Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 April 2013 13:26
By Kevin Hartzell
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
Having a son play in the ECAC the past four years has given me a new perspective on the balance of power in American college hockey. Those of us “in the West,” and that includes me, often want to believe that the WCHA is and always has been the best conference in college hockey. Back in my playing days, I was lucky enough to participate in two Frozen Fours, one of which had three WCHA teams in it and the other had all four of its participants from the WCHA.
No offense to the programs of that time, but the Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota and Boston College programs had great regional advantages. They had player talent pools right in their backyards … North Dakota’s being mostly in Canada. These teams won often and, really, they should have.
Today’s landscape is quite different. The NHL expanded to many areas including the southern United States and had to build facilities and then of course build the fan base and even rent the ice for their new facilities. Kids started playing from places that had almost never heard of hockey. In the 2013 Frozen Four, there were players from California, Arizona and even Georgia, to name a few. Not exactly the main recruiting base for talent of 30 years ago.
These kids from non-traditional areas are good players and are seeking great places to play their collegiate hockey as are the players from the more traditional areas. There is still no doubt that the traditional college powers still get, in many cases, the top players from their geographic regions. But today there are more good players than ever before and they are looking for great colleges to not only play hockey, but to get great educations.
Here is where the ECAC has their advantage. They can boast some of the finest academic institutions in America. Can you imagine considering Yale for example … Presidents of the United States graduate from there! That is some powerful stuff. While the ECAC hockey rosters may not be quite as deep as some of the perennial powers, they nevertheless attract many outstanding hockey players.
Brown, yes Brown, was one of my favorite teams this year. They finished in the middle of the pack in the ECAC. I like the way they are coached. I love the way they skate and know who they are. One of my very favorite players in the nation is Brown’s Matt Lorito, a native of Oakville, Ont. This young man is an outstanding skater with great hands and he competes. If he was 6-2, I would have no doubt he would be an outstanding NHL’er someday, and though he isn’t the biggest kid, I still think we will see him in the NHL. Brown like most of its Ivy counterparts was founded before our nation’s revolution.
Union last year went to the Frozen Four and this year returned 21 players. They are extremely well-coached. Union, in my opinion, is as good as any team in the nation and, like many of their ECAC counterparts, the draw to their institution allows them to build great teams without offering direct athletic scholarships. ECAC institutions have amazing histories and traditions.
Yale beat two big powers in the NCAA West Regional. Is Yale as deep as Minnesota or North Dakota? Probably not. Yet Yale is a fine hockey team. Yale forward Kenny Agostino (a New Jersey native) is a wonderful player! Not only is he a good player, but I think there is a toughness about him and a compete level that every team in at every level is looking for. He is outstanding as is his linemate Andrew Miller and defensive teammate and Minnesota native Tommy Fallen. These kids are elite players and are top players for any team in America.
If you watched Quinnipiac, you saw what elite players the Bobcats have up front in Matthew Peca from Petawawa, Ont., the Jones twins from Montrose, B.C., and Jordan Samuels-Thomas from Windsor, Conn. Because of the great players in the league, none were named ECAC all-stars even though I think all are deserving. There are two Hobey Baker finalists at St. Lawrence in forwards Greg Carey and Kyle Flannagan. That is impressive.
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is there is no conference with the academic reputation of that of the ECAC. I am not saying the ECAC schools are better, as better is in the eye of the beholder, but the reputations of the schools attract many interested students and players and it is undeniable the quality of the hockey teams they are producing.
Is it not surprising that in this year’s Frozen Four there were no Michigan teams, no Minnesota or North Dakota, no Denver, no Notre Dame? While there was a team from Massachusetts, it was Lowell, a team that has never been there before and it is not BC or BU. There were three first-timers to the tournament and a Yale team that hasn’t been there since, and I am quoting Barry Melrose on this one, “since the Civil War.” It has actually been since the 1950s that Yale has been to the Frozen Four. Two of the Frozen Four teams were 11 miles apart from the state of Connecticut. Times are definitely a-changing.
I have said all year that top to bottom the ECAC is a balanced but hard and competitive conference. I have watched my own son, Eric, have an incredible year as far as high-end consistency and I believe he did it in a conference that is as good or better than any other. My congratulations go to him as well.
The Frozen Four is special in so many ways. To have a son and his team rewarded for all their hard work and dedication with a hard-earned berth in the tournament is special. Also, the old coach in me feels like a proud papa to seven players and their families as I have coached at least one player on each team in the Frozen Four, including four with U-Mass Lowell. It’s like a family reunion.
All four teams have been on a journey building their programs and teams to get to this great stage. I am excited that somebody new, a new program or one not since the “Civil War” is standing on the podium at the end. This changing of the guard, this new blood, is good for hockey.
