There is no doubt about it. The 1956 hockey squad, defender of three consecutive Ivy championships, has assembled one of the greatest gatherings of potential talent in over 20 years at Harvard.

To field a team of six players this year, Coach Cooney Weiland has a selection of over 20 excellent prospects, all of whom can skate well, pass well, and shoot well. The team will undoubtedly play good hockey in most of its games this year, but the season's question is whether or not it will be able to win the important games.

All indications are, of course, that the sextet can do this, and will have a good season. The Crimson schedule lists only a few of the East's top teams and excludes all of the strong Western New York sextets such as St. Lawrence, Clarkson and R.P.I.

If Coach Weiland can produce the necessary playmakers from this list of hockey talent, then certainly no expectations are too high for the varsity. Even without standouts like Bill Cleary and goalie Charlie Flynn, the sextet could match up to the Crimson's best--the 1954 Eastern champions who were invited to the National Tourney at Colorado Springs.

Before that is possible, however, a lot must be done. Most of this year's squad are inexperienced sophomores who came from last season's phenomenal freshman team which lost only one game. Coach Weiland will have to train these players in varsity competition fast or the season may be over before the Crimson can start.

Then, too, Weiland must solve a difficult defense problem. The varsity has no full-time defensemen left over from last year's team and only a few who played on the Yardling sextet. Probably the greatest blow to the team's chances is the fact that Dan Ullyot, a first-rate defenseman on the '55 team, may not be able to play at all. Ullyot has an ear injury and cannot possibly play at least until February, if at all.

In addition, John Copeland, with the team's hardest blue-line shot, will be out until after mid-year exams.

Weiland will probably alternate the quartet of Woody Harris, an ex-J.V., and sophomores Bill Deford, Pete Bragdon, and Dick McLaughlin. All of these have enough blue-line potential to be able to improve rapidly during the first part of the season. If this happens, of course, then a major question on the team will be answered.

Meanwhile, there are several forwards who can easily be shifted back to defense. Maurice Balboni has defensive experience from freshman play; Bob Owen played back for the varsity last year; and other former freshmen such as Dick Reilly and Dick Fischer have worked out at the blue-line.

One of the most critical problems on the team concerns the goal-tending position. Filling that spot is the sextet's captain, Jim Bailey, who has just about everything a goalie should have except experience. Bailey has sat on the varsity bench for the last two years watching All-American Charlie Flynn in the goal.

Bailey has shown the potential to step right into Flynn's place, however, and if he can, then the team may not have any defensive problem after all.

His play should count heavily against top teams like Providence College in the opener tomorrow night, and Eastern powers like Boston College, Boston University, and perhaps Yale. Except for the Elis, each of these teams will boast excellent goal-tending this season and it will be up to Bailey to match them.

But even if the varsity is deficient at defense, it certainly can measure up to any team on offense. For the first time in three years, the squad will play with three solid lines instead of just two.

Bob Cleary, Lyle Guttu, and Bob McVey make up an imposing first line, while the second trio of George Higgenbottom, last year's Yardling captain, Dick Fischer and Bob Owen are almost their equals.

Both these lines should show a hard scoring punch. The question is whether or not they can get going early enough to knock over teams like Providence and B.C. at the start of the season. The third line, which Weiland emphasized he will use regularly, consists of Paul Kelley, Dick Reilly, and either Bill Collins, Maurice Balboni, Dave Vietze or fast-improving Dave Beadie.

Seniors Ted Hollander, Dave Holmes and Dave Loring are still competing for positions on the squad.