Opponents and Others, 2021-22

[Trotsky]

This is insane.

Just a few weeks after making history when three of their rising sophomores were taken in the top five of the 2021 NHL Draft, the Wolverines were able to announce that No. 1 overall pick Owen Power, No. 2 overall pick Matty Beniers and No. 5 overall pick Kent Johnson would all return for their sophomore seasons

[blackwidow]

This is insane.

Just a few weeks after making history when three of their rising sophomores were taken in the top five of the 2021 NHL Draft, the Wolverines were able to announce that No. 1 overall pick Owen Power, No. 2 overall pick Matty Beniers and No. 5 overall pick Kent Johnson would all return for their sophomore seasons

The team being the Sabres, i guess it was clear Power was always gonna return to UMich.

[scoop85]

Plus they have #4 pick Luke Hughes and #24 pick Mackie Samoskevich coming in as freshmen. Hard to argue that it's not the most talented (on paper) team in NCAA history. Now we'll see if that translates to on-ice performance.

[Beeeej]

Plus they have #4 pick Luke Hughes and #24 pick Mackie Samoskevich coming in as freshmen. Hard to argue that it's not the most talented (on paper) team in NCAA history. Now we'll see if that translates to on-ice performance.

Why, is Ted Donato coaching them?

[Chris H82]

Article about why Matty Beniers is returning to UM, and some detail about entry level NHL contracts.

[Jim Hyla]

Article about why Matty Beniers is returning to UM, and some detail about entry level NHL contracts.

And for some reason he throws this in, "So a top pick not guaranteed an NHL job might find an Ivy League hockey scholarship just as financially valuable as starting his pro career."

Sure!

[billhoward]

NHL rookie contracts are pretty poor in comparison to the other major pro sports. Article did a nice of job of laying out just how miserly.

[marty]

RPI hockey mention...

...along with peeing in the woods.

[scoop85]

RPIS policy, for an outdoor venue, is ridiculous

[CU2007]

RPIS policy, for an outdoor venue, is ridiculous

The problem is the people making the rules seem to get kudos for being extra cautious, and in some cases, that's fine. But you're right, this particular case is completely insane.

[margolism]

Notre Dame lost to the U18 NTDP team today, 4-3.

One of Notre Dame's goalies is pretty good...

[Trotsky]

One of Notre Dame's goalies is pretty good...

Urge to scream rising.

[Scersk '97]

In the CHN preview capsules article:

"Matt [Galajda] got accepted into the business school, but it [came for him] quite late in the process for the Ivy League [to allow grad eligibility]. It was a difficult decision for him to leave a place he loved."

Please excuse my attempt to translate the Schafer-ese.

Ugh. Just ugh. Gut punch. Thanks, Ivy League.

[Trotsky]

Cornell overview from that article:

Cornell
Head Coach: Mike Schafer (26th year)
2020-21 Record: Did Not Play

Changes: Not playing last year, and losing its chance at the postseason in 2019-20, really has done a number on Cornell. It was probably its chance at a national title and this season there will be a lot of new faces in Ithaca. Gone are top scorers Morgan Barron, Tristan Mullin and Cam Donaldson, while defensemen Yanni Kaldis and others have also departed the program. Michael Regush transferred to Miami, and goalie Matt Galajda is at Notre Dame.

"When things broke last year, we had to have conversations with all our guys," Schafer said. "We understood that some of those guys had to do things that were best for them. Matt got accepted into the business school, but it is quite late in the process for the Ivy League. It was a difficult decision for him to leave a place he loved."

Schafer did get a few fifth-year guys to return in Brendan Locke, Kyle Betts and Cody Hasikanen, which should help as he tries to infuse a lot of youth.

"Those three guys are tri-captains," said Schafer. "It was a great sacrifice by them, as those three guys chose for their own reasons to come back and finish their college careers at Cornell. The three of them will be great conduits for us going forward to maintain our culture and provide some good life lessons for our younger players. They are also three really good players."

Strength: Despite losing some of its big name scorers, the Big Red should still be able to fill the net. Locke had 26 points in 2019-20, while names like Betts, Matt Steinberg and Ben Berard have also proven themselves to be capable goal scorers in the past. There is also some talent coming in that should help that and Cornell, while not as deep as they were two seasons ago, should still be able to roll a few lines consistently to wear down opponents.

Weakness: Every few seasons we say Cornell's goaltending will be a question and each time we look like fools, but hey, once again here we are with Cornell entering the season with three goaltenders with zero combined collegiate games under their belt. This season, however, just feels a little different.

"I have no idea (what the goal situation will be). We have three guys that have never played a minute of college hockey," Schafer said. "One of things I know being in the business for so long, is that someone will step up, you just don't know how. We have three great kids that are working hard for that spot.

Outlook: Cornell will have its same lofty expectations, but with the loss of talent and the year off, the number of question marks seem to be higher than usual. Yes, there is still talent abound in the lineup, but the biggest question mark comes in goal, and that may mean it won't be the usual lock for a first-round league tournament bye.

Getting a guy like Locke back was huge for Cornell. There should be goals to be had, and Cornell will always play tough defense under Schafer, so the expectations will again be high in Ithaca. The window for a possible national title may have closed, but it will probably reopen again soon as the Big Red rebuild its war chest.

Prediction: 5th

[Trotsky]

There's also either a typo or bad writing in the article, because its predictions are as follows:

CHN Prediction

01. Clarkson
02. Quinnipiac
03. Harvard
04. Colgate
05. Cornell
06. SLU
07. nobody
08. Dartmouth
09. Brown, RPI
10. Union
11. Princeton
12. Yale

Um.  That doesn't work.

I assume from context they meant to put RPI 7th, but who knows?