By Jimmy Brooks, News Staff
It has become abundantly clear that Northeastern men’s hockey will be starting from scratch this fall.
Though a large majority of last year’s roster will return this year, it has largely been a summer of upheaval. It’s hard to envision anything but a challenge this coming season as the Huskies get acclimated to a new coaching staff headed by Jim Madigan and take to the ice without several top players.
Here’s a quick recap of who Northeastern has lost this off-season:
Last season’s top scoring line graduated (Tyler McNeely, Wade MacLeod, Steve Silva).
The team’s fourth leading scorer (Brodie Reid) and team leader in plus/minus (Jamie Oleksiak) left to sign minor-league professional contracts: Reid with the San Jose Sharks and Oleksiak with the Dallas Stars. Reid was a key cog in the team’s power play unit, while Oleksiak would have been an all-Hockey East contender this season.
The team’s head coach (Greg Cronin), and both assistants (Sebastien Laplante and Albie O’Connell) all left over the off-season to pursue jobs at various levels of pro and college hockey.
Two recruits de-committed from the program – both of whom were NHL draft picks: defenseman Garrett Haar and forward John Gaudreau. Gaudreau, it should be noted, is still considering Northeastern as an option, but he was granted release from his National Letter of Intent after Cronin left the program.
Despite all of these losses, the team gained Madigan, a hockey veteran in his own right. With him, the program received a shot in the arm for a team that sorely needed some optimism. But the biggest question must be Madigan’s experience as a coach (or lack thereof), and how he intends to manage the program. He’s been handed keys to the car, but we don’t yet know where he’s going to drive it.
As of press time, Northeastern is expected to announce Madigan’s choices for assistant coaches: Jerry Keefe, currently an assistant at Brown University who formerly played college hockey at Providence, and Patrick Foley, currently an assistant at Harvard who formerly played college hockey at UNH. Not exactly blockbuster names, though the upshot is that both previously played in Hockey East, so they have roots in the league.
The biggest challenge for Madigan will be getting up to speed with the day-to-day responsibilities here at Northeastern. Say what you want about his role as a supporter of the program and a good friend of both Cronin and Laplante – nothing can ever prepare you for your first few days on the job. Not having Laplante around to help guide him through the first few months will make things more difficult, and before you know it, you’re already at the start of the season with Hockey East points on the line.
The moral of this story isn’t what Northeastern has lost; that’s already in the past. The important part is what the Huskies have to gain this year – and judging by how tumultuous this off-season has been, there’s likely nowhere to go but up.
