With less than two months to go before the Skating Saints drop the puck against Carleton to kick off the 2015-2016 season, albeit in an exhibition game, it's time to take a look at the competition for SLU in their 22 ECAC games.
Brown:
Brown did a good job of recruiting this season, and while they lose a fair amount of scoring, almost 35% of last years points, they still return Nick Lappin and Mark Naclerio. And that 35% is out of only 169 total points, so that should put some things in perspective. They did allow more than 3.5 goals per game last year, but were young on defense only graduating one player. Alex Brink was a good scorer for the Boston Junior Bruins last year and his ability to transition into the college ranks will determine how effective Brown's offense is, especially with the return of Lappin and Naclerio. Max Gottlieb is a solid two way defenseman for the Bears, and should help them get better in transition as well as help replace the production lost with De Concilys' graduation. Their defense and goaltending was much improved towards the end of the year, and they simply got unlucky by drawing Harvard in the first round of the tournament. I think they will be the most improved team in the league.
Clarkson:
Clarkson doesn't lose a lot of scoring, only 14%, but they do lose their top scorer in Joe Zarbo. They didn't add a lot of goals with their incoming class, but their defense will still be good, as it usually is. The development of younger players should help them score some more goals, but there is a difference between in players getting older and players getting better. Its unlikely that their players are another year older will make the necessary difference. The Golden Knights do retain both goaltenders in Steve Perry and Greg Lewis who were excellent at times last year, but also not so great at other times. Inconsistency in net and an uncertainty regarding goal production will most likely leave Clarkson in the middle of the pack once again this year, but it seems that they always find an extra gear against SLU. More tough games.
Colgate:
Colgate loses Ryan Johnston, Kyle Baun, Joe Wilson and Spiro Goulakos, among others. Baun was the third cog on that Spink line, Wilson was excellent as a winger on their second line, and Johnston and Goulakos are two of their best defensemen. In all honesty. Quinnipiac and Colgate could be switched, but I think Colgate still has the scoring and goaltending to make the top four. They also bring in Rory McGuire, who should become an effective two way defenseman, but his arrival may not be enough to help replace arguably their two best defenseman, both who helped Colgate on the penalty kill and power play. With those losses, their 8th ranked power play and 7th ranked penalty kill will likely get worse. They also lose another consistent defenseman in Brendan Corcoran. However, Colgate has been the bane of SLU's existence the last few years, but it's likely that will end this year.
Cornell:
Cornell is devastated by graduation and no matter how strong their recruiting class is, I still think they will have a tough year. They were 11th in offense in the ECAC last year and they lose 45% of their total points. Their defense was 6th last year, but even an improvement in that category won't be enough to help, as Cornell may well have the worst offense in the league next year. And, an improvement on defense isn't likely, as they've lost Joakim Ryan and Jacob McDonald, two of their top defensemen. May be a tough year in Lynah.
Quinnipiac:
Quinnipiac loses 20% of their scoring and two of their top 6 defensemen.They bring in a pretty strong recruiting class that should help make up for some of the lost points. Thomas Aldworth is a good scorer, though not nearly the scorer Matthew Peca was, and Daniel Fritz should help make up for the loss of Justin Agosta and Danny Federico, at least in the offensive production category. The intangibles of leadership and experience will certainly be missed, most notably by Michael Garteig. He struggled at points last year, and with the loss of his two best defenseman, its unlikely this year will be any better for him. They still have the scoring and overall talent to make some noise within the ECAC though and will be a tough opponent for St. Lawrence.
Rensselaer:
Rensselaer was 9th in offense last year in the ECAC and tenth in defense. They lose 33% of scoring and lose Curtis Leonard to graduation, one of the big anchors on defense. They were set to have one of the best goaltending tandems in college hockey with Jason Kasdorf and Alec Dillon, but with Dillon's decision to de-commit, Kasdorf will be the starter, as was expected anyway. The loss of Dillon will be felt in the following years, unless there is an injury to Kasdorf. They have a few good recruits, in scorers Jesper Ohrvall and Brady Wiffen as well as Meirs Moore on defense. Expect the offense to improve, but the defense will likely struggle again.
Union:
Union will likely have the same struggle as last year. Their defense was atrocious at times, but they still scored goals at will. While they added a fair amount of scoring with their incoming class, they only brought in one defenseman, Greg Campbell. He does have good offensive upside and a strong compete level, but will likely not be enough. Also, they graduate Colin Stevens, and while Alex Sakellaropoulos is more than capable, he isn't as good as Stevens. As more and more players from Union's championship team begin to leave the confines of Messa Rink, the Dutchmen will likely struggle again this year.
Yale:
Alex Lyon will be a junior, and likely one of the best goalies in the ECAC again. They graduate just 7% of their goals, and should John Hayden have a breakout season like Jimmy Vesey last year, he alone could make up for a large chunk of that loss. They do lose two of their defenseman, but the loss should be absorbed by guys like Rob O'Gara, who is arguably the best defenseman in the ECAC, and Nate Repensky, who had a good rookie season and should improve. They also bring in a pretty strong recruiting class. One in particular, Charlie Curti, is a very similar player to Gavin Bayreuther. He's a strong two way defenseman, and will help replace the losses on the blue line and make up for some of what little scoring they lost. They will be a force in the ECAC, and nationally.
Brown:
Brown did a good job of recruiting this season, and while they lose a fair amount of scoring, almost 35% of last years points, they still return Nick Lappin and Mark Naclerio. And that 35% is out of only 169 total points, so that should put some things in perspective. They did allow more than 3.5 goals per game last year, but were young on defense only graduating one player. Alex Brink was a good scorer for the Boston Junior Bruins last year and his ability to transition into the college ranks will determine how effective Brown's offense is, especially with the return of Lappin and Naclerio. Max Gottlieb is a solid two way defenseman for the Bears, and should help them get better in transition as well as help replace the production lost with De Concilys' graduation. Their defense and goaltending was much improved towards the end of the year, and they simply got unlucky by drawing Harvard in the first round of the tournament. I think they will be the most improved team in the league.
Clarkson:
Clarkson doesn't lose a lot of scoring, only 14%, but they do lose their top scorer in Joe Zarbo. They didn't add a lot of goals with their incoming class, but their defense will still be good, as it usually is. The development of younger players should help them score some more goals, but there is a difference between in players getting older and players getting better. Its unlikely that their players are another year older will make the necessary difference. The Golden Knights do retain both goaltenders in Steve Perry and Greg Lewis who were excellent at times last year, but also not so great at other times. Inconsistency in net and an uncertainty regarding goal production will most likely leave Clarkson in the middle of the pack once again this year, but it seems that they always find an extra gear against SLU. More tough games.
Colgate:
Colgate loses Ryan Johnston, Kyle Baun, Joe Wilson and Spiro Goulakos, among others. Baun was the third cog on that Spink line, Wilson was excellent as a winger on their second line, and Johnston and Goulakos are two of their best defensemen. In all honesty. Quinnipiac and Colgate could be switched, but I think Colgate still has the scoring and goaltending to make the top four. They also bring in Rory McGuire, who should become an effective two way defenseman, but his arrival may not be enough to help replace arguably their two best defenseman, both who helped Colgate on the penalty kill and power play. With those losses, their 8th ranked power play and 7th ranked penalty kill will likely get worse. They also lose another consistent defenseman in Brendan Corcoran. However, Colgate has been the bane of SLU's existence the last few years, but it's likely that will end this year.
Cornell is devastated by graduation and no matter how strong their recruiting class is, I still think they will have a tough year. They were 11th in offense in the ECAC last year and they lose 45% of their total points. Their defense was 6th last year, but even an improvement in that category won't be enough to help, as Cornell may well have the worst offense in the league next year. And, an improvement on defense isn't likely, as they've lost Joakim Ryan and Jacob McDonald, two of their top defensemen. May be a tough year in Lynah.
Dartmouth:
Dartmouth simply loses too many players. Their top three scorers in Eric Neiley, Tyler Sikura and Eric Robinson are all gone. This impact goes beyond the loss of scoring. Dartmouth was a possession team last year, and those three players were a large part of that. With their loss, that possession will decrease. Charles Grant and James Kruger were good in goal, but the incredible puck possession numbers helped them, and the Big Green lose that this season. A loss of scoring and puck possession is never a good thing, and Dartmouth's incoming class will not have enough of an impact to help. It will be a rough go for Dartmouth, but make sure to keep following them on Twitter. Always worth it.
Harvard:
Harvard will also be quite good this season. They were excellent last year before injuries struck, but we all saw what the team was capable of in the ECAC tournament. With Jimmy Vesey returning and the arrival of Ryan Donato, their offense will be quite potent. They only lost 9% of their goals, and Donato could easily make up for most of that. They bring in one of the strongest recruiting classes. Harvard needs to find someone to replace Michalek in net, but Merrick Madsen, a Flyers 6th round pick, should be capable of filling the void. St. Lawrence held Harvard's offense in check last year: don't expect that to happen again.
Princeton:
Princeton... well, Princeton won two conference games last year, four overall. Their recruiting class is decent, with Josh Teves on defense among others, but the mountain that the Tigers need to climb is pretty high. Another tough year for Princeton.
Dartmouth simply loses too many players. Their top three scorers in Eric Neiley, Tyler Sikura and Eric Robinson are all gone. This impact goes beyond the loss of scoring. Dartmouth was a possession team last year, and those three players were a large part of that. With their loss, that possession will decrease. Charles Grant and James Kruger were good in goal, but the incredible puck possession numbers helped them, and the Big Green lose that this season. A loss of scoring and puck possession is never a good thing, and Dartmouth's incoming class will not have enough of an impact to help. It will be a rough go for Dartmouth, but make sure to keep following them on Twitter. Always worth it.
Harvard:
Harvard will also be quite good this season. They were excellent last year before injuries struck, but we all saw what the team was capable of in the ECAC tournament. With Jimmy Vesey returning and the arrival of Ryan Donato, their offense will be quite potent. They only lost 9% of their goals, and Donato could easily make up for most of that. They bring in one of the strongest recruiting classes. Harvard needs to find someone to replace Michalek in net, but Merrick Madsen, a Flyers 6th round pick, should be capable of filling the void. St. Lawrence held Harvard's offense in check last year: don't expect that to happen again.
Princeton:
Princeton... well, Princeton won two conference games last year, four overall. Their recruiting class is decent, with Josh Teves on defense among others, but the mountain that the Tigers need to climb is pretty high. Another tough year for Princeton.
Quinnipiac:
Quinnipiac loses 20% of their scoring and two of their top 6 defensemen.They bring in a pretty strong recruiting class that should help make up for some of the lost points. Thomas Aldworth is a good scorer, though not nearly the scorer Matthew Peca was, and Daniel Fritz should help make up for the loss of Justin Agosta and Danny Federico, at least in the offensive production category. The intangibles of leadership and experience will certainly be missed, most notably by Michael Garteig. He struggled at points last year, and with the loss of his two best defenseman, its unlikely this year will be any better for him. They still have the scoring and overall talent to make some noise within the ECAC though and will be a tough opponent for St. Lawrence.
Rensselaer:
Rensselaer was 9th in offense last year in the ECAC and tenth in defense. They lose 33% of scoring and lose Curtis Leonard to graduation, one of the big anchors on defense. They were set to have one of the best goaltending tandems in college hockey with Jason Kasdorf and Alec Dillon, but with Dillon's decision to de-commit, Kasdorf will be the starter, as was expected anyway. The loss of Dillon will be felt in the following years, unless there is an injury to Kasdorf. They have a few good recruits, in scorers Jesper Ohrvall and Brady Wiffen as well as Meirs Moore on defense. Expect the offense to improve, but the defense will likely struggle again.
Union:
Union will likely have the same struggle as last year. Their defense was atrocious at times, but they still scored goals at will. While they added a fair amount of scoring with their incoming class, they only brought in one defenseman, Greg Campbell. He does have good offensive upside and a strong compete level, but will likely not be enough. Also, they graduate Colin Stevens, and while Alex Sakellaropoulos is more than capable, he isn't as good as Stevens. As more and more players from Union's championship team begin to leave the confines of Messa Rink, the Dutchmen will likely struggle again this year.
Yale:
Alex Lyon will be a junior, and likely one of the best goalies in the ECAC again. They graduate just 7% of their goals, and should John Hayden have a breakout season like Jimmy Vesey last year, he alone could make up for a large chunk of that loss. They do lose two of their defenseman, but the loss should be absorbed by guys like Rob O'Gara, who is arguably the best defenseman in the ECAC, and Nate Repensky, who had a good rookie season and should improve. They also bring in a pretty strong recruiting class. One in particular, Charlie Curti, is a very similar player to Gavin Bayreuther. He's a strong two way defenseman, and will help replace the losses on the blue line and make up for some of what little scoring they lost. They will be a force in the ECAC, and nationally.
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