Bill Howard Speaks . . .

Bill Howard tells us more about his decision to step down in this article by Andy Baggot. He admits that he and Eaves could have parted on better terms, but he is clear that he was not pushed out. He says he wasn't enjoying what he was doing as much anymore and that it just felt like the right time to step down. He maintains that the decision was his alone.

I'm sure part of the reason he wasn't enjoying himself as much was conflict with Eaves, but that's not much of a surprise. I'm still sad that Howard is gone, but I don't feel quite as bad about the situation anymore.

Valley to coach the Goalies

Some good news on this front has occurred, former UW netminder Mike Valley will sort of take over where Bill Howard left off in coaching the goalies.

I say sort of, because 1) no one will replace Bill Howard and 2) he will not be a volunteer assistant. Shane Connelly and Scott Gudmandson will actually pay to be coaching by Valley several times a week. Valley runs a business in Madison that tests hockey players, and it wouldn't work w/ in NCAA rules. How much our goalies will pay is another story, which isn't stated.

See how this all plays out in the future. For now, I think its a decent enough plan. Valley teaches a similar system to Howard, so the learning curve should be very small.

Thursday Odds & Ends

Well, right now I only have 1 item (not sure if it's an odd or an end), but hopefully I'll scrounge up a few more things by the end of the day, and I'll add them in as I find them.

• Andy Baggot reports that Mike Eaves can breathe a sigh of relief because classes have started without any further defections beyond KT and Bill Howard.
  

It's interesting, because he indicates that Howard's departure was not a surprise. While Baggot isn't very clear, I suppose he means that it wasn't a surprise to Eaves, because it sure seemed to shock pretty much everyone else, media included. But it makes sense that Eaves would have had an inkling that this was coming.

And while we know that Kevin Patrick was pursuing head coaching positions this offseason, Baggot also indicates that Mark Osiecki was sought after by college and NHL programs and that strength and conditioning coach Jim Snider turned down a position with the Chicago Blackhawks.

More Bill Howard

Todd Milewski has a really nice column today that reviews Coach Howard's place in Badger Hockey History. As Todd points out, one of the most impressive aspects of Howards career is that he was able to adapt to the changes in goaltending over the years and remain highly successful.

The column also has more on Howard's decision to step down, indicating the Howard was unsatisfied with his increasingly limited coaching role, as the role was being more and more limited to just coaching the goaltenders.

Baggot chimes in...

Andy Baggot adds his thoughts on the resignation of assistant Bill Howard. He does a good job of reading between the lines w/ out actually talking to either Coach Eaves or Bill Howard. I'm sure there is more to the story, but we'll never here it. Even if Bill Howard did have issue w/ Eaves in some regard, he won't publicly say it, because he is a stand up person, who undoubtedly loves UW Hockey and always will.

8 All-Americans and 3 NHL stars (even if Jim Carey was a flash in the pan) and another NHL star in the making in Brian Elliott is an impressive resume. Actually impressive doesn't quite cover it, unmatched in hockey history would probably be better.

The best quote from the article though, "News of his decision, while not surprising, prompted one Internet poster to compare it to the jarring departure of Green Bay Packers icon Brett Favre."

Not surprising? The season is 7 weeks away and there was no indication that Howie would be stepping down immediately. How is this not surprising? Sure every fan knew he would eventually retire, but I don't think a single person heard the news yesterday and said to themselves, "well I'm not surprised by this is in the least."

Baggot also has something about UW Hockey recruiting. This is probably the best piece I've read from Baggot over the years. He really puts the struggles of NCAA Hockey recruiting (from de-commitments to early departures) into prospective, finishing things up w/ thoughts on the recruitment of ultra young Jordan Schmaltz.

Coach Howard steps down as Assistant Coach

After 36 years and 6 National Championships w/ the Wisconsin Badgers mentoring goaltenders, Coach Bill Howard has stepped down as assistant coach. From the article, it sounds like Howie is not done coaching, he is just going in a different direction.

Much like Brett Favre ending his Packer career, this was going to happen one day. I didn't expect it to be so sudden. It will be interesting to see what happens from here, especially w/ the season only 7 weeks away.

Best of luck to Coach Howard in all future endeavors!


Edited to add: Todd has an article that includes statements from both Coach Howard and Coach Eaves.