UNB Varsity Reds Thread (Part 4)

[Finder24]

My guess for clues for the players to be announced would be the high-value local kids who finished the Q, haven't signed a pro deal yet, and haven't been announced by anyone else yet. There is certainly a good d-man in that pool.

You don't need to have a wild imagination to put the pieces together

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I'm sure most of us know who the D-man and probably one of the forwards are. Interestingly, UNB continues to seemingly focus on the Q and OHL...they haven't recruited anyone out of the west save Willick the last 3-4 years.

 

[Drummer]

I'm sure most of us know who the D-man and probably one of the forwards are. Interestingly, UNB continues to seemingly focus on the Q and OHL...they haven't recruited anyone out of the west save Willick the last 3-4 years.

... and they have 2 Golds & 1 Silver in the past 4 years.

But I agree - I would like some WHL talent to counter the loses of Willick and Braes over the next few years.

It could be they don't have any scouts or 'boosters' in the West these days?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

It's a bit of both.

As far as I know, they have 4 recruits. One of which is Trey Lewis from StFX who will sit out a year due to transfer rules. The other three, (1D, 2F) are all QMJHLers. They won't knock your socks off, but UNB doesn't need a ton of reinforcement.

Also interesting to hear that they have 3 recruits (not counting Lewis) lined up for September and expect to have room to add another guy at Christmas. Since they were at the roster cap at the end of last season and only lost 3 players to graduations (Carroll, MacDougall, Wall), this would seem to imply that someone else is leaving.

If they are only bringing in one defenceman that leads me to believe that they are planning to continue to use Boudens as more of a D this year than a F. Right now they have Murray/Gazzola/Petgrave/Suellentrop/McIvor/recruit...I can't see them going into the season with only 6 D again, like they did last year.

 

[SuperSquirrel]

Also interesting to hear that they have 3 recruits (not counting Lewis) lined up for September and expect to have room to add another guy at Christmas. Since they were at the roster cap at the end of last season and only lost 3 players to graduations (Carroll, MacDougall, Wall), this would seem to imply that someone else is leaving.

If they are only bringing in one defenceman that leads me to believe that they are planning to continue to use Boudens as more of a D this year than a F. Right now they have Murray/Gazzola/Petgrave/Suellentrop/McIvor/recruit...I can't see them going into the season with only 6 D again, like they did last year.

What about Zach Shannon... Do you think he'll play this coming season?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

No offence to him...but is he good enough to play for UNB?

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

UNB has updated their schedule to include their pre-season games.

vs. UPEI September 19th
at McGill September 24th
at Merrimack October 1st
at UNH October 2nd

 

[FreddyFoyle]

No offence to him...but is he good enough to play for UNB?

I haven't seem him play in a while. He's a small D, but he's older now and apparently has good hockey sense. With Gardiner's loyalty to Roger, you think he has to give Zach a chance.

 

[Drummer]

Roster

Gone - Eligibility
Taylor MacDougall
Alex Wall
Tyler Carroll

Defense
1. Randy Gazzola
2. Jordan Murray
3. Matt Petgrave
4. Colin Suellentrop
5. Marcus McIvor
6. Matt Boudens

Forwards
1. Philippe Halley
2. Philippe Maillet
3. Chris Clapperton
4. Cam Braes
5. Cameron Brace
6. Dylan Willick
7. Francis Beauvillier
8. Rob Mignardi *
9. Christopher Caissy
0. Stephen Anderson
1. Cam Critchlow *
2. Mike Thomas
3. Peter Trainor

Goal
1. Etienne Marcoux
2. Alex Dubeau

* - I believe that both Cam and Rob have to be accepted into second degrees to remain with the team.

6+13=19 (3 open spots)

Add a DMan plus 2 forwards and you're at 22 with 4 guys in the stands and no cards at Christmas. (the game-day roster is 18+2, so someone is already sitting in the stands at 19).

I haven't heard if anyone else is leaving, but who knows.

Holding a card until Christmas means only 2 new guys in the Fall (at most) - 1D and 1F (my guess). I would hope for a Top 4 DMan so Boudens is a true spare/swingman and to address the likely departure of Murray and/or Petgrave (at the end of this season) and a penalty killer/faceoff guy for the 4th line.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I remember hearing something towards the end of last year about Caissy and his concussion issues...maybe that has turned into something more significant/he's still dealing with them?

Or maybe Critchlow/Mignardi aren't expected back (although I think someone posted Mignardi has already been accepted into UNB Law)?

 

[Rob]

Yes. Mignardi is coming back. He was accepted into UNB Law.

UNB has updated their schedule to include their pre-season games.

vs. UPEI September 19th
at McGill September 24th
at Merrimack October 1st
at UNH October 2nd

I believe this is the first time they have ever played Merrimack.

 

[Drummer]

I believe this is the first time they have ever played Merrimack.

This is their second time.

They lost in the Fall '05, 8-4.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

My guess for clues for the players to be announced would be the high-value local kids who finished the Q, haven't signed a pro deal yet, and haven't been announced by anyone else yet. There is certainly a good d-man in that pool.

Doing some quick roster research that would seem to point to Matt Murphy/Oliver Cooper/Mark Simpson.

 

[Finder24]

Doing some quick roster research that would seem to point to Matt Murphy/Oliver Cooper/Mark Simpson.

We have a winner.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

According to the UNB schedule on their site the Pete Kelly will take place on December 30th and 31st this year....still no word on who they will be playing though.

 

[freddy123]

Not that there was a whole lot of doubt but Matt Murphy is now showing up for UNB in the most recent release of the Letter of Intent registry released on Friday.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

Now that the recruits have been officially announced, here are how things stand at the moment...

Gone - Eligibility (3)
Taylor MacDougall
Alex Wall
Tyler Carroll

Defense (7)
Jordan Murray (4th year)
Matt Petgrave (4th year)
Randy Gazzola (3rd year)
Colin Suellentrop (3rd year)
Matt Boudens (3rd year)
Marcus McIvor (2nd year)
Matt Murphy (1st year)

Forwards (15)
Cam Braes (5th year)
Rob Mignardi (5th year)
Cam Critchlow (5th year)
Philippe Halley (4th year)
Philippe Maillet (4th year)
Dylan Willick (4th year)
Mike Thomas (4th year)
Cameron Brace (3rd year)
Francis Beauvillier (3rd year)
Christopher Caissy (3rd year)
Peter Trainor (3rd year)
Stephen Anderson (2nd year)
Chris Clapperton (2nd year)
Oliver Cooper (1st year)
Mark Simpson (1st year)

Goaltenders (2)
Etienne Marcoux (2nd year)
Alex Dubeau (2nd year)

- I doubt many of us were surprised with the names of the recruits...I like that they seem to match the profile and play a similar game to the guys who are leaving. Kind of reminds me when they lost Dickson only to replace him with Nick McNeil.

- If no one else is leaving the announcement of the three new players today puts them at the maximum of 22 skaters, leaving no open spots for Christmas. This is unlike UNB, but maybe they thought there wouldn't be anyone much better than these 3 available at the break. Or maybe there is someone not coming back...

- With only 6 "true" defenceman on the roster I assume this means Boudens will primarily be used as a D this year.

- 9 4th and 5th year guys this year...could be looking at a decent turnover again next year. I do like that it worked out that they have an older, more experienced team heading into a hosting year.

- Interesting/a little suprised that there was no mention of either Trey Lewis or Zach Shannon in the recruiting announcement.

- I feel bad for the announcers this year...3 Cam(eron)'s up front, 2 Philippe's up front, 3 Matt's on defence, Murray/Murphy, Braes/Brace.

 

[FreddyFoyle]

- I feel bad for the announcers this year...3 Cam(eron)'s up front, 2 Philippe's up front, 3 Matt's on defence, Murray/Murphy, Braes/Brace.

I'm glad someone thinks about our challenges!

 

[Rob]

Disappointed to hear that they will not have a sport open for the second half this year. Bodes well for the injury situation though. Had some problems last season with a limited roster.

With the exception of Murphy I have to admit that the recruitment drive is a little underwhelming for the second year in a row. Will definitely have another contending team but had to say what the future holds. Big turnover after next season. Will they stick local again or go back to the OHL/WHL?

 

[FreddyFoyle]

Disappointed to hear that they will not have a sport open for the second half this year. Bodes well for the injury situation though. Had some problems last season with a limited roster.

With the exception of Murphy I have to admit that the recruitment drive is a little underwhelming for the second year in a row. Will definitely have another contending team but had to say what the future holds. Big turnover after next season. Will they stick local again or go back to the OHL/WHL?

I disagree. They had a good team last season obviously. A couple of key parts graduated, and they have been replaced with similar players to keep the machine running properly. A stud D-man to replace Wall. A good face-off guy to replace MacDougall. Another power forward to replace Carroll.

Going forward, yes, there will be a lot of graduations after this season and Gardiner will be recruiting in numbers. But I'm fine with his moves so far.

 

[UNB Bruins Fan]

I think sometimes we (myself included) almost look down on players from the Q and, especially, local players...the guys from the OHL and WHL are "sexier" names and more intriguing. However, like the others have said, the Q shouldn't really be looked at as the CHL's "little brother" any more...as recent Memorial Cup results have shown. UNB has really leaned on the Q in recent years and I don't think any of us are going to complain about the results.

We also have to remember that as much as we would love to see them add big time stud players, with most of their top players coming back playing time might be scarce for the rookies (especially the forwards) in the early going. I would think most guys coming out of junior want to play, first and foremost, and that takes precedent over how good the team is...especially if you are a top player.

I also wonder if they are saving up some of their resources for the next couple years when there will most likely be a lot of turnover in the roster. I expect to see them to be more of a player in the OHL/WHL market in the next couple years.

 

[rethinking]

I think the Q and the Maritime players have more than proved themselves over the years. While WHL players like Taylor Procyshen, Jeff Lee and Geordie Wudrick came into the program with great hype, Maritime players like Jordan Clendenning, Chris Culligan and Nick MacNeil came in quietly and made great contributions to the UNB program for several years, to say the least!

 

[Prov1X]

Not sure what this means for his season at UNB, but Jordan Murray is part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's roster for their 2016 Prospect Tournament.

http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=891915

 

[radapex]

Not sure what this means for his season at UNB, but Jordan Murray is part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's roster for their 2016 Prospect Tournament.

http://lightning.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=891915

Odd... wasn't it Toronto that had him at rookie camp?

 

[Prov1X]

Yes he was invited to Toronto's development camp, not sure how he ended up in Tampa Bay's camp..