Greg Ambrose wrote in response to Mike Machnik:
> >Of course if you consider the list of top players to only include 3 or 4
> >players, he doesn't make it.  I'm not saying he is of the caliber of a
> >Drury or Mowers.
>
> Even though Drury is not even listed in the top 20 scorers in HE games and
> only has 7 points so far this year?  But even I will admit that he is a
> better player than Souza and Filipowicz, who are ahead of him in scoring.
>
 
At the time of this comment, BU had only two league games, fewer than
any
other team but Providence.  Obviously, that's going to skew things.
 
>   But if you consider it to be players who look to have
> >a solid chance at All-Hockey East, well, he's right up there.  He's not
> >going to be the Player of the Year, but he's got a solid shot at All-HE
> >in the league that has probably the best set of forwards in the country.
> >
> >Heck, in his season preview Dave Hendrickson wrote, "Stringer could
> >appear on many All-Hockey East ballots before he leaves North Andover."
> >He may even get it this year, although of course it is still early.
> >
> >I'm quite surprised to have to defend the "top player" comment -- I know
> >you've only seen him a few times, but I don't think you will find too
> >many players or coaches around the league who do not consider him in
> >high regard.  Ask Coach Umile.  It's got nothing to do with whether he
> >plays for Merrimack or not.  The guy is a good player and has earned the
> >right to be considered such.
>
> I'm afraid Mike that your argument here has the same ring as the Ron
> Andersen for Coach of the Year did last year.
 
Greg, that's shooting yourself in the foot.  :-)  The New England Hockey
Writers chose him Coach of the Year and, in a vote of his peers, he was
a finalist for the Penrose national Coach of the Year.  Mike, who at the
time claimed that both Umile and Anderson were legitimate candidates,
was
100% correct.
 
> It appears to be  a stretch
> that he will be a HE forward along with Mowers, Kariya, Drury, Reasoner,
> Nolan, Krog, et al.  That's six right there, enough for 2 teams.  I think
> you will have to agree that he will either need to put up some serious
> numbers and/or lead his team into the Fleet Center to be considered.  Time
> will tell.
>
 
Among Mike's points was that he IS putting up serious numbers.
 
I believe he is now leading Hockey East in scoring in league games.
This is in
fewer league games than Mowers, Nolan, Krog and Reasoner, and the same
number as
Kariya.  And that's in a very tough league schedule so far: BC,
Northeastern,
UNH and Maine (twice).
 
As you both note, there will be incredible competition for the forward
spots on the team again this year.  Your list doesn't even mention Tim
Lovell, a past All-Hockey East pick.  (Not that you were trying to be
all-inclusive.)  That's why deserving players like Nolan, Eric Nickulas
and Kariya didn't make it last year.
 
But one of the reasons why the league isn't picking a preseason
All-Hockey
East team is to avoid pre-annointing certain players and therefore
giving
them an unfair advantage in award selections at the end of the season.
Heck,
if at the beginning of last year someone gave million-to-one odds on
Jason
Krog (who'd scored four goals the year before) getting on the All-Hockey
East team, the oddsmaker would have gotten few takers.  Like for
Stringer,
people could have legitimately picked six "locks" not to mention that
he'd
done little to distinguish himself to that point.  But Krog got it done
on
the ice, just like Stringer is so far this year.
 
Personally, I think he'll get consideration this year, but won't get it
until
next year when, as a senior, he'll presumably still be around while much
of
his stiffest competition this year will have moved on.
 
But if someone gave me stiff odds against Stringer this year, I'd have
to
consider it....  :-)
 
-----------------------------------------------
Dave Hendrickson   [log in to unmask]
Hockey East writer for US College Hockey Online
        http://www.uscollegehockey.com
 
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