First: Pros and Amateur (NCAA or any other similar unpaid organized league) are night and day.
I am never one to have the same expectations between the pro teams I love (Red Wings, Devils, and a little Blackhawks...when they're not playing Detroit) and the amateur ones I love (such as the Sioux) but some of what I say would obviously contradict each other if put together.
Here's a great example: Attitude. It is a reasonable thing to believe that a pro team should win after bringing in big names and going about stating that they are going to be tough to beat. It compounds when the media buys into it. So, I have no problem feeling utter disgust towards the play of the Red Wings, injury-plagued or not. I have no such compulsion with the Sioux. They're main goal is to educate athletes and develop talent with 1a is winning. UND may have a great tradition of winning with 7 NCs and all, but I believe the greater tradition is the quality of athlete we send off to the pros be it the NHL, minors, or abroad. The world of NCAA hockey is a competitive learning environment. The victories are sweet and the defeat no less bitter, but they go off to the pros better people.
I can't claim complete superiority, but I look at the case of Jimmy Howard. He had a frustrating time at Maine. He did well, sure, but if Howard were on a team like DU or UND or perhaps BC, Minnesota or UW.... he'd've probably won it all in the NCAA but he didn't. Then got signed into an organization with depth. 3 time Stanley Cup champion Chris Osgood, world class backup Manny Legace...Uh... that's easy to crack right? Well, Legace left. In comes Hasek. No worries, spend time in Grand Rapids getting conditioned for the pros. Hasek takes 2 years. Then he goes. Oh good, now I can come in....oh wait... In comes Conklin. Now, Howard is in his first full year in the NHL and he's taken away the starting duties from Osgood. Is Maine a failure of an organization because, despite having a blue chip goaltender, they couldn't win it all? If I were a Maine fan (and I hear there are a TON of classy Maine fans about), I'd be proud of my program and proud that Howard chose Maine over BU or BC or Cornell (which is about as home town as he could have gotten being from Syracuse).
I am NOT saying that losing is ok provided that the players we recruit turn into great guys. I'm saying that we're out to win it all, sure, but if we fall short, we can fall back on the knowledge that, win the NC or not, the NHL and future aspiring NHLers know that UND's program is among the top for future pro development.
No college program, not even the celebrated UND version, is adequate perparation for the NHL. College hockey and professional hockey at any level are two completely different games. In fact, college players that make it to the NHL would probably have been better off playing in the CHL, the transition would have been easier.
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ReplyDeleteWe already know that pro-CHLers would say something like that.
I'm not going to waste my time arguing this point. It's a never ending argument that will have a ton of "yeah, but" and "look at these [meaningless] stats" and inevitable name calling.
I've seen it on every hockey message board and blog I've ever read. I guess that's not entirely true. I've read a blog by a guy who covers the MAINEiacs of the QMJHL (I think) as he covers the world of junior hockey. He's never touted the NCAA route.
What I will say is this: Those blue chip talent that have gone the NCAA route (blue chip as decided by the NHL scouts and indicated by the NHL draft for the purposes of this argument) haven't had much of any kind of problem adjusting to the transition beyond that of their CHL counterparts.
For the rest, it makes little difference. Most CHLers and NCAA players don't make it to the NHL so it makes no sense to compare.
So, you can tout the CHL. I don't care. You're entitled to your opinion. Congrats.
It might have been two years ago now, but at the time one pro team had two Hobey Baker winners playing for them. Wanna guess who? It was the Iowa Stars and the players were Marty Sertich and Junior Lessard. Neither one made it in the NHL.
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