College Hockey 2020 Trade Deadline (or) What Teams Need Down The Stretch

Monday marked the annual NHL trade deadline.

Several current collegians saw their NHL rights traded in the leadup, including Northeastern's Tyler Madden and Denver's Slava Demin. Those are the only trades that can be made involving college players since trades don't exist between college programs.

But what if they did? What if teams contending for a national title and NCAA Tournament berth were able to add a player or two for a postseason stretch run? What if it was allowed?

It's not. (I have to say that just to reiterate this is a hypothetical exercise.) However, as I did for last year's stretch run, let's look at how teams can improve with the 2020 postseason on the horizon.

Before we begin, a few rules:

Quick Bracketology (February 18, 2020)

With the season winding down, I decided I wanted to use my bracketology degree to post a quick NCAA men's hockey bracket on the weeks I don't post a full version on NCAA.com.

Since it's a quick version, some of the details in the selection process might be overlooked. If you need a refresher for how the committee selects the 16 teams, this Bracketology 101 article should answer everything.

Bracketology (as of February 18, 2020):
1. North Dakota (NCHC)
2. Minnesota State (WCHA)
3. Cornell (ECAC)
4. Minnesota Duluth
5. Denver
6. Boston College (Hockey East)
7. Clarkson
8. Massachusetts
9. Northeastern
10. Penn State
11. Arizona State
T-12. Bemidji State
T-12. Ohio State
14. Maine
T-15. Minnesota (Big Ten)
30. American International College (Atlantic Hockey)

In: Bemidji State, Ohio State, Minnesota
Out: UMass Lowell, Quinnipiac, Michigan State

Feature: Coaching Converts (Minnesota Hockey Journal)

I've wanted to write about the growing number of recent college alums returning to Minnesota and becoming high school girl's hockey head coaches.

It's been a treat to see the latest generation of players be able to inspire the next. There's a changing of the guard, which gets discussed in the feature. Of the eight players to graduate Minnesota last season, five are coaching high school hockey in one form or another. For this feature, I spoke with two - Taylor Williamson (Gophers/Wayzata) and Jackie Pieper (Gophers & Chaska/Chanhassen), along with two older alums in their first season as head coach in Paige Haley (Gophers/Northfield) and Emma Stauber (UMD & alma mater Hermantown/Proctor).

The feature is part of Minnesota Hockey Journal's February issue, which can be found at hockey rinks across the state or below online.

Online: https://www.minnesotahockeyjournal.com/news_article/show/1082520

Digital Magazine: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1200804-february-2020/21?m4=

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