04.01.19
The Weekend Roundup p. 2-3
Pucks In Deep: The Gold-Doan 2016 NHL ReDraft p. 6
Men’s tennis wins Rice Invitational, improves to 11-5 record p. 8
Kyle Hendricks ’12 signs record-breaking contract extension p. 4 JOHN RISLEY/COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
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MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
The weekend Roundup
SOFTBALL
Compiled by Elijah Czysz and Eric Vaughn
M Lacrosse Men’s lacrosse fell to No. 10 Cornell University by a final score of 15-5. Dartmouth was tied with the Big Red 2-2 after the first quarter and stayed close in the second, but Cornell pulled away after halftime, scoring five goals in the third quarter and six in the fourth to put the game away. Ben
Martin ’20 led the way for the Big Green with three goals, but three separate hat tricks from the Big Red proved too much to overcome. The loss drops Dartmouth to 2-6 overall on the season and 0-2 in the Ivy play. The Big Green looks to bounce back next weekend against 6-2 Yale.
JUSTIN KRAMER/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The Dartmouth softball team went 1-2 against Penn at home this weekend.
W Rowing Women’s rowing opened its season at the Doc Hosea Invitational in Camden, New Jersey with a seventh place finish in a 12-team field. In the heats, the Big Green took second place in both Varsity Four races and placed fourth in both Varsity Eight the second Varsity Eight race. The Big Green finished by winning in the V8 Petite Final by nearly three seconds. The team took
third in the Petite Final of the 2V and fourth in the Grand Final of the V4, finishing seven seconds before Temple University while getting fifth in the 3V8. Women’s rowing will compete next Sunday, April 7, at Princeton in the Ivy Round Robin. Princeton is currently ranked eighth in the nation by a recent poll of collegiate and U.S. rowing coaches.
Softball won its first game of the weekend Friday versus the University of Pennsylvania but lost their last two games this weekend, dropping to 4-19 on the year and 1-5 in conference play. Morgan Martinelli ’19 led the team with four RBIs and a homer in the first game of their doubleheader Friday, helping the Big Green win 8-5. The second game did not go as well despite a double and a homer from Schae Nelson ’21, and the Big Green fell 6-3. The next day seemed promising for Dartmouth
with a 6-1 lead through the first four innings, behind a solid start for Shelby Wilkison ’21. It all unravelled in the fifth, as Penn plated nine runs on seven hits. After an onslaught of runs on both sides, the Big Green eventually lost 17-10. Nelson and Micah Schroder ’20 put up great numbers nonetheless, as both were 3-4 at the plate and combined for seven RBIs. Next weekend, Dartmouth travels to New Haven to play an 11-16 Yale University squad.
Golf Zachary ZacharyBenjamin Benjamin’19 ’19
Debora Hyemin Han ’20 Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief
Hanting Hanting Guo Guo ’19 ’19
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04.01.19 Vol.CLXXV CLXXVI No. 4.30.18 4.23.18 Vol. Vol. CLXXV No. No. 27 216
Amanda AmandaZhou Zhou ’19 Alex Fredman ’20 ’19 Executive Editors Executive Editors Executive Editor
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The men’s golf team won handily against Brown University in match-play at PGA National on the Estates Golf course Friday. The 5-1 victory was sparked by James Turner ’21 and Charles Petrie ’22, who both up won up five with four holes left (5 and 4), and Jason Liu ’21, Sam Ohno ’21 and Mark Turner ’22 all triumphed at 3 and 2. The Big Green stayed in West Palm Beach, Florida for the BCD Invitational hosted by Brown this Saturday, where the team lost to Cornell by a single stroke. Dartmouth shot 8-over for 296 on the 18-hole course to place second out of the three-team field. Turner led the ways, placing second overall with an even-par 72. Liu and Petrie finished the day with a score of 74 (+2) and John Lazor ’19 and Ohno got 76 (+4).
On the women’s side, Catharine Roddy ’19, Kaitlyn Lees ’22 and Moon Cheong ’21 led the Big Green to a share of fourth place at the Harvard Invitational this weekend, finishing with a 909 (+45). Roddy and Lees tied for 12th with a 9-over 225, and Cheong tied for 21st with a 13-over 229. Kristen Soh ’20 finished close behind, tying for 25th with a 230 (+14). The women’s team travels to New Jersey next weekend to compete in the Princeton-hosted March Madness Match Play, while the men will be in Kannapolis, NC to compete in the Irish Creek Intercollegiate next weekend. This will be the men’s last tournament before the team competes in the Ivy League Championship April 19-21. Lees is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
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rugby Dartmouth women’s rugby won the Harvard 7s tournament on Saturday, besting Molloy College, American International College, The United States Military Academy, Quinnipiac and Harvard to finish 5-0 on the day. Over the five games, Dartmouth outscored their opponents by a total of 15729. Fifty of those points were scored by Ariana Ramsey ’22, who accounted for 10 of the team’s tries. Camille Johnson ’19, the flyhalf who led the Big Green in points in the fall of
JUSTIN KRAMER/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF
The women’s lacrosse team remained unbeaten in Ivy League play after a 15-11 win over Harvard on Saturday.
Women’s lacrosse continued its strong start to the season, defeating Hofstra University and Harvard University this week and improving to 6-3 overall and 3-0 in Ivy League play. Against Hofstra, Dartmouth scored 10 goals in the first half en route to a 16-12 victory. Kierra Sweeney ’19 scored a whopping five goals to lead the Big Green and Ellie Carson ’20 added a hat trick. Carson was perhaps even better
in Saturday’s 15-11 victory over Harvard, scoring four goals while Sweeney and Elizabeth Mastrio ’19 combined for six more goals. Kellen D’Alleva ’19 tallied seven points, five of which came from assists, moving her up to seventh in school history for assists in a season with 26. Dartmouth hosts the University of Connecticut and Princeton next week.
baseball After a big 23-3 home victory against Princeton University to kick off Ivy League play last weekend, Dartmouth started strong this week by defeating Quinnipiac University. The weekend was not as kind to the Big Green as the team lost the series to Columbia University in three high-scoring affairs. Dartmouth handily bested the Bobcats 9-2, scoring in five different innings and tallying four runs in the ninth to seal the deal. Alec Vaules ’20 dominated on the mound, shutting the Bobcats out for the first five innings. Steffen Torgersen ’19 had a strong offensive outing, leading Dartmouth with three hits. The Big Green dropped its first game against Columbia 23-9, allowing the second-most runs in school history. The Big Green led 2-1 going into the
fourth inning before Columbia turned up the heat, scoring 22 runs in the next four innings. Dartmouth had an incredible bounce-back performance, scoring 23 runs of their own to the Lions’ one and matching the second-most runs the team has ever scored in a league game. Nate Ostmo ’19 led the way with a grand slam and six RBIs and every starter recorded at least two hits and an RBI. Captain Matt Feinstein ’19 also had a huge day with a homer and five RBIs. On Sunday, the Big Green dropped the series finale 11-1. Dartmouth’s lone run came in the ninth inning, and the Big Green finished with five hits and two errors. The loss dropped Dartmouth to 9-13 and 3-3 in the Ivy League.
2018, contributed four tries and eight conversions for a total of 36 points over the course of the tournament. In its final match, the Big Green narrowly defeated Harvard 12-10 with two tries from Ramsey and a conversion from Johnson. Ramsey’s 10th try of the day in the last seconds of the game secured the tournament victory. The Big Green, which went 9-1 in the fall of 2018, will return to Cambridge, Massachusetts for the Ivy 7s tournament on April 13.
Sailing T h i s we e k e n d , s a i l i n g competed at three regattas: the 38th Lynne Marchiando trophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Dellenbaugh Women’s Trophy at Brown University and the Jumbo Team Race at Tufts
University. The Big Green placed third of 16 teams, eighth of 18 teams, and third of eight teams, respectively. Next weekend, the sailing team will compete at Connecticut College and at the United States Coast Guard Academy.
W Tennis Dartmouth opened up its conference slate against Harvard on Saturday and got swept 4-0, dropping to 3-12 overall and marking their eighth straight loss. In the singles slate, the Big Green dropped the No. 1, 4 and 6 spots with the remainder going unfinished while Dartmouth lost the No. 1 and 2 spot with the No. 3 going
unfinished in doubles. Jingyi Peng ’22 had the closest match, narrowly losing 7-5 in the first set but running out of steam in the second to fall 6-2. Dartmouth looks to bounce back against Princeton next Saturday and Penn on Sunday. Both matches are at home where the team has played better in the early going.
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Kyle Hendricks ’12 signs record breaking contract extension him was his makeup and what he was like as a young man. It’s always been The Dartmouth Staff important to him to be really good and Dartmouth and the Ivy League are understand what he needed to do to better known for their academics than get better.” for their sports teams. However, that’s Even after he was drafted out of not to say that stellar athletes haven’t high school by the Los Angeles Angels, catalyzed their professional careers in Hendricks committed to Dartmouth. the friendly confines of Hanover or the It’s common for baseball players to go rest of the conference. Kyle Hendricks straight to the minor leagues out of ’12 is the most recent Ivy Leaguer from high school in hopes of reaching the the college to reach Major League MLB sooner, but Hendricks decided Baseball stardom. to take the college route because of Hendricks, a starting pitcher for the long-term benefits. Whalen said the Chicago Cubs, recently made he believes that was a wise choice, and headlines by signing a lucrative, four- one that generally makes more sense year, $55.5 million extension with for baseball prospects. the Chicago Cubs. This is believed “The majority of kids [who] sign to be the richest contract any Ivy out of high school, whether it be League athlete has ever signed in any [because of performance or injury], professional sport, per The Athletic’s don’t stay long enough,” Whalen said. Ken Rosenthal. “[Hendricks’ family] knew that if he Hendricks has emerged onto the was good enough, he’d get the chance. national scene in the past few years If you [want] the opportunity to play with his impressive performance on the pro ball, you’ll get it from Dartmouth.” mound. He has a shiny career ERA of Additionally, getting an education 3.07, including a masterful 2016 season was incredibly important to Hendricks, in which he went 16-8 with a league- who was always a stellar student. leading 2.13 ERA, en route to a third Economics professor Bruce Sacerdote place finish in Cy Young Award voting. had Hendricks in his ECON 49 class To top off the season, Hendricks started and praised Hendricks’ work in the the clinching World Series game and class. gave up just one earned run through “I keep hoping TV interviewers will 4.2 innings to help ask about his work give the Cubs their on the impact of “I keep hoping TV first World Series trade agreements championship in interviewers will ask on foreign direct 108 years. investment,” about his work on B e f o r e Sacerdote said, Hendricks was the impact of trade referencing a World Series agreements on foreign the final paper champion and Hendricks wrote one of baseball’s direct investment.” for the class. brightest stars, “Dartmouth he was a high is and should school superstar -BRUCE SACERDOTE, b e ex t re m e l y out of Newport ECONOMICS PROFESSOR proud of his Beach, California. accomplishments. Dartmouth He has a great head coach Bob work ethic and Whalen said he immediately knew that brings passion to everything that he he wanted to recruit Hendricks upon does.” seeing him pitch for the first time, and Hendricks thrived in the classroom that he was thrilled when Hendricks and on the field at Dartmouth, posting ultimately decided to commit to a 2.47 ERA in his junior year before Dartmouth. the Texas Rangers drafted him in the “I liked so many different aspects eighth round. The Cubs traded for him about him,” Whalen said. “One of in 2012 and called him up to the majors the most impactful impressions of in 2014 — and the rest is history.
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According to MLB.com, the extension will keep Hendricks under contract through the 2023 or 2024 season. To be fair, Hendricks’ $55.5 million extension wasn’t as lucrative as Mike Trout’s 12-year, $430 million deal or Bryce Harper’s $330 million contract over 13 years, but he is a star nonetheless. His career ERA of 3.07 ranks behind only well-known aces Clayton Kershaw, Jacob deGrom, Chris Sale and Madison Bumgarner among active pitchers with at least 100 career starts, according to MLB.com. The extension is impressive in its own right and a clear testament to Whalen’s point that a player who is talented enough to play professional baseball will get the opportunity to do so regardless of the route they take. Hendricks is not the only Dartmouth baseball player to make the major
leagues and is one of many to play professional baseball to some degree after playing at Dartmouth. According to Whalen, six former Dartmouth pitchers are currently playing professional baseball. Baseball Almanac records 32 Dartmouth alumni as having played professional baseball, including former All-Star catcher and current Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus ’91 and Red Rolfe ’31, a four-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion for the Yankees after whom the Dartmouth baseball field is named. While Hendricks is not the only example of a Dartmouth player succeeding at the professional level, he probably is the best pitcher. For the current players, especially co-captain and ace Cole O’Connor ’19, it certainly helps to have such a strong role model thriving at the professional level. “Kyle exemplifies professionalism
on and off the field,” O’Connor said. “Anyone who pitches should respect how he competes day in and day out. He plays the game the right way.” Whalen agreed, attesting to the gratification he gets from watching Hendricks thrive. “Everyone has a sense of pride with him,” Whalen said. “He’s genuinely one of the nicest people you’re going to meet, and you want to see nice people have success. He’s been over-the-top loyal to our program.” Now that the financial aspect has been settled, Hendricks can focus on adding to his impressive resume on the field. It is uncertain whether he will ever win a second World Series or whether he will win his first Cy Young award, but, according to O’Connor, one thing is for certain. “He deserves every penny of that contract,” he said.
BEVERLY SCHAEFER/COURTESY OF THE DARTMOUTH ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT
Pitcher Kyle Hendricks ’12 agreed to a four-year, $55.5 million contract extension with the Chicago Cubs in late March.
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Track teams see strong individual performances over spring break B y Osezele okoruwa The Dartmouth
With the snow melting and muddy grass taking its place, it seems that spring is finally here for Hanover. Along with the warmer weather, spring brings the start of a new season for men’s and women’s track. The two teams traveled south over spring break to train for and begin their outdoor season. Both teams first competed at the Georgia Tech Invitational, and the Big Green men had a particularly impressive outing, posting eight top-three finishes. Dartmouth was led by a couple of one-two punches: Alec Eschholz ’19 placed first in the 400m hurdles with teammate Max Frye ’21 0.23 seconds behind him to place second. Marco Pompilj ’19 and Owen Ritz ’21 followed suit, taking first and second respectively in the 2000m steeplechase. Ben Ose ’19 excelled in the pole vault, finishing first among collegiate athletes and second overall. “I think it was a pretty solid first meet,” Ose said. “I was happy to be back competing and to get back out there.” Ose cleared a mark of 4.70m on his very first attempt. The Big Green continued to string strong performances together as Donovan Spearman ’21 placed third in the 100m dash with a time of 10.74 seconds, tying him with Mustafa Abdur-Rahim ’04 for the third best time in the 100m in Dartmouth’s history. The throwing events saw more stellar outings, as Lucas Ribeiro ’19 finished third in the shot put and discus, Ethan Ruh ’20 took sixth place and Cole Andrus ’20 placed fifth in the javelin. Following up with the North Florida Invitational, the men’s and women’s teams continued to post impressive results. Parker Johnson ’19 and Frye placed second and third respectively in the 400m hurdles. Spearman carried on with his record-setting season, placing first in the 200m among collegiate runners and second overall, and came in fifth in the 100m dash with a time of 10.54 seconds. Trevor
Colby ’19 placed eighth in the 800m run with Michael Thurston ’20 placing 9th, and Reed Horton ’19 and Tim Zepf ’21 placed fifth and eighth respectively in the 1500m invitational. In the field events, Ahria Simons ’22 placed fourth in the triple jump, and Ruh placed eighth in shot put. The 4x400m relay team, made up of Eschholz, Frye, Johnson and Ose, placed fifth overall. The women’s team also had impressive showings at Georgia Tech. Julia Valenti ’20 and Brooke Brunet ’21 placed fourth and fifth respectively in the pole vault. This was despite high winds, which made for difficult jumpinng conditions, Valenti said. The high jump event saw Maria Garman ’19, Camille Landon ’21, Abigail Burke ’22 and Zoe Dainton ’22 place second, fifth, seventh and eighth respectively. Despite being the first meet of the outdoor season, these performances are already close to the qualifying marks for regional competition. “Brooke and I were a jump away from the mark for regionals,” she said. “Maria was also a jump away.” Cha’Mia Rothwell ’20 placed fourth overall in the 100m hurdles and third among collegiate athletes. In the throwing events, three women places in the top 10 of their events. In the hammer throw, Alexandra Collins ’19 placed fifth, Lily Lockhart ’21 placed ninth and Amelia Ali ’19 took tenth place. At North Florida, Lauren Sapone ’20 and Rachel Ludwikoski ’21 took first and third place respectively in the 3000m steeplechase. Garman, Burke, Dainton and Landon dominated in the high jump, taking second, third, fifth and sixth respectively. Alexa Jennings ’19 placed second in the 800m run and Rothwell finished fifth in the 100m hurdles. In the field events, and Rothwell and Olivia Goodwin ’21 took fourth and seventh in the long jump, and Rachel Donner ’22 and Lockhart placed sixth and seventh respectively in the shot put. For Valenti, the North Florida meet was really important to the team. “Lots of people who will be at
regionals are at this meet,” she said. “We don’t see many people competing at the national level. Out of convenience, we tend to compete against people who are the closest geographically. So, the meet has a lot of really good people and the competition helps to prepare us for later.” As the athletes look ahead to their upcoming meets, it is clear that they are finding a groove and laying the groundwork for a great outdoor season. Rothwell specified the technical differences between the indoor and outdoor season. “The events themselves change between seasons.” she said, “Hurdles changes from the 60m to the 100m.
Plus the track itself switches from a 200m track to a 400m track.” The most obvious change is the additional element of weather. Shawn Ohazuruike ’20 discussed the impact that weather has on competitions. “As long as you’re careful, weather is more of a mental factor … Unless you have the wind on your back you’ll have to adjust your speed in the hurdles so that you don’t run into the hurdles. You have to prepare for a race as though it was perfect weather.” Ohazuruike, along with Eschholz and Johnson, make up an impressive contingent of hurdlers for the men’s team having finished sixth,
fourth and fifth respectively in the 60m hurdles at the Ivy League Heptagonal Indoor Championship in February. Commenting on their potential for outdoor season, Ohazuruike said the team is keeping a close eye on where they stand. “We have the potential to score and extend our season to regionals and maybe to the NCAA championships,” he said. As the team continues to post impressive times, heights and distances, the Big Green seem wellpoised for a strong outdoor season. The next home meet is against University of Massachusettes Lowell, University of Vermont, and Harvard University on April 12.
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Pucks in Deep
with Sam Stockton ’19 Pucks in Deep: The Gold-Doan 2016 NHL Re-Draft In late March, Shane Doan, a longtime Phoenix/Arizona Coyote and among the most universally respected players of the 21st century, reintroduced a radical overhaul to the National Hockey League’s draft lottery system that he has advocated for in the past. In an attempt to eradicate tanking, Doan — now working for the NHL’s Hockey Operations Department — proposed a system in which the draft order would be determined by the number of points each team accrues after being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Under this system, the League’s worst teams would still receive favorable treatment — they would have the longest window to accumulate points after elimination — but there would be no incentive for teams to keep losing in hopes of securing a higher pick in the upcoming draft. Doan did not come up with this idea; that honor belongs to then-student Adam Gold, who advocated for this method at the 2012 Sloan Analytics Conference. However, since Doan is so universally beloved, why not throw his name into this new lottery system’s moniker? We’ll call it the Gold-Doan plan. So, in this week’s Pucks in Deep, I would like to perform a counterfactual reimagining the 2016 NHL Draft, if the draft order had been determined by the Gold-Doan plan. Recalculating the draft order as such produces a lump of teams with eight PAE and two with 10. To break these ties, I first used the standard NHL tiebreaker of regulation and overtime (i.e. non-shootout) wins. If it were still tied, I advanced the team
THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
with more regulation wins. When that did not resolve things, I turned to goal differential after elimination. With our new draft order set, let’s get to drafting. For my re-draft, I did my best to estimate the intentions each of our top six had on draft day. I won’t, for example, have anyone reach for Alex DeBrincat, who inexplicably fell to the second round back in 2016, but would certainly go in the top 10 now if the league’s GMs knew how productive the 5-foot-7 winger would go on to become in Chicago. Instead, I did my best to match-up each team’s needs going into the draft with their tendencies under their respective decision-makers. Without further ado: With the first pick in our Gold-Doan 2016 NHL Re-Draft, the Buffalo Sabres select Auston Matthews. At this point, the Sabres were deep in tank mode, having selected Jack Eichel with the second pick in the 2015 Draft. Adding Matthews, who had been the consensus number-one pick through the duration of the draft evaluation process, represents a major coup for the Sabres, adding a cost-controlled franchise-altering young centerman for the second consecutive season. With the second pick, Winnipeg selects Patrik Laine. This pick leaves little to the imagination as Laine was the clear number-two choice behind Matthews all along, and the Jets actually did select him at two overall back in 2016. At the third pick, we arrive at our first controversy. At the time of the original draft, Finnish winger Jesse Puljujärvi was considered the consensus number three pick, but Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen turned heads by instead opting for Pierre-Luc Dubois, desiring a center with his high selection. It was rumored at the time of the draft that Montreal had wanted to trade up to the fourth slot to select Dubois, so, for the sake of argument, we’ll say that the Habs jumped at the chance to draft a Quebecois center with the third selection, taking Dubois. With the fourth pick, we now have Calgary. In the official version of the 2016 Draft, the Calgary Flames selected pugnacious winger Matthew Tkachuk, son of U.S. hockey legend Keith, out of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. All accounts out of Calgary suggested that both Tkachuk and Flames GM Brad Treliving had identified each other as a good match since the scouting
combine, indicating that the team would be as excited to select him at four as they were at six. Now at the fifth selection, we have Columbus. With their original pick off the board, this marks our first big challenge of the re-draft. However, we know Kekäläinen was willing to go against the grain and that he wanted a center. With this in mind, the Jackets select, at fourth overall, Clayton Keller. The biggest knock on Keller coming out of the U.S. National Team Development Program was a lack of size — Keller weighs just 170 pounds. However, I believe his terrific production for the Program would be more than enough to convince Kekäläinen to spend the fifth pick. That brings us to the Vancouver Canucks at six. At the time, Jim Benning, the Canucks’ GM, supposedly wanted to bring in a center or defensemen. With Matthews, Dubois and Keller off the board, there is no obvious choice at center. Looking back, Mikhail Sergachev, whom the Montreal Canadiens selected with the ninth pick in real life, appears the top defender at the head of this draft; however, the Canucks went with Olli Juolevi at five back in 2016, and, in accordance with our guidelines, we will have the Canucks go with the same pick here. With that selection, we arrive at the final pick of our 2016 Gold-Doan NHL Re-Draft — the Toronto Maple Leafs at seven. The Leafs, who selected Auston Matthews at the top of the official 2016 draft, experienced the biggest drop of any
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2019
of the teams we surveyed. Here at seven, the Leafs would select Puljujärvi, who, as he did on his actual draft day, fell farther than expected. The Leafs would have to be pleased to grab a player of Puljujärvi’s skill and skating ability all the way down at seven. So, before we close, let’s play out this experiment a little farther and explore the two biggest developments of this re-draft. The biggest winner of this counterfactual is, of course, Buffalo. In acquiring the top pick, and by extension Matthews, the Sabres would add one of the most dangerous snipers at center in the league. Matthews’ puck skills are off the charts for someone of his size, and he boasts one of the most intimidating wrist shots in the league. Pairing Matthews with Eichel gives the Sabres two top-flight centermen, both on entry-level contracts. With those two down the middle, it’s hard to imagine the Sabres would not have found their way back to the playoffs by now — something they have been unable to do with just Eichel. It would seem almost difficult to not assemble a perennial contender with two top players this good, though the Edmonton Oilers are currently putting that theory to the test. If we imagine that the Sabres still find a way to acquire Rasmus Dahlin, (last draft’s top selection and another outstanding skater), which is admittedly unlikely given the addition of Matthews, we would be talking about one of the scariest teams in the league. On the other side of that coin, what of Toronto, who would have to settle for Puljujärvi instead of Matthews and
whose arrival immediately helped guide the Leafs back to the postseason for the first time since 2013? In Edmonton, Puljujärvi has not quite been a bust, but, at this point, he certainly does not compare to the other stars at the top of this draft. However, Puljujärvi has struggled due to the impatience that seems to have plagued the Oilers in prospect development for years. Puljujärvi has yo-yo’d up and down from American Hockey League Bakersfield Condors, struggled to stay healthy and even been a healthy scratch for some stretches. Conversely, the Leafs have been among the League’s best at patiently guiding their premier prospects to NHL success. Without Matthews, it seems likely the Leafs would have kept William Nylander, deployed mostly on the wing at the NHL level, at his natural center position — a shift that would make his controversial $6.9 million average anual value deal seem an incredible value. I believe that surrounded by the Leafs other skilled players, Puljujärvi would develop into a much better player than he has shown himself to be in Edmonton. Out of this counterfactual, I think it is this dynamic that provides the biggest question. With a core of Matthews and John Tavares down the middle and Nylander and Mitch Marner on the wings, the Leafs are among the most dynamic offensive teams in the League and a legitimate Cup contender. Would the same be true with Nylander down the middle in Matthews’ spot and Puljujärvi on the wing? On that thought, I sign off from Pucks in Deep for the week.
LILI STERN AND SAM STOCKTON/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF
Sam Stockton ’19 reimagines the 2016 National Hockey League Draft according to the Gold-Doan plan.
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
Basketball forward Jackson to transfer B y JUSTIN KRAMER
The Dartmouth Senior Staff
M e n’s b a s k e t b a l l f o r w a r d Adrease Jackson ’21 will transfer from Dartmouth. Evan Daniels, Director of Basketball Recruiting at 247Sports and a college basketball insider for Fox Sports 1, broke the news on Twitter on Wednesday. “Source: Sophomore forward Adrease Jackson from Dartmouth is transferring. Averaged 8.3 PPG & 5 RPG last season,” Daniels tweeted. Jackson was a valuable contributor last season off the bench and took over a starting role this season alongside a young Big Green core. The Southern California native did not start the first game, but got the starting call in the next 17 matchups, including the first two league games against Harvard University. Jackson posted double digit point totals in his first four games and five times in his first six, but his early success did not last, as he only reached double digits three times after that. His minutes dwindled
drastically as well, surpassing 20 minutes only once after netting a career-high nine field goals in a win against Sacred Heart University on Dec. 10. He had played more than 20 minutes in nine of 11 games before then. The forward went scoreless in his final start at Harvard before transitioning to a reserve role for the rest of Ivy League play. Jackson sat three of the last five games and played only two minutes in his final appearance. His departure marks the second high-profile transfer from the College in as many years, following in the footsteps of former Ivy League Rookie of the Year Evan Boudreaux, who left for Purdue University. In an email statement, Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin said the following about Jackson: “We thank Adrease for his time as a part of Dartmouth men’s basketball and wish him nothing but the best of luck with his future endeavors.” Jackson could not be reached for comment at press time.
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THE DARTMOUTH SPORTS WEEKLY
SPORTS
Men’s tennis wins Rice Invitational, improves to 11-5 record B y Addison dick
The Dartmouth Staff
The men’s tennis team went undefeated in its four spring break matches, winning the 61st Ralph O’Connor Rice Invitational to give the team momentum entering Ivy League play, which begins this weekend. The Big Green swept Lamar University without dropping a set to begin spring break play. The team relies on its strong doubles play, and this fact remained true against the Cardinals. In fact, the Big Green did not drop any doubles matches during the four spring break matches. “We’ve hit our stride here of late, playing really good doubles and being competitive up and down our lineup in singles,” head coach Chris Drake said. The team has made the most of a tough schedule and losing a few valuable starters to graduation at the end of last season. Drake said he has been proud of the team’s success despite facing challenging opponents. “I think the team’s dealt well,” Peter Conklin ’21 said. “One of our team strengths is that we compete really hard. If we’re losing, it’s tough to close us out and win the match against us. No one gives up.” After the Big Green’s win over Lamar, the team then traveled to Houston, Texas to begin play in the Rice Invitational. The Big Green defeated No. 29 Texas Tech University, Utah State University and host Rice University to win the Frank D. Guernsey Jr. and Wilber E. Hess Challenge Cup, jumping from No. 45 to No. 36 in the nation. In their match against Texas Tech, doubles partners Charlie Broom ’20 and David Horneffer ’20 — ranked 20th nationally — upset a Red Raiders pair that is ranked ninth in the country. That point proved crucial for the Big
Green as Dartmouth went on to win matches heading into Ivy League play the match 4-3. gives us a ton of confidence, but we The following day, the Big Green know we can’t take [our] foot off the battled to win 4-3 against Utah State. gas pedal. I think we’re definitely right The Aggies won three of six singles in the mix to win the Ivy League title. matches, but Dartmouth swept all Having said that, every team is really three doubles matches to help secure good.” the victory. The Big Green had little Broom said the team’s results from trouble against Rice, winning all but the fall and winter seasons will help one match. That victory clinched the the team in Ivy League play. tournament title “We’ve had some for Dartmouth, close matches that w h i c h n o w “We’re definitely up have strengthened advances to 11-5 there with the best. the team and on the season. us closer It’s going to be a really brought Drake said this together. Those was the first high level again this matches that we’ve time in his time year. I think we’re played so far have at Dartmouth put us in good that the Big certainly a contender, position to go on Green has gone but we don’t have and do well.” undefeated in The spring break added pressure.” its spring break matches were some matches. of the first outdoor T he team -CHARLIE BROOM ’20 matches for the now turns Big Green, which its attention spends most of t o w a rd s I v y the fall and winter League play. seasons playing Four of the eight Ivy teams are ranked indoor matches. Drake noted the in the ITA Division I rankings, with difficulty and importance of adjusting only No. 13 Columbia University to outdoor play, with most of the ranked ahead of the Big Green. The Ivy League matches taking place Lions and the Big Green shared the outdoors. Ivy League title last season, and both “The tennis is a little different than teams are expected to contend for first inside, where everything is clean and place this spring. you can play really aggressively,” he “It will be really difficult [to said. “Outside, you have to rely on repeat],” Drake said. “I don’t think your fitness and being more patient. there’s a ton of pressure. [Columbia] Last year, I think we were better is extremely good again this year, inside. This year, I think the guys have so I think everyone would probably worked on their fitness and patience consider them the favorites.” and discipline, so it’s made us a more Conklin said he is happy with the balanced team inside or out.” team’s success so far this season and Broom said the outdoor success that likes where the team is at heading into the team had over spring break gives the Ivy League opener. the team confidence for Ivy League “The Ivy League conference is play. really strong — stronger than ever “We don’t usually play outside actually,” he said. “Winning those and we played two teams that play a
lot outside all year round, so it shows that we are a pretty versatile group,” Broom said. “We had a lot of close matches there. With the Ivy League season coming up, we’re going to try to play our best matches outdoors, so that gives us a lot of confidence.” Drake said that the confidence that the team earned from the spring break success will not matter once Ivy League competition begins. “I think we’re prepared, but it’s always a bit of a jump in intensity in Ivy League matches because it’s a regular season tournament and all of the matches are so important.” According to Broom, the team does not feel any added pressure despite entering as defending Ivy League champions. Drake said the team has done a good job of recognizing that it is a new season and understanding that it will have to earn everything. “We’re definitely up there with the best,” Broom said. “It’s going to be a really high level again this year. I think we’re certainly a contender, but we don’t have added pressure. It’s just going out there and playing and understanding that we’re one of the better teams in the Ivy League, but we still have to go out there and prove it.” Three of the team’s 10 players are freshmen who will begin Ivy League play for the first time this season. So far, the freshmen have been able to contribute to the team’s success. “It’s important that they adapt quickly because junior tennis is very different from college tennis,” Broom said. “This year’s freshmen have done really well. Everyone has played their role and played their part. They’ve hit the ground running, which is not easy to do.” Drake agrees, and said he thinks the newcomers have done a nice job filling the ’18s’ shoes. “Whenever you graduate guys who are productive players, it’s tough, but
it’s also an opportunity for guys to step into the lineup,” Drake said. “The guys have done a good job stepping up. Our freshmen are another good group, but I think most importantly, they fit in well with the team. All three of them, [Sid Chari ’22, Sacha Pritzker ’22 and Pierce Widdecombe ’22], are hard workers, good competitors and really good teammates, so they’ve added a lot to what we’ve done.” With the fall and winter seasons as well as the spring break matches in the rearview mirror, the Big Green have set goals of repeating as Ivy League champions and competing again in the NCAA Tournament, according to Broom. Both of those goals were accomplished last year. “The goal is to win the Ivy League again, which I think we are capable of doing,” Broom said. “Playing in the NCAA Tournament, winning a round, that would be the first time that a Dartmouth team would have won a round at the NCAAs, so that’s certainly another side goal.” Despite setting those goals at the beginning of the year, Drake said the team does not talk about them frequently. “We mostly focus on the things that can give us the best chance to achieve [the goals]. For us, that’s sticking to what we’ve been doing, which is just focusing on having complete, competitive efforts up and down the lineup.” The Big Green begins Ivy League play this weekend with matches at Princeton University on Saturday and at Pennsylvania University on Sunday. The following weekend, the team will travel to Brown University before hosting Yale University. The Big Green then conclude conference play with three home matches over two weekends against co-defending champion Columbia, Cor nell University and Harvard University.