Recruits 2024 and Beyond

scoop85

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

I’m curious if we see any Cornell players enter the transfer portal. Competition for playing time next year is going to be fierce. At forward, we subtract Seger and add three freshmen, all of whom seem capable of cracking the lineup, with Major and perhaps Pirtle being very likely good enough to play right away. I wonder if Pirtle goes to the USHL for a year, just because of the playing time issue. Remember, next year we also get back Kovich, who missed almost this entire season with an injury. (With that said, we had very few injuries this year, so we may need depth more next season than we did this year.)

Similarly, at D, we lose nobody and have 6 shoe-ins to play next season who are already on the team. Wolfenberg was a highly regarded recruit but seems to have gotten injured this season. He and Mosko may need to wait for Suda/Rego/Kempf to graduate before seeing regular playing time. (However, we have a bunch more defensemen in the pipeline, so even then…)

Part of the nonsense regarding the fifth year eligibility was that it inflated roster size and made playing time difficult for new recruits. With Penney/O’Leary/Rego all returning, Cornell is finally experiencing some of this. I guess we will see how loyal players like Keopple and Donaldson are to the program. Both of these players on paper should (and maybe ultimately will) get playing time. But the immediate future looks very difficult.

As far as draft picks are concerned, seems the only recruit with a legitimate shot of being drafted is DiGiulian. However, the Cornell player most likely to be drafted may already be on the team (Ben Robertson).

Logically we’d want to hold a slew of these guys back, but I assume at least a few of them may be aging out of juniors (I don’t have time to look it up), so that may not be an option across the board.

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

I’m curious if we see any Cornell players enter the transfer portal. Competition for playing time next year is going to be fierce. At forward, we subtract Seger and add three freshmen, all of whom seem capable of cracking the lineup, with Major and perhaps Pirtle being very likely good enough to play right away. I wonder if Pirtle goes to the USHL for a year, just because of the playing time issue. Remember, next year we also get back Kovich, who missed almost this entire season with an injury. (With that said, we had very few injuries this year, so we may need depth more next season than we did this year.)

Similarly, at D, we lose nobody and have 6 shoe-ins to play next season who are already on the team. Wolfenberg was a highly regarded recruit but seems to have gotten injured this season. He and Mosko may need to wait for Suda/Rego/Kempf to graduate before seeing regular playing time. (However, we have a bunch more defensemen in the pipeline, so even then…)

Part of the nonsense regarding the fifth year eligibility was that it inflated roster size and made playing time difficult for new recruits. With Penney/O’Leary/Rego all returning, Cornell is finally experiencing some of this. I guess we will see how loyal players like Keopple and Donaldson are to the program. Both of these players on paper should (and maybe ultimately will) get playing time. But the immediate future looks very difficult.

As far as draft picks are concerned, seems the only recruit with a legitimate shot of being drafted is DiGiulian. However, the Cornell player most likely to be drafted may already be on the team (Ben Robertson).

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

BearLover

Trotsky
If it's possible to hold guys for another year of USCHO seasoning, now would be when to do it.

17 Forwards and 11 Defenseman fighting for 12 / 6 / +1 slots, respectively, is 9 guys sitting, not including 3 goalies not named Ian Shane.

Since all 14 returning F seem to be keepers, I wonder if we will see one or more drop back? I could see Wallace on the blue line.

If Rayhill has been a healthy scratch for 3 years I guess he will be pursuing a fine career in sports journalism. I don't know if Steele was hurt this season. O'Brien is the next obvious guy on the bubble. Then you get to Kovich and Donaldson and, wow, I guess it's a good problem to have when guys of that caliber are your perma-bench.

This is of course ignoring defections, but also portal raids like Seger. Are there any faceoff specialists or snipers on bad NCHC / HE teams who would like to be the final piece of an F4 team? That's our world, now, and you know Rand will be backing up the truck.

Um, of academics. The truck of academics. Yeah.

No incoming transfers this year. I can assure you of that. There are no roster spots.

BearLover

scoop85

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

I’m curious if we see any Cornell players enter the transfer portal. Competition for playing time next year is going to be fierce. At forward, we subtract Seger and add three freshmen, all of whom seem capable of cracking the lineup, with Major and perhaps Pirtle being very likely good enough to play right away. I wonder if Pirtle goes to the USHL for a year, just because of the playing time issue. Remember, next year we also get back Kovich, who missed almost this entire season with an injury. (With that said, we had very few injuries this year, so we may need depth more next season than we did this year.)

Similarly, at D, we lose nobody and have 6 shoe-ins to play next season who are already on the team. Wolfenberg was a highly regarded recruit but seems to have gotten injured this season. He and Mosko may need to wait for Suda/Rego/Kempf to graduate before seeing regular playing time. (However, we have a bunch more defensemen in the pipeline, so even then…)

Part of the nonsense regarding the fifth year eligibility was that it inflated roster size and made playing time difficult for new recruits. With Penney/O’Leary/Rego all returning, Cornell is finally experiencing some of this. I guess we will see how loyal players like Keopple and Donaldson are to the program. Both of these players on paper should (and maybe ultimately will) get playing time. But the immediate future looks very difficult.

As far as draft picks are concerned, seems the only recruit with a legitimate shot of being drafted is DiGiulian. However, the Cornell player most likely to be drafted may already be on the team (Ben Robertson).

Logically we’d want to hold a slew of these guys back, but I assume at least a few of them may be aging out of juniors (I don’t have time to look it up), so that may not be an option across the board.

I’m not certain what the exact age cutoff is, but I believe only Parker Murray will age out of juniors next season. He is the only ‘03 recruit.

CAS
Wonder if Charlie Major could get drafted this year. He’s currently 7th in the USHL in both goals & total points.

Trotsky
If it's possible to hold guys for another year of USCHO seasoning, now would be when to do it....

If Rayhill has been a healthy scratch for 3 years I guess he will be pursuing a fine career in sports journalism...

Trotsky
USHL. The Times regrets the error.

It was not a shot. Rayhill hosted the Cornell 2024 video and was fantastic. Far better than the "talent" that comes out of Bristol.

BearLover
I think Walsh was a fairly unique case. It’s possible, though. One analog to Robertson is Alex Green, another puck moving D who was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 after his freshman season at Cornell. Green had several inches on Robertson but nowhere near Robertson’s level of production in either juniors or during freshman year.

scoop85

BearLover
I think Walsh was a fairly unique case. It’s possible, though. One analog to Robertson is Alex Green, another puck moving D who was drafted in the fourth round in 2018 after his freshman season at Cornell. Green had several inches on Robertson but nowhere near Robertson’s level of production in either juniors or during freshman year.

While Green was a nice college defenseman, Robertson just has an “it” factor that Green didn’t have. No reason Robertson shouldn’t be a middle to late round pick given his performance. Someone made a comparison to Joakim Ryan, and I agree that Robertson’s ceiling is higher. He also has a lot of Malinski-like qualities.

ugarte

Trotsky
USHL. The Times regrets the error.

It was not a shot. Rayhill hosted the Cornell 2024 video and was fantastic. Far better than the "talent" that comes out of Bristol.

i didn't think it was. it's the offseason and we're arguing in the denver game thread over how much is the right amount of pain to feel. time to get stupid.

CAS
Chase Pirtle is the 2nd highest scoring
‘05 in the BCHL

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

scoop85

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

I recently read a book called “They Did Everything But Win” about the Emile Francis Rangers of the 60’s and 70’s. There were some unflattering passages about Ned in the book; as I’ve heard elsewhere over the years, apparently his Red Wings players largely detested him and his “rah rah” college style approach. Certainly not the first or last time a college coach didn’t work out in the pros.

Swampy

scoop85

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

I recently read a book called “They Did Everything But Win” about the Emile Francis Rangers of the 60’s and 70’s. There were some unflattering passages about Ned in the book; as I’ve heard elsewhere over the years, apparently his Red Wings players largely detested him and his “rah rah” college style approach. Certainly not the first or last time a college coach didn’t work out in the pros.

Question of the Day: Suppose Schafer was to coach for another seven years here, during which time he would win 2 NC's, with the second one being only the second time in NC$$ history that a Division I ice hockey team would go undefeated & untied. After that, he would spend a season as a NHL coach, during which time the pro players would reject him because of his "rah rah" college style.* Then, he would serve three years as the GM of the pro team, after which he would return to coaching college hockey at another ECAC school (not Harvard). There, before he retired, he would win his third NC.

Would you reject this scenario or welcome it?

???????????????

Swampy

scoop85

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

I recently read a book called “They Did Everything But Win” about the Emile Francis Rangers of the 60’s and 70’s. There were some unflattering passages about Ned in the book; as I’ve heard elsewhere over the years, apparently his Red Wings players largely detested him and his “rah rah” college style approach. Certainly not the first or last time a college coach didn’t work out in the pros.

Question of the Day: Suppose Schafer was to coach for another seven years here, during which time he would win 2 NC's, with the second one being only the second time in NC$$ history that a Division I ice hockey team would go undefeated & untied. After that ... he would return to coaching college hockey at another ECAC school (not Harvard). There, before he retired, he would win his third NC.

Would you reject this scenario or welcome it?

Swampy

scoop85

Swampy

Scersk '97

scoop85
With no more games to focus on here’s a late season update for our listed recruits. We have plenty of talent in the pipeline:

I have never seen us line up the talent at center that we seem to have and are bringing in. I have to assume some of those guys are going to be converted to wing, but my god.

IIRC, Dan Lodboa was a forward when he came to Cornell, but Ned (aka "God" ) already had a few good forwards. So, he converted Dan to play as a D. Ned would later say Dan was the best hockey player he'd ever coached.

So, if history were to repeat itself, I'd take it!

I recently read a book called “They Did Everything But Win” about the Emile Francis Rangers of the 60’s and 70’s. There were some unflattering passages about Ned in the book; as I’ve heard elsewhere over the years, apparently his Red Wings players largely detested him and his “rah rah” college style approach. Certainly not the first or last time a college coach didn’t work out in the pros.

Question of the Day: Suppose Schafer was to coach for another seven years here, during which time he would win 2 NC's, with the second one being only the second time in NC$$ history that a Division I ice hockey team would go undefeated & untied. After that, he would spend a season as a NHL coach, during which time the pro players would reject him because of his "rah rah" college style.* Then, he would serve three years as the GM of the pro team, after which he would return to coaching college hockey at another ECAC school (not Harvard). There, before he retired, he would win his third NC.

Would you reject this scenario or welcome it?

*I haven't read "They Did Everything But Win," so I don't know if there's more criticism of Harkness. But here's how Wikipedia describes that brief cup of coffee as a NHL coach: "A veteran and aging Detroit roster had resisted adapting to Harkness's more progressive methods.[5] Things that are commonplace and obvious today, such as no cigar smoking in the locker room between periods and shorter ice shifts caused a mutiny by the veteran players.[5]"

The reference is to: Allen, Kevin; Duff, Bob (Oct 15, 2014). 100 Things Red Wings Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781623689827

Trotsky

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

Schafer goes with a clear #1 in net during the season, but he has also shown flexibility to challenge him and replace him if necessary:

1997: Experimented through the season with Pelletier, settled on Elliott
2000: Burt beat out Underhill who then re-beat out Burt in arguably the only season-long fight
2002: Infamously started with Underhill before figuring out Leneveu was a deity
2007: Started with Davenport, changed to Scrivens
2011: Ran a straight-up Iles-Garman rotation all year
2022: started with McDonald-Howe, changed to Shane.

adamw

Trotsky

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

Schafer goes with a clear #1 in net during the season, but he has also shown flexibility to challenge him and replace him if necessary:

1997: Experimented through the season with Pelletier, settled on Elliott
2000: Burt beat out Underhill who then re-beat out Burt in arguably the only season-long fight
2002: Infamously started with Underhill before figuring out Leneveu was a deity
2007: Started with Davenport, changed to Scrivens
2011: Ran a straight-up Iles-Garman rotation all year
2022: started with McDonald-Howe, changed to Shane.

Is that really true about 2002? And not sure if by 2002 you mean 2001-02 or 2002-03 ... the former, Leneveu got more PT as the season went on, but Underhill started the 2002 ECAC final (and allowed a not great GWG) and the NCAAs. In 2002-03 - Underhill was gone.

Chris '03

adamw

Trotsky

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

Schafer goes with a clear #1 in net during the season, but he has also shown flexibility to challenge him and replace him if necessary:

1997: Experimented through the season with Pelletier, settled on Elliott
2000: Burt beat out Underhill who then re-beat out Burt in arguably the only season-long fight
2002: Infamously started with Underhill before figuring out Leneveu was a deity
2007: Started with Davenport, changed to Scrivens
2011: Ran a straight-up Iles-Garman rotation all year
2022: started with McDonald-Howe, changed to Shane.

Is that really true about 2002? And not sure if by 2002 you mean 2001-02 or 2002-03 ... the former, Leneveu got more PT as the season went on, but Underhill started the 2002 ECAC final (and allowed a not great GWG) and the NCAAs. In 2002-03 - Underhill was gone.

I recall 2002 being platoon almost all year with the exception of a couple weeks underhill was hurt?

Chris '03

adamw

Trotsky

BearLover
I just got scooped…by scoop! Seriously, I was in the middle of typing out a very similar post. I agree with much of what you said. I’m not sure how it would work regarding the goalie situation—will the Cornell coaches hold one of them back in juniors? Frankly, whoever comes next year will just be waiting behind Shane anyway, so I don’t think it makes much sense from either Cornell’s or Katz’s/Roest’s perspective for them to both matriculate next year.

Schafer goes with a clear #1 in net during the season, but he has also shown flexibility to challenge him and replace him if necessary:

1997: Experimented through the season with Pelletier, settled on Elliott
2000: Burt beat out Underhill who then re-beat out Burt in arguably the only season-long fight
2002: Infamously started with Underhill before figuring out Leneveu was a deity
2007: Started with Davenport, changed to Scrivens
2011: Ran a straight-up Iles-Garman rotation all year
2022: started with McDonald-Howe, changed to Shane.

Is that really true about 2002? And not sure if by 2002 you mean 2001-02 or 2002-03 ... the former, Leneveu got more PT as the season went on, but Underhill started the 2002 ECAC final (and allowed a not great GWG) and the NCAAs. In 2002-03 - Underhill was gone.

I recall 2002 being platoon almost all year with the exception of a couple weeks underhill was hurt?

Give My Regards
I recall the same, at least for the regular season; Underhill got all the postseason starts. I also don't think the coaches had any trouble figuring out what they had with Leneveu, as he wound up splitting time with Underhill despite Underhill's 2000-01 season in which he became the first Big Red goaltender to post a sub-2.00 GAA since Cropper in 1970.

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

BearLover

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

Well said. I am not involved with junior hockey, but from following recruiting, college success is certainly difficult to predict. We’ve even seen players be drafted by NHL teams and struggle to make Cornell’s lineup (eg. Cairns, Tschantz, Song) or barely produce. I agree with you that putting up a lot of points in the USHL is the surest sign of college success. But still far from guaranteed. Dwyer Tschantz put up really good numbers in the USHL, for example. In his case I think he suffered some injuries, but I’m pretty sure he was a healthy scratch a lot too.

The Donaldson situation seems particularly aberrational. Seventh in the BCHL in points/4th in goals, but can’t crack the lineup as a sophomore. Did he plateau once he got to college? Is he unreliable on defense? Does Cornell have a glut of left shot forwards? Looking purely at the junior hockey numbers of the forwards in last year’s freshman class, it would have been impossible to tell that Bancroft (insane numbers in the OJHL, which is weaker than the BCHL) would be the best performer, then DeSantis (very good numbers in the USHL), then Wallace (good numbers in the USHL), then Donaldson (fantastic numbers in the BCHL). Obviously, hockey (and especially Cornell Hockey) is way more than just offensive numbers—maybe that’s the point.

One thing notable about all of this is that Donaldson and Keopple and the other guys not seeing the ice haven’t entered the transfer portal. At other programs, players like them would have bolted the minute the season ended (or sooner). It says a lot about how Schafer runs the team that these guys are sticking with it.

marty

BearLover

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

Well said. I am not involved with junior hockey, but from following recruiting, college success is certainly difficult to predict. We’ve even seen players be drafted by NHL teams and struggle to make Cornell’s lineup (eg. Cairns, Tschantz, Song) or barely produce. I agree with you that putting up a lot of points in the USHL is the surest sign of college success. But still far from guaranteed. Dwyer Tschantz put up really good numbers in the USHL, for example. In his case I think he suffered some injuries, but I’m pretty sure he was a healthy scratch a lot too.

The Donaldson situation seems particularly aberrational. Seventh in the BCHL in points/4th in goals, but can’t crack the lineup as a sophomore. Did he plateau once he got to college? Is he unreliable on defense? Does Cornell have a glut of left shot forwards? Looking purely at the junior hockey numbers of the forwards in last year’s freshman class, it would have been impossible to tell that Bancroft (insane numbers in the OJHL, which is weaker than the BCHL) would be the best performer, then DeSantis (very good numbers in the USHL), then Wallace (good numbers in the USHL), then Donaldson (fantastic numbers in the BCHL). Obviously, hockey (and especially Cornell Hockey) is way more than just offensive numbers—maybe that’s the point.

One thing notable about all of this is that Donaldson and Keopple and the other guys not seeing the ice haven’t entered the transfer portal. At other programs, players like them would have bolted the minute the season ended (or sooner). It says a lot about how Schafer runs the team that these guys are sticking with it.

It says a lot about the players too. Think of a second string wrestler who is essentially the practice partner for a first stringer. John Irving, the author, talks about not being able to complete 4 years at Pitt (I think it was Pitt) as a practice partner. And he thinks those that can do that have character that many do not.

marty

BearLover

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

Well said. I am not involved with junior hockey, but from following recruiting, college success is certainly difficult to predict. We’ve even seen players be drafted by NHL teams and struggle to make Cornell’s lineup (eg. Cairns, Tschantz, Song) or barely produce. I agree with you that putting up a lot of points in the USHL is the surest sign of college success. But still far from guaranteed. Dwyer Tschantz put up really good numbers in the USHL, for example. In his case I think he suffered some injuries, but I’m pretty sure he was a healthy scratch a lot too.

The Donaldson situation seems particularly aberrational. Seventh in the BCHL in points/4th in goals, but can’t crack the lineup as a sophomore. Did he plateau once he got to college? Is he unreliable on defense? Does Cornell have a glut of left shot forwards? Looking purely at the junior hockey numbers of the forwards in last year’s freshman class, it would have been impossible to tell that Bancroft (insane numbers in the OJHL, which is weaker than the BCHL) would be the best performer, then DeSantis (very good numbers in the USHL), then Wallace (good numbers in the USHL), then Donaldson (fantastic numbers in the BCHL). Obviously, hockey (and especially Cornell Hockey) is way more than just offensive numbers—maybe that’s the point.

One thing notable about all of this is that Donaldson and Keopple and the other guys not seeing the ice haven’t entered the transfer portal. At other programs, players like them would have bolted the minute the season ended (or sooner). It says a lot about how Schafer runs the team that these guys are sticking with it.

It says a lot about the players too. Think of a second string wrestler who is essentially the practice partner for a first stringer. John Irving, the author, talks about not being able to complete 4 years at Pitt (I think it was Pitt) as a practice partner. And he thinks those that can do that have character that many do not.

Pghas

marty

BearLover

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

Well said. I am not involved with junior hockey, but from following recruiting, college success is certainly difficult to predict. We’ve even seen players be drafted by NHL teams and struggle to make Cornell’s lineup (eg. Cairns, Tschantz, Song) or barely produce. I agree with you that putting up a lot of points in the USHL is the surest sign of college success. But still far from guaranteed. Dwyer Tschantz put up really good numbers in the USHL, for example. In his case I think he suffered some injuries, but I’m pretty sure he was a healthy scratch a lot too.

The Donaldson situation seems particularly aberrational. Seventh in the BCHL in points/4th in goals, but can’t crack the lineup as a sophomore. Did he plateau once he got to college? Is he unreliable on defense? Does Cornell have a glut of left shot forwards? Looking purely at the junior hockey numbers of the forwards in last year’s freshman class, it would have been impossible to tell that Bancroft (insane numbers in the OJHL, which is weaker than the BCHL) would be the best performer, then DeSantis (very good numbers in the USHL), then Wallace (good numbers in the USHL), then Donaldson (fantastic numbers in the BCHL). Obviously, hockey (and especially Cornell Hockey) is way more than just offensive numbers—maybe that’s the point.

One thing notable about all of this is that Donaldson and Keopple and the other guys not seeing the ice haven’t entered the transfer portal. At other programs, players like them would have bolted the minute the season ended (or sooner). It says a lot about how Schafer runs the team that these guys are sticking with it.

It says a lot about the players too. Think of a second string wrestler who is essentially the practice partner for a first stringer. John Irving, the author, talks about not being able to complete 4 years at Pitt (I think it was Pitt) as a practice partner. And he thinks those that can do that have character that many do not.

I think there is a sense of accomplishment for a player at just getting to a certain level. If you have put in the work and effort to make it to playing in prep school, or in college, or at Cornell, how much more is there? That's not to say these kids dont want to play or care, but to many of them, academics may be the more important part of this picture (and should be). They aren't going to the NHL, they play varsity hockey at Cornell, and maybe they dont get into as many games as they'd like. Just being part of that team, at that level, where you all consider every guy just as important as the next, and going to a great school - who can blame a kid for not wanting to transfer to Union or Clarkson or even Yale or Brown? At some point it is not just the single-minded purposeness of climbing the hockey ladder, it’s also about your life experience and path.

marty

BearLover

Pghas
My understanding is that Wishart is headed to play at Middlebury.

Such a difficult thing to predict who will develop and how. Guys who lit it up in juniors sometimes get to college and are a little fried and maybe don't push as much as they once did. Or maybe they hit a ceiling while other kids really do not. I have a son who is a good player and what they tell you is that as you move up you have to improve and dominate at every level that you reach. That's hard to do! I think its safe to say that the USHL is largely D1 commits and that provides the highest level of competition for players to develop so that's probably the best place to play if you're a D1 commit. So expect a kid like Charlie Major to come in and contribute immediately a la Ryan Walsh. Sean Donaldson dominated the BCHL which is different. Jacob Kraft didnt dominate but put up great numbers for Cedar Rapids in the USHL. DeGiulian was drafted by the Lincoln Stars and my understanding is he will play juniors for a least a year.

As my son's coach put it this year, you're not playing college hockey until you're on the ice playing college hockey!

Well said. I am not involved with junior hockey, but from following recruiting, college success is certainly difficult to predict. We’ve even seen players be drafted by NHL teams and struggle to make Cornell’s lineup (eg. Cairns, Tschantz, Song) or barely produce. I agree with you that putting up a lot of points in the USHL is the surest sign of college success. But still far from guaranteed. Dwyer Tschantz put up really good numbers in the USHL, for example. In his case I think he suffered some injuries, but I’m pretty sure he was a healthy scratch a lot too.

The Donaldson situation seems particularly aberrational. Seventh in the BCHL in points/4th in goals, but can’t crack the lineup as a sophomore. Did he plateau once he got to college? Is he unreliable on defense? Does Cornell have a glut of left shot forwards? Looking purely at the junior hockey numbers of the forwards in last year’s freshman class, it would have been impossible to tell that Bancroft (insane numbers in the OJHL, which is weaker than the BCHL) would be the best performer, then DeSantis (very good numbers in the USHL), then Wallace (good numbers in the USHL), then Donaldson (fantastic numbers in the BCHL). Obviously, hockey (and especially Cornell Hockey) is way more than just offensive numbers—maybe that’s the point.

One thing notable about all of this is that Donaldson and Keopple and the other guys not seeing the ice haven’t entered the transfer portal. At other programs, players like them would have bolted the minute the season ended (or sooner). It says a lot about how Schafer runs the team that these guys are sticking with it.

It says a lot about the players too. Think of a second string wrestler who is essentially the practice partner for a first stringer. John Irving, the author, talks about not being able to complete 4 years at Pitt (I think it was Pitt) as a practice partner. And he thinks those that can do that have character that many do not.

Swampy
I also think there's a great sense of accomplishment working one's way off the bench and onto the ice. I'd like to think everyone that Schafer recruits has this ethos that the journey is the destination.

marty
It says a lot about the players too. Think of a second string wrestler who is essentially the practice partner for a first stringer. John Irving, the author, talks about not being able to complete 4 years at Pitt (I think it was Pitt) as a practice partner. And he thinks those that can do that have character that many do not.

arugula
Ah, ok. Folks have been talking about him as if he still had a draft year.

Trotsky

arugula
Ah, ok. Folks have been talking about him as if he still had a draft year.

I think he is typically mentioned as a blue chip free agent.

randyranger
Robertson will be 20 this September. To be eligible for the ‘24 draft you have to be under 20 on 12/31/24