What is going with Eagan?

[hermantown2000]

I am wondering what has happened to Eagan this year? They have been to the state tournament several times the last couple of years and ranked in the top 10, but now they only have three wins this season. Just a bad year? Injuries or suspension? Players defecting or transfering? How did a promising and exciting team get soo bad quickly?

[MNhocklover43]

Well they did lose 10 valuable seniors from last years team.
2 of them including Jenson and Wolf
AND junior star goaltender, Lindgren

[Nuts&Bolts]

They are bad but not as bad as only to have 3 wins. Try counting again. Some lean years ahead after overachieving last year and underachieving the 4 years prior when they had a couple of more trips to the Excel. Will probably get the 6 seed in 3AA but would like for them to get the 7 to set up a re-match of the semifinal last year with Cretin.

[Logiiii]

Put simply, the pipeline dried up. The JV team went like 15-5 or something this year, but going down the rankings Eagan doesn't look to be relevant for many years now. (I think a pewee A team was top 10 maybe)

[almostashappy]

They are bad but not as bad as only to have 3 wins. Try counting again. Some lean years ahead after overachieving last year and underachieving the 4 years prior when they had a couple of more trips to the Excel. Will probably get the 6 seed in 3AA but would like for them to get the 7 to set up a re-match of the semifinal last year with Cretin.

I could quibble on the analysis of the past 5 years (hard to consider the 2011 Tourney team that took 3rd underachieving) but nuts has the gist of it.

It wouldn't have seemed like such a sharp drop-off this year had last year's team (which was also supposed to be a dry pipeline roster) not made their fabulous end-of-season run. They were, after all, seeded fourth in last year's 3AA tournament.

[SidneysDogHouse]

Put simply, the pipeline dried up. The JV team went like 15-5 or something this year, but going down the rankings Eagan doesn't look to be relevant for many years now. (I think a pewee A team was top 10 maybe)

The South metro pipeline dried up a bit this year, but will be even more dry next year as North will lose most it's power. Some reloading will happen, but the numbers down there have never been great, but we've seen a sweet spot over the past few. Eagan, Eastview, LVS, LVN and Burnsville...drip, drip, drip.

[team22tank]

I am wondering what has happened to Eagan this year? They have been to the state tournament several times the last couple of years and ranked in the top 10, but now they only have three wins this season. Just a bad year? Injuries or suspension? Players defecting or transfering? How did a promising and exciting team get soo bad quickly?

They graduated a lot of seniors and didn't return a lot. Also, when the writing is on the wall the "recruits" go to other schools.

I expect Eagan to be relevant in the South Sub. next season, there will be a lot of parity. Their JV squad was arguably one of the better ones this season.

[almostashappy]

I am wondering what has happened to Eagan this year? They have been to the state tournament several times the last couple of years and ranked in the top 10, but now they only have three wins this season. Just a bad year? Injuries or suspension? Players defecting or transfering? How did a promising and exciting team get soo bad quickly?

They graduated a lot of seniors and didn't return a lot. Also, when the writing is on the wall the "recruits" go to other schools.

I expect Eagan to be relevant in the South Sub. next season, there will be a lot of parity. Their JV squad was arguably one of the better ones this season.

IIRC, the number of graduating seniors on the varsity has been pretty constant over the last three or four years...actually one or two less last year than the previous two years. And I think that the JV team benefited this year from a transfer on their bench whose family didn't decide to go the hardship/lawyer/empty apartment route.

[Mnhockeys]

Put simply, the pipeline dried up. The JV team went like 15-5 or something this year, but going down the rankings Eagan doesn't look to be relevant for many years now. (I think a pewee A team was top 10 maybe)

The South metro pipeline dried up a bit this year, but will be even more dry next year as North will lose most it's power. Some reloading will happen, but the numbers down there have never been great, but we've seen a sweet spot over the past few. Eagan, Eastview, LVS, LVN and Burnsville...drip, drip, drip.

Lvn indeed will likely loss its ground in world dominance next year, whilst other teams could be stronger ... Farmington, PL, and south could be all state contenders. Eastview, Eagan, Burmsville and Rosemount could improve their chances in the next 2-3 years.

[Whiner33]

Section 3A hockey scout knows....

[observer]

6 bantam teams
5 PeeWee teams
4 Squirt teams

Not a good future. The number of Squirt teams is the most troubling indicator.

http://www.eaganhockey.com/page/show/537009-teams

[2 for cheating]

Well they did lose 10 valuable seniors from last years team.
2 of them including Jenson and Wolf
AND junior star goaltender, Lindgren

If there were 10 valuable seniors, the coach would have played more than the same 5 kids the whole game.

That works for winning, but totally screws the next years team.

Not to mention never even giving your back up a varsity start?

He went all in and it worked

This season is certainly a direct result of decisions that were made last year in many blow out games where the younger kids could have gotten ice time.

Regarding the future teams, I'm sure he is already working on filling his perceived holes. The 'cats and the move-ins will be fine.

[almostashappy]

6 bantam teams
5 PeeWee teams
4 Squirt teams

Not a good future. The number of Squirt teams is the most troubling indicator.

http://www.eaganhockey.com/page/show/537009-teams

Unfortunately, the numbers are on par with the neighboring associations:

Eastview has 3 Bantam teams, 3 PeeWees, and 4 Squirt teams.

Apple Valley has 2 Bantam/3PeeWee/3 Squirts, with a total of 40 kids on their on-line squirt team rosters.
www.applevalleyhockey.com/

Rosemount and Farmington feeder programs are probably doing better (or at least less bad) given the pattern of South of the River housing development and elementary school enrollments.

[almostashappy]

Well they did lose 10 valuable seniors from last years team.
2 of them including Jenson and Wolf
AND junior star goaltender, Lindgren

If there were 10 valuable seniors, the coach would have played more than the same 5 kids the whole game.

That works for winning, but totally screws the next years team.

Not to mention never even giving your back up a varsity start?

He went all in and it worked

This season is certainly a direct result of decisions that were made last year in many blow out games where the younger kids could have gotten ice time.

Regarding the future teams, I'm sure he is already working on filling his perceived holes. The 'cats and the move-ins will be fine.

I love the smell of vitriol in the morning.

The distribution of ice time between seniors/starters and underclassmen/back-ups was no different last year than in previous years (save for the Tourney, where TV time-outs facilitated leaning even more heavily on their key players). Eagan had five straight 20-win seasons; if over-relying on seniors/starters was going to exact a price in subsequent seasons, the piper would have been paid long ago.