As I said before, this is a trend, and it will continue. The top Americans will be heading North. The WHL is a GREAT path for Schroeder and the Canucks. He can move up and down according to his developmental needs rather than being a third liner as a freshman like Kessel was.

how come whenever someone signs with an nhl team it’s a bad thing but when they stay in school it’s a good thing? It seems to me the Canucks would want what is best for his development no? god forbid it should hurt the gophers and not what is best for the kid and his future. sad.

Here we go again. You talk to anyone that has played major juniors and they will tell you that they would get there ass kicked by any major college program, period! The only difference up there is they play more games. If the Canucks are interested in signing him, that is great, but if they want to sign him and tell him to play in the WHL, that is a bunch of crap. I have friends that are NHL scouts and we have had this discussion before. They tell me every time that if you are good enough to play in the NHL, you will play in the NHL, no matter where you are playing. With this scenario, going up to the WHL is not a step up for Jordan.

just like any player playing canadian college would kick the crap out of both the whl and ncaa. it’s because they are older by as much as 3-4 years. only difference is playing ncaa for 4 years your less likely to be a pro. i know there are exceptions but schools are loyal to players sticking it out for 4 years rather then to hot shot prospects who may leave after 1 or 2. it’s about development and ice time not which team would win more games.

You guys are both right… one thing I disagree with is the canadian schools beating the NCAA… a lot of these canadian teams come down and play say the gophers or North Dakota as an exibition game first part of season and get smoked. We have to remember like programs like Gophers and Sioux etc…these teams are getting the top recruits in the country. As far as WHL, OHL or the QHL, these kids do not stand a chance against NCAA teams. These college kids are 19-20 year old freshman and most of them are graduating by the age of 24 years old. The major junior teams are consisting of 16-20 year olds, there is no comparison, NCAA will win every time. Here is a good example: This year alone the Gophers have roughly 20 kids drafted by NHL teams. Now you tell me people if your major junior team is going to beat them, not a chance in hell! Kelowna alone had 8 kids drafted by NHL teams entering the Memorial Cup…also remember these teams that are going to have a strong shot at making the memorial cup run, they end up trading draft picks to load there team up to win. So starting out, it is far less NHL draft picks! End of story!

You are wicked dumb. The NCAA has inferior skills? Way to make a blanket statement. Since we’re discussing a Gopher player here, let’s use the Gophers as an example…

3 – 1st rounders
3 – 2nd rounders
3 – 3rd rounders
4 – 4th rounders
3 – 6th rounders
2 – 7th rounders

Talentwise, this group outclasses Windsor. Add that to the fact that they are two years older on average… there’s just no comparison. Your credibility is even more destroyed than it was before.

i am an avid fan of college hockey but this is a losing argument for NCAA hockey. The numbers dont lie and they are what they are. The CHL has the better track record of placing players in he NHL. I do believe, if the NCAA champion played the Memorial Cup Champion, NCAA would win 75% of the time, especially if a teams like BU, which is was as good as an AHL team last year, keeps winning National Championships. But you mention how minnesota has 18 draft picks. But Windsor, the memorial cup champion have 20 draft picks/ future guaranteed draft picks and free agent NHL signings.

1. Josh Bailey 1st (future star)
2. Taylor Hall future 1st (future star)
3. Adam Henrique 3rd
4. Lane MacDermid 4th
5. Richard Greenop F.A. signed w/ Toronto
6. Justin Shugg 2010 eligible
7. Austin Watson future 1st (future star)
8. Greg Nemisz 1st (future star)
9. Eric Wellwood 6th
10. Dale Mitchell 3rd
11. Scott Timmins 6th
12. Andrei Loktionov 5th (future star)
13. Ryan Ellis 1st (future star)
14. Rob Kwiet F.A. signed w/ Boston
15. Jesse Blacker 2nd
16. Ben Shutron 4th
17. Mark Cundari F.A. signed w/ St. Louis
18. Harry Young 7th
19. Josh Unice
20. Steve Gleeson

Plus they added future 1st rounder for the 2010 draft defenseman Cam Fowler and 2nd rounder Richard Panik. I’d take anyone from Windsor’s team over anyone over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.