Month: August 2015

From the FreeP: Steve Greeley leaves BU with fond memories, strong relationships

I had the chance late last week to chat with departing BU associate head coach Steve Greeley about his time at BU and what the future has in store for him. You can read that article here.

Something that stood out to me that didn’t make the cut in the actual story was when I asked him what skills he has that will benefit him in his future. I think his response essentially epitomizes what made him such a successful and impressive coach while at BU:

“I think my work ethic and my passion for the game are two things that have helped me throughout my career working in hockey. I get wrapped up in it in the sense that I follow every league, I know what every box score is. I don’t want to let myself get outworked. I didn’t want that to happen when I was in L.A., I didn’t want that to happen while I was at BU, and I certainly don’t want that to happen when I’m in New York. I’m gonna give 100 percent to the New York Rangers to help make them a better organization in any way I can.”

 

’98 D Chad Krys announces commitment to BU

Highly regarded defensive prospect Chad Krys announced he will play for Boston University in a tweet on Friday.

Krys played for both the USNTDP U-17 and U-18 teams this past year. For the U-18 team, he had three goals and 17 assists in 22 games. He also played seven games for the U-18 World Juniors team, recording one goal and four assists in that time.

His father, Mark, played for BU from 1987-91, tallying playing time in 135 games.

In the 2016 NHL draft, Krys is expected to be a first-round pick. He is sixth overall in Future Considerations’ rankings.

Krys is expected to arrive at BU in 2016-17. Jake Oettinger, a goaltender who is also expected to attend BU starting in 2016-17, tweeted his congratulations. 

New York Rangers formally name Steve Greeley as Assistant Director of Player Personnel

Confirming reports from Tuesday and Wednesday, the New York Rangers officially announced Thursday that Boston University associate head coach Steve Greeley will become the Rangers’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel.

BU has not announced a replacement, though a report from Mike McMahon of College Hockey News says current Director of Hockey Operations Scott Young is expected to be named to the position.

The Terriers tweeted out good wishes for Greeley on Thursday morning:

Reports: Steve Greeley to leave BU, join New York Rangers scouting staff

Boston University associate head coach Steve Greeley is expected to depart BU and accept a scouting position with the New York Rangers of the NHL, according to Jeff Cox of SB Nation.

UPDATE on Wednesday, 12:40 p.m.: Several reports are indicating that Greeley’s new job will include a front-office position.

Mike McMahon of College Hockey News reports that current Director of Hockey Operations Scott Young is expected to take Greeley’s position.

Greeley, who played at BU from 2000-04, became associate head coach in 2013, replacing Mike Bavis. Six years prior to that, Greeley was a scout for the Los Angeles Kings. Greeley has been widely praised for his recruiting ability, and is responsible for several of the pieces that helped guide BU to a spot in the national championship game last season.

This story is still developing, so we’ll update this post as more information becomes available. Stay tuned.

J.J. Piccinich to depart BU, play for London Knights of OHL

J.J. Piccinich will leave Boston University and play for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, the Knights announced on Wednesday.

Piccinich had been rumored to be on the move for weeks, with reported destinations such as Londonand his former USHL team, the Youngstown Phantoms.

A fourth-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Piccinich received limited playing time in his BU career. In 25 total games played, Piccinich recorded just one goal and three assists.

Perhaps Piccinich’s biggest moment as a Terrier came in the NCAA regional final matchup against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Three-and-a-half minutes into the second period of that game, he dished off an assist to forward Matt Lane for a tie-breaking goal. BU eventually won that game, 3-2, to advance to the Frozen Four.

Report: Maxim Letunov to play at UConn, other notes

Per Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant, once-BU recruit Maxim Letunov is expected to play at the University of Connecticut. According to Anthony, the switch comes as a result of issues with the admissions process at BU.

Letunov is waiting on official word from the UConn admissions office, but Anthony’s report says there shouldn’t be an issue there. However, there’s still some uncertainty as to whether Letunov will be eligible for 2015-16 or will have to wait until 2016-17.

The 6-foot-3 center was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft, before his rights were traded to Arizona in March.

BU will still welcome top forward recruits in Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jordan Greenway, Bobo Carpenter and Ryan Cloonan this fall.

A few other notes and links:

-Former Terrier Chris Drury will be inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame on Dec. 17.

-This happened a while back, but for those who don’t know, looks like Sean Skahan will replace Anthony Morando as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Skahan has a pretty impressive resume, having previously worked with the Anaheim Ducks.

-Good stuff on Brandon Hickey from the Calgary Flames website.

-In other Hockey East news, former Northeastern forward Michael Szmatula is expected to play for Minnesota.