> Personal Note.  The joke I heard on NESN a few years back was that Jack
> Parker takes the CM "stars" and the other schools fight over the rest of
> the team.  Sounds like there was a bit of truth to the joke.  This guy
> sounds like a finisher to me, but looks a bit weak in the passing dept.
...
>         Cordiero stats from last year at CM were 22 goals and 23 assist
> for 45 points total. He was also named one of the MVP's at this year's
> Hockey Night in Boston.  I think he can be considered a star at CM, not
> as good as some of their past players, but the best they have right now.
 
I know Ryan Cordeiro very well and in addition to CM games I've seen him
play more than a hundred games over the past five or six summers.  The
kid is a bull.  When the chips are down, he really comes through.  He
very much was a star at CM.  He was the first freshman in a long time to
play on the varsity there.  (I believe the first since Donato.)  He led the
team in scoring as a sophomore and junior.  So to categorize him as
anything other than a CM "star" would be a mistake.
 
When he entered CM, he pretty much expected to follow the CM-BU pipeline,
but as time progressed he became increasingly attracted to UNH.  It is
my understanding that BU was interested until he made his preference for
UNH known.
 
He certainly is more a finisher than a passer.  But that's primarily
a result of being the best goal scorer on his line everywhere he's gone.
He can bury the puck from anywhere, even from behind the net where he's
been known to bank a shot off the back of a goalie's pads.  My own son
was delighted to "pull a Cordeiro" the first time he scored that way.
 
He does need some time with a conditioning coach to fully utilize his
talents and he'll never be a Lady Byng candidate, but I think UNH got
themselves a good one here.  To make a CM comparison, I would expect
him to be at least as successful as Mike Sylvia has been.  Not a
Rookie of the Year, but still a very good player.
 
-------------------------------------------------
Dave Hendrickson     [log in to unmask]
Hockey East writer for U.S. College Hockey Online
         http://www.uscollegehockey.com
 
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