BU and BC stopped building teams by finding the right players for various roles. They went for the best players nationally, who when they arrive on campus are thinking one and done and don't want to fit into roles to help the team win. Also with the one and done's there is too much roster turnover year to year. The other schools NE-PC have been building teams with 4-year college players with only the occasional pro calibler players that leave early. Umass remains to be seen. They will lose a few players after this season so they will have to show they can sustain things year after year.
Look at BC's roster, laughable 'friends & family plan' they've assembled and it's about time for Jerry York to move on. They've killed it due to his term being too long. BU is the opposite, too much change and not enough stability. York will step down and it will be a plum position for a connected coach to come in....both will take some time.
Hockey East is changing as a whole, not the conference it used to be. UMass is killing it this year, providence and NE not their best years but doing well. After that, the rest are in the bottom 30 out of 60 with Merrimack at 54-77 goals against in 10 games - Bad showing for HE. Things are definitely changing.
No different than canada now losing regularly in would junior tournaments. More competition. Same goes for NCAA. New programs with deep pockets, great facilities etc are going to change the landscape.
It's mainly because of the decline of high school hockey thanks to the USPHL. Fifteen players on University of Minnesota-Duluth last season are from Minnesota. Only two players on UMass were from Massachusetts. Hockey is no longer viable in New England.
Studs will be studs. They don’t play USPHL. That hasn’t changed. What has changes is the current dev model is about moving the masses to be good D3 college players. So overall, more players are developing, locally though, not a good option for the studs.
There are over 50 Mass players alone in HE, so development isn't really at the crux of why BU & BC have fallen off. To the OP's question, BU & BC seem to be recruiting all-stars vs teams. They were getting the most skilled players but you still need 3rd & 4th line guys and that can be a difficult transition for a kid whose been #1 on every team he's ever played on since he was six.
There are over 50 Mass players alone in HE, so development isn't really at the crux of why BU & BC have fallen off. To the OP's question, BU & BC seem to be recruiting all-stars vs teams. They were getting the most skilled players but you still need 3rd & 4th line guys and that can be a difficult transition for a kid whose been #1 on every team he's ever played on since he was six.