Head Coach 2016: Micheletto out, Carvel in

[Refuse2Lose83]

Okay knee-jerk reaction on my part. I still don't think it's a great hire, but not terrible. If Pearl and/or Dennehy wanted the job then I think it makes it worse asI'd rather both of those guys over Carvel. Especially Dennehy, a guy who's proven in the HE. I don't foresee Carvel making UMass a top HE team, but if he can get them to be respectable that's better than what we have now.

[njumass08]

Delete.

R2L already answered my question.

[mdogt12]

Jeff Cox ‏@JeffCoxSports 1h1 hour ago
Hearing James Marcou (Milton Acad. asst.), Eddie Olcyzk, Jr (Niagara U asst.) will be alums considered for 2nd assistant position at UMass.

[econalum]

I'd give Banford the benefit of the doubt, seems to be a man of action, and undoubtedly had made a short list before firing Michelletto. He said that hockey is a key area of focus, so we'll see. We'll need to be patient as recruiting will be largely over.

I'll tell you one thing, that guy is active on Twitter!!!

[mdogt12]

http://www.gazettenet.com/Sports/UMass/ ... ks-1230149

Toot and Jack Arena praise hire

[NilesGold]

Okay knee-jerk reaction on my part. I still don't think it's a great hire, but not terrible. If Pearl and/or Dennehy wanted the job then I think it makes it worse asI'd rather both of those guys over Carvel. Especially Dennehy, a guy who's proven in the HE. I don't foresee Carvel making UMass a top HE team, but if he can get them to be respectable that's better than what we have now.

I didn't get the impression that Carvel was a fall-back option after Pearl/Dennehy at all. Both UMass and non-UMass people who follow hockey closely are pretty unanimous in their high praise for the hire. I'm no hockey guy, but it sounds like he turned a terrible SLU program into a perennial league contender within just a few years. Is the thought that only HC's with HE experience can get a program to the top of the HE? I certainly don't agree with that logic.

[jjmc85]

What was the consensus feel when Mick was hired? I don't recall...

My recollection is that we were thankful that we actually had a head coach. The search last time was a total disaster. It was done way too late, and their was a wide spread belief that the University wasn't willing to support the program at a level necessary to compete. If I recall correctly, three people were offered the job and turned it down. Another couple withdrew their name from consideration before they were offered. It was a terrible and depressing time to be a UMass hockey fan. The program was literally a joke.

I reread FTT to see what was posted then, and to paraphrase- Rocks wrote that Mick was an unknown who had no experience as a college head coach but was a pretty good recruiter. And I think that turned out to be what we got- a good recruiter who had no experience coaching and couldn't cut it. You can check his archives if you want a more indepth look at the search/opinions.

I am not anywhere near the most knowledgable on this board, but I do spend a lot of time following college hockey. UMass was a joke before Bamford. Slowly but surely, Bamford is gaining the respect of the college hockey world, and I have faith that the program is in good hands. Much like Mick, I had never heard of Carvel before today. Thankfully, unlike Mick, I seem to be the only one who follows college hockey closely that hasn't heard of him. I like the fact that he's exceeded expectations, been coach of the year, and coached a Hobey Hat Trick Finalist. Overall, I am pretty optimistic about this hire.

As to other candidates, Dennehy would have been a decent choice. With Mullins and UMass, he probably could have had a higher ceiling here than at Merrimack and the Volpe. I was very nervous about Pearl. What exactly did he do in the AHA that made us think he could succeed here?

Toot spoke to Matt Vautour and had great things to say about Bamford and the process. I have gained a ton of faith in Bamford and am very happy about the future of our athletic department.

[MassMan06]

^ This. All of this.

[Rocks22]

My thoughts on new beginnings for those interested:

http://fearthetriangle.com/2016/03/29/c ... minutemen/

[Dickie Dunn]

Bamford also seems to have talked to a lot of knowledgeable people in college hockey and actually LISTENED to what they had to say ... even as he kept everything so close to the vest that apparently even his own father didn't know who the new coach was going to be.

I can say for a fact that little to none of that was true during the last debacle of a coaching search.

[meff]

One thing that was also released today: The Hockey Excellence Fund https://minutefund.umass.edu/project/1921

For all of the posts about lack of support in the past, this is a huge step in the right direction and addresses many issues that have been brought up here in previous threads. Bamford is making it clear that he supports the programs and is asking for our help as well.

[Marshmont_63]

I love the hire in general. This guy has NHL coaching experience with both the Ducks and Senators. During his tenure in the NHL he was in the Stanley Cup twice (Ducks in 2003 and Senators in 2007). He was named ECAC coach of the year during the 2014-15 season. Saint Lawrence was ranked 19th in the pairwise this past season (2015-16). He had the 23rd best offense and the 12th best defense (Even the thought of having our team play defense is shocking). He is an Isenberg grad and has local ties to the area (his wife is from around here, and he was an assistant coach at Amherst College for two years). All signs point to him being a good hire. Bamford did a great job with the hiring process and has shown that the athletic program and more importantly the school is behind the hockey program 100%. That is great to see. Welcome to Amherst (AGAIN), Coach Carvel!

[Old Cage]

When Ryan was hired, I posted in one of the threads that his Dad was an ECAC administrator for many years before he retired, and that he might be a valuable asset going forward.

I have no idea how much he was involved in this hire, but I would bet that, at the very least, Ryan mined Steve's knowledge of hockey coaches in the ECAC and around the east in general. I know that Steve has been out of the daily arena for a while, but, based on his tweets, he certainly has kept his hand in.

And then, of course, I may be way, way off base.

And then there is this:

Steve Bamford ‏@stevebamford24
@UMassADBamford @UMassHockey not just keeping your Pops in the dark, how about the entire college hockey world? #GoUMass #FireTheMusket

[LS71]

It may not mean anythng but I like that Carvel got his Master's at UMass in 1996...when another winter sport was competing at the highest level nationally. That means he's seen the student body rally to supprt their team's success

[rsox1221]

My thoughts on new beginnings for those interested:

http://fearthetriangle.com/2016/03/29/c ... minutemen/

Everyone should read that ^^^^^^^ right there.

I wrote some things down, less comprehensive though, but still clickable https://firethemusket.wordpress.com/201 ... ss-lowell/