4 frozen four teams?
Haha, way too early but if I were picking now I'd say BC, Lowell, Minnesota, North Dakota
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You don't think Umass can make a quick turnaround like Lowell did a couple years ago?
Different situations. UML had so many freshmen Blaise's last year and those guys were a big part of last year's team. UMass spent this summer still doing a lot of the "demo" of their reconstruction project with some changes to the roster. I see them following a similar path to Dennehy at MC
Beanpot winner next year?
BC
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Who deserve the camel clutch bubba?
The Hulk Hogan!
Best HEA team you've ever seen?
That Kariya Maine team is the best ever. No debate.
I'm a BU fan I think gaudreau will win the hobey do you (Johnny not matt)
He's in the hat trick, IMO. Definitely an early favorite. Probably HE's best shot.
But can Ras really lead this team?
I think so. Didn't think he looked bad last year, you just couldn't not go with Marotta with how well he played.
NU or Maine for last place?
UMass. A lot of building. Results take time.
If you had to give your preseason rankings of Hockey East right now, what would they look like?
Without doing any real research yet: 1 UML 2 BC 3 PC 4 ND 5 MC 6 BU 7 UNH 8 NU 9 Maine 10 UVM 11 UMass
Who will be the heir to the Marotta throne?
Tirronen has one year after him. Then Vogler, who just committed, more than likely.
No MC on that list.. Don't think they have a legitimate chance?
They need to find scoring. Was my biggest concern for them last year and continues to be. Need people other than Collins' line to really step up offensively.
Ceiling for Merrimack hockey this year?
5th. Will be hard for teams below PC, BC, UML and ND to crack top-4 IMO
ROY? POY? GOY? For hockey east
Demko, Gaudreau and Gillies
Who will win hockey east this year
Favorite has to be Lowell. UML, BC, PC and ND are all up there to me. BU not far behind.
Which incoming Hockey East freshmen should I keep my eyes on?
Thatcher Demko at BC. He should do big things right away. Also McCoshen and Santini, both at BC.
How do you think the USHPL will do this year? Have they been able to attract the few one and done division 1 College players that the EJHL did last year? I've read a lot of complaints about lack of information about this league.
Like all things it will take time to grow. I see it being very comparable to the EJ to start, but there's certainly room for growth. The EJ could have grown too - just as the new EHL can - and predicting anything at this point would be premature.
Will Merrimack's new rink/arena help the program? And what about men's basketball? Yay.
It opens things up, for sure. The facilities look gorgeous and from an athlete's standpoint, they're much improved from what they were (specifically the weight room and sports med facility). Men's hoop is young, but talented. If they don't make a big jump this year, it should be next.
Do you think this year's 8 Summer signings of Americans to the QMJHL is a sign of things to come or just an off year
It certainly seems like it could be the start of a trend. Some teams, so I've heard, have changed their strategies in the way they deal with American imports. Obviously with some teams, it appears to be working.