While recruiting has generally improved under Russell, and while we must acknowledge that his two alleged "blue chip" recruits never made it to campus for various reasons we'll consider in a moment, it still doesn't change the fact that he should've gotten more out of some of the players he has had. Here are some of the better examples of Russell's obvious or impending "busts":
The Busts
Eric Kattelus - local kid, talented player in Junior A with a tremendous NAHL Rookie/Player of the Year campaign, followed by a strong rookie USHL season. His results at Tech? In 87 career games over parts of four seasons, he sported a rather unimpressive 6-31-37 stat line, including a half-season suspension for major violation of team rules, and then was just kicked off the team a few weeks ago for stealing team equipment. We can only hope this guy can turn his life around, now that a pro hockey career seems pretty unlikely.
Bennett Royer - Two-time AJHL All-Star. As for Tech, in 107 career games, he's posted a humdrum 11-20-31 line. While his senior senior seemed to be on course to be his best by a longshot, a rumored broken foot has likely put an end to those hopes.
Seth Soley - Offered a full ride straight out of Wisconsin HS/MWEHL hockey where he was a record-setter. Had difficulty adjusting to the USHL and posted a thoroughly unimpressive year with the eventual league champion Omaha Lancers (a team which also featured lost blue-chipper Jake Hauswirth). At Tech, played a whopping 33 games over 2 seasons, posted one assist, and never saw much of anything more than fourth line ice time, much of which was spent in the penalty box. Had a falling out with the coaching staff and has recently transferred to St. Norbert in D3.
Peter Rohn - Just might be the smallest Tech player in history. Seriously, this kid can't be anything more than 5'6" tall on skates and is constantly bumped off the puck. Can't gripe much as he was not expected to be an impact player, but why are we recruiting a player who is the worst of both worlds, small and slow? Rohn belongs in the AHA or EZAC, not the WCHA.
Geoff Kinrade - If he'd spent less time admiring his reflection in the glass and more time focusing on the game, he could've been a 'great' defenseman, instead of the 'decent-with-flashes-of-greatness' defenseman that he was. More than once, someone should've smacked this guy and told him to stop worrying about his acne and start paying attention to the play.
The Lost "Blue Chippers"
Casey Pierro-Zabotel - Here's where we break with the USCHO poster/Russell sympathizer crowd. Losing this guy due to his inability to meet ACT score standards was completely Russell's fault. Sure, they can't hire someone to take his exams for him, but surely they could've found someway to motivate him to be better prepared and pass it on the second try, considering he was allegedly "so close" and "off by just a couple points" the first time. Besides which, why is Tech recruiting this kid if he's so academically ill-prepared that he can't even pass a college entrance exam with an average score of 21 (ACT) or 1450 (SAT)? Shouldn't his high school coursework have told the tale well in advance?
Jake Hauswirth - Again, we break with the USCHO crowd here. This kid was a legacy admit (both his parents are Tech alums), and we lost him to a Washington Capitals contract when his "family adviser" pushed him to sign. The Caps promptly farmed him out to the ECHL, where he remains two years later, no doubt regretting his decision to forgo an all-expense paid degree.
Additionally, there are several recruits who've had freshman campaigns that show potential, then in subsequent years they plateau, or even regress. This proves that while Russell is a decent judge of talent, he is a mediocre-at-best instructor, coach, and mentor.
