Editor's note: NEHJ welcomes Mark Divver, who spent a dozen years as a hockey beat writer at The Providence Journal, as a regular contributor on the college, amateur and pro hockey spectrums. Follow Mark on Twitter @MarkDivver.
In a normal year, the opening of the Hockey East season would be within sight.
Obviously, 2020 is the opposite of normal. So here we are on the cusp of October and no one knows when the league will start or what the season will look like.
Not even Steve Metcalf knows, not definitively anyway. Hockey East’s new commissioner told me this week that much remains to be nailed down before the puck is dropped for ’20-21.
“Everything we are doing is happening on parallel tracks — trying to figure out schedule modules, trying to figure out the return to play,” Metcalf said. “Every week it’s discussion throughout the week on all of the above. It’s going to continue until we’re ready to make a decision on what we want to do.’’
The league’s return-to-play task force, on the job since August, is plowing forward.
“I think we’ve done some great work, but that work will continue probably right up until the season, as we work through all the details and make sure that we haven’t missed anything and collectively do what is best for college hockey and for Hockey East,’’ Metcalf said.
It’s been widely reported that some leagues are leaning toward not scheduling any out-of-conference games.
“You can more easily control your destiny within your league and have flexibility with the schedule with the protocols and whatnot. It’s much easier to do within the league than across leagues,’’ Metcalf said.
Boston College coach Jerry York recently mentioned Nov. 6 as a possible start date. Other dates that have made the rounds are Nov. 20 and after Jan. 1. It’s all still up in the air, according to Metcalf.
“We’re getting closer to making decisions about what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it. Are we getting more anxious to sort some things out and make some decisions? Of course. I think everyone is. The coaches are probably the most anxious group of all because there’s just so many uncertainties in their world that they would usually have certainty about.
“I’m sensitive to that, but it’s also a very unique situation we’re all living through. How we do this safely is paramount in all the discussions amongst all the institutions. These are often (athletic director) and (school president) decisions, not hockey coaches’ decisions, like they normally would be.’’
Recruiting in a pandemic
Division 1 recruiters were dealt another blow recently when the Division 1 Council extended the recruiting dead period to Jan. 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The dead period, which prohibits coaches from scouting games in person, started six months ago.
Safety is important, of course, but this is prime recruiting time, with Midget showcases going on nearly every weekend and junior games starting up. It’s a tough time for Division 1 coaches to be stuck at home.
Schools have continued to commit players, of course. Coaches are allowed to communicate with recruits via phone call, email and Zoom, even while they are prohibited from watching games in-person.
To say the least, recruiting during the dead period is a challenge.
“We’re all kind of trying to figure it out a little bit. You keep in contact as much as you can, talk to people that are able to get into rinks, coaches and things like that,’’ said Jerry Keefe, the associate head coach at Northeastern and a top recruiter.
While games are available via streaming services such as HockeyTV and LiveBarn, and video clips of individual players obviously can provide insight, there is no substitute for being in the rink.
“I like watching video on players, but it’s hard for me to make a decision on a player through video. Some guys maybe feel more comfortable, but I don’t,’’ said Keefe. “So that part’s pretty tough, to be honest, but it’s the best that you have right now.’’
In a normal year, recruiters here have access to much more hockey than their counterparts in some other parts of the country.
“We are spoiled around (New England), no question, because there’s so much hockey. We just look it up and, ‘Oh, there’s a game tonight’ and drive 20 minutes or a half-hour down the road and go watch a good game,’’ said Keefe.
“We could watch a game every day if we wanted, whereas most places aren’t like that. It’s probably harder for them to get out and recruit, so it is difficult trying to figure out the balance of what’s fair and what’s not fair to everybody. But it stinks that you’re right there and you can’t go in the door and watch a game.’’
NU’s flying freshmen
Northeastern’s freshmen class will be worth watching this season, with two former Lawrence Academy stars at the top of the list.
Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) is a good bet to be selected no later than the second round of the NHL Entry Draft on Oct. 6 and 7. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) could be chosen in the later rounds. Colangelo has interviewed with 29 NHL teams and Fontaine with 10.
Colangelo and Fontaine, who formed a potent line with Northeastern sophomore Neil Shea during their days at Lawrence Academy, also were frequent linemates with the Chicago Steel last winter.
There will be an adjustment period for both players moving up to Hockey East, but Steel general manager Ryan Hardy believes they will thrive.
“They are interesting in that they are both kind of shoot-first guys. That was intriguing. No matter who we put them with, it didn’t make that much of a difference. They impacted the game and created offense,’’ said Hardy.
“Both those guys, I think they’ll go in and produce (at Northeastern). It wouldn’t shock me at all if they were both around a point a game.’’
Jack Hughes and the WJC
As a 19-year-old, Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is eligible to play for the United States (coached by Nate Leaman of Providence College) in the 2021 World Junior Championship in Edmonton this winter.
A player of Hughes’ caliber obviously would give Leaman’s squad a boost, but there are reasons why it probably won’t happen.
The NHL regular season could be starting right around that time. The Devils, under new coach Lindy Ruff and with Hughes expected to play an important role, could decide that the young center should stay with them as they look to bounce back from a disappointing year.
And there’s been no indication that Hughes has any interest in a second trip to the WJC after representing the U.S. in 2019.
But never say never, right? With that in mind, I called Devils general manager and executive vice president Tom Fitzgerald to get his take.
Fitzgerald, who has had a full plate this offseason with hiring Ruff and preparing for free agency and the NHL draft, said that he had “initial, very early talks’’ regarding Hughes with Team USA GM John Vanbiesbrouck during the summer.
Vanbiesbrouck called to discuss the possibility of Hughes attending the U.S. team’s summer camp, but Fitzgerald didn’t want Hughes to interrupt his training regimen. (The camp was later canceled because of the pandemic.)
However, Fitzgerald indicated that the question of Hughes’ availability for the WJC could be revisited later on this year.
“I haven’t put too much thought into it, to be honest. I’m not really sure how I feel about it, depending on what the schedule is for our league. Jack’s a huge part of the future of our organization, but I don’t want to squander the present,’’ Fitzgerald said.
So it appears the door is still open, even if just a crack.
