Are these guys drafted? Are they rated by scouts? What is the NCAA Clearinghouse? When will they know whether they are accepted? How does one "sign last fall" with a university? What other schools were pursuing them? How old are these kids? Sounds like the weakest class in years...

No Jean Claude......the weakest class in years were the past few......this will actually be an improvement.

JC,
This is a very good recruiting class:
Hannson at Frolunda (Sweden) 1.54GAA 0.939 save %..Darling (Coyotes draft pick) at Indiana NAHL 2.83 GAA 0.914 save %
Abbott 42G 41A in OPHL..Andersson 17G 24A with Sweden Under-16..Scoring defensemen: Haggerty 6G 10A on US Under-18..O'Neill 4G 16A at Omaha USHL.

Thanx for the info Mainejeff and sectionv.... why can't the beat reporter bother to tell us?

Jean Claude - The NCAA Clearinghouse is a program the NCAA put in place in the early 90's to determine whether a prospective athlete has achieved the minimum academic standards necessary to compete in college athletics. Essentially, it merely determines the initial academic eligibility for an athlete. Once they clear that hurdle, they have to maintain a certain gpa in order to remain eligible (or keep a scholarship, etc.

Michelle Leveille had to sit out a year b/c the NCAA ruled that he was a "non-qualifier." While his grades were fine, he didn't have enough proficiency in the english language (french was his primary) to pass the clearing house. he sat out a year, boned up on his english and was then allowed to compete. He enrolled at Maine w/o a scholarship and was living in his car for a while b/c his family couldn't afford room and board. After his first year at school, he had proven himself and was cleared by the ncaa to compete and received a scholarship.

An improvement?
Of course it's an improvement, a one armed paper hanger would be an improvement, but to say "this is a very good recruiting class" is a joke?!
You can stat yourself to death - it doesn't mean a thing! They all look great on paper. JC had a great question - Is anyone else pursuing these kids? It used to be other schools did their recruiting by following the Maine recruiters and picking up the scraps that didn't go to Maine, but that certainly isn't the case anymore. We are in trouble when a 3rd liner can transfer from the powerhouse program of Dartmouth and make the team - that's your barometer.
Enough teary eyes about 1st year 21 year olds leaving "early" too, who can blame them? They certainly weren't progressing. Penner was barely a blip on the screen, he scored a goal in each playoff game his last season and finally everyone took notice. He signs and then look at his meteoric hockey progression. He finally got some coaching. Same with Purcell, he was good at Maine, but look at his first year as a pro?? Leaps and bounds above where he has. Coincidence? Don't kid yourself - coaching! Something this dope doesn't/can't do. Even Bishop regressed while at Maine, after 3 years he still roams out of the net?? Good for him that he left, now he can get back on track and hopefully start to improve his game.
Banter all you want about recruits, NLI's and the cost of fuel for the zamboni - none of it matters while this joker is behind the bench.

the swedes wound up on maine's radar b/c steve kariya plays on the professional team that two of the players jr teams are affiliated... most european players are not on anyone's radar as evidenced by how few play ncaa hockey...

as for penner... in one season his numbers he had 23 points in 43 games... his breakout year wasn't until his second pro year, and let's be honest... one SHOULD expect professional coaches to be better developers of talent than college coaches... not saying i think whitehead is right for the job, but if you had a choice between being coached shawn walsh or scotty bowman, you'd choose bowman 6 days a week and twice on sunday

Whitehead is typical of the entire UMaine sports philosophy. He, Cosgrove et. al. are "nice" people. Leo Durocher said suscinctly, "Nice guys finish last." Conversely, Jerry York is the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet and he's the only Hockey East coach to win NCAA championships in the 21st Century. What does he write in that notebook of his during games?

I have said it before and will say it again...this man (Whitehead) has no motivational skills and the program has suffered far too long for it.. I am surprised Grant is still there... not sure Scotty Bowan is a fair comparison... no one would argue that Shawn was the best we have had and would have been a great NHL coach.. Players wanted to play for him... look at the draft numbers.... You think any of the Kariya's would have been to Maine if not for Shawn.. Whitehead must go!!! Perhaps a good Highschool coach but certainly not a div 1 caliber...

I think you have to look at this latest round of recruits and feel pretty good about their potential. I think the transition from Grant Standbrook to Guy Perron as the head recruiter has had some obvious effect on the depth of the current team, and the program has been due for a tough year. What a lot of people in Maine don't realize though is how good they have had it for the last 20 years......all those NCAA tournaments and frozen fours. The competition for getting the higher skilled and drafted players to play at your program has never been more challenging then it is today, if you ever have a chance, go to a Univ of Wisconsin, North Dakota, or Minnesota game and you'll see what little Orono is up against. If you don't like Whitehead, who would you recommend then.........he has done a commendable job thus far.

I have been a UM season ticket holder for 14 years now.The last two yrs.are the first that I have been leaving early.The team plays w/no emotion,or energy.If they do it only lasts for 1 period if we are lucky.The last few Frozen Fours we're with Shawn's players'these kids are Tim's.He also coaches with no emotion.I don't know what the answer is.Maybe one of Shawn's old players.Or steal one of the other coaches if hey are serious about competeing at the D1 level.

Whitehead's job on the line, according to InsideCollegeHockey.com which says he's one of three in jeopardy:

"Tim Whitehead, Maine: It's hard to argue with Whitehead's success – six trips to the NCAA tournament and four Frozen Four appearances in his seven seasons behind the Black Bears' bench. And even though one would think Whitehead would be safe in spite of last season's 13-18-3 overall record and ninth-place finish in Hockey East play, which marked just the second time Maine failed to qualify for the league postseason tournament, scuttlebutt out of Orono is that the natives are restless. Another subpar showing could heighten the clamor."

Scott Sandelin, Minnesota Duluth and John Markell, Ohio State are the other two in jeopardy, according to INCH.