July 2011 News

Kelly Zajac at the New Jersey Devils Prospect Camp

Hello Union Hockey fans! We're still here! It's been a very busy summer for the UHB team, but we have not forgotten about our beloved Dutchmen. We've been updating on Facebook and Twitter over the past month about all the latest exciting news about Union College Hockey and the College hockey world. 


This off-season has been the most exciting in the history of college hockey with the official announcement of the "super conference," the possibility of Minnesota-Moorhead creating a DI team, all the coaching changes, and many players leaving the NCAA for juniors. Here is a summary of some of the biggest Union and college hockey news in July (from earliest to most recent):


- Four current Dutchmen and one former Dutchman participated in NHL Prospect Camps this month. Mat Bodie and Jeremy Welsh attended the Chicago Blackhawks camp, Kelly Zajac and Keith Kinkaid attended the New Jersey Devils camp, and Josh Jooris attended the Boston Bruins camp. All did a very good job, especially Josh Jooris, who was highly praised, and Kelly Zajac who scored a bunch of goals. You can read all the links, and view pictures and videos of these guys at the camps on the UHB Twitter. [UHB Twitter]


- Former Union star Mario Valery-Trabucco signed with Augsburger Panther in Germany. [ECAC Hockey]


- Western Michigan Coach Jeff Blashill left for a job with the Detroit Red Wings. [USCHO]


- Flin Flon Bombers forward Andrew Johnston committed to Union for 12-13 season. [Flin Flon Bombers]


- Devils blog ranked Keith Kinkaid the 14th best prospect in NJ Devils system. [In Lou We Trust]

Keith Kinkaid at the New Jersey Devils Prospect Camp

- Keith Kinkaid talked about being with the Devils. [Fire & Ice]


- The face of college hockey has changed with the creation of the Big 10 conference, and the announcement this summer of the creation of the six team "super conference" called the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The WCHA and CCHA has had some major scrambling to do, and may change the situation in the east, especially with Atlantic Hockey. There have also been rumors of Notre Dame joining with Hockey East or the ECAC. [USCHO] [New York Times]


- Union goaltender recruit Julien LaPlante is ineligible after admitting to playing 20 minutes for the WHL's Portland Winter Hawks, a Canadian major junior hockey team. He could still have come to Union after sitting out one season, but Coach Bennett didn't want that. [Ken Schott]


- Kevin Sullivan took part in the "Big Assist III" in Stamford, Connecticut. It was a charity game to benefit the Obie Harrington-Howes foundation. Sullivan got the chance to play with NHL stars like Martin St. Louis and Matt Moulson. [Darien Patch]


- The Zajac brothers were featured at the Devils camp. [Fire & Ice]


- Reports said that Minnesota State - Moorhead is trying to add DI ice hockey. [MSUM Athletics]


- Union announced their incoming recruiting class (Class of 2015): forwards Mark Bennett, Sam Coatta, Daniel Ciampini, Tyson Fulton, Trevor Mingoia, and Max Novak, defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and Charlie Vasaturo, and goaltenders Dillion Pieri and Colin Stevens. This was pretty much what we expected. [Union Athletics]

Josh Jooris at the Boston Bruins Prospect Camp

- Goaltender Colin Stevens, a Niskayuna native, is coming to Union one year early after the problems with Julien LaPlante. He's supposed to be an excellent goaltender. [Ken Schott]


- Sam Bowles '08 has resigned with the Columbus Cottonmouths of the SPHL. [ECAC Hockey]


- Julien LaPlante has followed former Union coach Nate Leaman to Providence, but will have to sit out the upcoming season. [Ken Schott]


- Jooris, Welsh, Bodie, and Zajac all shared their thoughts on attending the NHL prospect camps. [Official Blog of Union Hockey]


- The College Hockey Blog named Jeremy Welsh as a sleeper for the 2012 Hobey Baker Award. [The College Hockey Blog]


- Keith Kinkaid has his own Wikipedia page. Sweet. I bet the best pickup line ever is, "Hey have you seen my Wikipedia page?" I wish I had one. [Wikipedia]


- Versus is looking into a college hockey TV package. [Ken Schott]


- Instant replay has been installed at Messa Rink. [Twitpic courtesy of @UnionHockey]


- Inside College Hockey ranked Union 6th in their preseason Top 10 poll. [INCH]

Jeremy Welsh at the Chicago Blackhawks Prospect Camp

- Union has released their 2011-12 roster. Notes: Only numbers not used are 5, 13, and 24... Jean-Sebastian Bergeron is not on the roster... Cole Ikkala has changed his number from 18 to 23...  the Freshmen have received their numbers: #6 Vasaturo, #10 Bennett, #11 Coatta, #14 Gostisbehere, #17 Ciampini, #18 Novak, #25 Fulton, #29 Mingoia, #30 Stevens, #31 Pieri. [Union Athletics]


- Former Union captain Mike Wakita '10 has resigned with the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL. [ECAC Hockey]


To follow the latest college hockey news go to USCHO, INCH, or CHN.

Believe In Rick Bennett and Troy Grosenick!

Some people are worried about what's going to happen to the Dutchmen without Coach Leaman and Keith Kinkaid. Union fans should not be worried because Rick Bennett will be a great coach and Troy Grosenick will provide solid goaltending. The biggest thing is believing in them. If the fans believe in them then they will believe in themselves.

I believe in these guys! Happy Springfest!

Rick Bennett fights for the NY Rangers (blue jersey):


Troy Grosenick celebrates with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (#27):

The End Of An Era

The Nate Leaman Era has officially ended. It was an exciting era, especially in the latter half, which saw Union become an ECAC power and a nationally respected program. If you have to credit one person for all of this success, it has to be Nate Leaman. He is the reason why Union Hockey is no longer a joke, and what makes my blog (and other media sources covering the team) and the rest of Dutch Nation relevant. And for that I and the rest of the fans are extremely grateful for Nate Leaman. So, thank you Nate for everything you have done here.

Even though I wanted Leaman to stay, I understand why he left and I think it is the correct move for him. To be able to coach in Hockey East is a tremendous opportunity considering it is one of the three premiere leagues in college hockey. The conference has produced three of the past four national champions, while an ECAC team hasn't won the national championship since 1989 (Harvard). Another factor is that Providence offers athletic scholarships, while Union does not. This will allow Leaman to recruit higher end players. In other words, moving from the ECAC to Hockey East is a big upgrade.

Leaman's new job will be another "building process." Providence Hockey has been dormant for a number of years and has been at the bottom of the Hockey East standings for a number of years. If Leaman is able to bring the Friars back to prominence, who knows what that means for him. Not to look too far into the future, but BC's Jerry York and BU's Jack Parker are not getting any younger, and if Leaman is able to prove himself in Hockey East like he did in the ECAC maybe he will be considered to take over these power house programs. If you look at all-time great coaches like Jerry York and Ron Mason they have both coached three teams (York: Clarkson, Bowling Green, Boston College; Mason: Lake Superior, Bowling Green, Michigan State), and they each moved up the coaching ranks during their careers and ended up having huge success in their third stop. So, maybe Leaman's time at Providence is just one stop closer to winning a national championship at a big program.

While the terms of Leaman's new contract are undisclosed, you have to assume that he will be getting a major raise in pay. Coach has just started his family, so money is a factor and you can't blame him for that. Some people are blaming the administration for not increasing his pay, but you have to remember that this is Union College. This is a school where academics is by far the number one priority, and while I would like to see every penny put towards the hockey program it is simply not an option. It is impossible to pay coaches at Union like coaches at Michigan, Boston College, or other bigger schools. These kinds of schools get revenue from other sports like basketball and football that help fund the hockey programs.

While this program technically is a D-I program, it really can't be treated like it. They cannot offer athletic scholarships and there isn't any outside monetary support to help the program (even though the Garnet Blades does a great job). So people ask, why is Union Hockey D-I anyways? That is a question that I can't really answer. Personally, looking back on it I really don't understand it. Was it to compete with RPI? Perhaps. Who knows? Maybe if Nate Leaman never came along we would be a having a conversation right now on whether the program should go back to D-III. But, we're not so let's just enjoy what we have because it's not going to change.

Now, on to Coach Bennett. I think the immediate hire of Rick Bennett was absolutely the correct move. He's a familiar face that the players like a respect, and knows where this program has come from. Bennett understands what it's going to take to win here and he will follow in the steps of Coach Leaman. I expect the Dutchmen to continue their recent success under Coach Bennett over the next few years. The question I have is whether this program will continue to succeed four years down the road. That will be the true measure of Bennett's success. This success will not only rely on Bennett, but on the assistant coaches he hires within the next few weeks.

Union fans, do not be worried! There are still great times ahead for this program. Yes, our Spencer Penrose Award winning coach and All-American goalie are gone, but their replacements will fill the void. They might be unproven, but know what it takes to win at Union which means to outwork their opponent. I guarantee that Coach Bennett and Troy Grosenick will work as hard, if not harder, than Coach Leaman and Keith Kinkaid and will continue the success we've enjoyed for the past few years.

I believe in Bennett and Grosenick and so should you!

For more on Leaman's departure and Bennett's hiring go to:
Concordiensis
Ken Schott's Blog
USCHO --> Leaman to Providence
USCHO --> Bennett hired
College Hockey News
Providence Journal Blog
Union Athletics
Providence Athletics
Times Union (Sean Martin)
Times Union (Mark McGuire)

Videos From The Nate Leaman - Rick Bennett Press Conference

Here are two videos from today's press conference where Rick Bennett was named the new head coach and Nate Leaman announced he is leaving Union for Providence.

Three Questions For The Off-Season

With Union's season over, it will be a little slow here on UHB for awhile. But, this will be an interesting and exciting off-season. There are many important questions that will be answered over the next few months, which include:



Keith Kinkaid

 1. Will Keith Kinkaid leave early and sign with the NHL?
Personally, I don't think he's ready yet. He should try to work on his game more and play in more high situation games. In his short two year career, Kinkaid has only won two playoff games: the 2010 ECAC semifinal win over St. Lawrence and Game 1 against Colgate in the ECAC quarterfinals this season. He has lost important games like the 5OT game vs. Quinnipiac, the ECAC championship game against Cornell, the two games to Colgate this year, and the NCAA Tourney game against Minnesota-Duluth. I'm not saying that he played poorly in all of those losses (he was excellent against Cornell and good against UMD), but he needs to prove that he can possibly shutout an opponent in those type of games, like what Kenny Reiter did for UMD last Friday.

I hope he stays because he is an excellent goaltender and is the backbone of the team. But, deep down inside I don't think he'll stay, and will leave early like RPI goaltender Allen York did a few days ago. I still believe this even though Ken Schott and Mark McGuire reported that he will be staying.

Also, take a look how some of the latest players to leave school early to sign with the NHL turned out (College Hockey Inc.).



Rick Bennett

 2. Will the coaching staff stay?
There have been rumors circulating that Coach Leaman and Coach Bennett will leave to take other head coaching jobs. The little rumors I've heard about Leaman is that he might be up for the Harvard job. This makes sense because he was an assistant there before coming to Union, they have more finances to work with, and have recruited NHL prospects like Danny Biega. Personally, I'm more afraid that he'll take the new Penn State job. Leaman has done such a great job building a program here with very little resources, so just imagine what he could do with a new rink, new program, and new league at Penn State.That will be a very appetizing job. Right now, it's hard for me to see Coach Leaman any where else but Schenectady.

Coach Bennett on the other hand, I think will leave and deserves to have a head coaching job. There is currently a vacancy at Providence where Bennett was a great player and was just recently inducted into their athletics hall of fame this winter. He has done such a great job recruiting for Union, and I don't think fans really realize how much he has done for this program. If Bennett leaves, it also creates an opportunity for Coach Barr to be promoted, who has also done an excellent job while at Union.



Adam Presizniuk

 3. Where will the seniors sign?
If you look at the roster, there are only two seniors which really standout to me that will definitely play some sort of pro hockey next season: Adam Presizniuk and Brock Matheson. Prezie is one of the greatest players in Union's DI history and is definitely skilled enough to play in the pros somewhere. The big question with him is where that somewhere is. Will it be in the States or in Europe? Is he good enough for the AHL? Maybe he'll go the same route as Mario Valery-Trabucco and play in a high-level league in Europe.

I know that Brock is getting some looks, but I'm not sure where. If I had to guess it would be somewhere in Europe. I can see him playing in the same league as Mike Schreiber in Germany. Brock is undersized for defender, like Schreiber, but he will be valuable because of his defensive and leadership skills.

Of the other six seniors (Boileau, Cain, Pallos, J. Simpson, Milan, Buote), I'm not sure if they're getting any looks. There are very serviceable players like John Simpson and Andrew Buote who could play some pro hockey, but I don't see them lasting in the pros. You also got to remember that of these six seniors, five of them made the 2010 ECAC All-Academic team, so it is very likely that these guys might want to pursue their career outside of hockey after graduation. Actually, out of all six of this group I see Corey Milan as having the best shot of playing pro hockey. He might be overlooked because of his lack of playing time this season, but has put up some good numbers in his career. This might depend on how well he recovers from his injury.

Hopefully, all of these answers will prove beneficial for the Dutchmen.

Bennett to be inducted into Providence College Hall of Fame

Rick Bennett

Union College Associate Head Coach Rick Bennett will be inducted into the Providence College Hall of Fame on March 4, 2011.

During his time as a Friar (1986-1990), Bennett was a Hobey Baker finalist, Co-Captain, second team All-Hockey East, Hockey East All-Rookie team, two time team MVP, and second team All-American. In 128 NCAA games he registered 134 points. He spent five years on the Providence coaching staff before coming to Union.

He was picked 54th overall in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars, ahead of Jyrki Lumme (468 career points), Rob Brown (438 career points), and Darren Turcotte (411 career points). He played in 15 games with the New York Rangers where he totaled one goal and one assist. Bennett also spent a lot of time in the AHL and ECHL, including four games with the Albany River Rats.

Go to Hockey DB for his full career stats.

For more check out Union Athletics.com.

While Head Coach Nate Leaman gets a lot of credit for building Union's program to where it is today, Bennett should also receive a lot of credit. He plays a major part in recruiting and has obviously done a great job in recent years. I'm sure his Hockey East background helps in recruiting. I hate to say this, but he will get a head coaching job somewhere very soon, so let's enjoy him while we have him in Schenectady.

Fun Fact: Coach Bennett has his own Wikipedia page and says his full name is Eric John "Rick" Bennett. Maybe somebody should expand his page...

Congrats Coach Bennett!

Mark Bennett commits to Union

Mark Bennett

It was announced by Chris Heisenberg that Mark Bennett has committed to Union. Bennett is a six-foot, 190 pound forward from Oakville, Ontario. This is also confirmed by the Oakville Blades website.

He is currently playing with Oakville of the OJHL. Last season, Bennett put up some very good numbers last season with the Blades as he scored 21 goals and tallied 36 assists for 57 points in just 45 games. In 13 games this season he has totaled 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists).

Bennett is the fifth forward to commit to Union for 2012.

Former Dutchmen to play for Oakville include sophomore forward Jeremy Welsh and freshman defenseman Mike Ingoldsby. Both captained the Blades during their tenure.