BU's Captain, Kevin Shattenkirk, their leading point scorer and assistant captain, Nick Bonino, and their best scoring defenseman, Colby Cohen, all signed pro contracts instead of playing out their senior years at BU.
Shattenkirk's Departure, Along with Cohen and Bonino Jumping Ship, Leaves a Big Hole
Add to that the guys who are graduating in May. The undeniable heart, soul and physical presence of the team, Eric Gryba, the team's leading goal scorer, Zach Cohen, and the best penalty killer, Luke Popko have all moved on.
Six vital pieces of a team that didn't even look all that great with all those players in the lineup. It's the peril of college athletics, and of being in the national spotlight as one of the nation's most prominent teams. After winning a national championship, you're bound to lose some talent, and by god have the Terriers lost plenty over the past two off-seasons. Don't forget that Colin Wilson could have been playing at BU all the way through 2011. Even that is a distant memory now.
So what remains for the Terriers? Who will be there to pick up the pieces for a team ravaged by the NHL?
Assuming that nobody else jumps ship, here is how the 2010-2011 BU roster will break down.
SENIORS
F - Joe Pereira
G - Adam Kraus
F - Victor Saponari
JUNIORS
D- David Warsofsky
D - Ryan Ruikka
F - Chris Connolly
F - Corey Trivino
F - Vinny Saponari
F - Kevin Gilroy
F - Ross Gaudet
F - Andrew Glass
G - Kieran Millan
G - Grant Rollheiser
SOPHOMORES
D - Max Nicastro
D - Ben Rosen
D - Sean Escobedo
F - Alex Chiasson
F - Ryan Santana
F - Wade Megan
F - Justin Courtnall
FRESHMEN
Does that inspire a whole lot of confidence in you? Because it doesn't make me feel too good at all.
Joe Pereira is the Only Returning Senior With A Collegiate Goal
Victor Saponari and Adam Kraus have combined to play in a grand total of 18 games in their 3 seasons at BU. The star of the senior class is Joe Pereira, who is a hard-nosed, solid role player, but he has a grand total of 12 goals and 28 assists in three seasons. This isn't exactly a Matt Gilroy, Chris Higgins, Brandon Yip, John McCarthy, Jason Lawrence type of senior class.
For those of you counting at home, that's a grand total of 6 defensemen under BU's control going into next season. It could be rough going for the Terriers in 2010-2011.
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6 comments:
Wow, this was expected, but laying it out the way you do, it is sobering. Dealing with the D, there are five returners (one of which, Ruikka, has never played or dressed for a minute of college hockey), Rosen who has shown some good ability but was not used a lot, and a rookie freshman Clendening who is totally unknown entity at college. Nicastro and Escobedo will all need to step up as well as second year players. Warsofsky will need to be the defensive leader. Praying that he is not thinking about leaving too!
This is step up time for BU. I believe they can do it, but it will take much focus and desire. Perhaps this D crew will play with more fire and focus than it did this season.
I agree that it will be tough, but perhaps the sense of entitlment that seemed to loom over the whole team after the championship will be gone now. These guys will have a ton to prove, and the reality is that Parker and Co. simply don't recruit anything but quality hockey players. Now it's time for some of these unknown entities to show us why they were brought in to this program in the first place.
That being said, if Warsofsky signs his entry level deal with St. Louis (which doesn't seem likely right now) I think you can pretty much write the season off.
Maybe this is a good thing for the upcoming season, with the "sense of entitlment" washed away. Not that Shattenkirk or Colby Cohen didn't want to win, but they knew that they were gone and many others would go with them.
Parker and Co. do recruit top end players, so the coaching staff must show confidence in all the returning players and new recruits. The players have a great opportunity to prove what they can do. A good summary is that the team will, to steal an over used phrase, will have to play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back.
Is there a "status" on Dave Worsofsky? I mean is there a better than average chance he would bail out now as well?
Great work with this blog, Philly baby. This is an excellent post, and the previous commenter put it best when he said it's sobering. And by sobering, I mean a slap to the face to anyone who thinks this team will be able to compete at a high level next year. After a season of covering this team, I can tell you right now that the #1 factor next season lies with the junior class, and their attitude.
Yes, attitude was thrown around a lot this season as a scapegoat for this team's woes, but Shattenkirk and Gryba were the only ones who kept this team in check. Assuming #5 and #6 (or #12) get C's (I'm going to guess that it's 5 and 6, 12 with an A), it will be in their hands to keep this squad in check not only in September and beyond, but throughout the summer as well. Attitude will be key, again. There is talent--#27 quietly had a great year, but he's a hot-head who needs some guidance, he can break out. Just one example out of many.
Then there's the whole six defensemen on the roster. Yes, Coyle and Nieto bring a ton of promise, but this team needs to make DEFENSE the number-one priority. I for one am excited to finally see Ruikka finally play (knock on wood), and I think there is plenty of talent there, but sheesh...a couple of bad injuries and they're done.
BC has done a better job recruiting since Quinn has left, and it's shown. They're going to be the class of the league again, and don't count out Maine, 'Mack and Northeastern next year. Right now, BU is a middle-of-the-pack team at best in HE next season. It could be a long six months for Terrier fans.
Warsofsky is likely staying. He told the Patriot Ledger after the loss to Maine that he's "excited with who's coming back" next season. . . and I'm sure the fact that there is a 99 percent chance he'll get a 'C' will keep him for one more year. He's very good, but there's still some work to be done before he makes the jump. Hell, C. Cohen still needed some work...
Thank you
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