> However, my thought would be that a player would chose to come to Maine
for certain reasons.  The history and power of the program, the competition
that they will play against (probably the best college competition in the
country), or the coach that he will get to play for.  I agree that losing
Standbrook will be hard for Maine, but the players don't come here to play
for him, so I think it will be something that we can rebound from.  When
Walsh passed, the coach that many players wanted to play for was no longer
there.

It is not that players "choose" to come to Maine -- for the most part, they
are chosen to come here and the one person who has been the major factor in
the selection process over the past nearly 20 years has been Grant.  He
watches kids develop for years and knows well in advance what Maine will
need two and three and four and five years down the road.  His eye for
talent is superb and his on-ice teaching skills are unparalleled as well.
The players come here to develop their skills under an excellent coaching
team, not just one person or one system.  All of the coaches make a serious
contribution to the successes on a daily basis.  Perhaps the casual observer
isn't aware of the work that Grant does with the goalies -- or he and
Campbell with the defense -- or Guy with forwards.  It wasn't just Shawn and
it isn't just Tim ... any great program needs an excellent head man and the
coaching, teaching and recruiting staff he builds around himself.
Nonni