Year two under Morris shaping up to be quite different

The Saints are just 18 days away from year two under Mark Morris (Jack Lyons)

The 2017-18 season will mark the second year of Mark Morris' tenure as head coach of the Saints, and this team will look noticeably different than the last few years. Four defensemen graduated, as well as three forwards, and several players transferred, including all-American goalie Kyle Hayton. The losses, particularly on the defensive side of the game, are tremendous, but the Saints will have arguably their most talented team in terms of forwards since 2013-14, a team that boasted Greg Carey, a Hobey Baker hat trick finalist, and his brother Matt along with Jeremy Wick, Patrick Doherty, Gunnar Hughes and Brian Ward up front. 

After a breakout, albeit injury shortened junior season, Mike Marnell is set to lead the offense in 2017-18 (Jack Lyons)

The Saints offense will be lead by senior Mike Marnell, who managed 15 goals last season despite missing significant time due to injury, as did many key players for the Saints. Joe Sullivan also had a breakout campaign last year, posting 27 points, and rookie Carson Gicewicz was a pleasant surprise for Morris and co. The 6'3" winger stepped in and played some center and put up 17 points in 27 games. Mike Ederer showed flashes of being an elite scorer on the wing and we all know what Jacob Pritchard is capable of after his 13-game point streak to close out 2015-16. 

In addition to their returning forwards, SLU brings in a pure scoring winger in Cade Gleekel, a former Mr. Hockey finalist who was a part of the first undefeated team in the history of Benilde-St. Margarets in Minnesota. Gleekel has quick feet and a great nose for the puck around the net, assets which should pay dividends in coach Morris' system. 

Rookie Cade Gleekel brings speed and skill to the wing (PC: MN Hockey Hub)

While their forward corps will be deep, the defense will have some adjusting to do as they get used to life without Gavin Bayreuther, Eric Sweetman, Ben Masella and Mike Graham, four starters who graduated last year. Of course, its impossible to say enough about how much Bayreuther meant to the Saints, but the other three were all reliable defensemen who allowed players like Bayreuther, Ben Finkelstein, and Nolan Gluchowski to move up ice with the puck safely. Finkelstein and Gluchowski return and will form the core of a defense that welcomes several newcomers, most notably Jake Stevens, one of the top defenders in the BCHL a season ago. Stevens, who brings good size at 6'2", had 53 points in 58 games last year with the Victoria Grizzlies, and he followed up a strong regular season with 10 points in 18 playoff games. He has a similar playing style to Bayreuther, but don't expect him to be the same caliber as Gavin, who is almost certainly one of the ten greatest players in the history of St. Lawrence hockey. He is irreplaceable. 

Speaking of irreplaceable players, the loss of Kyle Hayton to Wisconsin is the most noticeable, mostly because it was unexpected. He gave us three years of unbelievable performances and mile-high salutes, making saves no human should be able to make, and driving most of the league crazy along the way. But now, he dons a different shade of red, and the Saints must move on. Arty Brey has shown he can be a really good starting goalie in the few opportunities he's gotten while backing up Hayton for the past two years, and now its his time to shine. 

With a new look roster and a tough out-of-conference to start the season that includes Michigan, Penn State, 2016 national champion North Dakota and Wisconsin, the Saints will be thrown right into the fire. But for the returning players, who battled through the injury bug last season, no challenge is too great. It may be a bit much to expect a fourth straight first round bye in the ECAC tournament, but given that this is the ECAC, nothing is cemented. In 2014-15, with goaltending and offensive questions surrounding the team, SLU took the league by storm, finishing second in the regular season and just missing out on the ECAC championship game. Nothing is certain (though Harvard is pretty much a lock for first place, barring serious injuries), but one thing is for sure. Hockey is only a few weeks away. 

After a great season in 2016-17, Ben Finkelstein will be a fixture on the Saints defense in 2017-18 (Jack Lyons)

My preseason pick for MVP for the Saints is Ben Finkelstein. He had an impressive rookie campaign, finishing fourth on the team in points with 23 while earning a reputation as a consistent defender, arguably the most consistent on the team as coach Morris told me several times last year. I wouldn't expect a sophomore slump from the Panthers sixth round draft pick who looks to take on an even bigger role with the Saints in year two. Gleekel is my pick for rookie of the year because I think he fits perfectly into Morris' system, with size at 6'1", speed, skill, and a willingness to drive the net. 

As far as the ECAC goes, this is how I see things shaking out:
1. Harvard
2. Quinnipiac
3. Princeton
4. Clarkson
5. Cornell
6. St. Lawrence
7. Yale
8. Union
9. Brown
10. RPI
11. Dartmouth
12. Colgate

Of course, I've been dead wrong on at least two teams every year, so take that with a grain of salt. 

The Saints open the season with an exhibition game against McGill on September 30th before hosting Michigan to open the season on October 6. Until then, enjoy the highlights of last season. 

Go Saints