Message:
It looks like many of the weaknesses from last year are being
addressed by a combination of new players & more experienced ones. I
am guardedly optomistic that Ghittleman will perform well for us in 09.
He got a baptism by fire in 08 but those starts included 10 wins. His
play in the U-19 was exemplary against powerful Canada & Iroquois
(not including the valuable practice time against D1 college stars). It is
also encouraging that those coaches felt he was better at this point
than Fiorito, who many feel will be a star & day one Princeton starter.
Most important, he showed a lot of confidence which has been a
concern after the 08 season. The arrival of an experienced quality face
off man plus one of the best high school options at that position will
give Starsia multiple options to combine with the returnees. I see this
position as no worse than adequate in 09 & hopefully much better. With
the return of all 4 longsticks & one shortie, I would anticipate less need
for sliding & more overall aggressive play. Mixing & matching the
midfield lines will get very interesting in the Fall but the level of talent
even without Lamade & Barrow is the best since 2006. Guys like
Elsmo, Haldy & Briggs that have hardly played are very talented & will
be pushing for regular playing time somewhere. Despite the lack of an
obvious lefty, the attack has too many options to not again perform at a
high level. Bottom line, Virginia has fewer question marks than almost
all our competitors & talented options where there are questions.
