Ther Should Be A Law

[ole]

I really think the pro leagues should leave the high school/college players alone until they finish school. Robbing these kids of their education is wrong. Yes the money is there but how many who leave early really make it to the big time? The chance of injury is an every day thing, not only on ice but in life in general. A good education is the ONLY gaurantee these players have for success if something were to happen to them. It happens in all sports, just leave em alone and let them get educated, then go after them. ole

[DEADhead]

I agree with you, but like Donnie Lucia mentioned regarding the exodus of his players, they're here to play hockey with the dream of going pro, not to get an education. Sad but true.

[Roofer]

Nothing is a guarantee in life. It is ultimately the individuals decision. Make the best of opportunities when it's given.....sig.

Some players are there just for the game, like already mentioned. If they are good enough to go pro, do you really think they do their school work? Later in life taking a job that someone else strived for. I think that opportunity should be given to the person that is in school to go to school.

[Quackaddict9]

Yeah I agree, its sad seeing great players leave college to the "pros" (AHL/ECHL) or high school to Juniors. There was a good article in USA hockey magazine on that players leaving college, hs for juniors in the MN hockey section.

[Team Otter]

If the player chooses to leave early for a shot in the big leagues, have them pay back the remaining amount of their scholarship or grant before moving on.

[DEADhead]

 Originally Posted By: Team Otter

If the player chooses to leave early for a shot in the big leagues, have them pay back the remaining amount of their scholarship or grant before moving on.

I concur

[Roofer]

Sounds like jealousy to me.

Sports players make University's and HS's alot of money.

This can be some kid's big chance, why should anyone take that away?

I don't see why this is a problem???? Why do so many people worry about everyone else??

Are you worried about Paul Martin, Hinote, Ovechkin, Crosby, on and on?

I think they are more worried about how they can spend more money than most people will ever see.

[Roofer]

I do agree to a point. If they cannot be a stand out player right away, they should finish school.

[GottaGo]

I feel that it would be best if everybody finished school, however, hockey is a physical game and the chance of having a career ending injury is always there. All it takes is one solid hit and you can be done. It is most of these hockey players lifetime goal to play professionally, and I would hate to see them miss that chance because they decide to play an extra year in college. If it is just for the education, they can always go back to school afterwards(even though I admit that many that quit probably are done for good).

[yakfisher]

If an injury is gonna happen it's gonna happen, at least if they are in college when it happens they have some options. If they are in the AHL they are out a paycheck and they are going back to the factory they are trying to escape(well in Canada anyway). I think if they wanna go great, but they should have to repay the scholarship they have been abusing to the general student scholarship fund so at least someone gets educated out of the deal.

[chief]

I believe that, once a player leaves a school and renounces the remaining portion of his scholarship, the unused portion reverts back to the school and can be issued to someone else. So scholarship money is there for others in need of it.

But......, why doesn't the NCAA pass a law (they're very good at this) that charges a fee to any pro franchise signing a player early. The NCAA provides a very successful farm system for the NHL at absolutely no cost. Some NHL franchises do financially suport minor league affiliates, but the NCAA is now, perhaps, the premier provider of pro talent. Why should the pros get free talent? If they need a player early, they should pay a development fee to the school.

[Northlander]

All Pro college sports are feeling the effects of players leaving early. The quality both college and pro sports is down because of it.

The colleges are losing their best players and the majority of them arent ready to be impact players for the pros but get big contracts anyhow.

I would like to see a 2 year rule. Players would have to go to school at least 2 years than could leave for the pros. It would keep recruits in school for a consistant time and the quality of the college sports would go up.

Nobody should be allowed to go Pro out of high schoool. NOBODY!

These kids that have and made it are about what 1% if that?

[Roofer]

That would be a shame seeing a star player being held back because of a law. I think we have enough laws that tell us what we can and cannot do.

Why would someone want to play a limited amount of games in school, when they can play 100 games as a junior or pro. Some of the best players in the world right now wouldn't even be seen if a law like this was in effect. You can argue that a player would really stand out in college then, but I'm not sure if that's true. Any player will tell you that it's entirely different game between college and pro. I kind of have a first hand experience with this. I played college summer leagues in St. Cloud when I was 15 and did rather well. When I went back to school and tried out for the HS team, I didn't even make the team. It's hard to play with players of a different caliber. In school it is a "team" game which is great, but being pro it is a role player "team" game which is entirely different. In HS Danny Hinote was a 2nd or 3rd line winger, and he is one of the few that actually made the NHL. What does that tell you. Toby Petersen was also an outstanding player. He played college hockey for not sure how many years, but he is still trying to stay in the NHL.

I thought there was talk of doing something similar with Russian players in the future. Anyone hear about that? I can't remember the specifics.

[chief]

Roofer,

Russia's Hockey Federation is the only entity that will not sign an agreement with the NHL that prohibits players walking out on NHL contracts and immediately signing a pro contract in another country. I forget his name, but a Russian National just walked out on his contract with an NHL club, and immediately joined a Russian club. The NHL club was not compensated, and is now missing a player.

Obviously the NHL is now leery about signing Russians. To be fair, Russia has always had a beef with the NHL, as the NHL has a history of lowballing these clubs, and supporting players who claim to be seeking exile in North America. The NHL pays nothing to the defector's home club. Evgeny Malkin's contract anullment was the landmark case here.

[EYEYIEYE]

I would say it depends on the athlete. I have a few friends who left college early for the pro pay day 2 of the three put into there contract that the team had to pay for the rest of their schooling. and both have gone back and gotten their degrees after their playing days. 4 adn 10 years.

[fishwithteeth]

I wonder how you would feel if YOU were the one offered a pro contract worth a few million a year, and some law prevented you as an adult from signing?

I do however believe if an athlete signs a scholarship they should honor it, or pay it back (what they don't use) if they decide to leave early. If they turn pro they can afford to pay it back or the team can pay the college. It's only fair.

[yakfisher]

If a player is aware of the law when they go to college and then choose to go to college anyway, I will have no sympathy for that individual. A two year commitment isn't too much to ask for from anyone, even a seventeen year old. If an athlete is looking to pursue a pro career there are plenty of avenues to follow and according to Garth Snow college programs can't develop pro players anyway. The NCAA is a place for student athletes, and it is the NCAA's job to ensure that student athletes are looked after.

[Wash-Ups]

First of all they don't get the big MILLION dollar contracts. They get maxed out at around 850,000.00. Which is still not to bad. What the NCAA needs to have is like the baseball program. If the team can't sign a player before the start of their freshman year, then they can't touch them until after their junior year of that sport is over. Denver just lost a player to the pros so Minn. is not the only team right now.

[papabear]

sounds like the two were smart enough to make a life after the fun and games were over. How many players are done after 4 years and still have no degree? The big Us like MN, Mich, Boston dont just hand them out to you because you played hockey you have to work a little bit for them, Lucia is the coach not Haskins.

[WildCountry]

If i had the chance to go pro, i would have. Like they say, go big or go home, in this case school