i'm not sure this is that big of a loss. he obviously wasn't playing here....

This post was edited on 1/10 3:40 PM by gobluefrommd

So we are now down another player. 

Oh, well...

Patience is not a virtue, although I suppose it must be depressing to not even get into the lineup on a 7-11 team.  I was expecting Milne to step into the lineup this year and Selman to sit but it has worked out the opposite.

But gobluefrommd - seems like we are always saying "but we've got a great recruit class coming in" when someone leaves prematurely (or never shows up in the first place) - and then the "great recruit class" doesn't materialize . . . and here we are where we are today.

well i don't know much about hockey players till they show up here, i'm just going off of what is reported by Bob and spath.  but if a player can't crack this line up, i'm not sure finding someone to replace him would be to difficult.

if this were a big name player that would be something else.


I think our struggles are related to the poor leadership choice that was made after last season. Treais is killing this team that needs to play together.

That's to bad, would have been nice to see him get going.

I don't know if this Milne is the palyer rumored to the OHL or not, but UM sure seems to lose a lot of recruits to the OHL.  Many of them seem to be late defections (not too far prior to when they sign the LOI).  I don't think this is all of the issues this team is having, but it certainly has affected recruiting and the potential talent that could be at UM (not that talent is lacking necessarily).
So...does UM lose more than most, and if so, why?  I'm not counting those that opt for the NHL after they are at UM a year or two, but the guys who are recruited and leave before showing up.  Does UM recruit such top level they just are sought after more?  Is it proximity to an OHL team that they get talked to more?  Does UM need to recruit different players that aren't a shoe in to the OHL or leave early prospects?

is that Michigan recruits an area more susceptible to OHL influences since there is a strong OHL presence in Michigan and Ontario. U-M gets a ton of recruits from those two places, and so the OHL is always on their minds. Combine that with the fact that they're recruiting higher-caliber kids and you have the scenario. The best teams are always going to be at risk because they get the best players, but the WCHA recruits so heavily from high school/prep hockey in Minnesota where there is a staunch loyalty to the college programs. Hockey East recruits from the prep school ranks on the east coast, which has the same loyalty. 

Have you gotten any indication from Red, or other coaches that based on how many times they've been burned by this, that they have given thought to a different direction in recruiting?  I don't mean to say that just because of the performance of this years team they would do that, but it has got to be frustrating for them to think they have certain kids, and then continue to see them opt out at the last minute.

slightly less talented players but guys that would stay four years, and it didn't quite work out the way they were expecting, so they immediately changed focus back to going after the elite. Fact is to be the best they still have to recruit the best. 

So it's not like this program has been in a downward spiral for a long time. 

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