Minnesota put out a press release today saying that Blake Wheeler has withdrawn from school at Minnesota, though he has not signed a contract with Phoenix yet. According to the release, Phoenix and Wheeler have 30 days to reach an agreement or else he will become a free agent.
Wheeler's departure was a bit of a foregone conclusion. He was one of the most talented players in college hockey last year, and could probably step right into Phoenix's lineup next season.
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How about the time Wheeler scored the crazy goal against the No Dak hicks to win the Final Five.... What a pimp!
Rumor around the cities is that by Wisc. delaying Hickey for another year, he was told originally he would enter college in '07, now they have him coming in '09 after two years of juniors, that the Wild either will have to sign him or they will loose their rights to this draft pick, according to the new CBA. Makes UW look pretty bad as he was recruited before the '90s they are bringing in out of hs.
Wheeler is a bust. No chance he steps into Phoenix's line up.
What does Hickey have to do with Wheeler?
minnesota didn't want him
Just a cheesehead trying to grab some attention by hanging onto the coat tails of a Gopher. LOL
Nobody cares about Becky Badger. So they have to join someone's board to get read.
No it is not a Badger fan bringing up Wheeler, it is a rodent fan trying to stir the pot about Wisconsin. Probably more jealous about the likes of Gilbert, McBain, McDonagh, Gardiner coming from rodentville to Madison (oh I know already that Lucy did not want any of them...which before you post that in a reply, you might want to think about what that means about the talent evaluation capabilities of the rodent staff). Maybe if you stir the pot with some negative crap, you don't lose the next NHL defenseman out of state?
Now onto Wheeler, what loophole is he using to create a 30 day negotitating window for his draft rights holder, otherwise becoming a free agent. Did he graduate and that has something to do with it (I had heard he was on target for finishing in 3 years)? Or is it simply that he "withdrew" from school? If it is the later, that loophole really needs to be eliminated as college hockey does not need the added incentive from NHL teams to try to sign their draft picks. If drafted players going to college can at any moment, withdraw from school and be free agent in 1 month, that has to be a huge fear for NHL GM's that will motivate them to try to sign kids even harder.
Wheeler is, at best, 3rd in line amongst rookie forwards to make the Yotes NHL roster. Turis is all but assured a spot, and Porter will definitely be expected to make a 3rd line contribution. Whether Wheeler jumps Chad Kolarik on the rookie priority list, I don't know. The organization has talked about wanting to keep Porter and Kolarik together if possible.
"Or is it simply that he "withdrew" from school? If it is the later, that loophole really needs to be eliminated as college hockey does not need the added incentive from NHL teams to try to sign their draft picks."
Good point. This sounds like the Mike VanRyn fiasco all over again.
Convenient it came the week before finals.
“At its simplest, a 30-day letter is a loophole that enables a college player under certain conditions to become a free agent a year before he would have been able to in the past.
To take advantage of this, a player:
1) Must have completed four seasons of play (at any amateur level) following the year in which he was drafted and…
2) Must not have begun his fourth year of college eligibility.
If a player meets those conditions, and the player and the NHL team that holds his rights don’t agree to a contract before the 30-day period expires, he can become a free agent and sign with any team he chooses.”
In the case of Wheeler;
“….Wheeler, after being drafted in 2004, played one year for the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) and then three for the Gophers. That adds up to four years.
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