Yep, grabbing a blue chippah is grabbing a double-edged sword.

If we're going to get 2 years from top picks then we're two years of top picks ahead of before, when they didn't look at us. The only problem I see with this is if a player puts himself and his stats ahead of the team, but Mike will tolerate that... for about one shift.

Maybe I'll feel differently about it if we start losing 2-3 players early *every* year, but for now I just can't wait to see this kid in red.

In my mind, the question is whether having a blue-chipper for two years is better than having a somewhat less talented pleyer for four. Of course, there's no easy answer. The kid who stays for four years may be a better college player as a junior or senior than the blue chipper. Or maybe not. Obviously I'm glad we had Lenny for two eyars even if he left and I'd certainly be happy to have the next Paul Kariya wearing red for one season.

Another question about the article. Do most 18 year olds with draft level talent have "family advisors" (read "unpaid agents" or is this indicative as well?

Regardless, it's nice to be in the position to worry about such things. I bet Union fans don't lose much sleep over whether their guys will stay 4 years (Koenig not withstanding).

A thread on the BCHL board [www.network54.com] about O'Byrne. It starts with an article that was already posted here and then a couple of people comment on his decision to attend Cornell.