ELynah Forum

Starting the topic for these two, now that the season is over, and the sword of Damocles that's been hanging for what feels like months now.

As per Eric Francis: (https://x.com/i/status/2037965120585003225)

The Flames have sent two front office people to Colorado to talk to Jonathan Castagna about signing with the Flames as early as today. Cornell was eliminated from the NCAA playoffs yesterday, opening the door for the centre acquired in the Weegar trade to join the Flames.

Jane says: (https://x.com/i/status/2037970667044487458)

News on Jonathan Castagna. Would not at all be surprised if he signed. Team left this morning, so by presumption, he's still there.

Flames play in Colorado on Monday.

I guess that's good news/bad news
Good for him
Bad for us

Regardless, it's well deserved and I wish him all the best

Random thought I just had: if the Bruins are so worried about breaking up chemistry right now that they're having Hagens on an ATO with Providence (and trying to force him to wing?), is that perhaps a good omen for Walsh returning for his senior year?

Both will sign. It is what it is unless NIL changes it up but you have to plan on 3 year contention windows now.

So who's gonna be waiting for the guys to return to see if Casty is with them when they get back???

Quote from: fastforward on March 28, 2026, 05:59:02 PMSo who's gonna be waiting for the guys to return to see if Casty is with them when they get back???

It sounds like, between Francis and McNally, Casty is still in Colorado... though I am imagining a world where Flames agents show up in Loveland and try to find a Casty who's already halfway back to Ithaca 😂

Friedman is reporting that Castagna's probably signing. (https://x.com/i/status/2038065624161632377) I got my friend watching the video, she said the quote was that there's "optimism" he's gonna sign in "the next few days".

For context for those who don't know NHL insiders, Friedge is the #1 insider and is almost always on the money. So... :')

Quote from: stereax on March 28, 2026, 06:12:54 PM

Quote from: fastforward on March 28, 2026, 05:59:02 PMSo who's gonna be waiting for the guys to return to see if Casty is with them when they get back???

It sounds like, between Francis and McNally, Casty is still in Colorado... though I am imagining a world where Flames agents show up in Loveland and try to find a Casty who's already halfway back to Ithaca 😂

I heard he isn't flying with the team. He decided to take the bus to honor one of his fans.

Quote from: marty on March 28, 2026, 10:18:58 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 28, 2026, 06:12:54 PM

Quote from: fastforward on March 28, 2026, 05:59:02 PMSo who's gonna be waiting for the guys to return to see if Casty is with them when they get back???

It sounds like, between Francis and McNally, Casty is still in Colorado... though I am imagining a world where Flames agents show up in Loveland and try to find a Casty who's already halfway back to Ithaca 😂

I heard he isn't flying with the team. He decided to take the bus to honor one of his fans.

Good one...

     I never played hockey so I'm not an expert. When Bancroft left Cornell as a junior to go pro, I was kind of surprised. The kid was a sniper and had a hard shot, but was he well rounded enough to turn pro and have legit chance? He seems to be getting more playing time with his new team so maybe this is breakthrough he needed?
     To me, Walsh and Castagna bring much more. Both are better defensively, better on face offs, quicker, etc. I think with Walsh wearing the "C" it made him a little too unselfish at times this season. He's very talented and I think there were a few times he could have "taken over" more than he did.
     Anyway, in my head: "if Bancroft went pro, then surely Walsh and Castagna will go". Would be interested in hearing thoughts from people with more
Knowledge about this.

Quote from: Bluelightning on March 29, 2026, 03:16:33 AMI never played hockey so I'm not an expert. When Bancroft left Cornell as a junior to go pro, I was kind of surprised. The kid was a sniper and had a hard shot, but was he well rounded enough to turn pro and have legit chance? He seems to be getting more playing time with his new team so maybe this is breakthrough he needed?
     To me, Walsh and Castagna bring much more. Both are better defensively, better on face offs, quicker, etc. I think with Walsh wearing the "C" it made him a little too unselfish at times this season. He's very talented and I think there were a few times he could have "taken over" more than he did.
     Anyway, in my head: "if Bancroft went pro, then surely Walsh and Castagna will go". Would be interested in hearing thoughts from people with more
Knowledge about this.

I won't say i have more knowledge - Bancroft either didn't play much for Providence or struggled this year.  I think Calgary presents an opportunity for Castagna, he will be one of a slew of young players trying to establish themselves and will have the opportunity to do that.  As we discussed Boston isn't even giving Hagens an nhl contract yet so it looks like Walsh's path with that team is more complicated.  For both of them it's not clear how much more growth they can experience as players through another year of ECAC hockey.  Would say that especially about Castagna.  Would think those factors are the biggest ones for these kids.

I would caution against anyone assuming anything is a done deal until it's literally a done deal. There are many considerations at play.

Considerations include:

• NHL readiness
• Age
• Organizational pathway (number of players at your position ahead of you)
• Need for money
• Desire to finish degree and graduate with classmates
• Love for Cornell
• Ability to develop further in ECAC versus pros

abmarks directed 15 personal insults at me just for saying this, but I think it's  undeniable that players must weigh different factors and make a difficult decision based on incomplete information. Many players are faced this this decision every year. Some go pro, some return to college. In the case of Bancroft, Castagna, and Walsh, these factors differ among them and none of us can say with any certainty how the final calculus shakes out.

All I can say is that our hopes next year ride heavily on at least one, and hopefully both, of Castagna and Walsh returning.

Quote from: Pghas on March 29, 2026, 09:51:24 AM

Quote from: Bluelightning on March 29, 2026, 03:16:33 AMI never played hockey so I'm not an expert. When Bancroft left Cornell as a junior to go pro, I was kind of surprised. The kid was a sniper and had a hard shot, but was he well rounded enough to turn pro and have legit chance? He seems to be getting more playing time with his new team so maybe this is breakthrough he needed?
    To me, Walsh and Castagna bring much more. Both are better defensively, better on face offs, quicker, etc. I think with Walsh wearing the "C" it made him a little too unselfish at times this season. He's very talented and I think there were a few times he could have "taken over" more than he did.
    Anyway, in my head: "if Bancroft went pro, then surely Walsh and Castagna will go". Would be interested in hearing thoughts from people with more
Knowledge about this.

I won't say i have more knowledge - Bancroft either didn't play much for Providence or struggled this year.  I think Calgary presents an opportunity for Castagna, he will be one of a slew of young players trying to establish themselves and will have the opportunity to do that.  As we discussed Boston isn't even giving Hagens an nhl contract yet so it looks like Walsh's path with that team is more complicated.  For both of them it's not clear how much more growth they can experience as players through another year of ECAC hockey.  Would say that especially about Castagna.  Would think those factors are the biggest ones for these kids.

I definitely mentioned this before on the forums, but with Bancroft the main issue is he wasn't drafted. So when you have legit NHL attention like that it's pretty difficult to say no. Obviously, that doesn't mean being drafted changes everything, but generally when you're drafted, you have a couple of years of conversations with agents, with the team and stuff, and you have more of an idea of where you stand. When you're undrafted and a team comes knocking with an ELC, you really want to sign it because you don't know what's going to happen next year.

Especially with Castagna, I really don't know what a 4th year of NCAA hockey could give him at this point - 65% on the dot, over PPG, etcetera. Doesn't feel like he has much to prove (besides trying to win a national championship, but 63/64 teams a year don't do that). You also kind of have to factor in that if, for example, Casty drops off a cliff next year, it changes the discussions with the team as well.

I also discussed this a couple of weeks ago, but the center depth on the Flames is really, really bad. Like - they probably have the worst centers in the NHL. I think it's Backlund, Frost, Strome, Gross right now? Which is disgusting and not in a good way - Backy is probably a 2C at best, ditto Frost, Strome fell off a cliff, and Gross just signed like a week ago. So there's a ton of opportunity for Castagna to step right into a 3C or 2C role, at least until the end of the year, and then they'll reevaluate.

Notably, since Castagna is a Canadian citizen and the Flames are a Canadian team, he doesn't have to have an entire visa process the way Sacha Boisvert did. That being said, since he would be under contract and thus no longer be a student (he can still take classes of course and finish his current schedule - and I would be surprised if he wasn't back in Ithaca in May to finish his finals), he would still definitely need to have his visa changed to accommodate that. So it might take a couple of days for that to go through - so we might not see him on Monday vs Colorado, but they'll probably fold him into the Flames team at that time.

On Walsh - again, they don't even want to sign Hagens to a professional contract yet, and they're trying to make him a winger for whatever reason? So if the choice is AHL to end the year or finishing up school with the guys in Ithaca, Walsh is probably going to choose the latter because that gives him flexibility for next year. At that point, in the summer, he can just say "I'm going to do next year with the Big Red if you don't give me an ELC" and see where that leads him with the Bruins organization. He seems to be very fond of the Bruins and I do think he's probably going to sign there eventually (especially if they keep him at center, which is a position of weakness right now within the org), but he can always leverage that senior year and play hardball with the org. Because again, once you graduate, you have those 30 days and you can then sign with any team you want. So if the prospects within the Bruins organization don't look too good, Walsh can always do what it sounded like Casty might have done had he not been traded, which is, ultimately, draft dodge and sign with someone else as a college free agent. (Think Jimmy Vesey here.) I mean very notably, since last year, you have Minten and Hagens who have joined the organization - one is currently the top line center and the other probably should be the second line center. Plus, Elias Lindholm is with the organization until 2031, barring a trade. If you look at 27-28, which realistically is probably when you'd expect Walsh to be a full-timer if he signs today, that's three centers already locked in, plus that high Leafs draft pick that might net the Bruins a fourth high-upside center.

I'll also mention that part of the reason Hagens signed now, as opposed to waiting it out until the summer - as I suspect Walsh will - is because both sides wanted him to get professional games in, with the possibility/likelihood of still signing that ELC in a week or two to burn the year. The thing is that if you sign the ELC now, you can't actually be sent down to the AHL. So if they sign Walsh to an ELC now, they have to keep him on the NHL roster until the end of the year. For a guy like Castagna, who the Flames already want in the NHL, that's not a problem. For a guy like Walsh, who the Bruins almost certainly don't want in the NHL this year, that's a problem. You saw guys last year, like Quinn Hutson, sign the ELC and only play a couple of games, being healthy scratched for the rest of them - in those cases, however, the benefit of having the player signed to the ELC (namely, team control for the next few years) was critical. (This Hutson was undrafted and likely could have window shopped for another team that would give him the ELC, given the amount of interest in him.)

My thing is, I'm always a little bit of the opinion that more years in college will help you improve. Not just because I want to see our guys go for 4 years, but college is a distinctly different experience than NHL/AHL professional hockey. When you're in the professional leagues, you have a lot less time to learn the game, train, hit the weight room, etcetera - you're constantly on the move and don't have very much free time to yourself. There are definitely reasons someone may prefer the college experience - even emotionally, not wanting to leave the team after that kind of loss to Denver.

In any case, we'll see what happens. I think I've convinced myself that if Walsh signs (and I can't say for sure that he will), it's going to be over the summer, due to everything I've outlined above.

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 10:57:15 AM

Quote from: Pghas on March 29, 2026, 09:51:24 AM

Quote from: Bluelightning on March 29, 2026, 03:16:33 AMI never played hockey so I'm not an expert. When Bancroft left Cornell as a junior to go pro, I was kind of surprised. The kid was a sniper and had a hard shot, but was he well rounded enough to turn pro and have legit chance? He seems to be getting more playing time with his new team so maybe this is breakthrough he needed?
    To me, Walsh and Castagna bring much more. Both are better defensively, better on face offs, quicker, etc. I think with Walsh wearing the "C" it made him a little too unselfish at times this season. He's very talented and I think there were a few times he could have "taken over" more than he did.
    Anyway, in my head: "if Bancroft went pro, then surely Walsh and Castagna will go". Would be interested in hearing thoughts from people with more
Knowledge about this.

I won't say i have more knowledge - Bancroft either didn't play much for Providence or struggled this year.  I think Calgary presents an opportunity for Castagna, he will be one of a slew of young players trying to establish themselves and will have the opportunity to do that.  As we discussed Boston isn't even giving Hagens an nhl contract yet so it looks like Walsh's path with that team is more complicated.  For both of them it's not clear how much more growth they can experience as players through another year of ECAC hockey.  Would say that especially about Castagna.  Would think those factors are the biggest ones for these kids.

I definitely mentioned this before on the forums, but with Bancroft the main issue is he wasn't drafted. So when you have legit NHL attention like that it's pretty difficult to say no. Obviously, that doesn't mean being drafted changes everything, but generally when you're drafted, you have a couple of years of conversations with agents, with the team and stuff, and you have more of an idea of where you stand. When you're undrafted and a team comes knocking with an ELC, you really want to sign it because you don't know what's going to happen next year.

Especially with Castagna, I really don't know what a 4th year of NCAA hockey could give him at this point - 65% on the dot, over PPG, etcetera. Doesn't feel like he has much to prove (besides trying to win a national championship, but 63/64 teams a year don't do that). You also kind of have to factor in that if, for example, Casty drops off a cliff next year, it changes the discussions with the team as well.

I also discussed this a couple of weeks ago, but the center depth on the Flames is really, really bad. Like - they probably have the worst centers in the NHL. I think it's Backlund, Frost, Strome, Gross right now? Which is disgusting and not in a good way - Backy is probably a 2C at best, ditto Frost, Strome fell off a cliff, and Gross just signed like a week ago. So there's a ton of opportunity for Castagna to step right into a 3C or 2C role, at least until the end of the year, and then they'll reevaluate.

Notably, since Castagna is a Canadian citizen and the Flames are a Canadian team, he doesn't have to have an entire visa process the way Sacha Boisvert did. That being said, since he would be under contract and thus no longer be a student (he can still take classes of course and finish his current schedule - and I would be surprised if he wasn't back in Ithaca in May to finish his finals), he would still definitely need to have his visa changed to accommodate that. So it might take a couple of days for that to go through - so we might not see him on Monday vs Colorado, but they'll probably fold him into the Flames team at that time.

On Walsh - again, they don't even want to sign Hagens to a professional contract yet, and they're trying to make him a winger for whatever reason? So if the choice is AHL to end the year or finishing up school with the guys in Ithaca, Walsh is probably going to choose the latter because that gives him flexibility for next year. At that point, in the summer, he can just say "I'm going to do next year with the Big Red if you don't give me an ELC" and see where that leads him with the Bruins organization. He seems to be very fond of the Bruins and I do think he's probably going to sign there eventually (especially if they keep him at center, which is a position of weakness right now within the org), but he can always leverage that senior year and play hardball with the org. Because again, once you graduate, you have those 30 days and you can then sign with any team you want. So if the prospects within the Bruins organization don't look too good, Walsh can always do what it sounded like Casty might have done had he not been traded, which is, ultimately, draft dodge and sign with someone else as a college free agent. (Think Jimmy Vesey here.) I mean very notably, since last year, you have Minten and Hagens who have joined the organization - one is currently the top line center and the other probably should be the second line center. Plus, Elias Lindholm is with the organization until 2031, barring a trade. If you look at 27-28, which realistically is probably when you'd expect Walsh to be a full-timer if he signs today, that's three centers already locked in, plus that high Leafs draft pick that might net the Bruins a fourth high-upside center.

I'll also mention that part of the reason Hagens signed now, as opposed to waiting it out until the summer - as I suspect Walsh will - is because both sides wanted him to get professional games in, with the possibility/likelihood of still signing that ELC in a week or two to burn the year. The thing is that if you sign the ELC now, you can't actually be sent down to the AHL. So if they sign Walsh to an ELC now, they have to keep him on the NHL roster until the end of the year. For a guy like Castagna, who the Flames already want in the NHL, that's not a problem. For a guy like Walsh, who the Bruins almost certainly don't want in the NHL this year, that's a problem. You saw guys last year, like Quinn Hutson, sign the ELC and only play a couple of games, being healthy scratched for the rest of them - in those cases, however, the benefit of having the player signed to the ELC (namely, team control for the next few years) was critical. (This Hutson was undrafted and likely could have window shopped for another team that would give him the ELC, given the amount of interest in him.)

My thing is, I'm always a little bit of the opinion that more years in college will help you improve. Not just because I want to see our guys go for 4 years, but college is a distinctly different experience than NHL/AHL professional hockey. When you're in the professional leagues, you have a lot less time to learn the game, train, hit the weight room, etcetera - you're constantly on the move and don't have very much free time to yourself. There are definitely reasons someone may prefer the college experience - even emotionally, not wanting to leave the team after that kind of loss to Denver.

In any case, we'll see what happens. I think I've convinced myself that if Walsh signs (and I can't say for sure that he will), it's going to be over the summer, due to everything I've outlined above.

Great take on things, as usual!
Thanks for laying things out!

Quote from: fastforward on March 29, 2026, 01:48:20 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 10:57:15 AM

Quote from: Pghas on March 29, 2026, 09:51:24 AM

Quote from: Bluelightning on March 29, 2026, 03:16:33 AMI never played hockey so I'm not an expert. When Bancroft left Cornell as a junior to go pro, I was kind of surprised. The kid was a sniper and had a hard shot, but was he well rounded enough to turn pro and have legit chance? He seems to be getting more playing time with his new team so maybe this is breakthrough he needed?
    To me, Walsh and Castagna bring much more. Both are better defensively, better on face offs, quicker, etc. I think with Walsh wearing the "C" it made him a little too unselfish at times this season. He's very talented and I think there were a few times he could have "taken over" more than he did.
    Anyway, in my head: "if Bancroft went pro, then surely Walsh and Castagna will go". Would be interested in hearing thoughts from people with more
Knowledge about this.

I won't say i have more knowledge - Bancroft either didn't play much for Providence or struggled this year.  I think Calgary presents an opportunity for Castagna, he will be one of a slew of young players trying to establish themselves and will have the opportunity to do that.  As we discussed Boston isn't even giving Hagens an nhl contract yet so it looks like Walsh's path with that team is more complicated.  For both of them it's not clear how much more growth they can experience as players through another year of ECAC hockey.  Would say that especially about Castagna.  Would think those factors are the biggest ones for these kids.

I definitely mentioned this before on the forums, but with Bancroft the main issue is he wasn't drafted. So when you have legit NHL attention like that it's pretty difficult to say no. Obviously, that doesn't mean being drafted changes everything, but generally when you're drafted, you have a couple of years of conversations with agents, with the team and stuff, and you have more of an idea of where you stand. When you're undrafted and a team comes knocking with an ELC, you really want to sign it because you don't know what's going to happen next year.

Especially with Castagna, I really don't know what a 4th year of NCAA hockey could give him at this point - 65% on the dot, over PPG, etcetera. Doesn't feel like he has much to prove (besides trying to win a national championship, but 63/64 teams a year don't do that). You also kind of have to factor in that if, for example, Casty drops off a cliff next year, it changes the discussions with the team as well.

I also discussed this a couple of weeks ago, but the center depth on the Flames is really, really bad. Like - they probably have the worst centers in the NHL. I think it's Backlund, Frost, Strome, Gross right now? Which is disgusting and not in a good way - Backy is probably a 2C at best, ditto Frost, Strome fell off a cliff, and Gross just signed like a week ago. So there's a ton of opportunity for Castagna to step right into a 3C or 2C role, at least until the end of the year, and then they'll reevaluate.

Notably, since Castagna is a Canadian citizen and the Flames are a Canadian team, he doesn't have to have an entire visa process the way Sacha Boisvert did. That being said, since he would be under contract and thus no longer be a student (he can still take classes of course and finish his current schedule - and I would be surprised if he wasn't back in Ithaca in May to finish his finals), he would still definitely need to have his visa changed to accommodate that. So it might take a couple of days for that to go through - so we might not see him on Monday vs Colorado, but they'll probably fold him into the Flames team at that time.

On Walsh - again, they don't even want to sign Hagens to a professional contract yet, and they're trying to make him a winger for whatever reason? So if the choice is AHL to end the year or finishing up school with the guys in Ithaca, Walsh is probably going to choose the latter because that gives him flexibility for next year. At that point, in the summer, he can just say "I'm going to do next year with the Big Red if you don't give me an ELC" and see where that leads him with the Bruins organization. He seems to be very fond of the Bruins and I do think he's probably going to sign there eventually (especially if they keep him at center, which is a position of weakness right now within the org), but he can always leverage that senior year and play hardball with the org. Because again, once you graduate, you have those 30 days and you can then sign with any team you want. So if the prospects within the Bruins organization don't look too good, Walsh can always do what it sounded like Casty might have done had he not been traded, which is, ultimately, draft dodge and sign with someone else as a college free agent. (Think Jimmy Vesey here.) I mean very notably, since last year, you have Minten and Hagens who have joined the organization - one is currently the top line center and the other probably should be the second line center. Plus, Elias Lindholm is with the organization until 2031, barring a trade. If you look at 27-28, which realistically is probably when you'd expect Walsh to be a full-timer if he signs today, that's three centers already locked in, plus that high Leafs draft pick that might net the Bruins a fourth high-upside center.

I'll also mention that part of the reason Hagens signed now, as opposed to waiting it out until the summer - as I suspect Walsh will - is because both sides wanted him to get professional games in, with the possibility/likelihood of still signing that ELC in a week or two to burn the year. The thing is that if you sign the ELC now, you can't actually be sent down to the AHL. So if they sign Walsh to an ELC now, they have to keep him on the NHL roster until the end of the year. For a guy like Castagna, who the Flames already want in the NHL, that's not a problem. For a guy like Walsh, who the Bruins almost certainly don't want in the NHL this year, that's a problem. You saw guys last year, like Quinn Hutson, sign the ELC and only play a couple of games, being healthy scratched for the rest of them - in those cases, however, the benefit of having the player signed to the ELC (namely, team control for the next few years) was critical. (This Hutson was undrafted and likely could have window shopped for another team that would give him the ELC, given the amount of interest in him.)

My thing is, I'm always a little bit of the opinion that more years in college will help you improve. Not just because I want to see our guys go for 4 years, but college is a distinctly different experience than NHL/AHL professional hockey. When you're in the professional leagues, you have a lot less time to learn the game, train, hit the weight room, etcetera - you're constantly on the move and don't have very much free time to yourself. There are definitely reasons someone may prefer the college experience - even emotionally, not wanting to leave the team after that kind of loss to Denver.

In any case, we'll see what happens. I think I've convinced myself that if Walsh signs (and I can't say for sure that he will), it's going to be over the summer, due to everything I've outlined above.

Great take on things, as usual!
Thanks for laying things out!

Of course! Sorry I yap so much - but hopefully it's useful for those of us that don't follow NHL hockey as much 😅

(If you couldn't tell one of the things I really like about hockey is the contract/cap stuff... now ya know!)

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 01:52:03 PM(If you couldn't tell one of the things I really like about hockey is the contract/cap stuff... now ya know!)

Freakin' lawyers.

 ;D

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 29, 2026, 04:07:39 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 01:52:03 PM(If you couldn't tell one of the things I really like about hockey is the contract/cap stuff... now ya know!)

Freakin' lawyers.

 ;D

😂😂😂 it's so much fun though!

Fun fact, I'm helping a friend with an NHL cap tracker website - it's not online right now because she's doing a ton of bulk data changing things and hasn't had time to update it, but that's also part of where my love of contract stuff comes from, having to figure out the rules for that site :')

Castagna can sign a 3 yr deal this yr or next.  It comes down to getting a degree, playing with teammates.  Does he want to play for the team that drafted him and take that deal or go back into the pool and get drafted again.

Isnt his 3 yr rights done this year?

Quote from: upprdeck on March 29, 2026, 04:34:13 PMCastagna can sign a 3 yr deal this yr or next.  It comes down to getting a degree, playing with teammates.  Does he want to play for the team that drafted him and take that deal or go back into the pool and get drafted again.

Isnt his 3 yr rights done this year?

He can't get redrafted. If he plays another year at Cornell, he'd be a college free agent. Different thing.

And they changed the rules - now, when you start the NCAA, you get 4 years to finish your degree. Pretty sure this is retroactive too. If you expedite it and finish in 3, like Wiebe is doing, then you get 3 years. After you finish, you have 30 days to negotiate with your draft club - if you don't figure it out by then, you become a free agent.

From what I've heard, he's going to finish his degree either way. Wouldn't be surprised if he finishes the credits for it over the summer.

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 29, 2026, 04:07:39 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 01:52:03 PM(If you couldn't tell one of the things I really like about hockey is the contract/cap stuff... now ya know!)

Freakin' lawyers.

 ;D

Could be a future there?

Quote from: marty on March 29, 2026, 04:48:56 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 29, 2026, 04:07:39 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 01:52:03 PM(If you couldn't tell one of the things I really like about hockey is the contract/cap stuff... now ya know!)

Freakin' lawyers.

 ;D

Could be a future there?

I wish...

Francis: (https://x.com/i/status/2038366046160310651)

Flames prospect Jonathan Castagna is waiting at the Flames hotel in Denver, where the team will arrive later today.
The big centre from Cornell, who was acquired in the Weegar trade, has not made a jump to the pros official by signing his name to a contract just yet.
But I'd expect him to be part of the team's morning skate tomorrow.

Too bad. Greatly hurts our chances next season. If only Utah had held onto him we would have had frozen four potential.

I'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Again all projection andd assumption;  just because you feel blindsided clearly by the rapidity of events doesn't mean he is.


You don't know whether his agent came into town or not. 
You don't know how much time he spent talking with his agent or his family since the trade and I think it would be naive to decide that he hadn't. 
You don't know whether he's talked to Casey in the last 2 weeks or even if Casey might have brought it up with Johnny after the trade came down if even in the informal "hey how you feeling about all this" sort of way.

You seem to believe this is all a complete surprise that Calgary would want to sign them as soon as we lost. It's plausible, though I certainly would not say more likely than not, that Calgary and his agent spoke about all sorts of possibilities and one of them was hey. Hey, let's talk as soon as they're out and if they happen to get knocked out in Denver we're going to be there a couple days later so let's all figure this out in Denver cuz we'd love to sign them and have them in the lineup on Tuesday if that happens.

And saying it's just him and the flame's brass implies that the three of them are going to be locked in a room where Calgary's not going to let him leave until he signs under pressure negotiation or something ridiculous like that.   Not having seen any reporting that said castagna is an idiot, kid will be smart enough to have dinner with the people from Calgary or whatever and get the sales pitch but completely defer to his agent to actually handle things.

And if his agent is any good whatsoever and had any concerns about the Calgary  representatives showing up in  Denver and the amount of pressure that might put on Jonathan, than the agent is going to tell Calgary not to show up And tell Johnny not to meet with them at all If they do.

I've talked a bit with Castagna's parents over the years.  They are savvy.  There is no way Jonathan is not an active, willing, and witting participant in everything.  It's not an ambush.  The team is playing it cynically to max out whatever burst of hype they can generate and start the long process of turning him into their cash cow.  The family is playing it to both protect his interests and also help that process since after his servitude that investment rebounds to his market value.

Since it is 99% certain he is gone I can say with as much confidence as anybody not in the actual know that he will definitely complete his degree by whatever means.  The family was impressed and proud of Cornell and comes out of this as potentially amazing ambassadors for us, and if Castagna becomes a star that can only help us down the line.

Everybody wins.  There is a reason Mike bent over backwards to help his players who wanted to jump, was always supportive, never stood in the way, and always made the family the center of the decision.  Not just because he is a good guy, though he is, but because it's the smart play.  You don't sell a car, you sell the next ten cars.

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 08:07:18 AM

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

Did you not read my post? I said that most players know all year whether they will sign. It has been reported that Castagna planned NOT to sign until 2 weeks ago, when he got traded to the Flames, and since then he's been busy with the playoffs. He hasn't had time to think about it. "Stunningly naive," really? What a randomly rude thing to say. Yes, I am fully aware of Martone. The reason he signed right away is because he was planning on doing so all season.

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 08:58:36 AM

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 08:07:18 AM

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

Did you not read my post? I said that most players know all year whether they will sign. It has been reported that Castagna planned NOT to sign until 2 weeks ago, when he got traded to the Flames, and since then he's been busy with the playoffs. He hasn't had time to think about it. "Stunningly naive," really? What a randomly rude thing to say. Yes, I am fully aware of Martone. The reason he signed right away is because he was planning on doing so all season.

Sorry you feel offended, but if you don't believe that a guy like Castagna, along with his family and agent, weren't discussing and planning for this scenario the moment the trade went down, then your post comes off as naive to me. Maybe be others here think like you do, but I suspect the vast majority would take my view.

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 09:05:06 AM

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 08:58:36 AM

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 08:07:18 AM

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

Did you not read my post? I said that most players know all year whether they will sign. It has been reported that Castagna planned NOT to sign until 2 weeks ago, when he got traded to the Flames, and since then he's been busy with the playoffs. He hasn't had time to think about it. "Stunningly naive," really? What a randomly rude thing to say. Yes, I am fully aware of Martone. The reason he signed right away is because he was planning on doing so all season.

Sorry you feel offended, but if you don't believe that a guy like Castagna, along with his family and agent, weren't discussing and planning for this scenario the moment the trade went down, then your post comes off as naive to me. Maybe be others here think like you do, but I suspect the vast majority would take my view.

I'm sure they have been planning for it, but when you're in the most stressful time of the season, and then suddenly it's over, and then the next day you're asked to sign, that does not seem like enough time to make the biggest decision of your life. As I said, these decisions usually take months. In Castagna's case, he knows nobody in the Flames organization, knows nothing about Calgary (he said himself he's never been there). He was planning on going back to school until two weeks ago! 

The timeline is definitely condensed but also, I'd expect if the plan was to not sign in Utah and Utah was aware of that (because at the end of the day, that's still a rumor, and hockey insiders are notorious for spreading rumors to please certain parties and get more information), that Casty and company were also aware that he'd probably be traded at some point and were preparing for it. (Yes, despite Casty saying it was a surprise. It was probably more a surprise he was traded in the Weegar deal than it was he got traded. He was probably expecting something more like the Ike Howard trade.) The timing does look rough, especially if you don't know how, frankly, incestuous hockey is at the top. It's the same group of like, thirty-two GMs and another thirty to fifty agents who do 99% of the contract work. Everyone knows everyone and tampering is always a thing even if they say it isn't.

Jonny Castagna is not stupid. Neither are his parents (who I've talked to briefly at one point), who are certainly in the room with him. Neither is his agent, Patrick Morris, who represents FIFTY current NHL contracts. If they had serious concerns about Calgary being a fit for Casty, someone would step in and get him on a bus back to Ithaca or Etobicoke, Ontario. It's ultimately his choice in the end as to signing, yes, but he has at least three, if not more, strong advocates for him in his corner who are a million times more informed than any of us.

I'm of the opinion (and this is just my pure speculation) that Casty wanted to go pro after this season even dating back closer to the start of it, but that the main thing checking him from doing so was a perceived (and probably correctly so) lack of opportunity with Utah. Once the trade happened, he and his camp have probably been in communication with the Flames on the daily, or close to it, aware of the timeline and cognizant of the ELC burn year. Everyone at this point is aware of what everyone else wants. It's just a matter of getting it done.

(Also, I suspect there's a reason everyone is waiting for the Flames to come into town and for Casty to try to get on the ice with them before signing.)

All this to say - BL does have a valid point in that it looks super rushed. At the same time, the people in the know have probably been working on this for months, at least. Trades don't usually happen overnight. Guys who are on the outs with organizations know that. Possible fits are already being investigated. And there's a reason Casty lost on Friday and hasn't yet signed, whereas Martone lost on Saturday and signed the next day. ELCs are highly standardized; that's likely not the reason why. (I doubt that the contract would be made or broken over A/B bonuses.) It's because everyone is trying to make sure this is the correct decision, that the contract is proper, that Casty's ready to make the jump into the NHL. On all sides. Because you can't go back to Cornell hockey from an NHL deal, so you need to be sure that it's what you want.

Just to be clear--Castagna (reportedly) didn't want to sign with Utah after this season, but he still could have signed with Utah after next season. Yes, he could wait a few months at that point and test free agency, but plenty of players do sign with the team that drafted them after their senior year ends. If this happened, Castagna would have probably gotten an NHL game and burned a year off his entry contract (if I understand correctly how it works). Castagna seems like a loyal guy and I'd guess there'd be a good chance of signing with Utah after all, even if he came back to Cornell next season.

I am certain that Castagna, his family, and his advisor are taking their time as best they can and making as informed a decision as they can. But on such a condensed timeline it doesn't necessarily matter how smart or meticulous you are. He's ultimately going to have to make a rushed decision based on vibes. Like stereax said, there's a reason Martone signed a few minutes after his team was eliminated, and Castagna has not yet signed.

I disagree with one thing stereax said, which is that Castagna wanted to sign close to the start of this season. This I doubt. He had an underwhelming sophomore year. The hype didn't start to build until well into this season. That, plus the fact he'd be buried in the center depth chart in Utah, probably made it so he didn't think much about going pro at all. I would guess that for most of the year he just figured he'd be back for his senior year.

Last thing I'll mention in response to what Trotsky said--Schafer supports his players, whatever they end up choosing. But I wouldn't say Schafer encouraged players to leave. Schafer has said publicly that whenever a player is considering such a decision, Schafer sits down with them and explains what they're giving up: playing at Lynah, graduating with their classmates, Senior Night. Schafer also talked to his players about past Cornell players who have made the jump, and how things turned out for them. This is a measured approach that I'm sure any good college coach employs when his player is faced with this decision. I hope Castagna had the chance to sit down with Casey in the same manner, though I guess that would have been a virtual meeting from Castagna's Colorado hotel if it happened at all.

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 09:05:06 AMSorry you feel offended, but if you don't believe that a guy like Castagna, along with his family and agent, weren't discussing and planning for this scenario the moment the trade went down, ...

I think it is fairly likely that Utah gave Calgary permission to talk to Castagna before making the trade. The idea that his people read about it when we did is unlikely. He has had more time to prepare and a much better sense of what he wanted to do than he's being credited with. Life didn't simply happen to him, he was a participant in it. 

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 10:09:38 AMJust to be clear--Castagna (reportedly) didn't want to sign with Utah after this season, but he still could have signed with Utah after next season. Yes, he could wait a few months at that point and test free agency, but plenty of players do sign with the team that drafted them after their senior year ends. If this happened, Castagna would have probably gotten an NHL game and burned a year off his entry contract (if I understand correctly how it works). Castagna seems like a loyal guy and I'd guess there'd be a good chance of signing with Utah after all, even if he came back to Cornell next season.

The thing is, though, that the reason he was reportedly iffy on signing with Utah (organizational center/forward depth) wasn't going to change in the next year. Again, it seems like an amicable divorce between Casty and Utah, just seems like it wasn't going to work out - and Casty acknowledges as such and is grateful to the Utah organization. Utah being aware of this back in, say, November (that Castagna intended to go pro after this year with a better fit, but was content with staying with Cornell and testing free agency should he not get the chances he's looking for) means they would have had the time to shop him as a piece in bigger trades. Presumably, Casty and company were aware this was a possibility and already had ideas of which teams could fit well vs which would be an uphill climb. Again, though, ultimately none of us are in the room where it's happening.

Quote from: scoop85 on March 30, 2026, 08:07:18 AM

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

Stunningly naive take. Porter Martone signed with the Flyers less than 24 hours after his team lost a game in the most excruciating way that would've sent them to the frozen four.

And Martone was seen on TV at the Center during last nights game in the team box shaking hands and hugging Flyers management.  FWIW, everybody in the organization knew that as soon as MSU's season was done, he was going to sign and start playing immediately.

Hoyt signed with Ottawa.

Quote from: underskill on March 30, 2026, 05:14:15 PMHoyt signed with Ottawa.

Ugh I just heard

Quote from: BearLover on March 30, 2026, 12:29:07 AMI'll say one thing about Castagna—this whole thing about Calgary sending a bunch of execs to his Colorado hotel and putting a full court press on him to sign feels rushed and a little unfair to him. He just got traded and was focused on the playoffs; he's barely had time to think about this! Most players know for most of the season if they plan to go pro when the season is over. We know from reporting that Castagna was NOT going to go pro with Utah this season, meaning he has only had the last two weeks—which, again, were focused on the playoffs—to figure out what he wants to do now. You'd think Jonathan would sit down with not just the Flames but also his family and current team and talk about this. But his team flew back to Ithaca yesterday morning and it's now just him and the Flames brass. I'm sure he's being as thoughtful as he can, but I don't know how you could possibly accurately weigh all the options under these circumstances.

This is EXTREMELY commonplace nowadays, and basically expected. My friendly advice to everyone - if they want to keep their blood pressure in check - is to just assume that any good player with leave after 3 years max. If it doesn't happen, it's an upset.

And there it is:

https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/flames-sign-jonathan-castagna?fbclid=IwdGRleAQ31L9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeoWacU1ZVlpKL38xj-G-J1JNa8GjHAIbYu8P9UzLJG-3469a0loMtqZ3ZhSg_aem_UPKZAg0j0-a3MT-R-x_0iQ

Waaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BOoff-season.

I would guess he was playing through something that was minor enough to tough it out for the ECAC/NCAA postseason, but not worth pushing it at the end of an AHL regular season.

Or he stubbed his toe rushing to sign his contract.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:02:28 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt (https://x.com/i/status/2038744819376492882) and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:05:24 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:02:28 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt (https://x.com/i/status/2038744819376492882) and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

probably some reciprocal obligations in the meantime that are good to have in writing ASAP. you aren't kidding about how you treat your classes!

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 10:39:54 AMI think it is fairly likely that Utah gave Calgary permission to talk to Castagna before making the trade.

Is that allowed?  Wouldn't it be "tampering" (or something) in that it queers other teams' potential competing deals because it gives Calgary an advantage?  Honest question, I have no idea.

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:10:50 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:05:24 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:02:28 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt (https://x.com/i/status/2038744819376492882) and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

probably some reciprocal obligations in the meantime that are good to have in writing ASAP. you aren't kidding about how you treat your classes!

Makes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:13:36 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 10:39:54 AMI think it is fairly likely that Utah gave Calgary permission to talk to Castagna before making the trade.

Is that allowed?  Wouldn't it be tampering in that it queers other team's potential competing deals because it gives Calgary an advantage?  Honest question, I have no idea.

If Utah okays it it's okay. Especially if you're in the tail end of a deal being made, people talk. It's only tampering if someone complains!

Quote from: underskill on March 30, 2026, 05:14:15 PMHoyt signed with Ottawa.

(https://imgflip.com/s/meme/FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU.jpg)

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:02:28 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

That's how I read it too.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

What?  You know it already.

(https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2014%2F0604%2Fbos_g_zimmer_b1_1296x729.jpg&w=267)
_{It is tremendously demoralizing to me that you will not recognize this man with tantalum rivets in his head.}

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

What?  You know it already.

(https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2014%2F0604%2Fbos_g_zimmer_b1_1296x729.jpg&w=267)

I must've forgotten 😂

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A fun tidbit of information for you: apparently USA Hockey's NTDP team also has to sign contracts that they won't do things like aerials while wakeboarding.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:22:02 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

What?  You know it already.

(https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2014%2F0604%2Fbos_g_zimmer_b1_1296x729.jpg&w=267)

I must've forgotten 😂

I told you 9 days ago and you hadn't been drinking.  This does not bode well for the bar exam.

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:24:14 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:22:02 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

What?  You know it already.

(https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2014%2F0604%2Fbos_g_zimmer_b1_1296x729.jpg&w=267)

I must've forgotten 😂

I told you 9 days ago and you hadn't been drinking.  This does not bode well for the bar exam.

I tuned you out when you started talking about the Mets tbf

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:13:36 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 10:39:54 AMI think it is fairly likely that Utah gave Calgary permission to talk to Castagna before making the trade.

Is that allowed?  Wouldn't it be "tampering" (or something) in that it queers other teams' potential competing deals because it gives Calgary an advantage?  Honest question, I have no idea.

nah, nobody but Utah has a contractual right to care if he talks to other teams. it's not unusual in the pros for a guy under contract but enduring irreconcilable differences with ownership to have the agent given the green light to try to drum up interest for a landing spot and facilitate the divorce.

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM_{It is tremendously demoralizing to me that you will not recognize this man with tantalum rivets in his head.}

WAIT THIS IS THE GUY WHO WENT SLEDDING AND CRACKED HIS SKULL OPEN?

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:10:50 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:05:24 PM

Quote from: ugarte on March 30, 2026, 07:02:28 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 06:26:55 PMWaaait...

Castagna's three-year entry-level deal begins in the 2026-27 season, he will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on a PTO for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, and is day-to-day with a lower body injury. He was acquired by Calgary from Utah on March 4.

What?

ATO->ELC isn't uncommon, though I can't say I was expecting it, but LOWER BODY INJURY?

sounds to me like "he's going to finish his classes this semester instead of getting beat up in the AHL while nursing a minor injury"

then why sign the ATO at all? just sign the ELC for next year and come home to Ithaca lol.

Also, the Flames have a video of Casty talking about his signing and he's still in his Cornell hockey shirt (https://x.com/i/status/2038744819376492882) and I might cry on this bus from Syracuse to Ithaca.

probably some reciprocal obligations in the meantime that are good to have in writing ASAP. you aren't kidding about how you treat your classes!

Makes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

plus if he wants to/they want him to, he can access the professional training room.

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 09:29:15 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

Whaaaaat? 

You're sitting there watching everything they do.  How could the customer not notice that they hadn't attached the cord?

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 09:56:05 PM

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 09:29:15 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

Whaaaaat? 

You're sitting there watching everything they do.  How could the customer not notice that they hadn't attached the cord?

No idea. This was in the 90s and that was the story. It was likely exaggerated, but it was enough to stop us.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:26:28 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:24:14 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:22:02 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:19:52 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:19:35 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMno braving the Slope after midnight...

I have a story about that...

Oh boy...

What?  You know it already.

(https://a1.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2014%2F0604%2Fbos_g_zimmer_b1_1296x729.jpg&w=267)

I must've forgotten 😂

I told you 9 days ago and you hadn't been drinking.  This does not bode well for the bar exam.

I tuned you out when you started talking about the Mets tbf

So, from early Friday to early Sunday.

That tracks.

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:39:15 PM

Quote from: Trotsky on March 30, 2026, 07:21:08 PM_{It is tremendously demoralizing to me that you will not recognize this man with tantalum rivets in his head.}

WAIT THIS IS THE GUY WHO WENT SLEDDING AND CRACKED HIS SKULL OPEN?

There ya go.

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 09:29:15 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

"Forgot."

(https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5d7299a5af596b00089f162b/master/w_2240,c_limit/Farrow-JeffreyEpstein-2.jpg)

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 10:04:17 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 09:56:05 PM

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 09:29:15 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

Whaaaaat? 

You're sitting there watching everything they do.  How could the customer not notice that they hadn't attached the cord?

No idea. This was in the 90s and that was the story. It was likely exaggerated, but it was enough to stop us.

I vaguely remember this. I just looked it up:

(https://i.ibb.co/gZK6D8SQ/Screenshot-20260330-222253-Google.jpg)

Wow! Impressive research. Do you work for the CIA?

Seriously I also remember that the operator we were talking to seemed like a stoner (do people still use that term??). So that sealed the deal for us. Back to observing sheep.

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 10:35:36 PMI also remember that the operator we were talking to seemed like a stoner

(https://springfieldfiles.com/albums/signs/0182.JPG)

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 10:35:36 PMWow! Impressive research. Do you work for the CIA?

Seriously I also remember that the operator we were talking to seemed like a stoner (do people still use that term??). So that sealed the deal for us. Back to observing sheep.

Ah.  Not the AJ Hackett operation in Queenstown.  That makes more sense.

Castagna going, going, gone (https://www.nhl.com/flames/news/flames-sign-jonathan-castagna)!  Good luck Jonny!

More (https://cornellbigred.com/news/2026/3/31/mens-ice-hockey-castagna-stanley-nhl-contracts-release.aspx) on Jonny and Hoyt.  We'll miss you guys! 

I looked at every draft pick of the Schafer era and noted their draft year, draft round, and whether they left early. I also indicated whether they had a strong junior season (i.e. there would have been strong desire for their drafting team to sign them after their junior year).

PLAYER, DRAFT YEAR, DRAFT ROUND, LEFT EARLY? STRONG JUNIOR YEAR?

• Jean-Marc Pelletier, 1997, 2nd round, left after 2 seasons, N/A [didn't get much playing time]
• Matt Underhill, 1999, 6th round, did not leave early, Yes (.928 sv%)
• Stephen Baby, 1999, 7th round, did not leave early, Yes (point per game)
• Douglas Murray, 1999, 8th round, did not leave early, Yes (11 goals and point per game as a defenseman)
• Brian Mcmeekin, 1999, 9th round, did not leave early, No
• Matt Mcrae, 2000, 5th round, did not leave early, No
• Mark Mcrae, 2000, 9th round, did not leave early, Yes (point per game as a defenseman)
• Mike Knoepfli, 2001, 9th round, did not leave early, Yes (24 points in 32 games as strong defensive forward)
• David LeNeveu, 2002, 2nd round, left after 2 seasons, N/A [.950 sv% year before he left]
• Dan Glover, 2002, 8th round, did not leave early, No
• Ryan O'Byrne, 2003, 3rd round, left after 3 seasons, Yes (7-6-13 as a defenseman, good at defending)
• Shane Hynes, 2003, 3rd round, left after 3 seasons, Yes (point per game)
• Byron Bitz, 2003, 4th round, did not leave early, Yes (almost a point per game and great defensive forward)
• Mark McCutcheon, 2003, 5th round, did not leave early, No
• Matt Moulson, 2003, 9th round, did not leave early, YES (dominant numbers, 22 goals)
• Ray Sawada, 2004, 2nd round, did not leave early, No (21 points in 32 games)
• John Gleed, 2004, 7th round, did not leave early, No
• Mitch Carefoot, 2005, 8th round, did not leave early, No
• Sasha Pokuluk, 2005, 1st round, left after 2 seasons, N/A [half a point per game as a big D]
• Colin Greening, 7th round, did not leave early, Yes (point per game)
• Tony Romano, 2006, 6th round, went to CHL after one season, N/A [had a good freshman year numbers-wise]
• Justin Krueger, 2006, 7th round, did not leave early, No
• Riley Nash, 2007, 1st round, left after three years, N/A [great college player][a 1st rounder staying 3 years I consider equivalent to a later round pick staying 4 years]
• Braden Birch, 2008, round 6, did not leave early, No
• Sean Collins, 2008, round 7, did not leave early, No
• Nick D'Agostino, 2008, round 7, did not leave early, Yes (8 goals, 20 points as a defenseman)
• Kirill Gotovets, 2009, round 7, did not leave early, No
• Brian Ferlin, 2011, round 4, left after 3 seasons, Yes (point per game)
• Joel Lowry, 2011, round 5, did not leave early, Yes (24 points in 32 games; also had a very good sophomore year)
• Reece Willcox, 2012, round 5, did not leave early, No
• John McCarron, 2012, round 6, did not leave early, Yes (24 points in 32 games)
• Joakim Ryan, 2012, round 7, did not leave early, Yes (8 goals, 24 points as a defenseman)
• Matt Buckles, 2013, round 4, did not leave early, No
• Beau Starrett, 2014, round 3, did not leave early, No
• Anthony Angello, 2014, round 5, left after 3 seasons, Yes (13-13-26 in 33 games)
• Jared Fiegl, 2014, round 7, did not leave early, No
• Dwyer Tschantz, 2014, round 7, did not leave early, No
• Misha Song, 2015, round 6, did not leave early, No
• Matt Cairns, 2016, round 4, did not leave early, No
• Morgan Barron, 2017, round 6, UNKNOWN, Yes (point per game) [Barron was forced to sign due to COVID.]
• Alex Green, 2018, round 4, did not leave early, Yes (7-9-16 in 29 games as a defenseman, defensive defenseman of the year) [Note: Green did sign during the canceled 2021 season, but confirmed on the Big Red Hockeycast that he would have returned for his senior year if not for COVID wiping out the season]
• Matthew Stienburg, 2019, round 3, did not leave early, Yes (point per game)
• Jack Malone, 2019, round 6, did not leave early, No
• Justin Ertel, 2021, round 3, left for CHL after one season, N/A
• Hank Kempf, 2021, round 7, did not leave early, No

I marked in bold the early departures.
I marked in red the players who had strong junior seasons.
I crossed out players who left early for another league besides the pros, or who we cannot say would have gone pro due to COVID knocking out the season.

Analysis:
Cornell had 46 draft picks under Schafer.
I have chosen to exclude Riley Nash from this analysis because I don't think it would be fair to categorize him as either an early departure or a four-year player. He obviously wasn't a four-year player, but keeping a first round pick three years is way better than a program would typically hope for.
Out of 42 draft picks excluding R. Nash and those crossed out, 7 left early. (16.67%)
Out of 18 players who had strong junior seasons, 4 left before their senior year. (22%) Adding LeNeveu to that total (given he had an incredible sophomore season), 5/19 left. (26%)

Conclusions:
Under Schafer, Cornell did an incredible job retaining drafted players through their senior seasons. 16.67% early departures among drafted players is very low. Even more impressive, Cornell retained a huge majority of players who had strong sophomore/junior seasons. In many of these cases, the drafted players ended up signing with their drafting teams anyway. See, e.g., Murray, Moulson, Ryan, Greening, Stienburg, Bitz. And in each of these cases, the player got NHL time. This indicates that in many cases, a player staying four years was not due to their team not wanting them but rather a result of that player desiring to return to Cornell.

It is no surprise that the last three Ivies to make the Frozen Four - Cornell in '03, Yale in '13, and Harvard in '17 - were loaded with seniors who could have gone pro after their junior seasons but chose to return to college.

Unfortunately, this postseason we've already seen two juniors jump to the pros. This includes Hoyt Stanley, who seems like a longshot to have any kind of NHL career. This is an unfortunate development and very atypical in Cornell Hockey history. Going forward, if Cornell wants to compete with more talented programs, it will be critical that our best players stick it out for four years, as they mostly did for the past 30 seasons.

Quote from: BearLover on Today at 12:38:04 PMI looked at every draft pick of the Schafer era and noted their draft year, draft round, and whether they left early.

• Riley Nash, 2007, 1st round, left after three years, N/A [great college player][a 1st rounder staying 3 years I consider equivalent to a later round pick staying 4 years]

Analysis:
Cornell had 46 draft picks under Schafer.
I have chosen to exclude Riley Nash from this analysis because I don't think it would be fair to categorize him as either an early departure or a four-year player. He obviously wasn't a four-year player, but keeping a first round pick three years is way better than a program would typically hope for.
Out of 42 draft picks excluding R. Nash and those crossed out, 7 left early. (16.67%)
Out of 18 players who had strong junior seasons, 4 left before their senior year. (22%) Adding LeNeveu to that total (given he had an incredible sophomore season), 5/19 left. (26%)

Thanks for doing the work. I don't think "this one doesn't feel the same" is as compelling an argument to literally change the results as you think it is.

Thanks for compiling. Correction: Sasha was a first rounder.

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 09:56:05 PM

Quote from: Snowball on March 30, 2026, 09:29:15 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:39:44 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:23:36 PM

Quote from: Jeff Hopkins '82 on March 30, 2026, 07:22:12 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 30, 2026, 07:14:16 PMMakes sense when you put it that way. No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no braving the Slope after midnight...

Bungee jumping isn't that dangerous.

If the cord doesn't snap.

A quick google turned up only two incidents of cords breaking - one in Africa and one in Thailand.  FWIW, I've done the jump in Africa and felt perfectly safe. 

I've also jumped in New Zealand and was told that their operation is monitored by the NZ Government.  Also they change the cords out much more frequently than mandated by the gov't just to be extra safe.

Interesting coincidence: when I was in New Zealand, my sister and I almost went bungee jumping off a bridge. We backed out after finding out that the week before, someone had died—not because the cord snapped, but because they forgot to attach it.

Whaaaaat? 

You're sitting there watching everything they do.  How could the customer not notice that they hadn't attached the cord?

At least it improved the human gene pool!

Schafer did a fantastic job retaining drafted players.  Hopefully this is an anomaly and Jones can retain more players going forward.

However, I do wonder if it is possible to match Schafer's success given the rapidly changing landscape of college sports. 

College football is full of players staying in college longer, but transferring to chase NIL.  I don't know how much that's happening in the college hockey landscape (aside from guys like McKenna) or Cornell's NIL situation, but we may have to adjust expectations going forward regardless of who our coach is.

On that subject, does anybody know what Cornell's NIL situation is (if it even exists), how it compares to other ECAC and national schools, etc.?  Its something I cant find any info on.

Castagna's contract has an AAV of $1,075,000.  I have three degrees from Cornell, but if I was offered $117k (Jon's contract in 1968 dollars), I'd have been gone in a heart beat.  If we want to be a national contender, I think we have to adjust to the new reality. 

We shouldn't go the NIL route like Penn State's $700k deal with Gavin McKenna (think how many full-tuition scholarships that would be), but compare the lifetime earnings of a Cornell grad to a Whatsamatter U alum.  We need to stress that a three-year degree is possible (Morgan Barron '21 got his BS degree in 2020), or you can have a professional hockey career and come back later for your degree (e.g., Anthony Angello '18, BS '??, Dan Ratushny '92, BS '97).  Castagna's a smart guy and I'm sure he'll eventually get his degree.

using your raw data, 6 of the 9 players who departed early were drafted in the first 3 rounds (the exceptions being ferlin, angelo, barron).  also, of the players drafted in the first 3 rounds, 6 of 9 departed early (the exceptions being sawada, starett, stienberg).  higher draft picks come with the reality that they're more likely to leave

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 04:40:48 PM

Quote from: upprdeck on March 29, 2026, 04:34:13 PMCastagna can sign a 3 yr deal this yr or next.  It comes down to getting a degree, playing with teammates.  Does he want to play for the team that drafted him and take that deal or go back into the pool and get drafted again.

Isnt his 3 yr rights done this year?

He can't get redrafted. If he plays another year at Cornell, he'd be a college free agent. Different thing.

And they changed the rules - now, when you start the NCAA, you get 4 years to finish your degree. Pretty sure this is retroactive too. If you expedite it and finish in 3, like Wiebe is doing, then you get 3 years. After you finish, you have 30 days to negotiate with your draft club - if you don't figure it out by then, you become a free agent.

From what I've heard, he's going to finish his degree either way. Wouldn't be surprised if he finishes the credits for it over the summer.

thats the issue, if he gets his degree in 3 yrs he cant comeback to cornell anyway.

Quote from: upprdeck on Today at 03:30:20 PM

Quote from: stereax on March 29, 2026, 04:40:48 PM

Quote from: upprdeck on March 29, 2026, 04:34:13 PMCastagna can sign a 3 yr deal this yr or next.  It comes down to getting a degree, playing with teammates.  Does he want to play for the team that drafted him and take that deal or go back into the pool and get drafted again.

Isnt his 3 yr rights done this year?

He can't get redrafted. If he plays another year at Cornell, he'd be a college free agent. Different thing.

And they changed the rules - now, when you start the NCAA, you get 4 years to finish your degree. Pretty sure this is retroactive too. If you expedite it and finish in 3, like Wiebe is doing, then you get 3 years. After you finish, you have 30 days to negotiate with your draft club - if you don't figure it out by then, you become a free agent.

From what I've heard, he's going to finish his degree either way. Wouldn't be surprised if he finishes the credits for it over the summer.

thats the issue, if he gets his degree in 3 yrs he cant comeback to cornell anyway.

If he decided to do his senior year, he wouldn't finish the credits sooner/over the summer and instead spread everything out over next year. But yeah, if you finish your degree you can't come back haha

Quote from: Beeeej on Today at 01:13:25 PM

Quote from: BearLover on Today at 12:38:04 PMI looked at every draft pick of the Schafer era and noted their draft year, draft round, and whether they left early.

• Riley Nash, 2007, 1st round, left after three years, N/A [great college player][a 1st rounder staying 3 years I consider equivalent to a later round pick staying 4 years]

Analysis:
Cornell had 46 draft picks under Schafer.
I have chosen to exclude Riley Nash from this analysis because I don't think it would be fair to categorize him as either an early departure or a four-year player. He obviously wasn't a four-year player, but keeping a first round pick three years is way better than a program would typically hope for.
Out of 42 draft picks excluding R. Nash and those crossed out, 7 left early. (16.67%)
Out of 18 players who had strong junior seasons, 4 left before their senior year. (22%) Adding LeNeveu to that total (given he had an incredible sophomore season), 5/19 left. (26%)

Thanks for doing the work. I don't think "this one doesn't feel the same" is as compelling an argument to literally change the results as you think it is.

Well, it's certainly not compelling, but honestly there was a good amount of human subjectivity involved here, including defining what is a "strong junior year." FWIW, I think it is appropriate to exclude Pelletier also since he seemingly left due to lack of playing time(?), but I split the difference by only excluding one of the two between him and Nash. Ultimately, I was trying to measure how good Cornell is at getting players to stay. I consider Nash a huge success in that regard, so it felt reasonable to put him in his own category. Notably, I excluded him from the analysis entirely rather than defining him as a success, which I  felt was a fair middle ground.

Quote from: Chris '03 on Today at 01:26:59 PMThanks for compiling. Correction: Sasha was a first rounder.

Thanks. Fixed. I knew that, but mixed him up with Sawada for a moment.

Quote from: bernie on Today at 03:21:08 PMusing your raw data, 6 of the 9 players who departed early were drafted in the first 3 rounds (the exceptions being ferlin, angelo, barron).  also, of the players drafted in the first 3 rounds, 6 of 9 departed early (the exceptions being sawada, starett, stienberg).  higher draft picks come with the reality that they're more likely to leave

That's a good point. Castagna leaving is not surprising for multiple reasons, including the high draft pick. Stanley leaving is surprising.

There are 2 sides to this coin.  Yers, it would be nice to keep great players for 4 years.  On the other hand, for Cornell to take the next steps towards a frozen four berth, they probably need to recruit some players who are first round or high first-round draft picks.  They need that level of speed and skill, and those guys will leave after a year or two.  But for those elite players, thats the pathway now.  Harvard had Laferriere and Coronado a few years back.  Everyone knew those guys weren't playing 4 years.  Now the money issue has reared its head so it remains to be seen how Cornell will be able to pull it off. Say you are Cornell and you are recruiting Gavin McKenna.  What do you offer him?  we will compete for ECAC and national championships, you will play in front of  the Lynah Faithful, but we cannot offer you 700K and probably, since you'll only be here a year, cannot offer you a Cornell degree, though you can always come back here and finish it in a decade or so.  Something will have to give - either schools won't want to waste energy and money recruiting guys who will only be in college for a year and dont have any sense at all of being part of the program long-term, or the schools with more cash to throw around - and the willingness to do it - will win out.  Maybe it becomes a thing where you catch lightning in a bottle and a few guys you dont expect to light it up do.  Or if it comes down to Gavin McKenna for a year, you pony up the $ for that kid and go for it that year.

It's really not college sports in many ways anymore.  Like sports at all levels it is so much about the $. 

Quote from: bernie on Today at 03:21:08 PMusing your raw data, 6 of the 9 players who departed early were drafted in the first 3 rounds (the exceptions being ferlin, angelo, barron).  also, of the players drafted in the first 3 rounds, 6 of 9 departed early (the exceptions being sawada, starett, stienberg).  higher draft picks come with the reality that they're more likely to leave

plus sawada and starett were fine but underperformed their draft position while iirc Stienburg contemplated transferring during the COVID year that would have been his junior year but may have been hurt and delayed his signing.

One note on Pokulok, who got slagged at some point in one of these threads, IIRC he got injured early and often in his pro career.

Quote from: Pghas on Today at 05:24:06 PMThere are 2 sides to this coin.  Yers, it would be nice to keep great players for 4 years.  On the other hand, for Cornell to take the next steps towards a frozen four berth, they probably need to recruit some players who are first round or high first-round draft picks.  They need that level of speed and skill, and those guys will leave after a year or two.  But for those elite players, thats the pathway now.  Harvard had Laferriere and Coronado a few years back.  Everyone knew those guys weren't playing 4 years.  Now the money issue has reared its head so it remains to be seen how Cornell will be able to pull it off. Say you are Cornell and you are recruiting Gavin McKenna.  What do you offer him?  we will compete for ECAC and national championships, you will play in front of  the Lynah Faithful, but we cannot offer you 700K and probably, since you'll only be here a year, cannot offer you a Cornell degree, though you can always come back here and finish it in a decade or so.  Something will have to give - either schools won't want to waste energy and money recruiting guys who will only be in college for a year and dont have any sense at all of being part of the program long-term, or the schools with more cash to throw around - and the willingness to do it - will win out.  Maybe it becomes a thing where you catch lightning in a bottle and a few guys you dont expect to light it up do.  Or if it comes down to Gavin McKenna for a year, you pony up the $ for that kid and go for it that year.

It's really not college sports in many ways anymore.  Like sports at all levels it is so much about the $. 

For Cornell to make a frozen four, they'll either need to recruit better talent OR get their existing talent to stay four years. We get good talent currently. Compared to the best teams in the country, our talent this season was probably on par with the talent of our 2003 frozen four team. A key difference was that our best players on that team stayed all four years. If Castagna, Walsh, Stanley, et al came back next season, we would have had one of our best chances at a frozen four in decades.

One competitive advantage Cornell has over the other top programs is that our degree is worth much more. We should retain players at a much higher rate than other schools. This is our best chance at success.

We are not competitive for the Gavin McKennas and do not even attempt to recruit them.

I'm not naive enough to expect every Castagna to stay four years, but we should be keeping the Stanleys at least. And if a Moulson/Greening/Ryan-level star  comes along who has clear NHL potential but wants to stay through graduation, then we've got a real shot. That sort of thing is probably our best bet to getting back to the frozen four. We can't beat the top programs in talent, but we can at least try to beat them in experience and development.

Quote from: BearLover on Today at 05:44:38 PM

Quote from: Pghas on Today at 05:24:06 PMThere are 2 sides to this coin.  Yers, it would be nice to keep great players for 4 years.  On the other hand, for Cornell to take the next steps towards a frozen four berth, they probably need to recruit some players who are first round or high first-round draft picks.  They need that level of speed and skill, and those guys will leave after a year or two.  But for those elite players, thats the pathway now.  Harvard had Laferriere and Coronado a few years back.  Everyone knew those guys weren't playing 4 years.  Now the money issue has reared its head so it remains to be seen how Cornell will be able to pull it off. Say you are Cornell and you are recruiting Gavin McKenna.  What do you offer him?  we will compete for ECAC and national championships, you will play in front of  the Lynah Faithful, but we cannot offer you 700K and probably, since you'll only be here a year, cannot offer you a Cornell degree, though you can always come back here and finish it in a decade or so.  Something will have to give - either schools won't want to waste energy and money recruiting guys who will only be in college for a year and dont have any sense at all of being part of the program long-term, or the schools with more cash to throw around - and the willingness to do it - will win out.  Maybe it becomes a thing where you catch lightning in a bottle and a few guys you dont expect to light it up do.  Or if it comes down to Gavin McKenna for a year, you pony up the $ for that kid and go for it that year.

It's really not college sports in many ways anymore.  Like sports at all levels it is so much about the $. 

For Cornell to make a frozen four, they'll either need to recruit better talent OR get their existing talent to stay four years. We get good talent currently. Compared to the best teams in the country, our talent this season was probably on par with the talent of our 2003 frozen four team. A key difference was that our best players on that team stayed all four years. If Castagna, Walsh, Stanley, et al came back next season, we would have had one of our best chances at a frozen four in decades.

One competitive advantage Cornell has over the other top programs is that our degree is worth much more. We should retain players at a much higher rate than other schools. This is our best chance at success.

We are not competitive for the Gavin McKennas and do not even attempt to recruit them.

I'm not naive enough to expect every Castagna to stay four years, but we should be keeping the Stanleys at least. And if a Moulson/Greening/Ryan-level star  comes along who has clear NHL potential but wants to stay through graduation, then we've got a real shot. That sort of thing is probably our best bet to getting back to the frozen four. We can't beat the top programs in talent, but we can at least try to beat them in experience and development.

If players find graduating important, they always have the option of finishing it by taking courses remotely throughout their careers or returning to campus upon retirement.

Even the Harvard degree won't keep players from leaving earlier to maximize their probability of success at pro hockey. I think you are overestimating the value of cornell degree

Quote from: Cornell troll on Today at 05:56:22 PM

Quote from: BearLover on Today at 05:44:38 PM

Quote from: Pghas on Today at 05:24:06 PMThere are 2 sides to this coin.  Yers, it would be nice to keep great players for 4 years.  On the other hand, for Cornell to take the next steps towards a frozen four berth, they probably need to recruit some players who are first round or high first-round draft picks.  They need that level of speed and skill, and those guys will leave after a year or two.  But for those elite players, thats the pathway now.  Harvard had Laferriere and Coronado a few years back.  Everyone knew those guys weren't playing 4 years.  Now the money issue has reared its head so it remains to be seen how Cornell will be able to pull it off. Say you are Cornell and you are recruiting Gavin McKenna.  What do you offer him?  we will compete for ECAC and national championships, you will play in front of  the Lynah Faithful, but we cannot offer you 700K and probably, since you'll only be here a year, cannot offer you a Cornell degree, though you can always come back here and finish it in a decade or so.  Something will have to give - either schools won't want to waste energy and money recruiting guys who will only be in college for a year and dont have any sense at all of being part of the program long-term, or the schools with more cash to throw around - and the willingness to do it - will win out.  Maybe it becomes a thing where you catch lightning in a bottle and a few guys you dont expect to light it up do.  Or if it comes down to Gavin McKenna for a year, you pony up the $ for that kid and go for it that year.

It's really not college sports in many ways anymore.  Like sports at all levels it is so much about the $. 

For Cornell to make a frozen four, they'll either need to recruit better talent OR get their existing talent to stay four years. We get good talent currently. Compared to the best teams in the country, our talent this season was probably on par with the talent of our 2003 frozen four team. A key difference was that our best players on that team stayed all four years. If Castagna, Walsh, Stanley, et al came back next season, we would have had one of our best chances at a frozen four in decades.

One competitive advantage Cornell has over the other top programs is that our degree is worth much more. We should retain players at a much higher rate than other schools. This is our best chance at success.

We are not competitive for the Gavin McKennas and do not even attempt to recruit them.

I'm not naive enough to expect every Castagna to stay four years, but we should be keeping the Stanleys at least. And if a Moulson/Greening/Ryan-level star  comes along who has clear NHL potential but wants to stay through graduation, then we've got a real shot. That sort of thing is probably our best bet to getting back to the frozen four. We can't beat the top programs in talent, but we can at least try to beat them in experience and development.

If players find graduating important, they always have the option of finishing it by taking courses remotely throughout their careers or returning to campus upon retirement.

Even the Harvard degree won't keep players from leaving earlier to maximize their probability of success at pro hockey. I think you are overestimating the value of cornell degree

It's less the Cornell degree in itself and more the Cornell degree + being a former Cornell varsity hockey player, which these days basically equates to a guaranteed finance job. Which, BTW, Casey should be (and is) playing up to recruits. Hopefully there can be some kind of formal network soon where he can essentially promise recruits internships. 

You're right though that these days staying four years to graduate now versus later is less of a concern for hockey players who can go pro.