Coach Lechner

[raidergrad72]

Lechner is a good coach who every year gets some of the best players in the East Metro. Cretin, St. Thomas, and now Lucias Academy are skimming players for the glory of starry eyed parents. Don’t put this guy on a pedestal. He doesn’t walk on water. I’m sure most east metro coaches wish they had to work with what “Lex” has to endure.

Section 3AA teams have to play through Cretin and St. Thomas. Section 4AA teams have to go through Lucias Academy and Hill Murray.

Time for a private school tourney.

I may give up my AA seasons tickets and go to the single A games. 7 of 8 teams return in AA. Boring.

If you give up your tickets, let me know.

Yeah, a lot of people thought it was a boring AA tournament. It was hard to tell if you were at an A or AA session, the crowds were so sparse. Could have held it at Aldrich.

ESPG, if you want a tournament held at Aldrich, you'd better ring up the St. Paul Parks & Recreation Board & tell them to pony up & repaint the ceiling in that place. I like the arena, but this is in desperate need to get done. Otherwise you can call it the Paint Chip Playoffs.

[WarmUpTheBus]

72,000 people in the Xcel Center for the four AA sessions and a large statewide TV audience disagree with both of you. As for a private school tournament, that issue was decided 49 years ago. HM, AHA, CDH and BSM have won 8 of 48 AA titles in those years. Not exactly domination. Edina alone has won 10 times during that same time.

Actually Duluth Cathedral won five consecutive State Catholic Tournaments from 1965 to 1969. During this timeframe Hill High School won twice, in 1965 and 1969.

Another future private school hockey coach was the best player on 4 of those teams.

[WarmUpTheBus]

[quote=WarmUpTheBus post_id=767705 time=1678842182 user_id=17280]
[quote=MNHockeyFan post_id=767672 time=1678754349 user_id=5058]
[quote=stpaul post_id=767067 time=1678234156 user_id=3952]
72,000 people in the Xcel Center for the four AA sessions and a large statewide TV audience disagree with both of you. As for a private school tournament, that issue was decided 49 years ago. HM, AHA, CDH and BSM have won 8 of 48 AA titles in those years. Not exactly domination. Edina alone has won 10 times during that same time.
[/quote]
Actually Duluth Cathedral won five consecutive State Catholic Tournaments from 1965 to 1969. During this timeframe Hill High School won twice, in 1965 and 1969.
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Another future private school hockey coach was the best player on most of those teams.
[/quote]

[karl(east)]

I have a ton of respect for Lechner, both as a person and as a hockey coach. Yes, he inherited a very good situation, and it's fair to ask if he would do the same with less talent. But I also think it's true that different coaches are better fits for different teams. If I were trying to build a program up from scratch, I'd want someone hungry who's going to put in the work with a youth program, maybe have a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and who can inspire kids to believe they're winners. At a place like Hill, it takes some different talents: knowing how to manage big egos and expectations, how to manage the pressure of being in a high-profile program, and trying to maintain that image as an attractive place to come play hockey.

It's also worth noting that the world changes, and some coaches who are good in one era don't carry over well to another. Here I think of Dave Esse, who juiced a lot out of some good but not great Cloquet teams in the 00s, but couldn't get them to do much in the teens even when he had talent bubbles, and eventually got run out of town. Arguably Randolph is here also, though that is a long and complicated story to unpack. Plenty of other coaches do well for a little while but don't have the patience or adaptability to stay good for a long time. Some can see that and move on quickly (think Trent Klatt); others hang on long past their prime.

Think of how much talent Benilde has had over the past decade, and while they are in a tougher section, they haven't managed to even luck into one Tourney berth in the past 11 years. St. Thomas is 2-4 in AA quarters and has yet to make a AA final despite a similar talent pool and section and a bunch of coaches who have had success at other points in their careers. Pat Andrews is a great guy but has won just one Class A title in five non-Covid-affected seasons at Hermantown, despite probably having the most talent in the class every one of those years (possibly excepting this year, though they didn't lose to Warroad, either). Bruce Plante worked wonders building Hermantown up from a backwater to a power, but lost some games he probably should have won and I can't remember Hermantown ever winning a game they should have lost, at least not in the last 10-15 years of his career when I was paying attention, though they did give some vastly superior St. Thomas teams a couple of good runs.

At the end of the day, I think we need to have realistic expectations the two questions we can ask are a) does the coach consistently have the team playing its best hockey in the playoffs, and b) does he comport himself well, earn the respect of people he crosses paths with, and do the best he can to keep a bunch of teenage boys accountable. I think Lechner is a resounding yes on both of those.

[HSHockeyPurist]

Excellent response Karl--especially the last paragraph.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

If you give up your tickets, let me know.

Yeah, a lot of people thought it was a boring AA tournament. It was hard to tell if you were at an A or AA session, the crowds were so sparse. Could have held it at Aldrich.

ESPG, if you want a tournament held at Aldrich, you'd better ring up the St. Paul Parks & Recreation Board & tell them to pony up & repaint the ceiling in that place. I like the arena, but this is in desperate need to get done. Otherwise you can call it the Paint Chip Playoffs.

Uh, excuse me? Where did I say I want a tournament at Aldrich???

Saint Paul does not have a Parks and Recreation Board, it neither owns nor operates Aldrich Arena, which is not in the City of Saint Paul. Other than that, you're 100% on the money.

There already is a tournament at Aldrich, it's called the Section 4AA Tournament. The location leads to an annual bout of whining and carping, so I'd hate to have to listen to the additional whining that would ensue should another tournament be held there.

[raidergrad72]

Yeah, a lot of people thought it was a boring AA tournament. It was hard to tell if you were at an A or AA session, the crowds were so sparse. Could have held it at Aldrich.

ESPG, if you want a tournament held at Aldrich, you'd better ring up the St. Paul Parks & Recreation Board & tell them to pony up & repaint the ceiling in that place. I like the arena, but this is in desperate need to get done. Otherwise you can call it the Paint Chip Playoffs.

Uh, excuse me? Where did I say I want a tournament at Aldrich???

Saint Paul does not have a Parks and Recreation Board, it neither owns nor operates Aldrich Arena, which is not in the City of Saint Paul. Other than that, you're 100% on the money.

There already is a tournament at Aldrich, it's called the Section 4AA Tournament. The location leads to an annual bout of whining and carping, so I'd hate to have to listen to the additional whining that would ensue should another tournament be held there.

Your reference to the small crowds at the AA game where you said "could've been held at Aldrich." is why I kiddingly suggested about having a tournament there.
I thought the P&RB ran the place because when I called the number for Aldrich to get tix for the Gentry-Hill Murray game that's where my call went, so that's what that statement was based on. They directed me to the MSHSL for the tix to attend the Gentry-Hill Murray game, so, yes, I know about the 4AA tournament.

[slacsap]

Just to clarify: Aldrich Arena is run by Ramsey County.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

ESPG, if you want a tournament held at Aldrich, you'd better ring up the St. Paul Parks & Recreation Board & tell them to pony up & repaint the ceiling in that place. I like the arena, but this is in desperate need to get done. Otherwise you can call it the Paint Chip Playoffs.

Uh, excuse me? Where did I say I want a tournament at Aldrich???

Saint Paul does not have a Parks and Recreation Board, it neither owns nor operates Aldrich Arena, which is not in the City of Saint Paul. Other than that, you're 100% on the money.

There already is a tournament at Aldrich, it's called the Section 4AA Tournament. The location leads to an annual bout of whining and carping, so I'd hate to have to listen to the additional whining that would ensue should another tournament be held there.

Your reference to the small crowds at the AA game where you said "could've been held at Aldrich." is why I kiddingly suggested about having a tournament there.
I thought the P&RB ran the place because when I called the number for Aldrich to get tix for the Gentry-Hill Murray game that's where my call went, so that's what that statement was based on. They directed me to the MSHSL for the tix to attend the Gentry-Hill Murray game, so, yes, I know about the 4AA tournament.

My comment about the attendance being low was irony. Before the tournament there was a lot of whining about "It's the same teams all time, I'm not even going to watch this year."