The Other Side's Argument

On his blog,
Chris Heisenberg pointed out an interesting article in the Red Deer Advocate about Red Deer's new coach, Brent Sutter. Sutter talks about a couple things in the article, mainly his displeasure with the new enforcement of the rules as the physical WHL tries to adjust to the crackdown on obstruction.

Admist his anger, Sutter manages to take a nice shot at US hockey fans:

"You can get away with this to a certain degree in the U.S., but you bring it into a hockey culture where the fans really know the game and they'll get tired of it," he said.

The article does gain something of substance towards the end though, when Sutter talks about Tri-City storm center Mario Lamoreaux. Lamoreaux is currently facing a decision that many talented players his age face. He can choose between a scholarship to play at the University of North Dakota in 2007, or he can play in the WHL with Red Deer this year.

Sutter goes on to outline the basic arguments in favor of the WHL:

"Here's a kid who as a 17-year-old would be one of our four centres, and yet he's chosen to stay and play at a lower level, which is junior A hockey. He does have a scholarship in place, but it won't take affect until he's 19 so for the next two years he'll play at a lower level. Is that what's good for him?

It all depends. The USHL is the premier college-feeder league in North America right now, so it's hard to imagine his development totally stagnating in the USHL. Sutter is right that Lamoreaux would receive some short term benefit from moving to the WHL. It also raises the question: Is living in Red Deer really what's good for anyone?

(EDIT: Upon further review, Red Deer looks to be a thriving metropolis. The city has recently transformed 48 Street into exciting Alexander Way, a "vibrant and pedestrian-friendly corridor" featuring banners *and* new signage! Both!!! There's also the promise of Alexander characters appearing where I'd least expect them, but since the place I'd least expect them to be is civilization, I'm guessing they're lying to me.)

"He has to decide how badly he wants to be a pro. If he wants to go to school then he should stay there and do that, but I'll still match our education policy with any NCAA scholarship. He could come here for four years and go to school if he doesn't play pro and continue to play hockey. The way things are shaping up now, he could be done playing at the age of 22.

The first line says it all. Grumpy old Canadian men have been trying to scare kids away from the NCAA for over 50 years now, by saying that their only hope of playing pro hockey is by going to Canada. The fact is, that argument doesn't hold water anymore. With 7 NCAA players being drafted in the first round, it's hard to argue that the decision to play college hockey will hurt their future at all. If Lamoreaux is an NHL talent, he will find a way into the NHL. The WHL may provide a faster route to the pros than college hockey, but it certainly doesn't make the path any easier.


So for all the talking that Sutter does, his basic argument is that maybe Lamoreaux will make it to the pros a couple years quicker if he chooses to play in the WHL. Not a huge deal, but these are the types of sales pitches that most young players recieve when trying to decide where to play hockey.

It also seems to be a recent trend that former NHLers are being handed the keys to CHL franchises and are being extremely aggressive in taking players out of the US. Patrick Roy in the QMJHL and The Hunter Brothers in the OHL are two that immediately come to mind.

While some people may shake their heads at college coaches going after the top high school freshmen and sophmores in the country, articles like this show what college coaches are up against and why they need to try and sway kids away from major junior hockey so early.