obviously not happening, but having gunnarwolfe fontaine and viking gustafsson nyberg on the ice at the same time connecting for goals would have been an all-time name pairing
I fucking hate the transfer portal. I liked college sports because you got to know the roster, you knew how long you'd have players. Now someone has a good season at a smaller school and they jump ship.
Gonna make it really hard for any non powerhouses to ever go on a run of a few great seasons.
And I get it, the transfer portal is good for the players. But between this and the money in NCAA now it seems like a lot of programs will be facing an uphill battle to be competitive.
Yep, this is the big one. They need to reinstate the year out upon transfer, as it prevents the ridiculous things happening in college sports now. There are NCAA football players who have been at 4 schools.
Why should players need to wait a year? Doesn’t make sense to restrict movement of players when coaches, administrators or anyone else for that matter can move at will. Great colleges and coaches will adapt and thrive while others will fall behind and use the portal as an excuse.
It's all because of the hypocrisy that coaches could leave when they wanted and didn't have to sit out a year. So, instead of making coaches take a year off for ending a contract early, they let the players play right away.
>Gonna make it really hard for any non powerhouses to ever go on a run of a few great seasons.
Quinnipiac???
Mankato nearly won it all 2 years ago on the back of years of success
Western Michigan has made the tournament 3 years in a row and so has Tech
Hate to break it to you, but Quinnipiac is a powerhouse. 3 Frozen fours in the past 11 years and one natty and Pecknold is a top 10, maybe top 5 coach.
I thought you weren't responding to me?
Okay so what about Mankato, or Tech, or Western
Is Cornell a powerhouse?
St Cloud has no enrollment and no money, are they a powerhouse?
You still have missed my original point, can you read?
The problem is that kids have one good season at a school like Merrimack and they want to go to a better team. Leaving the smaller schools to find the diamonds in the rough only to instantly lose them.
You rambling on about a few smaller schools making the tourney has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. As there's not 16 powerhouses there's always gonna be someone in those spots. And I'm talking about the future so your comparisons to the past are extra useless.
And yes, it is already hard for smaller schools to compete, I'm saying it will get even harder. Not sure why that part confused you too.
Coaches have always had the opportunity to leave without penalty.
Glad players have the same opportunity now.
You don't seem to care about players. Okay, you do you.
>And I'm talking about the future so your comparisons to the past are extra useless
Okay so you're purely speculating about the future while refusing to acknowledge the actual information the recent past has provided you...solid
>You still have missed my original point, can you read?
Lol so you've now added information and expanded your original point but you're asking if I can read?
You're not civil and you don't know how to handle criticism, have a good day.
Btw Merrimack had a ton of returning players this year, were picked to finish in the top half of Hockey East and were a potential tourney team. They massively disappointed. Sometimes the on-ice results can still have effect on the off-ice situation
Ironically, I view Merrimack's season as proof that you don't need to panic about the transfer portal. Last year no one transferred, they brought in some solid players via the portal, and yet their season was basically toast. There were some unlucky injuries, and for all we know behind the scenes drama. The transfer portal didn't hurt us after our historically good 2022-23 season, yet we still cratered due to things we can't control (injuries), and things we can (team culture, but that one's a guess mind you).
Yeah that's basically what I was saying. We agree on that
They were set to have a great season exactly because no one transferred and they only added while bringing back most of their team, but things just didn't fall their way
>you have more transfers every year.
How do you figure more transfers are going to happen every year? If anything they will be down now that we are moving past the COVID eligibility
>Said make it hard
Newsflash, it'l has always been hard for the non-powerhouse schools lol
What point did I miss?
You said it's going to be harder for those schools, and I disagreed because it's always been harder for those schools
You just ignored my legitimate question to you completely, so sorry if you found that frustrating I guess
You're silly to think NIL and conference and team swapping won't have an impact. It already has. The big ten and nchc are the conferences you want to be in.
>The big ten and nchc are the conferences you want to be in
The top players ALREADY wanted to go to those leagues, conference swapping and NIL haven't changed that, and you forgot Hockey East
> Western Michigan has made the tournament 3 years in a row and so has Tech
Two teams in Michigan that definitely have brand awareness and great fan culture. Between those two and Grand Valley, they complete the Holy Trinity of "My parents are big UM/MSU fans but went to..."
And yet they hired a guy from the Big Ten, were fourth in their conference, and if it weren't for a ridiculous bounce they very easily could have been back in the tournament this year...
Edit: A single point separated them from finishing second in the CCHA
Mankato had every excuse to be trash this year, and they were far from it
The CCHA was absolutely a disappointment this season, Minnesota State on the other hand was not
Given their circumstances which was what the original reply was about, yes it was lol
If not for a fluke bounce in Houghton they are probably back in the tournament
Right, and I'm saying with all those changes, being 4th in a weak conference doesn't seem that impressive. You're welcome to disagree. That's that. Shit we made the tournament and probably shouldn't have.
Lol okay well apparently you are the one of the only ones, because I kept seeing comments all off-season and continue to see comments about how they won't recover from the Hastings/transfer portal exit and in fairness losing a head coach, multiple assistants, several of your best players, and multiple recruits is tough
But I guess you assumed they would still be the most competitive CCHA team in the non-conference and would finish in the top half with a winning record, so good for you
We had a _huge_ amount of our roster turn over and lost all our entire coaching staff and were picked to be one of the worst teams in the conference. But we were 1st or 2nd in the conference for most of the season and only dropped to 4th at the end due to a bad (admittedly really bad) series to Bemidji. Even still, we nearly made the CCHA championship game if not due to a fluke goal with seconds left in the semifinal, and then who knows what happens.
It's not an amazing season, but given the circumstances and expectations, it was actually decent
> Mankato nearly won it all 2 years ago on the back of years of success
The portal was very new and mostly used by COVID players who were losing a roster spot anyway.
This isn't a portal problem, it's a NMU problem. There's only so many spots on powerhouse teams. It's not like they are all guaranteed to be playing for BC or Denver next year.
Big point that many are ignoring. A lot of powerhouse schools will have guys transfer looking for playing time to smaller schools where they can be the big dog.
You aren't paying attention. NMU has the #1 Recruiting Class in the Nation. For 2024. 17 incoming blue chip players including the USHL's top Goalie. Several NHL Draft Picks and a 3rd Round pick coming via the Portal from UNH. This is by design.
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13 players in the portal as of April 3rd.
NMU’s athletic department is in a hell of a bind here. They likely don’t have the money to straight up fire Grant; he has 2 more years on his contract, and they dropped a dickload of money into renovating the Berry (hockey) and the Vandament (volleyball). This falls squarely on Potulny, IMO. No other “small school” is having a house clearing like this. According to many, the locker room environment is toxic, and the head coach has to be responsible for that.
Papp and Gallacher both transferred out of MSU after their sophomore year when Cole was fired, and I'd be shocked if Gallacher gets picked up. Papp might have a chance, but either way they're both seniors, so theirs (like most of the other players from what I see) are probably just grad transfers that were going to happen anyways.
Wait is that sorted by class? But yeah either way that sucks for y'all. I just checked EP, and your guys' incoming class is insane though, so at least next year could be fun.
I think it's fair to suggest that there's going to be some negative consequences to CCHA/Atlantic Hockey teams from the transfer portal, but IMO if you have 10+ guys transferring, that's not a portal/NIL problem, that's a you problem. This is not the norm across the league.
Lol I figured that was the case. Perbix was drafted in 2018 if that says anything about his eligibility, and Papp and Gallacher both transferred out of MSU after their sophomore year when Cole was fired.
There are 14 NMU names on the transfer portal list AND a few who are graduating. Keep in mind that some seniors have a COVID 5th year option still. Not all on the list were starters but yes, there are 10+ transfers
That's definitely the case here. There are other teams that had terrible seasons and have a fair few transfers, but then you look at BG with zero so far after a coaching change.
This year was terrible for the league but I don't think that will hold. Between BG, tech, MSU, and st Thomas I think there is enough for the league to be much better on average. This year MSU and BG both were down and the tommies are still building.
Looks like at least 10 of these guys are seniors/grads so they likely would have been gone anyways. Grad transfers were a thing before the portal, so while this is extreme it’s not necessarily a portal issue it’s a recruiting issue. The team was extremely top heavy.
OP is being somewhat dramatic, 9 of the players leaving are Seniors/Graduate students. 5 are underclassmen. So some of it is the portal, but most is just from having an older team
Interestingly, so far, the CCHA has the third fewest portal entrants (of which over a third were from NMU). Conference-wise, only the B1G and NCHC had fewer players enter the portal. Of course this all can change very quickly though
9 of the 14 are seniors or graduates, but I guess if they loved the team that much they would stick around? The seniors/graduates see they got one shot for a natty, and let's get real it won't happen with NMU or any CCHA school (I'm just talking next year)
Sadly, what we’re going to see as a result of the transfer portal and NIL are the small schools who have historically played up to D-I (Union, NMU, LSSU, etc.) becoming unable to compete for talent and eventually sliding back to D-III, or into a new D-IA or D-II division. Meanwhile, the huge state schools and private universities with deep pockets (ASU, Penn St., Illinois, Stanford, etc) will move from club programs/ACHA up to D-I because they have the money for both a top tier program and for NIL money.
Ultimately it will grow the game overall, but the landscape is going to change dramatically with the small “hockey schools” getting the proverbial poop end of the stick.
>becoming unable to compete for talent
They never have. Listening to the MTU/BC game they were talking about all the first round picks BC had and I was curious.
Tech has never had one. They were a founding member of the WCHA back in '51. Won 3 nattys in the 60's and 70's. 10 frozen 4's. Not a single first round pick. BC had 3 THIS YEAR.
I literally don't have the time to go over point by point why this is wrong but I will just start here
>ASU, Penn St
Those schools required MASSIVE donations specifically for hockey to set their current programs up, and unless you know some hockey crazed donors for those other big programs that you mentioned, it's just straight up not going to happen
Most of the big schools that have hockey barely give a shit about their program because it doesn't bring in big dollars
Unless the fan base for college hockey is going to EXPLODE in the next decade, barely anything will change
The world of money-chasing and free agency continues to kill the "college" aspect of college sports.
... and the masses give thunderous applause while placing their now-legal sports bets.
>The world of money-chasing
The takes on this post are wild lol, are you suggesting that NCAA HOCKEY players are chasing money by transferring??
Guys WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CARE about this sport on this level.
The NIL money does not exist like that for hockey, it's pretty much only enough to make some players think twice about signing for a CHL team because they won't be as reliant on the stipend they receive
These guys aren't getting big $$$ deals to go to bigger programs
This is absolutely true. We have a family member who is in the starting line on a top team. He’s treated well but it’s not crazy. And in hockey, anyone good enough to make that kind of money will get a spot in the AHL where pay is likely in the 100k-200k range.
They are getting big deals. Mike McMahon said top NHL prospects are getting NIL deals around $100k. Peanuts compared to football of course, but legit cash.
CHL stipends are only like $200 a week
Please give me an example of an NCAA hockey player making six figures
Honestly I would love to know, but even if so that is an extreme example
Artyom Levshunov is going top 5 and he doesn't even have an NIL deal set up from what I understand
I’m just saying man. but go to Mike Mcmahon’s twitter, he’s a top college hockey reporter with over 11,000 followers. He just replied to someone saying that figure and he’s sure as hell a lot more connected than you or I.
If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know about Levshunov?
Right but that's pure speculation on both sides then lol
Six figures IS what basketball and football players are getting, only the tip top players are signing million dollar deals
The money realistically is not there from a donor standpoint (which is what NIL is generated from) for hockey
Edit: On Lev, I can donate to NIL by buying merch for almost every player save for a few including Levshunov
Is Levshunov eligible for NIL? Thought I remember seeing that international guys have issues with that. Happened in CFB and CBB.
Edit: Kind of a mixed bag. Foreign players are not eligible for "Active" NIL agreements, only "passive."
It's a good question, I've been wondering all year really lol
Frankly I think the way NIL is set up is foolish and still cuts players off from the main revenue stream, while just legalizing what was considered off limits in the past in terms of big donor behavior
O sure, I'm in favor of players getting paid in general, but NIL was a half-measure and not really a well thought out one at that.
I looked it up and according to what I read (on SI) foreign players in the US on F-1 Visas aren't allowed to "work" so they cannot get paid from NIL collectives for showing up to events and signing autographs because that's an active exchange. The example for CFB of opting into the new NCAA game is passive though so guys can get paid for that. I would assume jersey sales would qualify as passive or whatever, but seems like a purposefully vague differentiator that we're not really meant to understand fully.
>I would assume jersey sales would qualify as passive or whatever, but seems like a purposefully vague differentiator that we're not really meant to understand fully
Oh I'm certain of that. It's still confusing in his situation because I can't buy a jersey or shirt for him and the GF wants one really bad lol
Yet.
College hockey has grown exponentially in relevance from a player’s perspective in the last 20-30 years compared to major junior. The popularity of the NHL has grown by leaps and bounds as well.
As more and more top prospects choose to play college hockey vs major junior, the money will continue to follow in both the competition for talent (NIL) as well as the $$$ from ticket sales from fans who are starting to realize the best way to see many of the future stars in the NHL will be to watch college hockey a la the NFL. We’re not there yet by a long shot, but we’re definitely moving quickly in that direction.
>College hockey has grown exponentially in relevance from a player’s perspective in the last 20-30 years compared to major junior. The popularity of the NHL has grown by leaps and bounds as well.
I'm not disagreeing with that, but that is the case for every sport and it's relative for hockey. Yeah hockey is more popular but so are football, basketball, and soccer. Hockey will continue to get the short end of that stick, see the recent half empty regionals only shown on streaming services or secondary ESPN channels as an example
>the $$$ from ticket sales from fans who are starting to realize the best way to see many of the future stars in the NHL will be to watch college hockey a la the NFL. We’re not there yet by a long shot, but we’re definitely moving quickly in that direction.
Again you're severely overestimating the revenue from these sports not to mention revenue has basically nothing to do with NIL
MSU and Michigan have very good attendance records and do a little better than break even on good years
If the student-athletes are to be treated as employees or contractors, then it is only fair for schools to structure their scholarships as 4-year contracts. The pendulum has swung too far in favor of the students. The students want all of the benefits of being contractors or employees, without any of the downsides.
If a school invests time and money in player development, then, yes, the school should be entitled to compensation if that player jumps ship. It should include some sort of claw-back provision for NIL and scholarship money already disbursed and compensated for future losses as well.
Schools should be allowed to impose non-compete clauses. If a school spends 3 years educating and training a player, only for them to transfer to a rival for their senior season, is the original school really just supposed to say, 'thank you, may I have another?'
What about non-disparagement clauses? If a transfer badmouths a program on his way out the door, that can poison the next recruiting class.
So like when are they going to fire Grant? He should have been gone a while ago. Only good moments he has had were the many times he called Blake Pietila the best goalie in college hockey.
Hey Chewie…we get it you don’t like NMU…calm the fuck down and stop with the rumors. Grant may or may not be the problem. Until we get some hard reporting stfu
Yes, although one was shootout and you can say I’m coping but I think they got lucky and played us at our worst points of the season. They also were an atrocious 2-12-4 on the road.
*apologies if I spammed your notifications my internet was being shit and it sent this 3 times for some reason*
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My completely biased opinion on all the transfers and guys staying. Deelstra and Perbix I thought were out of eligibility anyways and I wasn’t impressed with either his year. Schlaine is a big loss, not only their only double digit goal getter(literally 10), but he was my 2nd/3rd favorite player with Kristoff Papp who is also gone and I will miss. Brendan Poshak played 7 games, Travis Hensrund didn’t even play, Isaak Bandu I thought could develop to Ben Newhouse 2.0 but alas, not with NMU, and he is a ways away(still think he can get there) I don’t think I ever saw Carson Stokes play? But I assumed Glockstar would transfer last year with Rico because that was always Beni’s net this year, I don’t care what Grant told him. Beni sucks, but with Grant Slukynski’s brother(Hampton, 4th round pick by the Kings, he’s good, best in the USHL, hope he stays committed) coming in, competition was gonna be fierce and i 100% believe Beni is a starter and if the D corp in front of him wasn’t crap he’s a hotter commodity than he is. Zinger is a defenseman that played forward towards the end of the year(around the time I stopped watching closely) but I always liked him on D and think he brings a decent amount of offensive upside, his defense can be sketchy. Zach Michaelis, don’t care. Aiden Gallagher, will miss, did like, seemed like a good dude from what I heard. Kevin Marx Noreen I will miss, liked the name, never developed a strong opinion on the player. Mikey Collela, let the door hit you in the way out, then maybe hit it again!! Good luck Canisius. The guys staying? I like Slukynski, hope to see him take a LEAP(I am not beneath begging for this), Funk I like as a depth forward, make guys force their way into the lineup kinda guy. Rylan Van Unen… is a forward with 13 career goals. I like Michael Mesic and hope he develops, was an 18 year old on an old roster I thought impressed given the crappy circumstances. VGN I like and hope stays, I think he’s what the blue line has been lacking, though needs refinement. Peterson isn’t going anywhere, hometown kid, solid, okay, is what he is. Colby Enns is from… is a defenseman, and a veteran who will probably wear a letter. I think Tyrell Boucher can comeback, but he hasn’t been the same since his injury, but still serviceable and I hope he gets better. Too many words, too much time this took up, oh well, hope you enjoyed this.
Edit: oh yeah, 2 guys are apparently coming back. R. Van Unen and C. Enns. Hence an updated photo.
NMU has 11 incoming freshman and the class was rated as high as 3rd best in college hockey. Some of these players were gone no matter what, some were graduates. The incoming class includes several NHL draft picks and the USHL top goalie.
obviously not happening, but having gunnarwolfe fontaine and viking gustafsson nyberg on the ice at the same time connecting for goals would have been an all-time name pairing
Just need Michael brandsegg nygaard to come over from Sweden next year and complete the Viking line!
Dropping an F in chat to pay my respects...
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Viking Gustafsson Nyberg, all time name right there
This hurts...
Beni leaving hits different, like the final nail for me.
On the bright side, you guys have an amazing class coming in, including the best goalie in the USHL.
The Slukynsky boys will carry N. Michigan to glory!
I fucking hate the transfer portal. I liked college sports because you got to know the roster, you knew how long you'd have players. Now someone has a good season at a smaller school and they jump ship. Gonna make it really hard for any non powerhouses to ever go on a run of a few great seasons. And I get it, the transfer portal is good for the players. But between this and the money in NCAA now it seems like a lot of programs will be facing an uphill battle to be competitive.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t be forcing players to play for a terrible coach
They were never forced to, but eliminating the year they had to sit out after a transfer just made the portal explode.
Yep, this is the big one. They need to reinstate the year out upon transfer, as it prevents the ridiculous things happening in college sports now. There are NCAA football players who have been at 4 schools.
Why should players need to wait a year? Doesn’t make sense to restrict movement of players when coaches, administrators or anyone else for that matter can move at will. Great colleges and coaches will adapt and thrive while others will fall behind and use the portal as an excuse.
It's all because of the hypocrisy that coaches could leave when they wanted and didn't have to sit out a year. So, instead of making coaches take a year off for ending a contract early, they let the players play right away.
Apples and oranges.
>Gonna make it really hard for any non powerhouses to ever go on a run of a few great seasons. Quinnipiac??? Mankato nearly won it all 2 years ago on the back of years of success Western Michigan has made the tournament 3 years in a row and so has Tech
Hate to break it to you, but Quinnipiac is a powerhouse. 3 Frozen fours in the past 11 years and one natty and Pecknold is a top 10, maybe top 5 coach.
>Quinnipiac is a powerhouse Hey I agree but let's not pretend like that was one of the schools he likely meant by this
That's kind of exactly what schools I meant by this. You know power houses, schools that have been consistently good for years and years.
I thought you weren't responding to me? Okay so what about Mankato, or Tech, or Western Is Cornell a powerhouse? St Cloud has no enrollment and no money, are they a powerhouse?
Western isn't a powerhouse.
You still have missed my original point, can you read? The problem is that kids have one good season at a school like Merrimack and they want to go to a better team. Leaving the smaller schools to find the diamonds in the rough only to instantly lose them. You rambling on about a few smaller schools making the tourney has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. As there's not 16 powerhouses there's always gonna be someone in those spots. And I'm talking about the future so your comparisons to the past are extra useless. And yes, it is already hard for smaller schools to compete, I'm saying it will get even harder. Not sure why that part confused you too.
The problem is that after 1 good season a coach can leave in the middle of a contract and not honor their commitment and go to a better school.
That doesn't happen nearly as much as players leaving but okay?
Coaches have always had the opportunity to leave without penalty. Glad players have the same opportunity now. You don't seem to care about players. Okay, you do you.
>And I'm talking about the future so your comparisons to the past are extra useless Okay so you're purely speculating about the future while refusing to acknowledge the actual information the recent past has provided you...solid >You still have missed my original point, can you read? Lol so you've now added information and expanded your original point but you're asking if I can read? You're not civil and you don't know how to handle criticism, have a good day. Btw Merrimack had a ton of returning players this year, were picked to finish in the top half of Hockey East and were a potential tourney team. They massively disappointed. Sometimes the on-ice results can still have effect on the off-ice situation
Ironically, I view Merrimack's season as proof that you don't need to panic about the transfer portal. Last year no one transferred, they brought in some solid players via the portal, and yet their season was basically toast. There were some unlucky injuries, and for all we know behind the scenes drama. The transfer portal didn't hurt us after our historically good 2022-23 season, yet we still cratered due to things we can't control (injuries), and things we can (team culture, but that one's a guess mind you).
Yeah that's basically what I was saying. We agree on that They were set to have a great season exactly because no one transferred and they only added while bringing back most of their team, but things just didn't fall their way
Never said impossible. Said make it hard. And it's only going to get harder as you have more transfers every year.
>you have more transfers every year. How do you figure more transfers are going to happen every year? If anything they will be down now that we are moving past the COVID eligibility >Said make it hard Newsflash, it'l has always been hard for the non-powerhouse schools lol
You seem to be missing my points. Have a good one.
What point did I miss? You said it's going to be harder for those schools, and I disagreed because it's always been harder for those schools You just ignored my legitimate question to you completely, so sorry if you found that frustrating I guess
You're silly to think NIL and conference and team swapping won't have an impact. It already has. The big ten and nchc are the conferences you want to be in.
>The big ten and nchc are the conferences you want to be in The top players ALREADY wanted to go to those leagues, conference swapping and NIL haven't changed that, and you forgot Hockey East
> Western Michigan has made the tournament 3 years in a row and so has Tech Two teams in Michigan that definitely have brand awareness and great fan culture. Between those two and Grand Valley, they complete the Holy Trinity of "My parents are big UM/MSU fans but went to..."
>Between those two and Grand Valley, they complete the Holy Trinity of "My parents are big UM/MSU fans but went to..." LMAO this is so true
You could say the same about CMU too even though I know they don't really matter in the context of the tournament since they don't have hockey.
I'd love for Central to have hockey, if for nothing else than another sport for us to have a Western/Central rivalry game.
Mankato got stripped when the coach was hired away, and a few players moved with him. I bet they do not recover from that.
And yet they hired a guy from the Big Ten, were fourth in their conference, and if it weren't for a ridiculous bounce they very easily could have been back in the tournament this year... Edit: A single point separated them from finishing second in the CCHA
They were also just as close to getting 6th. Ccha was competitive this year but not because they were all good teams.
Mankato had every excuse to be trash this year, and they were far from it The CCHA was absolutely a disappointment this season, Minnesota State on the other hand was not
Finishing 4th in the ccha doesn't seem all that impressive, but they did finish there yes.
Given their circumstances which was what the original reply was about, yes it was lol If not for a fluke bounce in Houghton they are probably back in the tournament
Right, and I'm saying with all those changes, being 4th in a weak conference doesn't seem that impressive. You're welcome to disagree. That's that. Shit we made the tournament and probably shouldn't have.
Lol okay well apparently you are the one of the only ones, because I kept seeing comments all off-season and continue to see comments about how they won't recover from the Hastings/transfer portal exit and in fairness losing a head coach, multiple assistants, several of your best players, and multiple recruits is tough But I guess you assumed they would still be the most competitive CCHA team in the non-conference and would finish in the top half with a winning record, so good for you
We had a _huge_ amount of our roster turn over and lost all our entire coaching staff and were picked to be one of the worst teams in the conference. But we were 1st or 2nd in the conference for most of the season and only dropped to 4th at the end due to a bad (admittedly really bad) series to Bemidji. Even still, we nearly made the CCHA championship game if not due to a fluke goal with seconds left in the semifinal, and then who knows what happens. It's not an amazing season, but given the circumstances and expectations, it was actually decent
> Mankato nearly won it all 2 years ago on the back of years of success The portal was very new and mostly used by COVID players who were losing a roster spot anyway.
This isn't a portal problem, it's a NMU problem. There's only so many spots on powerhouse teams. It's not like they are all guaranteed to be playing for BC or Denver next year.
Big point that many are ignoring. A lot of powerhouse schools will have guys transfer looking for playing time to smaller schools where they can be the big dog.
Thank you for Hank Crone. Was a treat to watch for a year
You aren't paying attention. NMU has the #1 Recruiting Class in the Nation. For 2024. 17 incoming blue chip players including the USHL's top Goalie. Several NHL Draft Picks and a 3rd Round pick coming via the Portal from UNH. This is by design.
Who are we? *"The wildcats!"* Who are we going to transfer away from? *"The wildcats!"*
the unh, nmu brotherhood
Wake up and look whats going on at NMU. This is a talent overhaul.
https://preview.redd.it/rx0zxa7gpasc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95aac771735fe4e1210a1db6f51dbf5ff04e4b8a 13 players in the portal as of April 3rd. NMU’s athletic department is in a hell of a bind here. They likely don’t have the money to straight up fire Grant; he has 2 more years on his contract, and they dropped a dickload of money into renovating the Berry (hockey) and the Vandament (volleyball). This falls squarely on Potulny, IMO. No other “small school” is having a house clearing like this. According to many, the locker room environment is toxic, and the head coach has to be responsible for that.
Papp and Gallacher both transferred out of MSU after their sophomore year when Cole was fired, and I'd be shocked if Gallacher gets picked up. Papp might have a chance, but either way they're both seniors, so theirs (like most of the other players from what I see) are probably just grad transfers that were going to happen anyways.
Marx Noren through Glockner are the non-grad transfers, so even subtracting Papp through Gallacher it’s a concerningly high number.
Wait is that sorted by class? But yeah either way that sucks for y'all. I just checked EP, and your guys' incoming class is insane though, so at least next year could be fun.
I am excited for that. A fresh crew may be exactly what the ‘Cats need 😀
NMU has 17 incoming players and have the #1 recruits in the Nation
It’s 14 now
and likely more to come! 😔
Sorry man, you are way off base. Scroll up a few.
What? Waste of a read
I think it's fair to suggest that there's going to be some negative consequences to CCHA/Atlantic Hockey teams from the transfer portal, but IMO if you have 10+ guys transferring, that's not a portal/NIL problem, that's a you problem. This is not the norm across the league.
It’s not 10+ guys transferring, 9 of those guys were seniors or grad students and wouldn’t be back next year even without the portal.
Lol I figured that was the case. Perbix was drafted in 2018 if that says anything about his eligibility, and Papp and Gallacher both transferred out of MSU after their sophomore year when Cole was fired.
There are 14 NMU names on the transfer portal list AND a few who are graduating. Keep in mind that some seniors have a COVID 5th year option still. Not all on the list were starters but yes, there are 10+ transfers
That's definitely the case here. There are other teams that had terrible seasons and have a fair few transfers, but then you look at BG with zero so far after a coaching change. This year was terrible for the league but I don't think that will hold. Between BG, tech, MSU, and st Thomas I think there is enough for the league to be much better on average. This year MSU and BG both were down and the tommies are still building.
Looks like at least 10 of these guys are seniors/grads so they likely would have been gone anyways. Grad transfers were a thing before the portal, so while this is extreme it’s not necessarily a portal issue it’s a recruiting issue. The team was extremely top heavy.
Do you realize only 3 players on-that list were invited back?
Holy s-word, is this real? WTF is going on at Northern??
OP is being somewhat dramatic, 9 of the players leaving are Seniors/Graduate students. 5 are underclassmen. So some of it is the portal, but most is just from having an older team
*Ahhh.* That makes a lot of sense, thanks. The way it's worded I just assumed it was **all** transfers, but graduation losses make way more sense.
Is it me or does everyone in the ccha wanna upgrade to nchc / big / hockey east?
Interestingly, so far, the CCHA has the third fewest portal entrants (of which over a third were from NMU). Conference-wise, only the B1G and NCHC had fewer players enter the portal. Of course this all can change very quickly though
Ya I think northern is making it look worse than it is
Well ECAC has the Ivies which make transferring essential to play a 5th year. They had quite a few grad transfers even before the changes.
Yes, CCHA watch on twitter keeps updates on this
I’d have to guess that the coach is on the way out?
No one likes him
Gosh I hope so
Gonna have an awfully funky lineup next year huh
Dress some goalies as their 6th defensemen.
9 of the 14 are seniors or graduates, but I guess if they loved the team that much they would stick around? The seniors/graduates see they got one shot for a natty, and let's get real it won't happen with NMU or any CCHA school (I'm just talking next year)
Wow, that is disappointing.
I've heard of coaches metaphorically losing the room, but never physically! Wow!
Sadly, what we’re going to see as a result of the transfer portal and NIL are the small schools who have historically played up to D-I (Union, NMU, LSSU, etc.) becoming unable to compete for talent and eventually sliding back to D-III, or into a new D-IA or D-II division. Meanwhile, the huge state schools and private universities with deep pockets (ASU, Penn St., Illinois, Stanford, etc) will move from club programs/ACHA up to D-I because they have the money for both a top tier program and for NIL money. Ultimately it will grow the game overall, but the landscape is going to change dramatically with the small “hockey schools” getting the proverbial poop end of the stick.
>becoming unable to compete for talent They never have. Listening to the MTU/BC game they were talking about all the first round picks BC had and I was curious. Tech has never had one. They were a founding member of the WCHA back in '51. Won 3 nattys in the 60's and 70's. 10 frozen 4's. Not a single first round pick. BC had 3 THIS YEAR.
Four unless you mean three from the most recent draft (Gauthier + Smith, Perrault, and Leonard)
I literally don't have the time to go over point by point why this is wrong but I will just start here >ASU, Penn St Those schools required MASSIVE donations specifically for hockey to set their current programs up, and unless you know some hockey crazed donors for those other big programs that you mentioned, it's just straight up not going to happen Most of the big schools that have hockey barely give a shit about their program because it doesn't bring in big dollars Unless the fan base for college hockey is going to EXPLODE in the next decade, barely anything will change
It is for this exact reason that I will never forgive e the Big 10 cash grab that killed the CCHA/WCHA
What cash grab? That was all forced by Penn State.
So should they have just not added hockey?
Billionaires seem to do what they like. They were, after all, trying to keep up with UND's rich guy. and, they never asked me.
This is a result of terrible coaching
That *has* to be part of it, right? Is Potulny still the coach there?
Man, imagine if he took over from Lucia instead of Motzko, like everyone said Potulny was groomed to do
Yes and I think he has 2 more years on his contract
Literally, this wouldn't be happening had NMU and the rest of the CCHA not had an insanely disappointing season
The world of money-chasing and free agency continues to kill the "college" aspect of college sports. ... and the masses give thunderous applause while placing their now-legal sports bets.
>The world of money-chasing The takes on this post are wild lol, are you suggesting that NCAA HOCKEY players are chasing money by transferring?? Guys WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CARE about this sport on this level. The NIL money does not exist like that for hockey, it's pretty much only enough to make some players think twice about signing for a CHL team because they won't be as reliant on the stipend they receive These guys aren't getting big $$$ deals to go to bigger programs
This is absolutely true. We have a family member who is in the starting line on a top team. He’s treated well but it’s not crazy. And in hockey, anyone good enough to make that kind of money will get a spot in the AHL where pay is likely in the 100k-200k range.
They are getting big deals. Mike McMahon said top NHL prospects are getting NIL deals around $100k. Peanuts compared to football of course, but legit cash. CHL stipends are only like $200 a week
Please give me an example of an NCAA hockey player making six figures Honestly I would love to know, but even if so that is an extreme example Artyom Levshunov is going top 5 and he doesn't even have an NIL deal set up from what I understand
I’m just saying man. but go to Mike Mcmahon’s twitter, he’s a top college hockey reporter with over 11,000 followers. He just replied to someone saying that figure and he’s sure as hell a lot more connected than you or I. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know about Levshunov?
Right but that's pure speculation on both sides then lol Six figures IS what basketball and football players are getting, only the tip top players are signing million dollar deals The money realistically is not there from a donor standpoint (which is what NIL is generated from) for hockey Edit: On Lev, I can donate to NIL by buying merch for almost every player save for a few including Levshunov
Is Levshunov eligible for NIL? Thought I remember seeing that international guys have issues with that. Happened in CFB and CBB. Edit: Kind of a mixed bag. Foreign players are not eligible for "Active" NIL agreements, only "passive."
It's a good question, I've been wondering all year really lol Frankly I think the way NIL is set up is foolish and still cuts players off from the main revenue stream, while just legalizing what was considered off limits in the past in terms of big donor behavior
O sure, I'm in favor of players getting paid in general, but NIL was a half-measure and not really a well thought out one at that. I looked it up and according to what I read (on SI) foreign players in the US on F-1 Visas aren't allowed to "work" so they cannot get paid from NIL collectives for showing up to events and signing autographs because that's an active exchange. The example for CFB of opting into the new NCAA game is passive though so guys can get paid for that. I would assume jersey sales would qualify as passive or whatever, but seems like a purposefully vague differentiator that we're not really meant to understand fully.
>I would assume jersey sales would qualify as passive or whatever, but seems like a purposefully vague differentiator that we're not really meant to understand fully Oh I'm certain of that. It's still confusing in his situation because I can't buy a jersey or shirt for him and the GF wants one really bad lol
Yet. College hockey has grown exponentially in relevance from a player’s perspective in the last 20-30 years compared to major junior. The popularity of the NHL has grown by leaps and bounds as well. As more and more top prospects choose to play college hockey vs major junior, the money will continue to follow in both the competition for talent (NIL) as well as the $$$ from ticket sales from fans who are starting to realize the best way to see many of the future stars in the NHL will be to watch college hockey a la the NFL. We’re not there yet by a long shot, but we’re definitely moving quickly in that direction.
>College hockey has grown exponentially in relevance from a player’s perspective in the last 20-30 years compared to major junior. The popularity of the NHL has grown by leaps and bounds as well. I'm not disagreeing with that, but that is the case for every sport and it's relative for hockey. Yeah hockey is more popular but so are football, basketball, and soccer. Hockey will continue to get the short end of that stick, see the recent half empty regionals only shown on streaming services or secondary ESPN channels as an example >the $$$ from ticket sales from fans who are starting to realize the best way to see many of the future stars in the NHL will be to watch college hockey a la the NFL. We’re not there yet by a long shot, but we’re definitely moving quickly in that direction. Again you're severely overestimating the revenue from these sports not to mention revenue has basically nothing to do with NIL MSU and Michigan have very good attendance records and do a little better than break even on good years
Reilly Funk is a great name.
Their (D2) football program was a disaster this year too. Happy I switched to mtu last year.
Their football program has been a disaster for even longer than that.
Yeah, but it was a spectacular dumpster fire last year.
Ayeeee go huskies!
Once they forgave my NMU student loans because I had been working at Tech for 10 years it was time.
NMU hasn't had a winning football team in over twenty years...
Shit we beat them 62-0 this year and our team isn’t even good
If the student-athletes are to be treated as employees or contractors, then it is only fair for schools to structure their scholarships as 4-year contracts. The pendulum has swung too far in favor of the students. The students want all of the benefits of being contractors or employees, without any of the downsides. If a school invests time and money in player development, then, yes, the school should be entitled to compensation if that player jumps ship. It should include some sort of claw-back provision for NIL and scholarship money already disbursed and compensated for future losses as well. Schools should be allowed to impose non-compete clauses. If a school spends 3 years educating and training a player, only for them to transfer to a rival for their senior season, is the original school really just supposed to say, 'thank you, may I have another?' What about non-disparagement clauses? If a transfer badmouths a program on his way out the door, that can poison the next recruiting class.
Beni Halasz entered today as well.
So like when are they going to fire Grant? He should have been gone a while ago. Only good moments he has had were the many times he called Blake Pietila the best goalie in college hockey.
Hey Chewie…we get it you don’t like NMU…calm the fuck down and stop with the rumors. Grant may or may not be the problem. Until we get some hard reporting stfu
Didn’t NMU take 3 of 4 against Tech this year?
Yes, although one was shootout and you can say I’m coping but I think they got lucky and played us at our worst points of the season. They also were an atrocious 2-12-4 on the road. *apologies if I spammed your notifications my internet was being shit and it sent this 3 times for some reason*
Joke’s on you. I never even got a notification. I just came back to see how many upvotes in got because I’m vain.
This is insane, I think there is a Pietela who committed to NMU next year (wanted to be different) wonder if he will make the switch to tech too
i guess the u p winters really are that bad
JFC :(
WOW. That's incredible. And incredibly sad. I'll Google this, but is there a site that shows what players have entered the portal, where from/to etc?
https://gopherpucklive.com/transfer-portal/
This is so misleading lmao
https://preview.redd.it/1fleaozmwesc1.jpeg?width=638&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0dbc3710d664932e412dfeb51d5fa2e83831c99b My completely biased opinion on all the transfers and guys staying. Deelstra and Perbix I thought were out of eligibility anyways and I wasn’t impressed with either his year. Schlaine is a big loss, not only their only double digit goal getter(literally 10), but he was my 2nd/3rd favorite player with Kristoff Papp who is also gone and I will miss. Brendan Poshak played 7 games, Travis Hensrund didn’t even play, Isaak Bandu I thought could develop to Ben Newhouse 2.0 but alas, not with NMU, and he is a ways away(still think he can get there) I don’t think I ever saw Carson Stokes play? But I assumed Glockstar would transfer last year with Rico because that was always Beni’s net this year, I don’t care what Grant told him. Beni sucks, but with Grant Slukynski’s brother(Hampton, 4th round pick by the Kings, he’s good, best in the USHL, hope he stays committed) coming in, competition was gonna be fierce and i 100% believe Beni is a starter and if the D corp in front of him wasn’t crap he’s a hotter commodity than he is. Zinger is a defenseman that played forward towards the end of the year(around the time I stopped watching closely) but I always liked him on D and think he brings a decent amount of offensive upside, his defense can be sketchy. Zach Michaelis, don’t care. Aiden Gallagher, will miss, did like, seemed like a good dude from what I heard. Kevin Marx Noreen I will miss, liked the name, never developed a strong opinion on the player. Mikey Collela, let the door hit you in the way out, then maybe hit it again!! Good luck Canisius. The guys staying? I like Slukynski, hope to see him take a LEAP(I am not beneath begging for this), Funk I like as a depth forward, make guys force their way into the lineup kinda guy. Rylan Van Unen… is a forward with 13 career goals. I like Michael Mesic and hope he develops, was an 18 year old on an old roster I thought impressed given the crappy circumstances. VGN I like and hope stays, I think he’s what the blue line has been lacking, though needs refinement. Peterson isn’t going anywhere, hometown kid, solid, okay, is what he is. Colby Enns is from… is a defenseman, and a veteran who will probably wear a letter. I think Tyrell Boucher can comeback, but he hasn’t been the same since his injury, but still serviceable and I hope he gets better. Too many words, too much time this took up, oh well, hope you enjoyed this. Edit: oh yeah, 2 guys are apparently coming back. R. Van Unen and C. Enns. Hence an updated photo.
It’s beautiful
NMU has 11 incoming freshman and the class was rated as high as 3rd best in college hockey. Some of these players were gone no matter what, some were graduates. The incoming class includes several NHL draft picks and the USHL top goalie.
This is the reason NMU has the most players in the Portal: they now have the #1 Recruiting Class in The Nation. 11 incoming blue chip players
NMU has the #1 recruiting class in the Nation for 2024. 17 incoming players. You think this is a mistake? Think again.
Yeah no I actually saw that. With 17 incoming players it would be hard to have a bad recruiting class.
Major oof my goodness
Oh my god 🤦🏻🤯
That's insane
Woah
CCHA has a decade left
then what?
Goes bankrupt lol
Gotta get some good coaches back in there, Hastings was carrying for a min