The Long Summer Continues
by WCHBlog on Jul 26, 2011 11:49 PM PDT
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A rather embarrassing summer for college hockey drags on. In what was already a rather weak draft year, the NCAA has faced defections from first round picks JT Miller, earlier this month to Plymouth, Jamie Oleksiak, earlier this week to Saginaw, and now seems very likely to lose Miami recruit Connor Murphy to Sarnia, with rumors that more could follow.
This has raised a new round of the annual debate between the NCAA and CHL. Brad Schlossman took up the NCAA's charge, while Neate Sager offered a rebuttal.
Both sides make good arguments, and the merits of each can be debated. It's been done at length here, and there's no need to get into again now. What is pretty tough to debate is which side is doing a better job at selling their message. What makes these three departures particularly stinging for college hockey is that all three could have played college hockey next season. It's one thing to lose players that don't have the immediate option of playing college hockey (Pat Kane, Anthony DeAngelo, Tyler Pitlick, etc.), but another entirely when players have the direct choice. When a player chooses to play with teenagers over 19-24 year olds, and cites a more pro-style as being one of the factors for doing so, that's pretty clearly an issue of message, and not being able to sell what NCAA hockey has to offer.
A big part of the problem is that college hockey is too busy fighting and scheming against itself these days to even worry about fighting against the CHL. Why should JT Miller or Connor Murphy think playing in the WCHA or CCHA for the next two years is worth their time when their own schools made it pretty clear that those conferences aren't good enough? Even College Hockey Inc., which was designed to help present a unified message for college hockey, has been neutralized this summer, since they work directly under college hockey's conference commissioners, and thus have had to keep fairly quiet on the current reorganization. It's another instance of North Dakota thinking they could do things better on their own, and, at least initially, being wrong, and another consequence to the sport that was apparently overlooked in the 20 minutes of planning that went into the Secondary Six.
This summer has been a strange and sad juxtaposition of two competing leagues that both wanted to get more serious about their image and their brand. In college hockey, that meant a group of teams conspiring and holding a self-congratulatory press conference to say that they were better than the rest of college hockey, and ultimately, did more to sell the virtues of some old hotel in Colorado than it did to sell the game of college hockey, while in the OHL, particularly in their western division, it meant doubling their efforts to acquire the best players available. One of those strategies seems to have really worked well. The other, not so much.
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USA Hockey
The # 1 supplier of Americans to the CHL/Major Junior is USA Hockey’s NTDP. USA Hockey does NOT care about college hockey. USA Hockey only cares that these players go through their “program” and get drafted by a NHL team so that USA Hockey can keep getting there however-many-millions-of-dollars from the NHL in development fees. This enables USA Hockey to keep every unsuccessful coach that works for them (wait, that’s the entire National Office and everyone hired to administer the ADM!!!) employed. You’d think college coaches & College Hockey Inc. would recognize this and start pushing back and keep their players from going to the NTDP. Of course, college coaches would have to grow a pair and not play the “we-won’t-tell-a-kid-where-to-go” card…all because they think they won’t be able to come recruit the next prodigy from the NTDP. Figure it out and quit drinking the USA Hockey Kool-Aid people.
Nice to see that...
You guys are finally starting to figure this out! Chris, great article, and good for you to have enough “sand” to take up the sword here. I am obviously pro-CHL, as one could possibly glean from my commentary, however I am also pro-hockey. I would love to see a PAC-10 conference or a March Madness for US college hockey. How cool would that be?! However, the entire American path is a mess from the bottom to the top.Starting at the youth level, you had the Tier 1 league, which was awesome, and beginning to rival the GTHL…then the league split. Then there is the USHL who won’t play 16 year olds, and commit to developing their younger players. Where do those young talented players go? CHL. The USHL also has ridiculous rosters with 40 kids on them and 15 with big X’s next to them. WHy? Can’t your scouts pick ‘em? Oh wait, the USHL teams don’t have scouting staffs (other than that one guy who gets a hat and a cheap jacket). How can you run a draft with 4 different birth years and no one there to see them?
Finally, as I’ve said before, college hockey needs to work together. These college coaches would rather see top players go to the CHL rather than a rival team, and that’s just nuts. You know ST Cloud was jumping for joy when JT Miller signed with Plymouth. Last, but not least, there are a lot of college hockey head coaches that need to drop their massive egos, get in the rinks and CONNECT with the younger kids. Yes, I know there are NCAA rules, but we all know there are ways around them (ie the verbals). If you are going to compete with a league that employs a machine of a central scouting staff, a full-time recruiter, AND the 8-10 scouts employed by every team, you have to get in the trenches.
It’s another instance of North Dakota thinking they could do things better on their own, and, at least initially, being wrong, and another consequence to the sport that was apparently overlooked in the 20 minutes of planning that went into the Secondary Six.
Bitter much Chris? Still blaming UND but not the other schools in the Super Six?
Come on Eric hasn't Chris told you?
We control the world.. everyone else just lives in it
"Don't give up, don't ever give up" - Jim Valvano
by nodakroxfan on Jul 27, 2011 9:59 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Ha!
NoDAK fans. Watch Grimaldi and Pelnik go to the CHL next.
by wickedsmart on Jul 27, 2011 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions
Pelnik i could see since he's a ways away yet
Grimaldi is already on campus.. chance he bolts are somewhere below 0
"Don't give up, don't ever give up" - Jim Valvano
by nodakroxfan on Jul 27, 2011 10:37 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
as a matter of fact
Michigan lost John Gibson to the OHL this morning. In case others don’t know, Gibson was the #1 North American prospect last year and a presumed first rounder (but fell to the early second). F the OHL
i should clarify
- North American goaltending prospect
