Wayne Smith writes:
>---------------------
>Walsh happy at UMaine
>---------------------
>
>By Larry Mahoney
>Of the NEWS Staff
...
>"All I'm doing is being consistent with what I tell my players.  If
>somebody expresses interest in you, you at least owe them the courtesy
>of listening to them.  And I'm doing that myself," said Walsh, who is on
>a recruiting trip to Chicago.  "The meeting I had with (OSU Athletic
>Director) Andy Geiger and other officials was strictly exploratory."
>
>He said in addition to them getting a handle on him and how he rebuilt
>the Maine program, "I was exploring the commitment they are prepared to
>make to rebuild their program."
 
I think these are excellent points that haven't been raised too often
in the discussion about coaches looking into other positions.
 
First, I am of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with a coach
listening to what another school has to say, or even taking another
job if he decides it is in his best interests.  I realize there are
some who do not agree with this.  However, I do believe that in any
profession, a person has to do what is best for himself and his family
(or hers, as the case may be).  Your family and your life come first.
 
Second, this article (thanks, Wayne) and Walsh's comments show how
valuable it can be for a school to simply talk to another coach and
for that coach to talk to the school.  Perhaps a coach as successful
and visible as Walsh can make suggestions to OSU on what direction
they should be taking and how they can achieve their goals, whatever
those may be.  And knowing how Walsh is as interested in the growth of
college hockey as he is in the success of his own team, he can shed
light on just what a successful hockey program can do for OSU and for
the game.  He also learns more about some of the obstacles facing
schools who want to improve, and this knowledge can help him in
discussions with other schools who are in the same boat.
 
I've said before that I think Shawn Walsh is a good ambassador for the
game, and I think this is another example of that.
 
Along the lines of coaching changes, I was happy to see Notre Dame
hire Dave Poulin as the successor to Ric Schafer.  Thinking back to
the years that Poulin spent with the Boston Bruins, I always felt
impressed by him whenever I heard him speak.  He's a very, very
intelligent man who I believe will quickly become among the most
respected people in the game and will serve as a very positive leader
for the ND hockey program.  It will be interesting to see how he makes
the transition from playing to being a full-time head coach of a major
DivI program, but given time, I believe the future will be a good one.
He brings a lot of experience in the game to the job along with the
type of morality and ethics that will make him a coach who any parent
would want his/her son to play for.
 
As disappointed as I was to hear of Coach Schafer's decision to leave
the program, I also feel elation at the news that ND has found what
seems to be a worthy successor.  I wish both gentlemen the best of
success in their new positions, as I am sure all of us here do.  I
know we are all pleased to be able to welcome Poulin to "our" game.
 
Finally, with all the talk recently about other schools who people
believe should upgrade their programs to help the game grow, I think
the most exciting aspect of the future of the game is the direction
being taken by some of the schools that have tended to be among the
weaker sisters.  ND has already come a long way since the recent days
of Independent and even club status, and they seem to have a good
chance at continuing to improve given increased support from the
administration.  OSU also has a great opportunity to improve.
 
In the WCHA, Denver and CC have already begun to reap the fruits of
their labor to return to the success they enjoyed a number of years
ago.  North Dakota looks to be just behind them.  In the ECAC, the
sudden rise of many of the perennially weaker teams like Princeton is
exciting.  And in HE, Providence and Merrimack have shown definite
signs of challenging the leaders, while BC under Jerry York may well
follow in several years, given good recruiting and a resolution to the
problems York inherited.  And UMass might overtake all three of these
HE schools and more before long.
 
Yes, what will make college hockey strong in the future is if these
teams and others are able to challenge the upper echelon and make the
game more exciting.  This needs to happen first before we can begin to
think about what other non-DivI schools will be able to bring to the
table.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93