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Message: [QUOTE="Powellfan, post: 4695219, member: 4819"] I understand the trepidation. There is certainly risk in bringing in this many guys and especially since they are for the most part one year rentals (I think Kohn and English might have an extra year but remains to be seen if they would use it). How well do they fit in with the locker room? Do jealousies start to brew, especially if starters from last year get benched? How to keep everyone happy is going to be difficult. During the end of the Desko years I got real uncomfortable with how many players were on the team, to the point I didn't know how the coaches were able to asses what they had. This might be reaching that sort of level especially on defense. That said I think the coaches are doing the right thing by bringing in new blood, especially on defense. I am certainly skeptical of Petro on the defensive side of the ball right now, but plenty of times last year guys were beaten on defense pretty easily and it would not have made a lick of difference who was standing on the sidelines. I think the worst thing they could have done is kept pat and rolled out the same group of guys as last year. Petro especially is known as being overly loyal to his guys. I'm glad that he realizes that what happened on defense can't happen again if they hope to take the next step as a team. I have to take this as a big indictment on what the staff thinks of what they currently have on roster. Hopefully it serves as a wakeup call. I have no idea what the defense will look like next year. I am guessing that Riley Figuerias and Saam Olexo will be all but locks to start on close defense with Matt Wright starting at LSM. Those three should be very good defenders and could be All Americans. After that it seems like open season to me. Perhaps Schmitt plays backup LSM. I could also see him as a face-off wing specialist. I really like Billy Dwan and hopes he wins that third spot. Nick Caccamo seems like the big X factor. He was perhaps the teams best defender two years ago but struggled last year, especially 1v1. He was moved to LSM for the back half of the season, which probably tells you what the staff thought about the LSMs on the team. I thought Caden Kol really struggled last year. But he was the one guy who started and played every game (and was a captain). Zack Puckhabor is real interesting. Love the size but it's a big leap to DI. Not all transfers end up playing meaningful minutes, so have to be careful about penciling in guys just because they are a transfer. Landon Clary looked great early in the season but the schedule was significantly easier that portion of the year. He struggled to end the year, getting moved off of Brennan O'Neil in the last game of the year. Dylan Sageder didn't stand out much as a reserve but also didn't have many bad moments either. That's a lot of names to consider. SSDM is a real worry. I have to imagine the coaches will be throwing out a few curveballs there. Donny Scott perhaps, but maybe someone we haven't discussed here yet. To me that's the biggest question mark on the team. [/QUOTE]

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