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EHSHack wrote:Finally a chance for Bruce Plant to coach 7AA!

Bruce would NEVER go to 7AA.

allstatebenders wrote:Sad to see easts dominance come to an end

very true

I heard from a reliable source that Randolph took the game puck after the Eagen game, telling the players they hope he doesnt mind him taking it since it would be his last game, anyone else hear this?

Dizluttheast218 wrote:I heard from a reliable source that Randolph took the game puck after the Eagen game, telling the players they hope he doesnt mind him taking it since it would be his last game, anyone else hear this?

I cant see him going anywhere if everyone comes back.. If no one leaves early they could still have a pretty darn good team. Plus like someone else said he has 2 year to reach his 90 and like he said in the Duluth News Tribune a month back he doesnt know how to paint.

Dizluttheast218 wrote:I heard from a reliable source that Randolph took the game puck after the Eagen game, telling the players they hope he doesnt mind him taking it since it would be his last game, anyone else hear this?

True statement.

east hockey wrote:

puckhead58 wrote:

EHSHack wrote:Finally a chance for Bruce Plant to coach 7AA!

No offense meant, but the man was pretty clear about how he felt about parents that b**ch.

Exactly. Bruce has a great thing going in Hermantown. Why on earth would he leave the Hawks and stick his head into that hornet's nest?

Lee

Are the hornets buzzing around angry they didn't win state"?

Irish wrote:

east hockey wrote:

puckhead58 wrote: No offense meant, but the man was pretty clear about how he felt about parents that b**ch.

Exactly. Bruce has a great thing going in Hermantown. Why on earth would he leave the Hawks and stick his head into that hornet's nest?

Lee

Are the hornets buzzing around angry they didn't win state"?

It's just a general statement regarding certain people. And I'm staying as far away from the hornets as I can get for awhile. Like, until next seasons starts.

Lee

So Lee,
Honest question here...
With all the new and existing facilities in the area, what's seems to be the problem we're discussing for DE? Just a temporary retool or lack of talent? Declining numbers in the youth programs?

Don't know enough about the area. What's on the horizon?

headsup wrote:So Lee,
Honest question here...
With all the new and existing facilities in the area, what's seems to be the problem we're discussing for DE? Just a temporary retool or lack of talent? Declining numbers in the youth programs?

Don't know enough about the area. What's on the horizon?

I know these questions are directed at Lee; however, here is what I know.

This past year's team was very deep talent wise; however, next years team will obviously not be as deep (graduation, maybe transfers?). They have some solid underclassmen; however, let's see who is on the roster come next season. If East's players return for next year, they should still have a solid team, but what really worries East is the future beyond next year.

In addition, the open secret in the East circles is that this was Randolph's last season as head coach. I haven't heard of a definitive answer yet (he is or isn't), but with him leaving, East will take a solid hit. However, if East's gets a good replacement, the repercussion of Randolph leaving will be not as bad. Again, we'll wait and see.

As for the youth program, East's bantam teams have been hovering around the 20s in the rankings and PeeWee teams have been in the 30s and 40s for the past few years. So who knows if things will get better.

And one other detail, there is a bit of "messiness" with the Duluth schools. Unfortunately for East, some have been leaving for Marshall lately, too.

Hope this helped.

EHSHack wrote:Finally a chance for Bruce Plant to coach 7AA!

His reputation solidified as the three-time class A Public School Champion, surely he wants to move on to become AA Public School Champion.

headsup, I would say it's pretty much as PuckU126 portrayed it. Not much else to say other than they always find a way to put winning teams out there, year after year.

Lee

PuckU126 wrote:

headsup wrote:So Lee,
Honest question here...
With all the new and existing facilities in the area, what's seems to be the problem we're discussing for DE? Just a temporary retool or lack of talent? Declining numbers in the youth programs?

Don't know enough about the area. What's on the horizon?

I know these questions are directed at Lee; however, here is what I know.

This past year's team was very deep talent wise; however, next years team will obviously not be as deep (graduation, maybe transfers?). They have some solid underclassmen; however, let's see who is on the roster come next season. If East's players return for next year, they should still have a solid team, but what really worries East is the future beyond next year.

In addition, the open secret in the East circles is that this was Randolph's last season as head coach. I haven't heard of a definitive answer yet (he is or isn't), but with him leaving, East will take a solid hit. However, if East's gets a good replacement, the repercussion of Randolph leaving will be not as bad. Again, we'll wait and see.

As for the youth program, East's bantam teams have been hovering around the 20s in the rankings and PeeWee teams have been in the 30s and 40s for the past few years. So who knows if things will get better.

And one other detail, there is a bit of "messiness" with the Duluth schools. Unfortunately for East, some have been leaving for Marshall lately, too.

Hope this helped.

A lot to look at here.
East should be fine the next two years without too many leaving for juniors.

The Bantam A's have had a great 2nd half of the season and made it to State - though a bunch of these kids are enrolled at Marshall. No idea who and if it's the best players.

Youth #'s have been down in Duluth for years, but they still manage. And I know for a fact Portman's (a local rink) saw their mite numbers jump from 30's to almost 100 in just over a year. That is the one rink I know about. Congdon, Woodland and Glen Avon are also in the East program. I am not sure if there were any rinks considered a part of Central's area that are now East, with Central closing.

I also know these former East players all have kids in East youth hockey - you may recognize some of the names:
2 of the Locker brothers
Fitzgerald
Haney, Fellman, Hill (brother) etc. They are still, obvioulsy little kids, but man they scoot around.

I think most of these posts are for other 7AA teams that are hopeful.

As to Randolph - he may be a bit down after the disappointment of that first game, but I wouldn't count him out of coaching next year or any year for a while, until I hear him say it officially. And as long as he is the coach you can bet East will at the very least will be competitive.

Are any of Easts seniors getting drafted this year in the NHL?

Thought some of the East insiders might find this interesting. It was written by John Gilbert, who covered hockey for the Star Tribune for 30+ years and now lives in Duluth and writes a blog (http://newcarpicks.com - read the posting entitled 3 Duluth Hockey teams, no state titles). Disclaimer: I know nothing about this other than what I'm posting, and am not attempting to blame anyone (nor am I endorsing his wacky "kharma" theories). I just think it's an interesting look at what can be going on behind the scenes.

"In the first game press conference, Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner, an outstanding coach, was asked about how Maple Grove made a couple of cute plays and got ahead 1-0, but the Pioneers threw some bodychecks and turned the game around for the 5-2 victory. 'Cute won’t win games,' Lechner said. 'It’s win moments, but not games.'

"Very interesting way to put it, I thought, and the comment stayed with me as I walked around the concourse before the first night game, in which No. 1 seed Duluth East was about to take on Lakeville South. There was no question East was the best team in the state, and that coach Mike Randolph had painstakingly juggled through injuries and put them together to be primed and ready to go all the way, when I ran into a familiar face.

"It was a man I knew, the parent of an East player, who wanted to introduce me to his wife. We talked for a while, about the afternoon’s upsets, and about East’s chances of going all the way. Everything is in place, I suggested, except maybe for one element.

“'The only thing I worry about,' I said, “'that I’m a big believer in cosmic energy — positive kharma — that only comes from everyone pulling together in complete unity, and I’ve never sensed that all the parents, for example, were all behind the team, pulling for the team’s success.'

"Though I had just met her for the first time, the man’s wife said, 'That comes from the top…from Randolph.'

“'What?' I said. 'I’m just suggesting that all the parents may not be pulling together and you’re saying it’s the coach’s fault? You think that the person who could benefit the most from unity is responsible for hurting the unity? Do you realize you’re providing evidence of exactly what I’m talking about when I say I’m worried about kharma?'

"She said: 'Don’t blame the parents for a lack of unity.'

"I was astounded. Her husband didn’t say much, but it was clear he supported her negative energy, and neither one of them seemed to grap the divisiveness they were contributing to, nor did they realize that in my theory of cosmic energy, the lack of unity is a factor even if nobody else hears it. At that instant, another man walked up to say hello to the guy I was talking to. He was grinning broadly as he said: 'Isn’t this great? The greatest thing in the world is having played hockey, and coming down here every year to this tournament, that now I’m able to watch my son play in it.'

"When they introduced him to me, he said he was the dad of a player on the Marshall team, which had been blown out 7-0 by Breck the day before. 'How did they do today in consolation?' I asked. He told me Marshall had lost 5-4 to Little Falls.

“'So they’re on the bus heading home,' he said. 'I asked my son what he thought of the whole thing, and he said, "the greatest experience of my life."'

"I continued on my way, shaking my head about how the dad of a kid whose Marshall team came to state but went two-and-out claimed it was a great experience, just to be part of a team that made it to state, but that the negative vibes emanating from the parents of a kid on the No. 1 ranked Duluth East team reverberated even before the Hounds opening game. As I got on the elevator to head for the press box, I reflected on how difficult it is for Randolph to blend his players into impressive unity in those dressing rooms all around the state, while having to overcome those outside influences that seem to be decidedly negative."

This year is going to hit East hard. They had a very good bantam team and their top 5 players are all either going to Marshal now are will transfer for next year. The 2nd and 3rd line kids are respectable but not close to what is leaving for Marshal.

The Duluth School system is a huge mess. Think in terms of a burning garbage dumpster and you are close. The dumpster fire might work out, the Duluth schools are going to have a hard time being that productive. All of the schools around the area with the exception of Proctor have had to freeze open enrollment because of it. They are on their 4th superintendent in as many years and from the sounds of it this new guy is good but might have a hard time doing his job. They have one mantra over and over, we need to raise taxes and so far the people of Duluth are saying no. This is compounded by that fact that Duluth is one of the most business unfriendly places around so what ever new ones that might be coming around won't go there to help the tax base. All in all Duluth is going to have a hard time adding kids to the system who can afford to play hockey. Their youth programs are showing it too.

Next is the whole reorganization push. They want to close down several (if not all of) the neighborhood rinks and try to consolidate the programs into an East and Denfeld affiliation. The main issue here is that kids will have to drive for a long way to get to and from practices and there are a bunch of parents who are already saying that they will not do it. Duluth is something like 28 miles long from one end to the other and the rinks are sort of in the middle of that area (leaning more west) so the outer level of kids will have quite the drive. Given the socioeconomic groups that we are talking about they are more likely to not drive. Denfeld (Lakers) did not have a Bantam A team this year so a driving feeder into their Denfeld high school team was not there.

Another things that I thing is an intangible right now but will become tangible a couple of years after Randolph leaves is the infrastructure that he has setup and maintained. He has input into the youth program down to the PeeWee level and has done a very good job of setting up a support system/feeder system for his high school program. I think that once his influence and guidance is lost these programs will start to unravel so the high school will lose some of it's help there.

Between the loss of kids and the loss of the support I think that one word can sum up the future for them...... bleak.

Honestly looking at the local programs I don't see Grand Rapids getting any better as that area is stable and Cloquet is also not expanding so they will remain stable too. A couple of decent programs but they are not going to take over for East. The northern AA programs are going to become stable middle of the pack teams who's glory days are past.

The Enlightened One wrote:The northern AA programs are going to become stable middle of the pack teams who's glory days are past.

Jeez, I hope your projection doesn't come to fruition.

That's just depressing...

xy wrote:Thought some of the East insiders might find this interesting. It was written by John Gilbert, who covered hockey for the Star Tribune for 30+ years and now lives in Duluth and writes a blog (http://newcarpicks.com - read the posting entitled 3 Duluth Hockey teams, no state titles). Disclaimer: I know nothing about this other than what I'm posting, and am not attempting to blame anyone (nor am I endorsing his wacky "kharma" theories). I just think it's an interesting look at what can be going on behind the scenes.

Link to the full article: http://newcarpicks.com/site/?p=16399

Interesting, certainly. It's no secret that some parents dislike Randolph. (They did once drive him out of his job, after all.) It's also no secret that Randolph is an intense man who can rub people the wrong way, and probably is not the right coach for certain kids. But it's also true that, thanks to this program's history of success, some parents have delusional expectations for Randolph and/or the team.

Still, while Bruce Plante may have everyone on the same page, but he's the exception, not the norm. It's near-impossible to get all the parents on a team on the same page, especially when quite a few of those kids have the potential to be playing long after high school. Even in the midst of Tom Saterdalen's Jefferson dynasty, he had people taking out ads in the paper screaming about his practices. I don't think a few parents who are less than 100% on board should doom a team like this--there has to be something deeper, and I won't speculate on that here.

Some people say Randolph is the reason they come play for East; some say he's the reason they leave. Some say he's the one thing holding this program back; some say it will go to pieces without him. It's fascinating to watch, if nothing else.

I will note that the "karma" around this program has probably been better these past two years than at any other point in the past ten, for whatever that's worth. (Amazing what a little winning will do...)

As I've explained before, and as The Enlightened One rather melodramatically reminds us, Duluth hockey and Duluth schools are in an unsettled place right now. Having been in the new East High a few times, I see somewhat larger class sizes, but otherwise it feels like the same old East (just with nicer facilities). What the district really needs to do is get that new middle school open, and get kids out of those awful trailers at Woodland. The Red Plan rancor will fade in time, though I do think the threat to close down neighborhood rinks really would hurt. Yes, the challenges facing the schools and the hockey association are large, and I don't expect the next twenty years to be as good as the last twenty were for East hockey. But, with competent leadership, things could turn out alright.

This is probably going to be an eventful offseason for East hockey, whatever the results, and I'm not going to speculate on it too much. I'll take things as they come.

The Enlightened One wrote:This year is going to hit East hard. They had a very good bantam team and their top 5 players are all either going to Marshal now are will transfer for next year. The 2nd and 3rd line kids are respectable but not close to what is leaving for Marshal.

The Duluth School system is a huge mess. Think in terms of a burning garbage dumpster and you are close. The dumpster fire might work out, the Duluth schools are going to have a hard time being that productive. All of the schools around the area with the exception of Proctor have had to freeze open enrollment because of it. They are on their 4th superintendent in as many years and from the sounds of it this new guy is good but might have a hard time doing his job. They have one mantra over and over, we need to raise taxes and so far the people of Duluth are saying no. This is compounded by that fact that Duluth is one of the most business unfriendly places around so what ever new ones that might be coming around won't go there to help the tax base. All in all Duluth is going to have a hard time adding kids to the system who can afford to play hockey. Their youth programs are showing it too.

Next is the whole reorganization push. They want to close down several (if not all of) the neighborhood rinks and try to consolidate the programs into an East and Denfeld affiliation. The main issue here is that kids will have to drive for a long way to get to and from practices and there are a bunch of parents who are already saying that they will not do it. Duluth is something like 28 miles long from one end to the other and the rinks are sort of in the middle of that area (leaning more west) so the outer level of kids will have quite the drive. Given the socioeconomic groups that we are talking about they are more likely to not drive. Denfeld (Lakers) did not have a Bantam A team this year so a driving feeder into their Denfeld high school team was not there.

Another things that I thing is an intangible right now but will become tangible a couple of years after Randolph leaves is the infrastructure that he has setup and maintained. He has input into the youth program down to the PeeWee level and has done a very good job of setting up a support system/feeder system for his high school program. I think that once his influence and guidance is lost these programs will start to unravel so the high school will lose some of it's help there.

Between the loss of kids and the loss of the support I think that one word can sum up the future for them...... bleak.

Honestly looking at the local programs I don't see Grand Rapids getting any better as that area is stable and Cloquet is also not expanding so they will remain stable too. A couple of decent programs but they are not going to take over for East. The northern AA programs are going to become stable middle of the pack teams who's glory days are past.

I think this is a lot of reaction to a team that people had cleared a space in the trophy case for a championship trophy. It seems to me that everyone forgot that we are still dealing with kids. This loss has devastated people so much that it is Fire & Brimstone. Tell me what programs don't have their down turns at times? To project how talented a squirt or peewee is going to be 4-6 years down the road is ridiculous to me personally. The Duluth East program will survive just fine. While losing players and/or the coach next year would be a definite blow, there will still be a considerable amount of talent to be competitive. Beyond that, the program will continue to move forward because of dedicated parents & volunteers that continue to work hard for the kids of East Duluth.

Just to branch this thread out a bit further:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/ ... up/Sports/

Two youth programs is a mistake. Develop a single Duluth Youth Hockey Association and recruit and develop all the players you can. Mite and Squirt B and C teams can be formed with some consideration to neighborhood for less travel. The role of a youth association is to develop as many players as possible and leave the high school decision out of it.

mnmouth wrote:Just to branch this thread out a bit further:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/ ... up/Sports/

"If Marshall and Hermantown want to play East in boys’ hockey, that’s their choice. All Marshall and Hermantown have to do is support the application of Duluth East into the Lake Superior Conference."

Sounds like there are strings attached. Why can't they just agree to play non-conference games?

MNHockeyFan wrote:

mnmouth wrote:Just to branch this thread out a bit further:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/ ... up/Sports/

"If Marshall and Hermantown want to play East in boys’ hockey, that’s their choice. All Marshall and Hermantown have to do is support the application of Duluth East into the Lake Superior Conference."

Sounds like there are strings attached. Why can't they just agree to play non-conference games?

Nobody in Duluth can agree on anything. It is the most backwards thinking, backstabbing community you could imagine. Put 5 Duluth civic leaders in one room and 5 monkeys in another and you would not be able to tell the difference upon entering either room. Same goes for their educational system, which obviously trickles down to the sports programs.

mnmouth wrote:Nobody in Duluth can agree on anything. It is the most backwards thinking, backstabbing community you could imagine. Put 5 Duluth civic leaders in one room and 5 monkeys in another and you would not be able to tell the difference upon entering either room. Same goes for their educational system, which obviously trickles down to the sports programs.

I guess the right word to describe the present situation up there would be "dysfunctional".

mnmouth wrote:Nobody in Duluth can agree on anything. It is the most backwards thinking, backstabbing community you could imagine. Put 5 Duluth civic leaders in one room and 5 monkeys in another and you would not be able to tell the difference upon entering either room. Same goes for their educational system, which obviously trickles down to the sports programs.

Lee, Karl, care to interject?

By what I've heard about the Duluth school system, youth system, politics and some people's interpersonal skills, I wouldn't object to that statement.

PuckU126 wrote:

mnmouth wrote:Nobody in Duluth can agree on anything. It is the most backwards thinking, backstabbing community you could imagine. Put 5 Duluth civic leaders in one room and 5 monkeys in another and you would not be able to tell the difference upon entering either room. Same goes for their educational system, which obviously trickles down to the sports programs.

Lee, Karl, care to interject?

By what I've heard about the Duluth school system, youth system, politics and some people's interpersonal skills, I wouldn't object to that statement.

Very accurate and good luck trying to fix it. Live in the Duluth area and want your kids to attend a great school and play hockey in an outstanding Hockey Program? Move to Hermantown.