Three Dutchmen selected to All-ECAC teams

The All-ECAC teams were announced today and three Union players were selected. Senior defenseman Mike Schreiber was named to the First Team, senior forward Mario Valery-Trabucco was selected to the Second Team, and freshman goaltender Keith Kinkaid was named to the Third Team and All-Rookie team. For more on Schreiber, 'Super' Mario, and Kinkaid check out Union Athletics.com.

First off, congratulations to all three players on being named to All-ECAC teams. Here is my analysis on each of the selections:

Schreiber was an obvious choice for First Team. He leads all ECAC defensemen with 28 points, is second with eight goals, first with 20 assists, first with a +23 rating, fourth with a .129 shooting percentage, and is towards the bottom of the list when it comes to penalty minutes (18). He is the top defenseman in the league and is one of the best in the nation.

Being named to the Second Team is a great honor, but I feel MVT definitely deserved to make the First Team. He has been Union's best player all season and has carried them on his back for many stretches this season, including of late (seven goals in past eight games, nine points in past 10 games). You can also make a legitimate case saying that he is also the MVP of the ECAC. Don't get me wrong, Chase Polacek, Broc Little, and Sean Backman are all great players (as I said earlier this week) and are all well deserving of the honor. But, I feel MVT should have made the First Team over Backman. While Backman had a very good season (21g, 14a, 35pts in 29 games) for the league's top team, Mario is statistically better (21g, 21a, 42 points - second in ECAC) and more important to his team. MVT has more assists and points than Backman, has a better plus/minus, more points per game, and has a higher shooting percentage.

Also, Mario (19g, 13a, 32pts - second in ECAC) has been better than Backman (16g, 9a, 25pts) in league games which are the most important games of the season and when a team needs their best player the most. MVT also has the upper hand in points per game in ECAC games, and all six of his power-play goals have come in ECAC games while only six of Backman's nine power-play goals have come in ECAC contests. There is a huge disparity in each players plus/minus in league games as Mario is +13 and Backman is +8. The only statistic where Backman has the upper hand over Mario in ECAC games is game-winning goals: Backman has two while Mario has one. Personally, league stats should be the only one's taken into consideration when it comes to picking all-league teams as many teams play weaker teams where big time players can pad their stats. By just looking at ECAC stats it is obvious that MVT should be on the First Team instead of Backman. It's also interesting to note that Backman is third on his team in points overall and in ECAC games. Sophomore forward Brian O'Neill has one more point than Backman and did not make any of the All-ECAC teams. Whoever chose Backman over 'Super' Mario has some explaining to do.

Keith Kinkaid has done a very solid job in goal for the Dutchmen this season and is definitely the top rookie goaltender in the ECAC, but is he really the third best goaltender in the league? I have seen almost every goalie in the ECAC this season and I never really thought Kinkaid was a Top 3 goaltender. Harvard' Ryan Carroll and Dartmouth's James Mello each stole games where they made 40+ saves, which is something Keith has not done all season. If I had to pick the third best goalie in the ECAC I would have to go with St. Lawrence's Kain Tisi or Quinnipiac's Dan Clarke. Tisi was on fire for the majority of the season as he sported a goals-against average under two. But, Tisi ended the season on a five game win-less streak where he let up 21 goals in five games. This poor end of the season is probably the reason why he did not make an all-league team. In the same amount of games (22) and about the same time played (Kinkaid has played four more minutes) as Kinkaid, Tisi has a better GAA and save percentage, and has made more saves and let up less goals. Tisi also has better stats than Kinkaid in ECAC games. The same is to be said about Clarke, but Clarke has played in more games and has played behind an awful defense. I know I've been bashing Keith a little of late, but he needs to step up in the playoffs to prove me wrong... and I really hope he does.

A major surprise was the lack of Jason Walters on any of the All-ECAC teams. Wally (16g, 22a 38pts) has had an amazing season, which is one of the best ever by a Dutchman. It just happened to be that Mario is having an epic season that is slightly overshadowing Wally's accomplishments. He is tied with Yale's Broc Little (1st team) and Colgate's David McIntyre (2nd team) for fifth in the ECAC with 38 points, and is tied for the top plus/minus (+23) with Mike Schreiber in the league. Walters is also in the top tier in the league in goals and assists. I am shocked that Brown's Aaron Volpatti was picked for the Third Team over Walters. Volpatti has only amassed 11 goals and 10 assists this season for 21 points, while leading the league in penalty minutes by far (91, the second closest is 75) and sporting a +1 plus/minus. For comparison Walters has more assists than Volpatti has points ,and has a plus/minus rating +22 better than Volpatti. The only case you have for Volpatti is that he scored more goals in ECAC games than Walters and that he has played on a weaker team. Volpatti has been a very good forward for Brown this year and has come up big for them, but it is not fair to say that he is a better player than Jason Walters.

The picks for ECAC Player of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Forward of the Year, Defensive Defenseman of the Year, and Coach of the Year should be out some time in the next few weeks. Here are my predictions:

Player of the Year: Chase Polacek, RPI

Goaltender of the Year: Ben Scrivens, Cornell

Rookie of the Year: Louis Leblanc, Harvard

Defensive Forward of the Year: Blake Gallagher, Cornell

Defensive Defenseman of the Year: Mike Schreiber, Union

Coach of the Year: Nate Leaman, Union