2019 USports Recruiting

thook

Registered User
Jan 9, 2010
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Reverse recruiting. Dillon Donnelly lakeheads captain and chris stewart have both left the program.. Deveistatng for a lakehead team that is already going in the wrong direction. Lakehead gets over 2000 fans almost every game but does not put a product on the ice worthy of that support. Lakehead needs to step up and recruit high-end players and managment to stop this sinking ship.
 
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FreddyFoyle

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Mar 12, 2008
2,135
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Fredericton, NB
Reverse recruiting. Dillon Donnelly lakeheads captain and chris stewart have both left the program.. Deveistatng for a lakehead team that is already going in the wrong direction. Lakehead gets over 2000 fans almost every game but does not put a product on the ice worthy of that support. Lakehead needs to step up and recruit high-end players and managment to stop this sinking ship.

Any idea if they will redshirt and show up at another school?
 

thook

Registered User
Jan 9, 2010
271
14
Any idea if they will redshirt and show up at another school?

They are both playing in the ECHL.
Donnelly has 1 year of eligibility left. Stewert is confusing tho. he left the echl at christmas. Joined lakeheadl and was probably going to be an elite oua defenceman. He got hurt. Never played again and left school for the echl.
 

MiamiHockey

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Sep 12, 2012
2,087
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Reverse recruiting. Dillon Donnelly lakeheads captain and chris stewart have both left the program.. Deveistatng for a lakehead team that is already going in the wrong direction. Lakehead gets over 2000 fans almost every game but does not put a product on the ice worthy of that support. Lakehead needs to step up and recruit high-end players and managment to stop this sinking ship.

I predict that Lakehead is going to struggle for a long time.

The reality is that it is a small, second-tier university in an isolated community. It offers few unique programs that might make it more appealing than competitors, and it attracts students who don't have the grades to get into better universities. Its only opportunity to succeed is to build with a core of local (NW Ontario) players, and hopefully supplement with some OHL/WHL talent by offering more financial support than competitors.

Now, you might look back at their early success and suggest that they can easily get back there. Well, since then, Laurentian, Nipissing, and Mount Royal have entered the fray. Laurentian and Nipissing are competing for the same Northern Ontario athletes as Lakehead, and Mount Royal offers a better location for Alberta-based athletes who can't get into Calgary or Alberta.
 
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Rob

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Feb 27, 2002
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I predict that Lakehead is going to struggle for a long time.

The reality is that it is a small, second-tier university in an isolated community. It offers few unique programs that might make it more appealing than competitors, and it attracts students who don't have the grades to get into better universities. Its only opportunity to succeed is to build with a core of local (NW Ontario) players, and hopefully supplement with some OHL/WHL talent by offering more financial support than competitors.

Now, you might look back at their early success and suggest that they can easily get back there. Well, since then, Laurentian, Nipissing, and Mount Royal have entered the fray. Laurentian and Nipissing are competing for the same Northern Ontario athletes as Lakehead, and Mount Royal offers a better location for Alberta-based athletes who can't get into Calgary or Alberta.

Really unfortunate considering the have one of the best fan bases in all of USports.
 

thook

Registered User
Jan 9, 2010
271
14
Really unfortunate considering the have one of the best fan bases in all of USports.

I hope the school and the board of directors of the hockey team step up and realize they have a committed fan base and improve the program before they lose the fans all together.
 
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FreddyFoyle

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Mar 12, 2008
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Fredericton, NB
I hope the school and the board of directors of the hockey team step up and realize they have a committed fan base and improve the program before they lose the fans all together.

I agree. Say what you want about Pete's methods, but he managed to recruit players. Having to compete with Nipissing and Laurentian for home-grown talent must have an effect now.

Scholarships matter. If the board is not finding the resources to max out Lakehead's AFA pot, they won't win recruiting battles. There are Maritimers going to schools like Brock and Nipissing now because of the roster caps in the AUS. Lakehead should try to get the pick of that litter for starts.

Development matters. Lots (most?) of USports hockey players want to play minor pro after graduation. If you aren't going to win them over with your academic catalog, then you need to put the parts in play so that recruits know that there is a path to pro hockey. For example, right now there are a lot of AUS players opting to play in the British pro league. Through word of mouth and intentional recruiting, those numbers keep growing. If Lakehead could "partner" with some European minor pro leagues, or at least develop a relationship, they could offer a post-university path that might interest some recruits.

Whatever they do, Lakehead needs to make their program "special" again.
 

cishockeyfan

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Nov 5, 2007
767
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Surprising cause Lakehead looked to be on the fast track to being an elite program back back in the mid 2000's

I know once Pete Beliveau was gone they seemed to be on a downward slope since which escalated after they hosted nationals
 

hockeyinsiderusports

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Nov 20, 2017
872
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A lot of teams are looking for goalies this off-season but market appears to be weak this year however Samuel Harvey, Stephen Dhillon, Griffen Outhouse look like best three and all are looking towards pro at this moment

I expect Mario Culina if he regains academic eligibility will go Brock
 

UNB Bruins Fan

Registered User
Mar 11, 2008
14,025
1,591
Fredericton, NB
Sawchenko gone to pro as well.

With a number of top teams all looking for goalies I wonder if we see some guys come back from pro to go to school...or anyone transfer from other schools (USports or NCAA).
 

MiamiHockey

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Sep 12, 2012
2,087
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Sawchenko gone to pro as well.

With a number of top teams all looking for goalies I wonder if we see some guys come back from pro to go to school...or anyone transfer from other schools (USports or NCAA).

Sawchenko's move is an interesting one, and quite sensible for a goalie. I wonder if we'll see more like it.

He chose Alberta over an overage year in the WHL. From a development perspective, I think it was a very intelligent choice. Rather than spend a year on the bus and playing 60-odd games, he chose a year of practice with 20-odd games. Given that goalies develop later than skaters, it makes a ton of sense for his long-term development to focus more on practice than games.

Then, he returned for another year loaded heavily with practices. He is now entering the AHL as a 21-year-old rather than a 20-year-old, and with two excellent years of development at Alberta, with strong coaching and having faced AHL-calibre shots in practice every day.

I'm not sure there are too many programs that can offer the calibre of coaching that Alberta offers, but Sawchenko's case offers those programs a unique opportunity for CHL goaltenders considering pro.
 
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