By Neal E. Boudette
In just the last few weeks alone,
they’ve won verbal commitments from two highly rated players for the 2017-18
season – forward Shane Bowers, a possible first-round draft choice next June,
and defenseman Cam Crotty, another likely early-round pick.
Both committed right after BU landed
Finnish D-man Kasper Kotkansalo. Maybe most important is that Quinn & Co. went head to head with BC for Bowers and Crotty, and won.
And, of course, these recruiting wins come following this
year’s freshman class, which is second to none, with three first-rounders, a
second-rounder and a fifth-rounder.
How do they do it? How have Quinn,
Albie O’Connell and Scott Young managed to convince so many highly sought-after
players to choose BU over BC or any of the other strong college hockey programs
out there?
The answer has many levels –
including early identification of budding stars; an honest pitch about where
and how prospects would likely fit into BU’s plans; and, lastly, a pro-style
environment designed to give players the skills and life experience to leave
Comm Ave. and compete for a spot in the N.H.L. or some other form of
professional hockey.
Of course, the city of Boston,
Agganis Arena and the hockey team’s gleaming weight room, the rabid BU fan base
and the chance to play for a coach like Dave Quinn all helps, too.
Early Identification – Plenty of schools land commitments from 15 or even 14 year old
players. The trick is to be able to tell which ones will become elite players
three, four or five years down the road. It’s not an easy task.
“They have to be able to skate but
they have to think fast and be a step ahead of the play,” he said. “They can
see the entire game. They know where the puck is going to go.”
Obviously, they look for strong and
quick skaters, but the top priority is whether they appear to be thinking as
they play.
O’Connell said these are the kinds
of players – freshman Clayton Keller is certainly one – who “make everyone
around them better.”
In an interview, Quinn said the
clearest sign of a player who thinks is whether he has his head up while he’s
got the puck. “If you’re not looking at your options, you’re not thinking,” he
said.
The surest sign a player is
thinking is whether, when making a move, he can lean
one way to start to make a pass in one direction or shoot – and then change his
mind and do something else.
That, the BU coaches said, shows
the player’s mind is thinking faster than the play is unfolding. He starts to
do one thing, but then recognizes it’s not going to work or there is a better
option and is able to decide to do something else.
If a kid is doing that at 14 or 15,
he just might be on BU’s radar.
The Right Fit – In O’Connell’s office is a giant, floor-to-ceiling white board
with lists of current players, current commits and top players in
whom BU is interested. This is the team’s master plan
and it is kept hidden behind a blind—especially when visitors from outside the
program drop by. But often potential recruits are given a look, and are shown
an honest view of how the coaching staff thinks they could fit in at BU.
Once Keller committed to BU, that
was used to lure others. His linemate at the USA NTDP, Kieffer Bellows, was
projected as a winger on Keller’s line at BU. Then goalie Jake Oettinger and
Patrick Harper followed. Finally Chad Krys came along, too.
You can bet Bowers was given a look
Albie’s white board and shown he could be on a line with Harper or Bellows
or Keller or Bobo Carpenter next year. The chance to play with one or two
drafted players like that – well, that makes a pretty compelling argument for a
lot of players.
Honest Pitch—Part of the honest pitch Quinn and
Co. offer recruits is a blunt message, though. A spot on a top line and time on
the power play still have to be earned, and it will require hard work – both on
the ice and in the classroom. Essentially
players are told, “You will be pushed -- and sometimes you won’t like it.”
That was one
thing BU coaches emphasized to Keller during the recruiting process.
Quinn made a point to stress that going to BU and playing for the Terriers
would not be easy, even for a top-end center. Some players might be turned off
by that. Keller took it as a challenge.
The message
is summed up on a plaque at the entrance to the Terrier locker room. “Leave
Here,” it says and then lists five points:
● You
represent Boston University hockey.
● Manage your
time…go to class.
● Don’t listen
to the noise.
● Our
business is our business.
● Think
twice…act once.
Pro Style Environment – This is part of the way BU gets multiple
elite players to commit. At the pro level, players are going to have to compete
against and prove themselves against high-level talent.
Most players who hope to play
beyond college see the value in that. “You’re going to be challenged every
single day, and that’s what it will be like in the NHL, in the AHL, at any pro
level,” he said.
That kind of environment tends to
appeal strongly to top-end players.
