Category Archives: 23-24 Season Update

Post #128 – 8/27/23 – The Pipeline Weekly Review

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) – All Posts From The Past Week… Never Miss A Post!

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

The Pipeline Weekly Review

Miss a post from The Pipeline this week?

Get caught up with what’s going on in the world of women’s college hockey with The Pipeline Weekly Review every Sunday.

I’ll recap my posts from the past week so you never have to miss out. Just click any of the links below and stay informed.

Sunday’s are usually reserved for our Weekly Review. But, after a busy week, there were only 2 Pipeline posts this week – Monday and Wednesday. So I’m adding our Friday Sifters edition w/ today’s post. Enjoy!

Friday’s Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

Gustavus Women’s Hockey Tragedy

I’d like to start today’s post by offering my deepest condolences to the families, friends, teammates, coaches, and the greater women’s hockey community affected by the tragic passing of Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey player Jori Jones. Jones and three of her teammates were involved in a two-car accident last Sunday in western Minnesota. Jones succumbed to her injuries caused in the crash while 3 of her teammates suffered non-life threatening injuries. Jones was coming off a freshman season winning the Division III National Championship.

Friday Sifters

This week has been the calm before the storm.

We are just a few days away from September and the 23-24 college hockey season about to begin. First-year student orientations are in full swing. Freshman are moving in and returning students are just days if not hours from getting settled back on campus.

NCAA coaches are in ‘Full Go Mode’ as they juggle everything that occurs at the beginning of the year. Players return to campus, recruiting activity ramps up, those beginning of the school year meetings etc., and for D-I coaches – the planning of on-ice practices as soon as classes begin. It’ a busy but exciting time.

Here is what’s happening in today’s Sifters edition.

-Coaching moves news to announce.

-D-III Changes to Playing Season & National Championship.

-UNH Receives Alumni Support for New

-IIHF Women’s Division 1A World Championships Conclude.

-In-Season D-I Tournaments Announced

Let’ get to it!

Coaching/Staff News

Staff news to announce at… Chatham Univ., Dartmouth, Harvard, Holy Cross, Univ. of New England,, RPI, Saint Anselm College, and St. Lawrence,

Here’s what I have this week.

In The NCAA

Chatham University… is seeking applicants for its position of volunteer goalie coach.

Dartmouth… Has announced its searching for a full-time Assistant Coach.

Harvard… Has recently posted for a Full-Time Assistant Coach position. Joe Grossman is no longer listed on the Crimson website.

Holy Cross… Is seeking applicants for a Full-Time Assistant Coach. Associate Head Coach Meredith Roth is no longer listed on the website.

University of New England… Has announced Cassandra Sherman as its next Head Coach. Sherman played at Southern Maine and was an Assistant Coach there from 2017-2021.

RPI… Has announced the hiring of former Bently Men’s Assistant Coach Ben Murphy as its new Assistant Coach.

Saint Anselm College… Has announced its searching for a Full-Time Assistant Coach. Vinnie Ferrainola is no longer listed on the website.

St. Lawrence… Has announced the hiring of their 3rd Assistant Coach Brittney Gout ’21 M’23. Gout played three seasons for the Saints graduating after the 21-22 season. She spent last season as the Saints’ Graduate Assistant Coach while getting her Masters of Arts Degree in Leadership.

In The Pros

Angela Ruggiero… The New York Rangers have hired the former 4 x US Olympic medalist and Harvard defender as a Hockey Operations Advisor.

D-III Changes Coming in 2023-2024

Some big changes are coming to D-III this year.

The hockey season calendar is changing from a number of weeks in the season to a number of days model. Here is what teams can expect:

Hockey has 114 total days to use.
From the beginning of classes to the first Monday in October they may use up to 8 of the 114 days [they don’t have to but they can.]:
- Those days can be on or off-ice
- During this period they can’t use more than three days in a week
- They can’t compete
From the first Monday in October to the second Monday in October:
- They can only go “off-ice’
- The days count against the 114 total
- They have to have a day off
- They don’t have to practice at all during that week
From the second Monday in October to NCAA championship selection:
- They have to have 5 on-ice days before they can compete
- They have to have a day off per week
From Champs selection to five weekdays before final exams for the academic year (provided they weren’t chosen for NCAA championships or some other post-season tournament):
- They can only practice if they have not used 114 total days and they did not use 8 days before the first Monday in October (if they used 5 days before the season then they can use 3 days after the season provide they haven’t used 114 days)

Additionally the NCAA Championships Committee approved a ‘predetermined site pilot’ program for the National Championships over a 4-year period. The 2025 and 2027 Championship finals will be held at a predetermined site. The 2024 and 2026 finals will be held at the site of the highest seed eligible to host.

UNH Hockey Programs Receives $4 Million Boost

The Women’s and Men’s hockey programs at the University of New Hampshire recently received a $4 million dollar gift from Anthony DiLorenzo ’87, owner of Key Auto Group. The gift is part of an overall campaign to support upgrades to the Whittemore Center.

The USCHO.com release stated… “The upgraded arena will feature larger, more functional and accessible multi-use locker rooms for both men’s and women’s hockey, an expanded strength and conditioning space, and new offices for coaches and administrative staff. The upgrade will also benefit other UNH teams using the facility including UNH Field Hockey and Paralympic athletes that compete in sled hockey on UNH’s Northeast Passage team.”

You can read the full release HERE.

China Wins IIHF Division I, Group A World Championships

China went 5-0 to claim the gold medal during the IIHF Division I Group A World Championship this passed week in Shenzhen, China. Denmark took Silver and Austria took home the Bronze.

China and Denmark have been promoted to the top level division and will travel to Utica, New York in April to compete in the Women’s World Championships. They will be in group B along with Sweden, Japan, and Germany.

NCAA connections helping China and Denmark advance were:

China:

UCONN, Tyia, CHEN
St. Lawrence, Xifang, ZHANG (Anna Segedi)
Colgate Univ., Mulan, KANG (Kas Betinol)
Long Island Univ., Anna, FEI (Anna Fairman)

Team China’s head coach is Scott Spencer, who formerly coached at Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, and Robert Morris University.

Denmark:

Mercyhurst Univ., Sofia SKRIVER
Vermont, Sofie, SKOTT
St. Lawrence, Emma-Sofie, NORDSTROM

2023-2024 D-1 In-Season Tournaments

In-Season tournaments are becoming known. Here is a list with participating teams as of now based on schedules and dates released:

2023 Women’s College Hockey Icebreaker – Fairfield, CT, Oct. 20-21: Sacred Heart (host), Northeastern, St. Cloud, and Lindenwood.
U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game – Maple Grove, MN Nov. 9: Minnesota State-Mankato vs. St. Thomas.
Nutmeg Classic – New Haven, CT, Nov. 24-25: UCONN, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, and Yale (host).
Smashville Showcase – Nashville, TN: Nov. 24-25 : Boston University, Minnesota State Univ-Mankato, Robert Morris.
D1 in DC – Washington, D.C., Nov. 24-25: Cornell, Harvard, Minnesota, and St. Thomas.
Battle at the Burgh – Pittsburgh, PA, Dec. 29-30: Bemidji, Colgate, Maine, and Robert Morris (host).
Friendship Series – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Jan 5-6: Princeton and Providence (2-game series).
Beanpot – Boston, MA, Jan 16 & 23: Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, and Northeastern.

Monday – Post #126 – College Visit Time

With College Visits, Coaches Should Be Mindful As Well As Flexible
Don’t Be That Coach
Communication Is The Key

Wednesday – Post #127 – IIHF D-1 Worlds Update

After 2 Days, Austria On Top
List of NCAA Players Participating
Link to video of all games via YouTube

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.

Post #125 – 8/20/23 – The Pipeline Weekly Review

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) – All Posts From The Past Week… Never Miss A Post!

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

The Pipeline Weekly Review

Miss a post from The Pipeline this week?

Get caught up with what’s going on in the world of women’s college hockey with The Pipeline Weekly Review every Sunday.

I’ll recap my posts from the past week so you never have to miss out. Just click any of the links below and stay informed.

Due to being on vacation last week, there were only 2 Pipeline posts.

Monday – Post #122 – Canada vs USA Lake Placid Preview

Hockey Canada and USA Hockey Announce Teams For Lake Placid
Diving Into The Rosters
USA Notes
Canada Notes

Wednesday – Post #123 – How To Use Video

Video Becoming A Valuable Piece In The Recruiting Process
5 video tips to incorporate into your video use
- Angles
- Screen Position
- Player Accents
- Video Length
- Clip Organization

Friday – Post #124 – Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

Coaching news at Amherst, Augsburg, Franklin Pierce, Keene State, King’s College, Merrimack, Middlebury, MN-Duluth, UNH, Penn St. x 2, RPI, St. Cloud, Syracuse, and Vermont x2
USA Hockey and Hockey Canada are battling it out in their Under-18 and Collegiate Team 3-game series in Lake Placid
The IIHF Women’s Division 1A World Championships are set to begin (finally) in China
The NCAA Women’s and Men’s rules committee makes a tweak to video review
Leadership changes coming for the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA)

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #118 – 8/6/23 – The Pipeline Weekly Review

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) – All Posts From The Past Week… Never Miss A Post!

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

The Pipeline Weekly Review

Miss a post from The Pipeline this week?

Get caught up with what’s going on in the world of women’s college hockey with The Pipeline Weekly Review every Sunday.

I’ll recap my posts from the past week so you never have to miss out. Just click any of the links below and stay informed.

Due to being on vacation last week, there were only 2 Pipeline posts.

Monday – Post #116 – It’s Nice To Be Back

The Pipeline Returns

Back At It… Vacation Over!
Catching Up On Some Recruiting
Summer Burnout Setting In?

Friday – Post #117 – Sifters

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

Coaching news at Harvard, Minnesota, MN-Duluth, Post, Syracuse, St. Olaf, and Utica
USA Hockey / Hockey Canada National Team Programs Get Underway
Extras

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #117 – 8/4/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

Friday’s Sifters

Coaching/Staff News At Harvard, Minnesota, Northeastern, MN-Duluth, Post, Syracuse, St. Olaf, Utica,

Harvard… Has named ’13 alum Laura Bellamy Head Coach. Bellamy returns to Harvard as one of the most decorated Crimson goaltenders in program history. She departs MN-Duluth after 8 season on staff, most recently serving as Associate Head coach.

Minnesota… Has posted looking for a Director of Women’s Hockey Operations.

Northeastern… Has hired Melissa Piacentini as an Assistant Coach. She has spent the past 5 seasons as the programs Director of Operations.

MN-Dulth… With Bellamy’s departure to Harvard, MN-Duluth now has an assistant coaches spot to fill.

Post University… Is searching for a part-time assistant coach.

Syracuse… Is looking for a volunteer Assistant/Goalie Coach.

St. Olaf College… Has posted its position for a full-time Assistant Coach.

Utica College… Has hired ’05 alum Melissa Lomanto

USA Hockey / Hockey Canada National Team Programs Get Underway Next Week

It’s a big week as both USA Hockey and Hockey Canada start their respective U18 and 18 & Over (let’s call them) national summer programs.

USA Hockey will hold its National Festival Aug. 7-12 in Lake Placid, NY. You can find the link to the Festival home ➡️ HERE.

Hockey Canada is hosting its National Women’s Program Summer Showcase in St. Catherine’s, Ontario Aug. 9-14. You can find HC’s event home link right ➡️ HERE. Add’l links for schedule’s etc.. are a little tricky to find, but are at the top of the page.

Finland’s U18 team will take a part of Hockey Canada’s U18 camp while Sweden’s U18 Team will do the same but in the US with Team USA.

I believe inter-squad camp games will be streamed live for both events. You can find USA Hockey’s streaming platform HERE. HC usually provides a link for game streams HERE.

Extras

August is usually a pretty quiet time in the college hockey world, say outside of recruiting that is.

This year however, there is a lot of movement on the coaching side of things. Harvard just named its Head Coach and that will have a domino effect most likely. In D-I, a lot of programs still seem to be in need of hiring a 4th coach.

And there always seems to be a late head-coach departure as well, or has been the case in years past, just prior to the season starting.

But with each passing week, we know the college hockey season is getting closer.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #115 – 7/23/23 – The Pipeline Weekly Review

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) – All Posts From The Past Week… Never Miss A Post!

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

The Pipeline Weekly Review

Miss a post from The Pipeline this week?

Get caught up with what’s going on in the world of women’s college hockey with The Pipeline Weekly Review every Sunday.

I’ll recap my posts from the past week so you never have to miss out. Just click any of the links below and stay informed.

Monday – Post #112 – Sifters + A Little Extra

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

Coaching news at Merrimack, Minnesota, St. Mike’s, Curry, Elmira, and Plymouth State
USA Hockey & Hockey Canada News
Extras ➡️ Recruiting Events, New Coaches Pool, World Champ. Div. 1A, Robert Morris, Assumption, ECAC News, Mercyhurst in Sweden

Wednesday – Post #113

Is there a ‘best’ type of youth hockey program?

A look into the player pool of USA Hockey’s U18 Select Camp.

Friday – Post #114

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

Coaching news at Vermont, Sacred Heart, Union, New England College
Conference schedules coming out
Extras ➡️ Hockey East hires a supervisor of officials, College Hockey season is WEEKS away, 2023 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-Off Classic, Hockey Canada U18 News, IIHF Girls Hockey WKND, Take The Ice Documentary

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #114 – 7/21/23 – Friday’s Sifters

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of women’s college hockey and beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

Wednesday’s Post Sparked Some Feedback

Happy Friday everyone. Before we get going with our Friday Sifter’s, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who sent a note about Wednesday’s post about… is there a ‘Best’ type of program or path. All of it was very positive and very insightful. Comments ran the gamut from outlining what ‘The Best’ type program should look like, to parents who admittedly were at this exact crossroad of which path to take when their daughter was coming up the ranks.

So, for those who haven’t had the chance to read Wednesday’s post yet, just click HERE.

There will be more to post about on this subject There are many questions and angles to consider. So, stay tuned!

Now, on to our Friday’s Sifters post.

Friday’s Sifters

Coaching/Staff News At Vermont, Union College, Sacred Heart University, and New England College

Vermont… Is in need of an Assistant Coach. The position is their 2nd Assistant.

Sacred Heart University… Has hired former Quinnipiac netminder and 2020 graduate Abbie Ives. You can read more about her hire HERE.

Union College… Has posted for its 3rd Assistant Coach position.

New England College… Is looking to hire a Graduate Assistant Coach for the 23-24 season.

Conference Schedules Announced

Hard to think given July isn’t over yet, but 3 of the 5 D-I conferences have announced their schedules for the coming 23-24 season. You can see them with links below:

Hockey East (not announced yet)
ECAC
NEWHA (not announced yet)
College Hockey America
WCHA

Extras

Hockey East Fills Supervisor of Officials Vacancy… Long-time official Dr. Derek Zuckerman has been hired as the Hockey East Women’s Supervisor of Officials. With over 20 years experience as an on-ice official in both the ECAC and Hockey East, Zuckerman brings a storied career with 6 NCAA D-I Frozen Four along with 4 Championship game assignments. You can read more on his hiring HERE.

College Hockey Season Not So Far Off… Speaking of conference schedules, July will end before we know it, and August will be here. Once August hits, we know college hockey is just a few short weeks away. New Student Orientation for some schools will start as early as the Aug. 18/19 weekend. NCAA Rules allow teams to begin practices with coaches on the ice once the first day of school begins. A quick check finds that Bemidji State University seems start classes the earliest – Monday August 21st – a mere 4.5 weeks away.

2023 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-Off Classic… Just announced today, the University of St. Thomas will take on Minnesota State Mankato on Nov. 9 , 2023 at the Maple Grove Ice Arena. The annual game is played to raise awareness for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, MN. For more info just click HERE.

Hockey Canada U-18 News… HC 🇨🇦 has announced its U-18 Selection Camp practice schedule which you can find HERE. Finland will once again join Canada for practices and some games.

IIHF World Girls’ Hockey Weekend Set… The weekend of Oct. 7-8 has been designated the IIHF’s World Girls’ Hockey Weekend this year. You can learn more about the event HERE.

Take The Ice… A documentary about the NWHL is coming to AppleTV on July 25th. Knew nothing about it until I saw the post on my Twitter feed. Should be very interesting given what has taken place over the past few weeks. You can get more info HERE or can watch the trailer ⬇️

The NWHL documentary, now titled "Take the Ice", will be out JULY 25 on @appletv

(courtesy of @FreestyleDM) pic.twitter.com/zcHS0T7SiH
— 540 Films (@540Films) July 20, 2023

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #92 – 6/9/23 – Get Out Your Hockey Specs + Sifters

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

Learn What To Look At When Evaluating Events To Attend

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

Get Out Your Hockey Specs + Sifters

Happy Friday everyone. I hope you’ve had a great week. Time to get our your hockey glasses and look for a good Summer hockey find.

In Wednesday’s post, I tried to answer a common question that many of you have asked previously: Which Summer events are best to go to? How do you know which ones to attend?

Now, it would have been really easy for me to come up with the top 7-8 events college coaches go to. Bing, Bang, Boom – there’s your list, just register and sign up, right?

Well, it’s isn’t that easy.

My approach was to explain a methodology, a process of evaluating what should go into deciding what Summer hockey event you might consider. In the crowded schedule of Summer showcases, camps, ID Skates, and tournaments, if you know what to look for, the better off you’ll be.

And that is my goal today. To give you some valuable tips on how to evaluate your Summer hockey options.

First, know what types of events exist. Here are a few.

Day/Overnight Camps & Clinics
NCAA College Camps & Clinics
NCAA ID Prospect Camps/Showcases
Multi-Week Skill Development On-Ice/Off-Ice Programs
Showcase Camps
Showcase Tournaments
USA Hockey / Hockey Canada Sanctioned Player Development Camps

Summer hockey events fall into a few different categories. Most say they will either improve your game or… get you exposure to NCAA coaches. Some promote themselves as being able to do both.

As I said in Wednesday’s post, a good way to chose an event to attend is decide 1) what your hockey goals are, 2) what your hockey timeline is, and 3) what you need most as a player to reach your intended goals.

Events that are great for teaching skills and development would be Day/Overnight Camps & Clinics, NCAA College Camps & Clinics, Multi-Week Skill Development Programs, and USA Hockey / Hockey Canada Sanctioned Player Development Camps. Here are few things to pay attention to so you can choose the right one for you.

Who is doing the instruction and how experienced is the staff? To have played is one thing, to have played and know how to teach is another. Coaching experience matters. How much ice-time being offered mater too?
How long does the program run for… 4-5 days for a camp is plenty, 6-8 weeks where you are on the ice or in the gym a few times per week is a great for a multi-week skill development program.
NCAA College Camps/Clinics provide one of the better ways to see how a college coaching staff is like, while hopefully getting on campus. Perhaps there will be other college program there working? Best to ask!
USA Hockey / Hockey Canada events are not something you can just register to attend, you have to be selected. But if you do get to go to a camp, they do provide a great combination of learning, development, and exposure to some great coaches.
Cost & Value… What are you actually getting for your $?

NCAA ID Prospect Camps/Showcases, Showcase Camps, and Showcase Tournaments are intentionally wrapped up around exposure to college coaches with limited if any instruction. They can be a great way to get to know a coach or the entire staff. Some things to consider are:

For NCAA ID Camps and Showcase Camps… Is there instruction provided–if so, how? Is there a campus or facility tour? How many schools will be part of the staff – if any? Is there any feedback provided? Some of these events provide little instruction–and with good reason as most are about getting players to play in front of college coaches. To be clear, a ‘high intensity college level practice’ is not necessarily instruction or teaching… players taking a knee at the dry erase board to hear a coach explain a 4 part 3v2 breakout, re-group, attack offensive zone entry drill – is really code for college coaches to watch and see if these kids can follow directions, keep up, and not be a drill killer.
For Tournaments… or showcases as they are sometimes called… may not offer any instruction or practice time because college coaches usually aren’t involved. It’s all about the tournament operator inviting college coaches to scout games because of the caliber of players participating. You don’t always have to be on e ‘team’ to participate. There are quite a few individual entry showcase camp and tournament events.

On the issue of exposure to college coaches… There’s no way to guarantee it – so it’s probably not a great idea to attend an event just because you were told a certain coach or number of schools would be in attendance. It’s much easier for events to say we have a number of coaches working, but even that isn’t always possible. With just about every rink having some kind of LiveBarn type video service, NCAA coaches don’t always have to be in the rink to watch. A lot of events are using video services like InStat etc. where NCAA coaches have access.

Bottom line, do ask questions and get a sense of what you are paying for. Be sure to figure out your ‘why’, before deciding what to attend and you’ll better off for it.

Sifters

Hill-Murray is excited to introduce our new Girls Hockey co-head coaches, Natalie Darwitz and Jake Bobrowski! #RollPios https://t.co/MxlQrmuY2y pic.twitter.com/vVMVyxxuJv
— Hill-Murray Pioneers (@HMPioneers) June 7, 2023

Coaches Roundtable… Late Monday night it was reported Minnesota Associate Head Coach Natalie Darwitz was no longer listed on the Gopher website, and now we know why. Darwitz and former Elmira Head Coach Jake Bobrowski will be teaming up (again) as Co-Head Coaches at Hill-Murray High School. Bobrowski was Darwitz’ assistant coach at Hamline University before both made the jump to the Gophers in 21-22.

Division I has its 4th head coaching vacancy open as Harvard’s Katey Stone announced her retirement on Tuesday.

Both St. Cloud and RPI look like they’ve posted for their 3rd assistant position.

You can catch up on all the coaching movement with our Coaching Changes Tracker right HERE.

Another Team Goes To Europe… Mercyhurst University will join Princeton and Providence College as they travel to Stockholm, Sweden this July where they will play the Swedish National and Developmental teams. NCAA D-I teams are allowed a foreign trip every 4 years (I think) where they can play international games. The Laker program has a long history of recruiting players from Sweden. The trip will be from July 22-31. You can read more about the trip HERE.

Mergers & Acquisitions… College Hockey America and the Atlantic Hockey Association on the men’s side will officially merge operations for the 24-25 season. Newly hired Commissioner Michelle Morgan made the announcement last week sighting a chance to streamline operations and build an enhanced brand on both the women’s and side side of D-I hockey. You can read the official statement HERE.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #90 – 6/5/23 – Monday Headlines

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

The Impact of The 4th Coach at D-I

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

Monday Headlines

NCAA coaches were out in force this past weekend at various events. Toronto and Bloomington, Minnesota seemed to be the hotspots. I made my way to through both Toronto and Bloomington (without delay thankfully).

Coaches On The Move

There has been a little movement with some recent D-III and D-I coaching changes.

In D-III, the University of Dubuque has added Michael Kuruc III as an Assistant Coach.

And Hilbert College will have a change in leadership as Head Coach Cole Klubec has departed his position. A search is underway for his replacement.

In D-I, Kate Leary, who played for the Boston College Eagles, will be leaving her assistant position at Merrimack College and returning to her alma matter in the same role. That leaves two open asst. positions for Merrimack.

Shelly Picard, former 2014 US Olympian, is leaving her assistant position at Princeton and has been named an assistant coach with Long Island University. Princeton now has an open asst. position to fill.

St. Cloud State University has advertised its job posting for a full-time assistant Coach. This is a posting for St. Cloud’s 4th full-time coach.

4th Full-Time Coach at D-I

Back in January the NCAA legislated an additional 4th full-time coach would be allowed in women’s and men’s D-I hockey beginning July 1. The NCAA also legislated the volunteer coach designation removed from the rule book.

Which begs the question: Will all D-I women’s hockey programs get a 4th coach?

The answer is a little harder to come by. Yes, some will make that hire soon, just as St. Cloud has advertised for. But it will come at a cost. And not just a financial one.

Full-Time employees at institutions means more money spent. What constitutes ‘full-time’ at one school, may not at another. Employment laws regulations differ from school to school and state to state.

Another cost is time in managing that extra person. Head Coaches now have a new voice to account for, a new personality to manage. The staff dynamic could change drastically with someone unknown and new. Or may be it won’t. Most staffs have a volunteer coach, and it’s conceivable, that person may slide into the new 4th coach role.

It will be interesting to see how the 4th coach plays out with D-I programs. One aspect a lot of coaches have discussed is the impact to D-III.

D-III has always had issues filling positions. There just isn’t a huge pool of qualified coaches to fill them. Take away 44 people to fill the 4th coach spot at D-I, and now D-III programs could really struggle to find coaches.

What the fourth coach will do is certainly open the door for more females, recent graduates perhaps, to get into coaching – be it at D-III or D-I.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #88 – 6/1/23 – D-I Coaches Back On The Road Recruiting

Posted on June 1, 2023 by Grant Kimball 2 comments

The NCAA May Quiet Period Is Over and D-I Coaches Are Back In The Rinks.

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

D-I Coaches Back On The Road Recruiting

A busy few weeks before June 15 recruiting phone calls begin

Today is the day. NCAA D-I Coaches are back on the road recruiting after a five-and-a-half week layoff due to the NCAA May Quiet Period. With no D-I coaches allowed on the road in May, there was little missed, say for Canada’s Midget National Championship – The Esso Cup or a few USA Hockey district national camp tryouts.

The May Quiet period provides coaches with some downtime as the end of the academic year comes to a close. The break was nice and usually provides a chance for coaching staffs to re-set, get caught up, and plan their approach for the next important recruiting date.

June 15th is the next big date in the recruiting process. It’s when D-I coaches are allowed to initiate communication with recruits who will enter grade 11 this coming Fall for the first time.

For D-III coaches, they aren’t subject to the same D-I recruiting rules, but most follow the same D-I protocols. Players tend to make D-III commitments a bit later in the process, but not always, especially for those players who know they want a D-III Experience. That doesn’t make it any easier for D-III coaches however – it mostly means they have to wait longer for an answer.

So until then, these next 2 weeks could be a critical as coaches get in some final evals before making their calls and or official offers in some cases. Several high profile events are taking place in Minnesota and Ontario, in addition to some others. Chances are, most D-I / D-III programs will be around the rinks evaluating in person. It’s hard to beat the in-person eye test when evaluating.

In closing, I’ll add a little advice:

Don’t be disappointed if the phone doesn’t ring on June 15. Not every recruit who played D-I, got called on the first day calls were allowed.

If you are on the ice over the next 2 weeks or so, play the game the right way. Coaches want to see you make good decisions – so DON’T be a puck-hog. Pass when you should, Shoot when you can.

Everyone’s recruiting process is different and on a different timeline than yours. It’s dangerous to compare yourself and your process to others. The only person you should be comparing yourself to – is you… and asking – Are you better today than yesterday?

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

Post #87 – 5/31/23 – Sifters

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Grant Kimball Leave a comment

Little lobs of news and info from around the world of Women’s College Hockey & beyond

The Women’s College Hockey Pipeline…

Stay informed. Get educated. Become ‘HOCKEY-WISE’!

Your leading online resource for NCAA Women’s College Hockey

Latest From… The Women’s College Hockey Podcast – Episode #3B…

Episode #3A Part I – Is Now LIVE|The Recap

Sifters

US to Host 2024 World Championships… The next 2 World Championship host sites were recently announced. In 2024 they will be held in Utica, NY and in 2025, in Czechia. You can read more on the Utica announcement HERE.

IIHF Hall Calls Ouellette… Former Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Caroline Ouellette was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame last week. She is one of the most decorated women’s hockey players ever. Ouellette now spends her time as the Associate Head Coach for the Usport Concordia University Stingers program in Montreal.

IIHF 2023 Congress Video… As it does every year at the men’s World Championships, the IIHF Congress takes place to recap they year, talk new initiatives, and vote on matters of importance like rule changes, World Championship locations and bid processes. You can view the entire 7 hour (!) congress HERE if you like.

Of note, here are some interesting numbers from the recent Women’s World Championships held in Brampton, Ontario back in April.

85 credentialed media members from 8 countries covered the event
77,306 tickets were sold
Total Attendance: 59,402 (wondering if that means a lot of no-shows with 77K+ tix sold??)
Canada’s games had an ave. attendance of 4,073 (capacity of 5,000)
Over $248,000 in 50/50 revenue generated with six 50/50 draws
All games broadcast on TSN
15.7 % of Canada’s population watched some of the tournament… or 6.23 million viewers
Gold Medal Game had a 1.1 million average minute audience with a peak of 2,830,000 on TSN

Unfortunately I don’t have any US figures to share at this time.

IIHF Women’s World Jrs. being discussed… As has been discussed amongst NCAA coaching circles for years as wishful thinking, the time may be coming for a Women’s World Junior Championship type event. Currently, the IIHF does not offer a category championship between the U18 and top senior championship. And a World Jr. event would fill that void. As Ian Kennedy, writer on women’s hockey for The Hockey News uncovers, it’s probably not far off from becoming reality. See his interview with the IIHF HERE.

Harvey is 2023 Bob Allen Women’s Player of the Year… USA Hockey announced that Wisconsin Freshman Defender and 2022 US Olympian, Caroline Harvey is the 2023 Bob Allen Women’s Hockey Player of the Year recipient. You can read the announcement HERE.

JWHL Expands… The Rothesay Netherwood School, New Brunswick will be joining the Junior Women’s Hockey League for the 23-24 season, You can read about the announcement below:

We are excited to share the addition of @RNS1877 to the #JWHL for the 2023-24 Season.

A Warm Welcome to the League! pic.twitter.com/5GF2jmJYO8
— JWHL (@JWHL) April 24, 2023

New Jr. League in Sask… Looks Saskatchewan is following in Ontario’s footstep by offering a U-22 Junior league to begin play next season. Which makes sense given the effect of COVID. You can watch the news clip here.

Friendship Ireland Series is back… Hockey is going overseas again. Providence is set to face-off vs. Princeton for a two-game series Jan. 6 & 7. You can read the official announcement HERE.

Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and take Care,

-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.

-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.

-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.

NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.

Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.

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