(above) Kyle Medvec, Lance Herrington, Josh Burrows, Patrick Cullity, Kevan Miller, Drew MacKenzie, Anders Franzon and Dan Lawson form an experienced, talented and physically imposing group of defensemen for VermontFrom: Burlington Free Press
by Ted Ryan
This corps of University of Vermont defensemen might be the biggest, most skilled group in the program’s history, and they’ll need to use every bit of their ability if the Catamounts are to continue their steady climb into national prominence, starting with this weekend’s series at #1-ranked Denver.
It is, simply, a defensive unit with no negatives and plenty of positives.
Size? These eight guys average 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds. None is shorter than 6-2. Dan Lawson goes a hard 245 pounds. Kyle Medvec stands 6-6.
Experience? Patrick Cullity, Lawson, Medvec, Josh Burrows and Kevan Miller started every one of UVM’s 39 games in last year’s NCAA Frozen Four season. Drew MacKenzie missed just eight games. Between them, last year’s starting six have played 413 of a possible 468 games over the last three seasons.
Offense? Last winter, the six contributed 18 goals and 52 assists while not seeing anywhere near as much power-play time as they should this year. In 2007-08, the defense provided 11 goals and 31 assists when four freshmen started.
Depth? That was the one flaw a year ago, when Kyle Kuk was injured for nearly the whole season and freshman Lance Herrington needed seasoning before he could contribute. Now, Herrington is bigger and better, and freshman Anders Franzon has already impressed his teammates with his strength and skill.
This group might not have the blue-chip aura of Boston College or Boston University (each has five NHL draft picks to UVM’s has two) or the offensive cache of Lowell (20 goals, 98 points), but, said head coach Kevin Sneddon, “I like our eight against anybody.
“They’ve got size; they’ve got toughness; they’re capable defensively, so it’s not like we’re run-and-gun and we’re high-risk for minimal reward. They’re good at both ends of the rink. We really excited about what they can bring to the table this year,” Sneddon said. “Each of them has gotten better in terms of their strength and conditioning in the offseason. They’re pretty big and strong right now and still maintaining their quickness.”
“They’re huge. They’re all big kids and they’ve only gotten stronger, and they all have very good skills,” said junior captain Brian Roloff.
“I compare them to some really good teams, BC, whoever. Those teams, they always have a couple of defensemen you can pick on. Our guys are not like that. They’re all very solid defensively.”
Each year, Sneddon and his staff have slowly upgraded the defensive corps, but the big step came in the Class of ’11 with Burrows, Lawson, Miller and Medvec immediately starting. They made mistakes of inexperience but the group’s learning curve and ability was enormous. They received their lessons under fire and responded, adapting quickly to the challenges of Hockey East.
“It’s great to have skill forwards but the only way you can utilize your skill forwards is if you can get defensemen who can get them the puck,” Sneddon said. “The transformation’s taken time to find the right defensive corps but we feel we’ve got a blend of guys that are gritty, will block shots, finish checks, play tough in front of the net but also have the touch to make the first pass to get us out of the zone clean and to jump up in the play.”
“We’re expected to be a shut-down defensive unit,” Cullity said. “There is pressure to establish the defense right away.”
As good as this defense is, said Miller, “We can always get better ... on the penalty kill, on the power play, making smart decisions with the puck.
“Sure, we can do a lot of things, but there’s a lot of things we need to work on as well.”
Attitude isn’t one of those things.
It is, simply, a defensive unit with no negatives and plenty of positives.
Size? These eight guys average 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds. None is shorter than 6-2. Dan Lawson goes a hard 245 pounds. Kyle Medvec stands 6-6.
Experience? Patrick Cullity, Lawson, Medvec, Josh Burrows and Kevan Miller started every one of UVM’s 39 games in last year’s NCAA Frozen Four season. Drew MacKenzie missed just eight games. Between them, last year’s starting six have played 413 of a possible 468 games over the last three seasons.
Offense? Last winter, the six contributed 18 goals and 52 assists while not seeing anywhere near as much power-play time as they should this year. In 2007-08, the defense provided 11 goals and 31 assists when four freshmen started.
Depth? That was the one flaw a year ago, when Kyle Kuk was injured for nearly the whole season and freshman Lance Herrington needed seasoning before he could contribute. Now, Herrington is bigger and better, and freshman Anders Franzon has already impressed his teammates with his strength and skill.
This group might not have the blue-chip aura of Boston College or Boston University (each has five NHL draft picks to UVM’s has two) or the offensive cache of Lowell (20 goals, 98 points), but, said head coach Kevin Sneddon, “I like our eight against anybody.
“They’ve got size; they’ve got toughness; they’re capable defensively, so it’s not like we’re run-and-gun and we’re high-risk for minimal reward. They’re good at both ends of the rink. We really excited about what they can bring to the table this year,” Sneddon said. “Each of them has gotten better in terms of their strength and conditioning in the offseason. They’re pretty big and strong right now and still maintaining their quickness.”
“They’re huge. They’re all big kids and they’ve only gotten stronger, and they all have very good skills,” said junior captain Brian Roloff.
“I compare them to some really good teams, BC, whoever. Those teams, they always have a couple of defensemen you can pick on. Our guys are not like that. They’re all very solid defensively.”
Each year, Sneddon and his staff have slowly upgraded the defensive corps, but the big step came in the Class of ’11 with Burrows, Lawson, Miller and Medvec immediately starting. They made mistakes of inexperience but the group’s learning curve and ability was enormous. They received their lessons under fire and responded, adapting quickly to the challenges of Hockey East.
“It’s great to have skill forwards but the only way you can utilize your skill forwards is if you can get defensemen who can get them the puck,” Sneddon said. “The transformation’s taken time to find the right defensive corps but we feel we’ve got a blend of guys that are gritty, will block shots, finish checks, play tough in front of the net but also have the touch to make the first pass to get us out of the zone clean and to jump up in the play.”
“We’re expected to be a shut-down defensive unit,” Cullity said. “There is pressure to establish the defense right away.”
As good as this defense is, said Miller, “We can always get better ... on the penalty kill, on the power play, making smart decisions with the puck.
“Sure, we can do a lot of things, but there’s a lot of things we need to work on as well.”
Attitude isn’t one of those things.
2 comments:
Good article pointing out some of UVM's strengths since most of us haven't seen them except on TV during their strong playoff run last year.
This will be a great weekend. Good to see we scheduled a legit opponent on a big reunion weekend like this.
Vermont's d-men vs. DU's skilled forwards should be an interesting matchup this weekend. Colborne aside, Vermont will definitely have a size advantage. I think the key will be can DU's speed and quickness take over the game or will Vermont be able to knock our forwards off the puck and prevent any significant puck possession. I'm sure part of Vermont's strategy will be to play physical in the corners, take away the passing and shooting lanes, and make DU stay on the perimeter.
I hope DU has a more consistent forecheck this year--make life difficult for opposing d-men and create turnovers to further capitalize on their speed and skill.
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