Among the 6 teams leading the conferences + Arizona State

Among the 6 teams leading the conferences + Arizona State
by wearendhockey (2020-03-09 23:17:38)
Edited on 2020-03-10 12:27:43

In reply to: That makes this weekend sting a little more with Faber posted by zahm82

Post Reply Return to Lefty's Rink

there are 16 underclassmen among the top-6 defensemen as far as games played (9 frosh and 7 sophomores). Only 1 has no freshmen among the top 6, Minnesota State. MSU is an experienced team for sure, with 15 upperclassmen among their 21 most regularly dressed players. Of course experience does not = NCAA success. MSU is still looking for their first NCAA tournament win after 6 tries, including 2 straight losses to #4 seeds.

I don't want 6 freshman on the blueline, but until my dying days I believe Jackson overuses the experience crutch. The 2011 team had 3 freshmen and a sophomore manning the blueline in front of a sophomore goalie. The lone senior was a transfer who had not played a game in an Irish jersey before that season and the two leading scorers up front were also freshmen.

edited: For some reason I left American International out of the mix of underclassmen playing defense, and they have 1, sophomore Brennan Kapcheck.

I'll always take talent over experience.... *

I think it depends on the player.

Of course it is sometimes hard to predict what will happen after someone gets to campus, but good recruiters (Slaggert is certainly that, and not just because he has long gotten good players to come to Notre Dame) can usually figure out what personalities will mesh well.

Sometimes talent isn't worth it. Kyle Palmieri is a good example. Probably one of the 2 or 3 most talented players to ever skate for the Irish (maybe more NHL goals than any other ND product or is that still Poulin?) but he didn't want to be here. Didn't help us when he was here, didn't miss him when he was gone.

Very much ....

especially with D-men and the way they're developed in USHL, high school, and below, which varies widely.