(above) Boston university coach Jack Parker will guide the Terriers against Miami University tonightFrom: Washington Times
by Ben Goessling
The names and faces that dot Jack Parker's two NCAA championship teams at Boston University, first in 1978 and then in 1995, form a tapestry of Massachusetts hockey history that appears woven from the same cloth. Irish and Italian last names, churned out by the same Catholic prep schools.
The makeup of this year's team, the first Terriers squad to reach the Frozen Four since 1997, represents how much Boston University has had to adapt to the changing recruiting game. Players are coming from more places than ever before, and many of the top college bound talent isn't staying in high school. Instead, they're going to junior hockey leagues or the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Seven players on this year's team came from the U.S. under-18 team, which has become something of a clearinghouse for the best high school talent in the country. Another nine came from various U.S. junior leagues. Just nine players on this year's team are from Massachusetts, and two more are from Connecticut.
BU star player Collin Wilson, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award — college hockey's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — might be as good an example of an unusual recruit as anyone. He grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and said the only Division I school looking at him before he went to Ann Arbor was Bemidji State.
Once he started playing in the program, first for the under-17 team and then for the under-18 team, that quickly changed. In the team's barnstorming schedule of exhibitions against major college teams, Wilson played before scouts every night. He heard from more than 30 teams and narrowed his list to Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Boston University.
It has helped put Parker back on the map. He's still somewhat nostalgic for the days of teams loaded with New Englanders, but he knows surviving in today's college hockey world requires something different now.
"It'd be nice if Massachusetts could get back to producing a lot of great hockey players again. But in the time being, we can recruit Western Canada against North Dakota or against Denver, go out and recruit in the Midwest against Michigan," Parker said. "We still don't have a lot of success in Minnesota. Pulling kids out of Minnesota is a very difficult situation. But other than that state, we can go anywhere we want."
The makeup of this year's team, the first Terriers squad to reach the Frozen Four since 1997, represents how much Boston University has had to adapt to the changing recruiting game. Players are coming from more places than ever before, and many of the top college bound talent isn't staying in high school. Instead, they're going to junior hockey leagues or the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Seven players on this year's team came from the U.S. under-18 team, which has become something of a clearinghouse for the best high school talent in the country. Another nine came from various U.S. junior leagues. Just nine players on this year's team are from Massachusetts, and two more are from Connecticut.
BU star player Collin Wilson, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award — college hockey's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — might be as good an example of an unusual recruit as anyone. He grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and said the only Division I school looking at him before he went to Ann Arbor was Bemidji State.
Once he started playing in the program, first for the under-17 team and then for the under-18 team, that quickly changed. In the team's barnstorming schedule of exhibitions against major college teams, Wilson played before scouts every night. He heard from more than 30 teams and narrowed his list to Colorado College, Denver, North Dakota and Boston University.
It has helped put Parker back on the map. He's still somewhat nostalgic for the days of teams loaded with New Englanders, but he knows surviving in today's college hockey world requires something different now.
"It'd be nice if Massachusetts could get back to producing a lot of great hockey players again. But in the time being, we can recruit Western Canada against North Dakota or against Denver, go out and recruit in the Midwest against Michigan," Parker said. "We still don't have a lot of success in Minnesota. Pulling kids out of Minnesota is a very difficult situation. But other than that state, we can go anywhere we want."
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