Kyle Okposo
I gave the Chicago Blackhawks and Duncan Keith crap about the reason he left Michigan State early possibly being because the Hawks potentially made him leave. Well when looking for an Islander to profile I came across the fact that the Islanders forced the hand of Kyle Okposo to leave the University of Minnesota. Not only did they get Kyle to leave but when questioned about it, Garth Snow trashed the Minnesota team and it's coaching staff. Kyle played with the team up until December. That's smack dab in the middle of hockey season when Kyle announced he was leaving to his teammates.
As I said before during the Hawks profile, there is no trade route or free agent market to go to when a player on your college hockey team abandons his squad in the middle of the season. I agree with the statement that the coach at Minnesota, Don Lucia, had to say about the matter.
"We have had numerous players sign and play in the NHL, but just as important many more move on to have successful careers after graduating from the University of Minnesota. We have always and will continue to work to ensure our players reach their potential on the ice and in the classroom."
When you sign up to play college hockey, it is not only about the hockey. It is also about the education. If you do not want an education, then college hockey probably isn't the route you should be taking. At the end of the day, these guys that go to college for a year then leave for juniors or the AHL are taking a spot and a full ride scholarship away from a player that might need and want to be a student athlete for that college.
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