2023-24 Miami Preview: Overview

Miami has finished last in the NCHC three straight seasons, and the RedHawks ended 2022-23 clear of the field by 11 points, winning just three of 24 league games.

Then within weeks of MU’s final contest, six expected returnees entered the transfer portal, including Detroit draftee Red Savage and three-year starting goalie Ludvig Persson.

The media isn’t giving MU much chance of climbing out of the conference cellar, as all 28 voters in the NCHC preseason poll picked the RedHawks to retain their league doormat status.

But despite the transfers, Miami returns the majority of its skilled forwards and most of its top minutes eaters on defense, and the RedHawks have added a nine-player first-year class that includes six NCAA-experienced transfers.

(NOTE: VFTG broke down the Oxford newbies here)

So how’s the program looking a week-plus out from opening night in Big Rapids?

Well, the Miami coaching staff refused to be interviewed for this and subsequent stories and has instructed its staff to block VFTG from all future player interview requests.

Which meant we had to draw our own conclusions.

Start with the good news. Here are some things to be optimistic about heading into 2023-24:

1) Talent up front. Skilled forwards faded in the second half of last season, but they’re still skilled and most of them are back. Matthew Barbolini finished 10 points ahead of the pack in points with 25, scoring a team-best 10 goals and adding 15 assists. P.J. Fletcher was 5-10-15 has the potential to double that. Max Dukovac scored a sick backhand goal in Lowell and didn’t find the net again all season, but he still tallied 14 assists and is just a sophomore. Same for John Waldron, who scored nine goals in his rookie season despite missing most of October with an illness. Add in established points-producers like Albin Nilsson and Raimonds Vitolins and the RedHawks should significantly improve from their 2.03 goals-per-game clip, 58th out of 62 in Division I.

2) Seasoned D-corps. Seniors Jack Clement, Robby Drazner, Dylan Moulton and Hampus Rydqvist have a combined 13 years of college experience on the blue line, and the Dubuque Three (Axel Kumlin, Zane Demsey and Michael Feenstra) all made an impact last season. Demsey and Feenstra got better as the season progressed in their shut-down roles (Demsey injured his shoulder and had his season cut short), and Kumlin showed promise as a power play quarterback. Which leads to the next point…

3) Defense corps power play help is here. Newcomers Spencer Cox and Rihards Simanovics are both offensive-minded D-men, and Miami can use assistance in that area. Cox recorded 25 assists in two seasons with Long Island U., and Simanovics netted an absurd 13 PPGs with NAHL Amarillo.

4) The Bruveris factor. Latvian goalie Bruno Bruveris is coming off a solid season with USHL Cedar Rapids and is expected to occupy the RedHawks’ net frequently the next four years. He was excellent in the RoughRiders’ playoff series loss, posting a .924 save percentage and 2.17 goals-against average. He was a fan favorite in Iowa and is a high-energy goalie who will hopefully win over Oxford soon.

5) Better morale. Early reports are that this team is bonding well, which hasn’t always been the case previous seasons. Doing the assistant captain thing was a good move by the coaching staff.

Now the bust…

The biggest concerns and potential shortcomings heading into this season:

1) Offensive depth. While Miami has the majority of its offensive leaders back from 2022-23, Barbolini was the only RedHawk to tally more than 15 points. A goal total of 10 for the big guy is easily tops among returnees, but Fletcher is the only other skater back that netted five markers. Nilsson is also out for three months-plus with a knee injury he suffered in practice. Amazingly, only eight returning forwards racked up more than five points.

2) Coaching and scouting. Not a single returning player was better in March of this year than five months prior, and that’s on the coaching staff. Many veterans actually regressed. And it’s becoming obvious there is an imbalance in advanced scouting, as NCHC opponents appeared to have absorbed the RedHawks’ playbook far too often the past couple of seasons.

This staff is in Year 5 of a six-season contract that expires in May of 2025. Coach Chris Bergeron is guaranteed a one-year salary buyout for early termination (which would be around $325,000), so Miami would have to pay him that amount if the school made a change behind the bench before next season. None of the assistants have buyout options on their contracts.

So the upcoming season is certainly a critical one for this crew.

3) Overall defending. While we like a lot of the returning D-men, only Mercyhurst and Notre Dame were worse than Miami among Conference-affiliated teams in terms of shots allowed per game (34.3). And it’s not like there any kind of offensive dividend the RedHawks received from its inability to defend: Only Swedes Kumlin and Rydqvist finished the season with more than five points. The defensemen aren’t solely responsible, as far too often last season Miami forwards were caught pinching and were burned on the transition or didn’t defend

4) Conditioning? As pointed out earlier this off-season, far too often Miami seemed gassed late in games, and head coach Chris Bergeron doesn’t tend to overplay his top skaters.

5) Inexperience in net. While Bruveris finished with solid 2022-23 numbers in Cedar Rapids, he joins a goaltending trio that has combined for a whopping two collegiate wins.

We think Bruveris will be a solid staple in Oxford, but his Cedar Rapids team led the USHL in per capita shots against last season while Miami has been struggled mightily on D for seven years. It will be an adjustment for Bruveris to see not only more shots but much higher quality chances.

Stay tuned for a three-part positional breakdown leading up to Miami’s season opener Oct. 7 at Ferris State.