I was chatting with Jared DeMichiel, the UMass associate head coach, while watching a Midget game recently at Mount St. Charles.
It was the day after the NFL’s Thursday night season opener featuring the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I asked him if he’d watched Tom Brady and company.
No, he replied. He’d spent the evening going over video of that day’s practice.
“We have 10 new players. We have to make sure we’re ready,’’ he said. So it goes for the defending national champions. (Yes, it’s still a bit jarring to type those last three words).
UMass is in it to win it again. They’ll raise their banner to the rafters at the Mullins Center on Oct. 2 before they play Minnesota State, preseason favorites in the new CCHA, and go from there.
It was a summer like no other for the Minutemen. They and their new trophy were front and center on social media – including a couple of trips to Fenway Park for Red Sox games – as they basked in the glow of their accomplishment. And why not?
“The school wanted to take advantage of the exposure,’’ says head coach Greg Carvel, the chief architect of the program’s meteoric rise.
“We feel like we’re always trying to build the program here so we’re happy to, you know, wherever we need to go, with alumni, fundraise, whatever. Part of winning is a little extra work in the summer that you don’t usually have to do.’’
UMass will not rest on its laurels.
“It’s been a very busy summer, but I think that it’s served me well because it’s made me realize how important it is not to get complacent, to understand, how did we get here? What kind of kids got us here? And to not change what we’ve been doing for five years,’’ said Carvel.
“It’s very much been a summer of evaluation … and how to avoid complacency. Part of that is, we’ve got a lot of new kids here – we’ve got 26 players and 10 of them are new.’’
The newcomers have no reason to be smug. Neither do the returning players. Count on the coaching staff to make sure of that.
“It’s up to me to make sure the kids who are back, I don’t allow (complacency) to set in. I’m very, very aware of how important it is to keep pushing the group forward and it starts with me. If they get the sense that I’m complacent, it’s going to seep down to them pretty quickly.
“Believe me, I’m excited for this year and understand that it’s going to be extremely challenging and everyone is going to be coming for us. That’s all right. It’s a good spot to be in.’’
No one is sitting around watching last season’s highlights.
“We’ve talked about the players that have been here the last four years and what they’ve done to develop the program. We honor what they’ve done and the kids here now are the next link in the chain. They are all connected, so they are responsible for continuing to push the program forward, like the kids before them.
“So we talk about the past but not about the championship. We talk about what’s happened over the last four years and how we’re all accountable to continue in a similar pattern,’’ Carvel said.
The UMass roster is strong, even after some top underclassmen signed pro contracts, which is par for the course when you build a championship program.
Filip Lindberg, the best goalie in college hockey in the second half of last season, signed with Pittsburgh. Top defenseman Zac Jones (Rangers) and Marc Del Gaizo (Predators) also left school early.
Matt Murray provides plenty of experience in goal. Defenseman Matt Kessel and center Josh Lopina are back, too.
The Minutemen dipped into the transfer portal to grab defenseman Slava Demin from Denver. A Vegas draft pick whose rights were later traded to Chicago, “he can fill a hole for us,’’ said Carvel.
They also added grad transfer forwards Cam Donaldson from Cornell and Matt Baker from Dartmouth.
“They aren’t really filling holes, but we had an opportunity to get those kids, though they could make us better and give us good depth up front and so we were happy to bring them on, too,’’ said Carvel.
“They are experienced, they are veterans, so that helps. Donaldson played at Cornell. They play a similar style – heavy hockey. He’s fitting in and understands how we do it.’’
Carvel and company also recruited four NHL draft picks in freshmen Ryan Ufko (Nashville), Scott Morrow (Carolina), Lucas Mercuri (Carolina), and Taylor Makar (Colorado), Cale Makar’s younger brother.
“I like our depth this year. I don’t know how many all-stars we’re going to have – Trivigno obviously will be one of the best players in the league – but I think we’re going to be a very deep team, up front and on the back end. Matt Murray is back for a fifth year and that’s going to help us,’’ said Carvel.
He doesn’t see a clear favorite in Hockey East.
“It’s a little more wide open than in the past. I think you’ll see Vermont, Merrimack, UNH, Maine push harder from behind. I know BC lost a lot, we lost a lot. I don’t think BU lost a lot. Providence will have a bounce back, Northeastern will have a better goalie,’’ he said.
“It could be crazy with the parity. The difference between one and eight might not be that much this year.’’
A highlight of the UMass schedule will be a road trip to face the University of Michigan at Yost Arena on Jan. 8, with a rematch set for the following day.
“It’s going to be a game that I think most people in college hockey are probably going to be tuned in for,’’ Carvel said.
The blue-blood Wolverines – with a record seven NHL first-rounders on their roster – are favored by some to win the next national title.
Bring it on, say the Minutemen.
“We are the defending champions and if they want it, they are going to have to rip it out of our hands,’’ said Carvel.
