In the second edition of Terrier Hockey Talk, the BHB recaps both Sunday and Monday’s victories over No. 6/8 UMass Amherst, commenting on Drew Comesso’s superstar potential, the impact of this year’s freshman class, and the determination we’ve seen from this Terrier roster. While making long term predictions and struggling with some Hockey East last names, the BHB looks ahead to a men’s series against Maine and a women’s series against UConn.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2tGQnDMFkupcpt3C3zk0T4?si=0k2RJTqrQH6gZo3YFcSMWQ
Nice job everyone! Hey Belle, I’m a BU alum (Questrom, ’87) and originally from Queens and a Rangers fan like you. Today you and I have two games to watch at non-conflicting times LOL. Every year when I watch the NHL Draft I hope that GM Gorton selects a Terrier but I am always disappointed. Good luck at BU to you and the staff!
Hey Glenn! Thanks for your comment––it’s fun having both the Rangers and Terriers to watch. I also wish we had a BU guy in our line up but at least we have Quinn!
You’re quite welcome Belle and yes we do have Quinn! Back in April and May of 2018 when the news started breaking that he might be leaving for the NYR job, I had mixed feelings but more bad feelings than good. I really wanted him to stay but almost three years later, things are moving in the right direction for both the Terriers and Rangers. As a fan, never underestimate the importance of a well-diversified sports team “portfolio” LOL. One thing I hope is that Quinn will one day host a special event for BU alums to gain inside access to the Rangers innerworkings at MSG. Over the years, I have attended Broadway events that were hosted by BU theater professionals; so maybe Quinn can do something similar. On a final note, did you know that the Minnesota Wild’s Jordan Greenway (a three year player at BU) was available in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft but the NYR decided it would be a better idea to select Ryan Gropp? 🙁 That still grinds my gears!
I can see why you wouldn’t want Quinn to leave BU! Him coming to New York is actually the reason I found out about BU in the first place, funny how things work out. I would LOVE if he did some Rangers inside access for fellow Terriers, that would be so cool. Didn’t know about that Greenway draft pick––feel like Gorton often misses seeing that Gropp never really made it. But we’ve been lucky the past two years! Looking forward to see how both young Ranger and Terrier teams continue to do this season.
Good morning Belle! If our Rangers keep going like this, I’m not sure how long Quinn is going to get a pass. I’m hard pressed to remember a team being so inept at holding a lead. I think Mika Z is still suffering from the aftereffects of COVID. Still, their power play is awful and their defense is even worse. 🙁
Hi Glenn! I know, it’s been a rough start to the season. Definitely agree with you about Mika––our top guys haven’t found their games yet which is a problem with such a short season this year. Also big news with Tony D on waivers…many rumors circulating around that, will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Hoping for a stronger game tomorrow!
Good morning Belle! Did you see the Ranger game last night? Finally back in the “W” column! Mika was more noticeable but still no scoring from him. And as far as Greenway goes, he is now the top scorer for the Wild. This former Terrier is going to have a serious breakout year. And as for Tony D, the only thing I fault the Rangers for is their failure to (as they say on Wall Street) “sell high”. They have so many ultra-talented d-men in their pipeline (one of them is UMass’s Zac Jones) and should have dealt Tony after he had that career year last season and before he went back to being Tony from South Jersey.
Hi Glenn! Yes, I did. Feels so nice to finally win one in regulation! True about Mika––I also think Miller and Fox had outstanding performances last night. Totally agree with you about Tony D, that would’ve been ideal.
Good morning Belle! BU Hockey stock is up and NYR Hockey stock is down. Mika is still in a major funk. Quinn kept Lafreniere on the 3rd line against the NYI last night and that sure didn’t work. Quinn has this “meritocracy” system for playing time which sounds great but for some of the young guys, IMO it can create a negative feedback loop: A player does poorly, gets less ice time and gets put on a line with less offensively gifted forwards – and that puts them in a downward spiral. When the 2021 season is all said and done, Quinn will be judged more on the progression of Chytil, Kakko and Lafreniere than on whether or not we make the playoffs. What are your thoughts?
Hey Glenn! Yes, really getting tired of waiting for Mika to get going. He obviously has the talent, but the team is clearly suffering without him at his normal level. I agree with you about Quinn’s handling of the young players. At this point they’ve just got to get better through actually playing and he should put them with their regular (and gifted) line mates until they click. I guess it’s easy to constantly switch things around when nothing seems to be working, but the group needs to find some consistency. It seems we are getting bigger seasons out of guys like Rooney and Bitetto than our “rising stars.” On the bright side, though, we’ve had some guys step up. I think Fox, Lindgren, Miller, and Stromer have looked good the past couple games. We’ve got a big matchup tomorrow, hopefully they’re up to the task!
Hey Belle! I’m sure you saw the game this evening and it was just more of the same. Afterwards, Mika Z said that he felt better but he never seems to be positioned just right when he gets the puck. Something’s still not right and the time they have to right the ship is running out. I agree with you in that Fox, Miller, Lindgren and Strome are doing quite well. As for Strome, he came to the NYR via a straight-up trade for Spooner. And back about three years ago, the NYR traded Rick Nash to the B’s for Lindgren and Spooner (and perhaps a draft pick too). We sure got the better of that trade.
It’s funny how the Hockey News writers put Shesterkin and Lafreniere at the top of the list for likelihood of winning 2021 NHL Rookie of the Year honors. That seems like a pipe dream now. Anyway, let’s hope things get better on Broadway. Until then, as I’ve said before, never underestimate the importance of a well diversified sports portfolio (BU Hockey now is firing on all cylinders!).
Hi Glenn! True about Mika. It would’ve been great if that short handed breakaway he had resulted in a goal, that would’ve really kickstarted his confidence. And yes, that Nash and then Spooner trade has been a great one for the Rangers. Not as good as when we got Mac for Scott Gomez! It’s so frustrating that we have players that are talked about as rookie of the year types before the season starts and then don’t quite meet their fullest potential once on the ice. I mean, they’ve got it in them so will be exciting when everyone is on their A game…whenever that may be. The diversified sports portfolio is definitely a plus, sometimes wish the Rangers would play more like the Terriers! Hoping for good weekends for both the teams.
Hi Belle! You’re right but as good as that trade for Mac was, the trade that sent him packing seems to have given us an extraordinarily poor return. We gave them high-end players like Mac and Miller and in return we got a fourth line center (Howden), a third-pairing d-man (at least so far in Hajek), an AHL d-man in Nick Ebert (via the Namestnikov trade), and Karl Henriksson (who was a second round conditional pick in 2019 who has a 0-6-6 scoring line in 38 games for Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League). All these guys are still quite young but I don’t think any of them will be all that impactful. Before you get too glum, we did manage to land the 28th overall pick (in that Mac trade with Tampa Bay) in the 2018 NHL Draft. With that pick we selected Nils Lundqvist and he is one of the top defensive prospects in the world and will likely play for us either later this season or in 2021-2022. Finally, we got a 4th round pick in this upcoming 2021 draft from the Lightning. Take home point: Nils Lundqvist better be pretty awesome when he comes to play on Broadway or that Mac and Miller trade was a huge bust.
And to your final point, at least the Terriers had a good weekend. Looking forward to seeing who we play next and who can be expected to come back next in terms of players who are either on the COVID list or the injured list. Who would have thought that we’d lose Commesso and have a back-up come in and go 3-0 and have a 0.67 GAA?