Class of 26 Graduates Thread

[BearLover]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

If you want a team of draft picks, you have a team with a lot of early departures. The CBA sets that up. Now more than ever.

So either we lament not enough picks but have a lot of four year guys or we celebrate better perceived talent and know that the best guys are three year deals. Frustrating but reality.

Good luck to the guys leaving. I hope they represent Cornell well and are good examples of the program developing pros so more high level talent continues choosing Cornell.

Asking earnestly: what changed under the CBA recently such that more players would leave early? It has been true for many years that a team has four years to sign a player after they matriculate, no?

Yep. The new CBA rules say you have 30 days of exclusive negotiation after the completion of either the degree or 4 years of study, whichever comes first. Before, it was a flat 4 years iirc, which really sucked when you drafted an 18 year old, he played in the USHL for a bit, and then you either had to sign him after his sophomore year or lose him.

That being said, if guys WANT to do 4 years and then sign with their draft team, they're still very much able to. Teams don't want that though because of the worry of draft dodging once you finish year 4. Unless they're pretty ambivalent about the guy as a whole and think he caps out as an AHLer you can call up occasionally, they're gonna push to sign after 3, which sucks, but it is what it is.

Right, but that means the latest CBA is no worse (and actually slightly better) for retaining players than it's been in the past. Which is why I'm surprised Stanley is leaving given that traditionally this type of player has stayed four years.

[stereax]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

If you want a team of draft picks, you have a team with a lot of early departures. The CBA sets that up. Now more than ever.

So either we lament not enough picks but have a lot of four year guys or we celebrate better perceived talent and know that the best guys are three year deals. Frustrating but reality.

Good luck to the guys leaving. I hope they represent Cornell well and are good examples of the program developing pros so more high level talent continues choosing Cornell.

Asking earnestly: what changed under the CBA recently such that more players would leave early? It has been true for many years that a team has four years to sign a player after they matriculate, no?

Yep. The new CBA rules say you have 30 days of exclusive negotiation after the completion of either the degree or 4 years of study, whichever comes first. Before, it was a flat 4 years iirc, which really sucked when you drafted an 18 year old, he played in the USHL for a bit, and then you either had to sign him after his sophomore year or lose him.

That being said, if guys WANT to do 4 years and then sign with their draft team, they're still very much able to. Teams don't want that though because of the worry of draft dodging once you finish year 4. Unless they're pretty ambivalent about the guy as a whole and think he caps out as an AHLer you can call up occasionally, they're gonna push to sign after 3, which sucks, but it is what it is.

Right, but that means the latest CBA is no worse (and actually slightly better) for retaining players than it's been in the past. Which is why I'm surprised Stanley is leaving given that traditionally this type of player has stayed four years.

Yeah, when the NCAA-CHL agreement went through, they had to change the rules on draft right length because then you'd have CHL guys entering the NCAA and the like.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting Stanley to leave - if you told me a dman was signing I'd guess Fegaras if only because Dallas perennially needs right-shot defensemen. But, I mean, Casey's been bringing in more dmen for this year too. So we get into chicken-egging whether Stanley saw the writing on the wall or if he wrote it himself, lol.

[adamw]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

If you want a team of draft picks, you have a team with a lot of early departures. The CBA sets that up. Now more than ever.

So either we lament not enough picks but have a lot of four year guys or we celebrate better perceived talent and know that the best guys are three year deals. Frustrating but reality.

Good luck to the guys leaving. I hope they represent Cornell well and are good examples of the program developing pros so more high level talent continues choosing Cornell.

Asking earnestly: what changed under the CBA recently such that more players would leave early? It has been true for many years that a team has four years to sign a player after they matriculate, no?

That, in particular, hasn't changed in a while.  My point is just that everything is more fluid now. Expect a lot more turnover each year. Now, this is all relative. I'd expect Cornell to be relatively insulated from transfers as compared to many other schools (not entirely immune, but OK shape). But still, players are changing teams faster than underwear right now. If Casey and the staff want to keep up, they need to constantly be on the lookout for new players to bring in. And rightfully so, you've even said it yourself.  So that may squeeze players out - and it's just a mindset that 4 years is kinda like, a lost thing. The coaching staff has to be perpetually prepared to lose players, and that mindset just seeps in and becomes like a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a sense. Again, relatively, maybe not so much at Cornell. But it's pervasive and so it would stand to reason there will be a trickle down effect on Cornell.

By the same token - as I've said before the start of each of the last few years when there's been doom and gloom about the upcoming season's prognosis - this is so commonplace in college hockey now, that I wouldn't expect Cornell to be any worse off (and maybe better) than most other teams in this regard. Players will come and go more frequently, but they also have a lot of avenues to replace them.  This is happening everywhere. Half of the teams in college hockey must have had 10 new players on their roster - some as many as 17 - this season. That would be ridiculously unheard of even 6-7 years ago.

And if by some miracle, you can keep that to 5 or 6, regardless of who it is, you're in great shape.

[Dafatone]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

Maybe we're working with different definitions of rebuilding? I think replacing all those players from last year to this year was tougher than replacing a few top players from this year to the next. Especially given how good our freshman class looked this season.

Now, if you're looking for pessimism, I don't think there's been enough talk about the possibility that some players leave unexpectedly via transfer portal.

Fair enough - I guess I'm using "rebuilding year" as a euphemism for "down year," which I expect next year to be even more so than I did this past season.

As for possible transfers, well, yeah, that's always been a possibility. Given no one has transferred other than Robertson I'd think it's unlikely we lose any impact players that way, but obviously no one can say.

I'm more optimistic about next year than I was this year. Fewer guys to replace, and Casey is less of a question mark in my mind (if he ever was one).

[BearLover]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

If you want a team of draft picks, you have a team with a lot of early departures. The CBA sets that up. Now more than ever.

So either we lament not enough picks but have a lot of four year guys or we celebrate better perceived talent and know that the best guys are three year deals. Frustrating but reality.

Good luck to the guys leaving. I hope they represent Cornell well and are good examples of the program developing pros so more high level talent continues choosing Cornell.

Asking earnestly: what changed under the CBA recently such that more players would leave early? It has been true for many years that a team has four years to sign a player after they matriculate, no?

Yep. The new CBA rules say you have 30 days of exclusive negotiation after the completion of either the degree or 4 years of study, whichever comes first. Before, it was a flat 4 years iirc, which really sucked when you drafted an 18 year old, he played in the USHL for a bit, and then you either had to sign him after his sophomore year or lose him.

That being said, if guys WANT to do 4 years and then sign with their draft team, they're still very much able to. Teams don't want that though because of the worry of draft dodging once you finish year 4. Unless they're pretty ambivalent about the guy as a whole and think he caps out as an AHLer you can call up occasionally, they're gonna push to sign after 3, which sucks, but it is what it is.

Right, but that means the latest CBA is no worse (and actually slightly better) for retaining players than it's been in the past. Which is why I'm surprised Stanley is leaving given that traditionally this type of player has stayed four years.

Yeah, when the NCAA-CHL agreement went through, they had to change the rules on draft right length because then you'd have CHL guys entering the NCAA and the like.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting Stanley to leave - if you told me a dman was signing I'd guess Fegaras if only because Dallas perennially needs right-shot defensemen. But, I mean, Casey's been bringing in more dmen for this year too. So we get into chicken-egging whether Stanley saw the writing on the wall or if he wrote it himself, lol.

Oh I think it's very unlikely Stanley left because he was worried about losing his spot on PP1 haha. It's certainly the reverse - Casey recruited in an extra D because he knew of likely early departures. 

[stereax]

Y'all thought this year was the rebuilding year?

We lost more than half our active roster last offseason.

Yes, meaning that next year an overwhelming majority of our team is going to be underclassmen.

Maybe we're working with different definitions of rebuilding? I think replacing all those players from last year to this year was tougher than replacing a few top players from this year to the next. Especially given how good our freshman class looked this season.

Now, if you're looking for pessimism, I don't think there's been enough talk about the possibility that some players leave unexpectedly via transfer portal.

Fair enough - I guess I'm using "rebuilding year" as a euphemism for "down year," which I expect next year to be even more so than I did this past season.

As for possible transfers, well, yeah, that's always been a possibility. Given no one has transferred other than Robertson I'd think it's unlikely we lose any impact players that way, but obviously no one can say.

I'm more optimistic about next year than I was this year. Fewer guys to replace, and Casey is less of a question mark in my mind (if he ever was one).

Plus, our freshman (gah, I hate first-year, can't we say freshperson or something else instead?) class is now a sophomore class. Which is pretty important too, since now they know how shit works.

Now I'm wondering who gets the captaincy and alternates, especially if Walsh signs.

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

[ugarte]

the good news about bringing in drafted guys is that someone else has evaluated them positively. the bad news about bringing in drafted guys is that someone with deep pockets is watching their progress closely. you have to accept that these things are a tandem deal. if you want to compare recruiting classes based on number of draft picks you are also accepting a higher than normal attrition. it's not good news that our best players are leaving but it's not surprising so i'm not going to crash out over it.

next year is whatever next year is. it sure as hell won't be the first year i've been invested in a frustrating team in this sport or any other.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

Well, that would mean he could argue with the ref on his inevitable way to the box.

[stereax]

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

Well, that would mean he could argue with the ref on his inevitable way to the box.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

Well, that would mean he could argue with the ref on his inevitable way to the box.

Sick.   

[Snowball]

Very funny.

I don't think we should panic. If Fegaras leaves, I'm confident Casey can recruit another elite talent capable of logging one penalty minute per game.

[stereax]

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

Well, that would mean he could argue with the ref on his inevitable way to the box.

Sick. 

Fixed it. Please laugh.

[stereax]

Very funny.

I don't think we should panic. If Fegaras leaves, I'm confident Casey can recruit another elite talent capable of logging one penalty minute per game.

I got a list.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I think few things would terrify me as much as Fegaras with a letter 😂

Well, that would mean he could argue with the ref on his inevitable way to the box.

Sick. 

Fixed it. Please laugh.

Wow, you truly are a lemur on coke.

[Snowball]

I did laugh

HOW do u do all that so quickly? Do you have a whole staff behind you?