What is wrong with Breck this year

[hermantown2000]

Very surpising to see Breck(the traditional Class A private school power house) with a losing record. Wonder what is going on? Injuries,defections or transfers or has the program reached its end?

[greenwayraider]

Seems that I remember someone stating early in the season that Breck was not going to emphasize hockey as much. The 6-0 loss to Fargo Davies was a big flag that they weren’t a powerhouse anymore.

[BP]

Yes - they are getting out of being a hockey school and aren't providing the scholarships (alum provided) anymore. With the school being 30K and even at a discount - not many can afford it. They'll get their trickle of a few nice players - but the run is over. But a great run it was.

[yesiplayedhockey]

Is Blake the new Breck?

[Stang5280]

Seems that I remember someone stating early in the season that Breck was not going to emphasize hockey as much. The 6-0 loss to Fargo Davies was a big flag that they weren’t a powerhouse anymore.

That was me, and another poster completely pooh-poohed my statement at the time, saying I didn’t know what was talking about, to stop spreading false rumors, etc. I am an alumnus with a relative who works in Breck‘s administration, and also have a close friend who was on the previous coaching staff, so I had some basis in fact for my statements.

BP is correct regarding the financial aid situation for hockey players. Breck certainly has plenty of money for families who need help with tuition, but they are no longer treating hockey players special when it comes to aid, and are being less aggressive with recruiting in general. This was a decision made at the institutional level, as many felt that the school was becoming a hockey factory and losing sight of its educational mission. With graduating classes of under 150 students, it is a fairly small school and bringing in hockey ringers makes a notable impact on the atmosphere. The previous coaching staff had pushed for a move to AA a few years ago, but the administration balked at the idea and eventually went in the opposite direction.

From a hockey perspective, Breck is dealing with several issues this year. Notably, they graduated an outstanding class last year and don’t have nearly enough horses (pardon the pun) to replace the lost talent. There are a few good young players in the fold, but there are still a lot of upperclassmen on the roster and the struggles can’t be blamed on youth. The offense is particularly lacking, which is a stark contrast to the typical high octane teams from recent years. There is also a new coaching staff this year, tasked with replacing a long term legend in Les Larson.

Anyway, this is already too long so I will wrap up with a few quick thoughts. I take no pride in being correct about the situation with Breck’s hockey program and I hate to see them struggle like this. I feel bad for the players, particularly the ones who have been in the program for a a while and are used to success. Breck has long fielded strong hockey teams, even before the modern recruiting era (our teams fared well against the Bloomington teams back in my day), so hopefully they can find a better balance in the near future.

[TheNightman]

Is Blake the new Breck?

They moved up to AA, so no.

[yesiplayedhockey]

What I meant to say is do you think they will become the preferred private school west of the Mississippi for hockey families


[quote="TheNightman"][quote="yesiplayedhockey"]Is Blake the new Breck?[/quote]

They moved up to AA, so no.[/quote]

[Stang5280]

What I meant to say is do you think they will become the preferred private school west of the Mississippi for hockey families]

Well, I would say that Holy Family, and even BSM, are on a whole ‘nother level and are both private schools west of the mighty Miss. But Blake does seem to have benefited from Breck”s situation, particularly since they compete head-to-head for so many students as independent schools.

[green4]

What I meant to say is do you think they will become the preferred private school west of the Mississippi for hockey families

Is Blake the new Breck?

They moved up to AA, so no.

I think with the Minneapolis youth teams looking better you can expect a good amount of them to end up at Blake. According to follow the puck Blake had the two highest scoring 9th graders this year. If I was to send my future kids to a private school I would send them to Blake over BSM or Holy Family, but that's just my own opinion

[yesiplayedhockey]

Until Holy Family actually makes it to a state tournament, I don't think you can say they are on whole 'nother level. HF is an up and comer but we've been saying that for years now. Plus they may be a little to far west to capture the best talent year end and year out.

BSM appears to be down (but are they out? time will tell)

Blakes move to AA and Breck moving away from being a hockey school will be interesting to watch... that's all I'm saying.

[O-townClown]

Attractiveness to Bantam-age player for future:

1. Blake
2. Holy Family
3. Holy Angels
4. Benilde-St. Margaret's
5. Breck
6. Providence and Minnehaha

Blake is doing okay at Varsity level with a roster chock full of 9th graders. Should be the AA private school on the Mpls side for a little while.

Holy Family turns over a great deal of upperclassmen and will build around one extremely good 8th grader. Problem is, as we've seen over and over, the kids that are pretty far ahead of their peers usually don't stay long in one place when they are being pushed.

Holy Angels is in a pretty good spot and is under the radar. The mediocre Varisty turns over a ton of seniors from the last regime. What's left are some really good young players already on Varsity, a solid JV pipeline, an energetic new coach, and a school and AD very committed to seeing hockey returned to where it was a little over a decade ago.

I'm bearish on Benilde for the simple reason that it takes a ton of kids to stay where they were when they won the state title. It is now in vogue to actually go to Wayzata if you're from Plymouth and (for now) Edina is the place to be if you are from Edina. Minneapolis kids are finding their way to Blake. Where do the players come from going forward? B-SM is in the beginnings of a swoon like we saw from Holy Angels, in my opinion.

Looking over to the St. Paul side, the pecking order today is St. Thomas, Cretin-DH, and Hill-Murray in that order. In a couple years Hill will supplant St. Thomas as the top on this list because of their efforts to attract a small army of younger players for JV rather than having them play Bantam somewhere else. For that reason:

1. Hill-Murray
2. St. Thomas
3. Cretin-Derham Hall

We'll know in 2022 whether any of this is right.

[Stang5280]

Until Holy Family actually makes it to a state tournament, I don't think you can say they are on whole 'nother level. HF is an up and comer but we've been saying that for years now. Plus they may be a little to far west to capture the best talent year end and year out.

BSM appears to be down (but are they out? time will tell)

Blakes move to AA and Breck moving away from being a hockey school will be interesting to watch... that's all I'm saying.

I don’t think that state tournament berths, or lack thereof, are a fair metric by which to measure Holy Family’s success. They have been stuck in a section with an Eden Prairie team featuring a transcendent talent in Middelstadt the past few years, which pretty much blocked their path. With the EP down this year, HF looks like a near lock to face Tonka in the section finals and a decent chance to go to state. (See my criticism below, however.)

I think with the Minneapolis youth teams looking better you can expect a good amount of them to end up at Blake. According to follow the puck Blake had the two highest scoring 9th graders this year. If I was to send my future kids to a private school I would send them to Blake over BSM or Holy Family, but that's just my own opinion

Blake definitely has a bright future, and this is a totally defensible position. One issue with HF is their constant roster turnover. So far it hasn’t bitten them too much, but you never know who will actually be there until the last moment. HF does seem to do well with player development, but it is something of a revolving door. As a hypothetical parent it also doesn’t hurt that Blake is such an excellent college prep school.

[HShockeywatcher]

Looking at the schedule this year, I wouldn't draw too many conclusions. For example, I don't think that losing your first game of the season to a team that is now 13-1-2 is that big of a deal. Breck has the toughest Class A schedule in the state this year and has played some close games with some good teams.

They are a team that I look at similar to Sartell. They are in most of their games, coming up short against good teams, and if they are a young team it'd be interesting to see how they do next year.
So then you look at the stats:
Breck has two goalies who split minutes; both seniors.
They have 17 skaters with points. Only 2 with more than 10 and 7 with more than 5. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th on the list are seniors.
Combine that with what everyone's saying and it seems like the ride may be over...

[Stang5280]

So then you look at the stats:
Breck has two goalies who split minutes; both seniors.
They have 17 skaters with points. Only 2 with more than 10 and 7 with more than 5. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th on the list are seniors.
Combine that with what everyone's saying and it seems like the ride may be over...

That’s the worrisome part for me. This isn’t a young team; it just isn’t a very talented group. And things don’t look to be improving over the next few years unless something drastic changes.

Also, unlike a school like Hill-Murray, Breck does not utilize its JV team as much of a developmental tool. In fact, they often have trouble even filling out the JV squad. Frequently there are a number of seniors on JV, particularly kids who have attended the school since kindergarten (basically as a loyalty reward). So it isn’t like Breck has replacement talent waiting in the wings down there, either. It will likely be an extended rebuilding process.

[yesiplayedhockey]

Keep in mind Breck still has something going for them - Education- For some folks (yes even some hockey parents) this is a very important piece of the pie

Not saying the other private schools can't offer that but you can't ignore the fact that Breck is a very good choice for anyone wanting a top end education mixed in with very good hockey. I give Kudos for Breck staying at class A all these years and making education the priority. In today's world its sometimes hockey first and everything else is a distant second

Blake's move to class AA will be interesting. They, like Breck, have a unbelievable reputation of producing high end alumni. So keeping education the #1 priority while competing at the AA level will be a delicate balancing act. I think they can do it and I hope they do.

Remember, both Breck and Blake have probably the deepest pockets in town when it comes to alumni money. If they want hockey to be a high priority. It will be.