NHL responsible for NCAA exodus

Here is an interesting article that came out today. It blames the NHL for the latest rash of early departures from the NCAA Division I hockey.

Toronto Sun - It's been a tough off-season for NCAA hockey teams and the NHL is responsible for most of the pain.

Although it's really nothing new, the exodus of players from American colleges to the pro or junior ranks seems to be more pronounced this year.

The trend continued Tuesday when Montreal Canadiens' first-round pick Jarred Tinordi bailed on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to join the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. Tinordi hasn't signed with the Habs but jumping to the Knights allows him to attend training camp in Montreal, something that wouldn't have happened if he stuck with Notre Dame.

But Tinordi, the son of former NHLer Mark Tinordi, isn't even the only Canadiens prospect to walk away from school in the last month or so.

Louis Leblanc, the Habs' first-rounder from 2009, was forced to leave the Harvard Crimson after one season when he signed an entry-level contract with the Canadiens. He's eligible to play in the American Hockey League but instead joined the Montreal Junior of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Forward Jerry D'Amigo officially ended his short career with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when he signed Wednesday. D'Amigo spent just one season at RPI, racking up 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 35 games.

In the last couple of weeks, first-rounder Kyle Palmieri has skated away from Notre Dame after agreeing to a contract with the Anaheim Ducks and Nick Leddy signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, leaving Minnesota in the process. Palmieri will start the season in the AHL and there's a good chance D'Amigo will wind up with the Marlies, although the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers have their fingers crossed that the two U.S. junior teammates get sent to junior at some point.

Major junior teams gave the NCAA a couple of kicks of their own, though, snatching away some top-end talent at the last minute.

Lucas Lessio, playing with the Canadian under-18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, didn't live up to the verbal commitment he made to join Michigan in 2011 and opted instead to sign with the OHL's Oshawa Generals. Julian Melchiori did the same when he joined the Kitchener Rangers recently instead of heading to Massachusetts-Lowell for his freshman season.

Since April 1, 17 players gave up NCAA eligibility to sign with NHL teams, according to figures compiled by insidecollegehockey.com. Factor in the others, like Tinord, Lessio and Melchiori, all of whom never even showed up on campus, and you can see how hard the U.S. schools have been hit.

It's not unusual for players to leave college early, though. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, Blues defenceman Erik Johnson, Kings blueliner Jack Johnson, Oilers forward Andrew Cogliano and Canucks forward Mason Raymond all dropped out in 2007 to work in the NHL