Hockey East Preview: #10 Vermont Catamounts

2011-12 Storyline: Catamounts end up in the conference cellar, gaining just three wins in Hockey East and six total

2012-13 Storyline: After a tumultuous offseason that saw UVM lose their leading scorer, best recruit, and most of their coaching staff, can they possibly finish anywhere but last?

Player To Watch: Connor Brickley

Player Missed Most: Sebastian Stalberg

Newcomer To Keep An Eye On: Jonathan Turk

Random Fact: New Catamount assistant coach Kyle Wallack was reportedly a front-runner to replace Blaise MacDonald in Amherst until Toot Cahoon stepped down, but ended up in Burlington after John Micheletto and Joey Gasparini moved on to UMass.

Beer The Triangle Favorite Local Brew: Hill Farmstead Edward is damn good but Alchemist Heady Topper is divine

It’s tough to say last season could’ve been any worse for the Catamounts as they won just six games total, finished out of the Hockey East playoffs by a mere 16 points, and managed to score a meager 2.15 goals a game. But then the offseason started and things continued to be rough for Vermont fans. First, junior Sebastian Stalberg left town, taking his team leading 12 goals and 19 assists with him. Then, prized incoming recruit Zemgus Girgensons signed with the Buffalo Sabres, the team who had earlier taken him 14th overall in the NHL Draft. And shortly after head coach Kevin Sneddon found himself having to replace two assistant coaches and a director of hockey operations as his former staff relocated to Amherst.

There will be a lot of weight on the shoulders of Kyle Reynolds and Connor Brickley to improve the woefully bad scoring this coming season. Reynolds had a solid freshman year, gaining double digits in both goals and assists. Brickley was on his way to a breakout season until he was injured during the World Junior Championships and ended up missing about a third of the season. Incoming freshmen Jonathan Turk, coming off a 30 goals season in the juniors in Alberta, and Michigan transfer Jacob Fallon will be looked upon to contribute right away.

Nick Bruneteau is the most experienced defenseman coming back, but it’ll be interested to see how NHL Draft picks Nick Luukko and and Michael Paliotta fare in their second season for the Cats. Paliotta was an everyday player last year while Luukko was giving the team solid minutes until he went down with injury at New Years. Even before Rob Madore’s graduation the goaltending situation was fluid for UVM. That’s the case again this year where senior John Vazzano will likely battle freshmen Billy Faust and Brody Hoffman. Both put up solid numbers in the Western Canada junior leagues.

They’ll Finish Lower Because: Luckily for them, they can’t finish any lower

They’ll Finish Higher Because: Brickley morphs into an elite Hockey East forward and the coaching staff turnover results in a whole new approach to the scoring challenges

Fear The Triangle Fearless Hockey East Predictions
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10. Vermont Catamounts

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In addition to our first season preview today, we also have our first recruit update, a weekly FTT feature ever Tuesday during the season.

Kenny Gillespie – RW – Omaha Lancers (USHL) – 2013
0 GP / 0 G / 0 A / 0 Pts / 0 PIM / 0
The Fall Classic will kick off the USHL season this week. Gillespie will look to build off a five goal and eight assist season last year with Omaha.

Mark Hamilton – D – Salisbury School Crimson Knights (NE Prep) – 2013
0 GP / 0 G / 0 A / 0 Pts
Hamilton is due to return to Salisbury again this season. Prep hockey will start up at the end of November.

Mike Iovanna – RW/C – Malden Catholic Lancers (MA High School) – 2013
0 GP / 0 G / 0 A / 0 Pts
According to this post from ESPN Boston, it does sound like Iovanna will return to Malden Catholic this year.

Casey Miller – C – Kimball Union (NE Prep) – 2014
0 GP / 0 G / 0 A / 0 Pts
It’s expected that Miller will return to KUA again after helping the Wildcats to a New England Prep championship last year.

Willy Smith – LW – Springfield Pics (EJHL) – 2014
1 GP / 0 G / 0 A / 0 Pts / 0 PIM
Smith was kept off the scoresheet as the EJHL season got underway this past weekend. It’ll be interesting to see how he does this season where he’ll likely spend the entire time with the Pics’ EJHL team, no longer splitting time in the Empire league.

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Merrimack’s new practice rink and other upgrades could help the area get an USHL franchise. I’d love to see the top American junior league expand to the northeast. It certainly would make my recruiting updates a little easier.