Future Gopher Coach Discussion

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bonin21 said:
Are you seriously thinking a 40 some percent acceptance rate is impressive? When I started at CSOM it was like 15ish percent. And CSE always hovered about the same and usually a bit tighter.

And the reputation of the U is also tied to the dumbest student you let in (probably to CLA). I can't imagine what their acceptance rate is now.
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Ahhh, CSOM, where the knuckledraggers that couldn't hack it in engineering go. 🤣
 

Your legacy is choking in the title game and leaving the program as low as its ever been. And your legacy at SCSU was choking with 1 overall seeds. Thanks, Bob. Hope your assistants can at least get you a medal at the WJC on your retirement tour cuz you're definitely not gonna coach that team up yourself.

Fuck off
 

bonin21 said:
Your legacy is choking in the title game and leaving the program as low as its ever been. And your legacy at SCSU was choking with 1 overall seeds. Thanks, Bob. Hope your assistants can at least get you a medal at the WJC on your retirement tour cuz you're definitely not gonna coach that team up yourself.

Fuck off
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Last night may have been hitting rock bottom. Nowhere to go but up. It is a sad state of affairs for the once proud program, but we've seen it before. The program will rebound, it always does, but it may require a change in leadership. Motzko is a fine man, a good coach, and sounds like a good family man; but the spark hasn't been there from the start. I know the family tragedy had to have had a significant impact but even prior it just never came together.
 

bonin21 said:
Your legacy is choking in the title game and leaving the program as low as its ever been. And your legacy at SCSU was choking with 1 overall seeds. Thanks, Bob. Hope your assistants can at least get you a medal at the WJC on your retirement tour cuz you're definitely not gonna coach that team up yourself.

Fuck off
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What a pathetic post. Would you walk up to your boss and say that? Very mature. The entire universe knows how you feel about Motzko, and you have felt that way since Tampa. That is your right. Telling someone to F off is a new low for even you.
 

bonin21 said:
Your legacy is choking in the title game and leaving the program as low as its ever been. And your legacy at SCSU was choking with 1 overall seeds. Thanks, Bob. Hope your assistants can at least get you a medal at the WJC on your retirement tour cuz you're definitely not gonna coach that team up yourself.

Fuck off
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Saying "Fuck off" to someone because they aren't a great hockey coach is kind of weird.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
Saying "Fuck off" to someone because they aren't a great hockey coach is kind of weird.
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Yes. Almost as weird as losing your mind over things like the coach naming too many captains.
 


18-18-3 in 2025. Mediocrity is not accepted for Gopher hockey.
 

bonin21 said:
18-18-3 in 2025. Mediocrity is not accepted for Gopher hockey.
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I would guess the 29-7-3 2024 and 24-10-5 2023 (or 53-17-8) probably gives him a little bit of leeway. 100% agree with you the 18-18-3 is unacceptable for any sustained amount of time.

Unless he voluntarily steps down, he'll be the coach next year. Nov/Dec (6-4) looked a hell of a lot better than October (2-6-1, holy fuck that's bad). Think some of this also depends on who they're thinking is next in line. If you're going the route of young up and comer you may be fine with him staying in place a little longer to let them season more (such as Raboin). tbh it actually doesn't look there are likely to be any "blue blood" jobs open this year so its unlikely much movement in college that the Gophers couldn't overcome in terms of a buyout/step up to someone they want to offer

Of the targets that would be in my head (not saying I'd pick any one of them, just these will be the names), Maine/Barr looks smack on mediocre this year (and is behind MN in the NPI/KRACH) and he did just sign a new deal (that we can outbid of course), you probably want Raboin to get more seasoning, Hartford/Potulny look mediocre again but always hard to assess an AHL coach as so much of it depends on the org/players you have, Fersch signed an extension last year (but we can outbid that, though I suspect he will want to stay at WMU to see things through the opening of their new rink), you're not convincing Carle/Nightengale to leave.

I feel a little better with where things are sitting now as the Fr class has gotten more seasoning (Mooney with 6pts in last 5, Moore with 10 pts in last 8 after 2 in the first 11, and Moe/Townsend/Pritchard look like middle of line up contributors as upperclassmen). Add that Kvasnicka has looked like he's getting it together (3rd leading rookie scorer in the W, tied for 16th overall, leading Penticton) and Harper looks like he'll add some offensive punch when he gets here (is the leading rookie D scorer in the O, 3rd amongst all rookies, and has been quarterbacking their powerplay). The W Cullen injuries have been a big bummer as he's really popped when he's played.

The staff does really need to be pushing to land a couple of the big uncommitted names (Fitzhenry, Willis, Schneider at F) out there though and try plug some holes with top end guys who can play next year (preferably at D either via the portal or from Canada). They're still out there.
 



upnorthkid said:
I would guess the 29-7-3 2024 and 24-10-5 2023 (or 53-17-8) probably gives him a little bit of leeway. 100% agree with you the 18-18-3 is unacceptable for any sustained amount of time.
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You need to read the trajectory. His pipeline is not going to give you a 2023 or 2024 type record in 2026. Start the rebuild
 

upnorthkid said:
I feel a little better with where things are sitting now as the Fr class has gotten more seasoning (Mooney with 6pts in last 5, Moore with 10 pts in last 8 after 2 in the first 11, and Moe/Townsend/Pritchard look like middle of line up contributors as upperclassmen). Add that Kvasnicka has looked like he's getting it together (3rd leading rookie scorer in the W, tied for 16th overall, leading Penticton) and Harper looks like he'll add some offensive punch when he gets here (is the leading rookie D scorer in the O, 3rd amongst all rookies, and has been quarterbacking their powerplay). The W Cullen injuries have been a big bummer as he's really popped when he's played.
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The forwards are fine. The goalies, well we better pray Casey pans out.

The D is fucking brutal. Harper looks solid so far. 5 of the six D coming back next year basically suck by Gopher hockey standards. Rombach could turn out decent but he's not Rinzel. Phillips sucks at hockey. Grimes sucks. You're going to have the exact same pain next year trying to start offense with them.
 
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Phillips sucks so bad that the Flames wasted a 3rd round pick on him. Boy, their scouts must really suck then and they must immediately hire Bonin21 as director of scouting. And yes, I have seen him play....
 

Vanek26 said:
Phillips sucks so bad that the Flames wasted a 3rd round pick on him. Boy, their scouts must really suck then and they must immediately hire Bonin21 as director of scouting. And yes, I have seen him play....
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I hope you don't think he got drafted that high because of his skill. It was a flyer pick based on his size. If he wasn't a Gopher recruit and you watched a game with him in it you would not see him as any help to the major issues with the Gopher roster.

Remember Collins and Glover? Rombach and Phillips is version 2.0 of that. Slightly improved overall.
 



Teams don't waste 3rd round picks on flyers. 5th rounders or later maybe. But, hey you are the elite hockey mind on this site. Also, people complain the Gophers don't have grit. Phillips will bring them grit.
 

Vanek26 said:
Teams don't waste 3rd round picks on flyers. 5th rounders or later maybe. But, hey you are the elite hockey mind on this site. Also, people complain the Gophers don't have grit. Phillips will bring them grit.
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He fits a certain roster makeup. He does not fit a team that has 6 or more D that can't break out the puck.
 

Word out of Maine that Ben Barr is on the hot seat after getting swept this past weekend. Kariya9 on BearDen is putting up quite a stink over there.
 

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I'll go with either 1) Darby Henrickson or 2) Any of the below, time for you-know-who to go. Benn Barr has a winning 12-9-2 record at Maine this season. He's under some heat but still compare his record to soon to be outgoing Gophers hockey coach's stinker 8-12-1 (4-6-0 in conference play 50% more losses than wins):

  • Garrett Raboin: The current head coach at Augustana University, Raboin is a former Gopher assistant coach who was reportedly effective in recruiting top talent during his time in Minnesota. This prior experience within the program makes him a likely candidate to hand the reins to.
  • Grant Potulny: A former Gophers player on the national championship teams and an assistant under Don Lucia for eight seasons, Potulny has head coaching experience at Northern Michigan University and knows the Gopher culture well.
  • Darby Hendrickson: A former Gophers player who also had a professional playing and coaching career (including as an assistant with the Minnesota Wild), Hendrickson lives in the area and has a strong pro player/coach pedigree.
Other potential candidates with strong head coaching experience include up-and-coming Ben Barr (University of Maine), Pat Ferschweiler (Western Michigan head coach) and Nate Leaman (Providence Head Coach).

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bonin21 said:
I hope you don't think that's actually true.

And also let's lay off the ChatGPT. There are already enough people on here that don't know hockey talking out their asses
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Yea, don't cross the line. I know you agree with me that keeping Fabre and that historic line on the bench in OT was a.mistake. If people are saying Barr needs some heat, then the Gophers head coach job should be torched to vacant.

Won't bring back the bungled championship loss that Fabre and the others didn't get.
 

WinMinGophers! said:
Yea, don't cross the line. I know you agree with me that keeping Fabre and that historic line on the bench in OT was a.mistake. If people are saying Barr needs some heat, then the Gophers head coach job should be torched to vacant.

Won't bring back the bungled championship loss that Fabre and the others didn't get.
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Barr is under 0 fire to be fired at Maine this year. he's made 2 NCAA tournaments after they did once in the prior 11. The mentioning of him is completely pointless as it relates to Motzko.

People post shit on message boards after every single loss, regardless of a coach's success. Any Maine fan who thinks they should get rid of Barr is delusional
 

upnorthkid said:
Barr is under 0 fire to be fired at Maine this year. he's made 2 NCAA tournaments after they did once in the prior 11. The mentioning of him is completely pointless as it relates to Motzko.

People post shit on message boards after every single loss, regardless of a coach's success. Any Maine fan who thinks they should get rid of Barr is delusional
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Some people are also on fishing expeditions sometimes and trying to catch a few whoppers.
 
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bonin21 said:
When Motzko does get fired, I mean retire... You will be nowhere to be found
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I'm going to guess he'll be here, as he always is. None of us are naive enough to think Bob is infallible. I think he enjoys ribbing you about your love affair with Barr.

Will be a bummer when Barr and Maine miss the tourney as I like the style and grit they play with, and am a fan of anyone who isn't just paying Canadians to come in to try buy one. Barr hasn't changed a lick about how he recruits, looking for fit and knowing the brand they play for sustainability long term. I don't think he would come in here and be anywhere approaching an immediate rebuild and would be very interested in seeing what recruits around MN and the country would say. Bob has put a shit ton of guys in the NHL over the last few years, some of which were not all that highly touted when they were coming in and clearly got a lot better while they were here, and is still pulling from the NTDP at a good clip. A guy like Cullen is not letting his kids go play somewhere he thinks they can't coach (he'd actually be a pretty good sleeper pick if you wanted to hire a GM with a bunch of connections if you're looking for a shakeup with really good player/GM/scout connections that would do it for prestige, if he wanted, rather than care what the salary is).

Bob is back next year if he wants to be. If he doesn't wake up and decide to get aggressive with the portal and CHL, he won't be here the year after regardless of the good graces from prior.

I would guess if they were to move on this year, it would be Raboin who gets more look than Barr, for better or worse.
 

upnorthkid said:
I would guess if they were to move on this year, it would be Raboin who gets more look than Barr, for better or worse.
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No one can try to fault Barr's recruiting then say Raboin would be a good choice
 

bonin21 said:
When Motzko does get fired, I mean retire... You will be nowhere to be found
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I am a Gopher fan, win or lose. I will support the program no matter who the coach is, and when Bob is gone, I will support who ever replaces him. I won't bitch about the team when they lose a game or misses on a recruit. Life is too short to be bitter 24/7.
 

bonin21 said:
I hope you don't think that's actually true.

And also let's lay off the ChatGPT. There are already enough people on here that don't know hockey talking out their asses
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Honest question. Did you play at any level? As a former athlete, I have my suspicions, and I'm genuinely curious. I find message boards to be fascinating experiments.
 



Vanek26 said:
I am a Gopher fan, win or lose. I will support the program no matter who the coach is, and when Bob is gone, I will support who ever replaces him. I won't bitch about the team when they lose a game or misses on a recruit. Life is too short to be bitter 24/7.
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I am just like you, except when time for strikes, like now.

Last offseason a #2 regional seed (5 overall) but didn't sniff the Frozen Four because upset loss in front of everyone watching at Fargo.

Ok, that is hockey. It happens. Except the blunder the tournament before and how many of these will happen before enough.

Nobody can say he is where he should be the last 2.5 seasons.
 


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