Whither Mike Schafer?

[billhoward]

How content is Mike Schafer at Cornell? There's discussion on adjacent threads of whether it's McKee, Moulson or Iggulden who's Cornell's most valuable player. What about if the P in MVP stood for the most valuable person associated with Cornell hockey ... ? I think he's said in the past something to the effect of every coach having a dream of being an NHL coach, which could mean a) he'd like to coach in the NHL or b) Cornell shouldn't be too complacent and think they can ignore funding for the assistants and the rink.

[Will]

Given the current state of the NHL, I think Schafer's here to stay, at least for a few more years.  Also, right now I can't imagine him leaving before Cornell wins a national championship during his tenure.

[KeithK]

Feeling nothing but utter selfishness, I hope the NHL (if they ever need coaches again) decides that the Harkness experiment demonstrates that Cornell coaches, no matter how successful, can never be a force in the big leagues.  So Mike is forced to stay in Ithaca until he retires.  :-)

Your second point is a good one.  There's no guarantee that Schafer will stay at Cornell forever so it is very important that he get support from Athletics.  So far I haven't heard any indications that the team isn't getting the support it needs, but what do I know?

[rstott]

I think Schafer will be here for some time.  I don’t think he’d leave except for a top national hockey program, and I don’t think they’d be interested in him.  Scahfer’s teams are associated with a distinctive defensive, somewhat dull, style of play.  My guess is that the reaction would be “that’s all very well in the ECACHL, but really wouldn’t work in the WCHA, CCHA, HE and even if it did our fans wouldn’t like watching it.”  The alleged problems Cornell has on large ice would be another consideration.

If Schafer still wants to coach in the NHL (he’s said in the past he did) the best way would probably be to take an assistant coaching job with a NHL team and even then it’s a long shot.

[billhoward]

If the NHL wants to think college coaches are not the answer, more's the better for the college game. Maybe they (NHL) should consider a more complex model that includes the perils of bringing in a new guy who didn't spend some time as an NHL assistant learning how the pro players are different from college players ... that one person can't fix a disfunctional team in a couple months ... and that Ned's apparently strong personality type offset the charisma and talent that worked so well in the college game. (OTOH Lou Lamoriello ex-Providence was a real rules and discipline type and he's made the Devils winners by changing the team more slowly and jettisoning the players most averse to some of the seemingly Mickey Mouse rules that followed him from Providence.)

Ther NBA seems to make that mistake over and over, trying to lure the top guys from the college ranks. In Ned's case, the salary difference - what was he making at Cornell when he left, $50K in 1970 dollars? - made a difference. For a Pitino or Calipari, who was already making $1 million plus in salary, TV show, show contracts and speaking engagements, they're already most comfortable.

[Rosey]

For lack of a better way of saying this, Mike specializes in low-budget hockey.  What I mean by this is that Mike takes players of slightly less than stellar caliber (because the best of the best generally accept full scholarships at other programs) and molds them into a team that can compete on the national stage.  They aren't flashy, and offense is clearly a second priority; but since they can frustrate the flashy players from other teams and keep them from scoring, it is generally effective... at this level.

Not clear that it would fly in the NHL, because the talent level is much higher.  He might be able to take a crappy team and turn them into one that makes it far into the playoffs, but I think (as we've seen this year and in 2003) it would ultimately fail late in the playoffs because individual talent at that point is able to overcome inferior coaching.

Also not clear how Schafer would adjust to a different, less defensively-minded system, or whether he would even want to, for that matter.  I personally hope he sticks around because it is my considered opinion that attracting a nationally-competitive offense is a futile proposition for an Ivy League school: there just aren't that many top-notch players smart or driven enough to meet the academic standards, or willing to pay $40,000/year (or some portion thereof when need-based aid is taken into account) when they could be getting paid for the same effort.

See the Ivy League get a lot better all of a sudden in lots of sports when they stop charging tuition entirely.  I bet Harvard does this within 15 years.

Cheers,
Kyle

[billhoward]

Let's hope Tim Taylor has a drink with Mike at the national coaches convention and they talk about how good life can be in a college program. You have to have a lot of respect for Taylor and what he's done at Yale.

There's also the outside chance all big time sports, pro/college, will implode with the steroid scandal - see this weeks' "what have they done to our game" cover in SI - and we'll all scale back to a simpler, gentler college sports environment that would let the Ivies be more competitive. I think there's only a snowball's chance in hell of that happening, but it's worth pondering.

[ugarte]

[Q]krose Wrote:

 For lack of a better way of saying this, Mike specializes in low-budget hockey.  What I mean by this is that Mike takes players of slightly less than stellar caliber (because the best of the best generally accept full scholarships at other programs) and molds them into a team that can compete on the national stage.  [/q]They would have said this about Bill Self a few years ago. Those are the guys who get the chance at the big time. I'm hoping Schafer stays, but his success under restrictions will make him MORE attractive to other programs, not less.

[KeithK]

I don't know if I agree.   Certainly Schafer has designed a system that works well on a "low budget".  But he is recruiting some solid talent - look at the NHL draft picks on the roster.  I think what he has done is design a system that will work given the resources that are available, recruit players who will buy into the system and then make sure that the team has the discipline to play the system.  It's not at all clear that this approach wouldn't work with a higher level of talent at the college or pro level.  Certainly it is harder to force players to do things your way in the pros, but I think it is possible with patience and commitment from ownership.

[mgl11]

Schafer will make the jump to the NHL when Nieuwendyk is ready to take over the ship at Cornell.

Ok, that's really far-fetched -- but Schafer isn't going to be around forever (and I don't see him going to another school...though, I can bet that his phone will ring when Parker or York is ready is step down) and I think Nieuwendyk would be a pretty good draw for recuits....

[DeltaOne81]

The one thing we also have towards him staying here (or at least in the college realm, and I can't ever see Mike leaving for anything less than the NHL or AHL) is that he's known for being such a damn good recruiter, and in the pros, coaches don't do that. Neither does the GM for that matter, 98% of the time, the highest check wins, there's no such thing as recruting, just negotiating.

So who knows if his skill set would transfer over. He's a great strategic coach, but you can't excute a strategy without the right players. Its distinctly possible he wouldn't fair so well in the pros, although he could also do great. The question is if he'd want to risk finding out, and if some team would want to risk it also. Let's hope not

[Scersk '97]

I don't think Nieuwendyk is that far-fetched.  I would'nt be surprised to see Casey Jones, though.

[Rosey]

[Q]DeltaOne81 Wrote:
The question is if he'd want to risk finding out[/q]
There's no saying "you can't go back" that applies here: see Pete Carroll.  So, he could try it, and come back if he doesn't like it.  Not that I'd be in favor of that, but he needs to do what's best for him.

Cheers,
Kyle

[mjh89]

Are the salaries of Schafer, Brekke, and Garrow made public?

[billhoward]

Mark Mazzolini at Harvard was making an estimated $100K last year when he decamped for the Green Bay Gamblers.

The hockey coach's job at Cornell is endowed but you'd only be guessing at the salary from endowment. You could draw down 5% of a $2 million endowment and come up with $100K, but would that be for salary or salary and benefits? Or could the U feel comfortable drawing down 7%-8%?

Assistant coaches have to love the game and/or have a working spouse.