Are the Portland Wnterhawks the next to be punished?

This past summer the OHL’s Windsor Spit Fires were fined $250,000.00 for breaking the OHL’s recruitment/benefit rules and policies. Now according to Dean Milard of the Pipeline Show, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League could be the next CHL team to face some stiff punishment for a violations of the recruitment rules. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Dean Milard; Coming Down the Pipe --- The In the case of Portland, here is their latest big recruit and a few situations that some might be suspicious of, and reasons why there might not be anything wrong with it at all. Seth Jones joined the Hawks this year after a trade with Everett during the 2012 post season.

- Did the team speak to Jones before the trade?
- Did he simply realize that the Winterhawks have developed some pretty good blueliners lately?
- Did they offer him more money to play in Portland after the trade?

Depending on who you talk to, Jones is a stud no matter where he plays. Some wonder why Everett wasn't his choice as it didn't seem to hurt Ryan Murray who went second overall. But a case can be made for the likes of Joe Morrow and Derrick Pouliot in Portland. As for his NCAA options, he had narrowed his choices down to the University of North Dakota. Formerly the Fighting Sioux. UND is an unreal program and playing there is never a wrong choice, but Portland isn't exactly second banana. They've been to the final, two straight years and some (like me) have them getting back there again this year. Maybe Jones just saw the writing on the wall that they were going to be good, especially with him and jumped on board.

After this revelation; one does have to wonder how many more CHL teams could be in violation of the recruitment/benefits rules? I am sure that Dean Millard and Guy Flaming will keep us updated on this developing situation.

More UND bolters to CHL? (RW77)

Today the OHL held their Priority Draft. And some UND recruits are on the list.

The first two occur in the 4th round. The first was the Barrie Colts taking Brenden Lemieux with the 6th pick of the fourth round. Seven picks later, UND recruit Nick Schmaltz got selected by Windsor. There may be more, but it is unlikely (this post was written while the OHL draft was in the middle of the 10th round of 15 rounds).

What does this mean?

Hard to tell. I know very little about Barrir and Windsor's tactics. They aren't ultra agressive or perhaps even overtly Anti-NCAA like London of the OHL, Moncton of the QMJHL, or Red Deer of the WHL. However, Windsor has been pursuing Jordan Schmaltz very heavily and drafting his little brother is another tried and true tactic that has worked in the past. That being said, Jordan and Nick have both gone on record saying that they are committed to the NCAA route. I hope that is true, but with all the nefarious tactics and rumored financial incentives that have surfaced as of late, one cannot be too confident.

Of the two drafted, I think Lemieux has the highest probability of bolting for the Major Juniors. His dad went through Major Juniors (though with the QMJHL, not the OHL).

As with most cynical people, I have my predictions and what I hope. I predict the Schmaltzes show up in Grand Forks. I predict Lemieux will go the way of Matteau and go OHL.

It's too bad but it is the reality of the sport. Of course, I hope I'm wrong about Lemieux and he does skate for UND. I just won't believe it until he does. And, for the record, I believe the same will be true for uncommitted blue chipper Seth Jones.

We'll just have to wait and see... or perhaps Brad Schlossman can shed some light post draft.

EDIT: One other interesting development: UNO incoming recruit Alex Broadhurst was drafted in the 2nd round by London, a team that enjoys pressuring players away from the NCAA.

And Another one Jumps to Major Juniors

Maybe this was pointed out earlier but......

2012 Minnesota Gopher recruit Joel Vienneau, a highly touted goaltender (worthy of note, from Canada), signed with Sudbury of the OHL instead of staying in Muskegon for one more year before heading to the Twin Cities.

Here is the article.

It looks like he bought the line about the Major Juniors being the way to go to get to the NHL.

I'd love to blast the Gophers as I'm no fan of theirs but I don't think Minnesota had anything to do with this.

It is nice to see that Joel has his head on straight. I mean, I too would go to an organization where a spot with playing time isn't guaranteed over a team where that same spot is virtually guaranteed. Not to mention the fact that NHL scouts know who the Gophers are.

Well, oh well. Maybe he'll turn into another Josh Unice or Brandon Maxwell (IIRC) or Anthony Grieco.

Best of luck.

JT Miller Bolts for OHL

Image via WikipediaUND Incoming Recruit, or former incoming recruit, apparently will not play for UND in the fall and instead bolt for the OHL Plymouth Whalers. The report was confirmed by Guy Flaming of the Pipeline Show. Here's his article:

The Pipeline Show has now confirmed with the player himself that New York Rangers prospect J. T. Miller is indeed detouring away from his NCAA commitment to North Dakota and will instead play for the Plymouth Whalers in the OHL.

Miller will be a guest on TPS this Saturday to discuss in more detail.

The Ohio product was chosen 15th overall by the New York Rangers last month at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Minnesota. His first appearance on The Pipeline Show was back in April and he confirmed to us back then that he would officially decide after the draft where he would play next year.

This is obviously a blow to the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota who have lost 6 of their top 7 scorers from last year to graduation or to pro hockey (Jason Gregoire).

I can say that this isn't much of a surprise. I had a feeling he'd end up in Plymouth. What was disappointing was that it comes before his freshman year rather than after it. I felt that he'd bolt before his sophomore season, but would play one season in Grand Forks first.

I'm wondering if this isn't another Trevor Lewis type deal. IIRC, Trevor Lewis committed to the University of Michigan and then signed a pro contract with the LA Kings who assigned him to the Owen Sound Attack (OHL). It gets Miller past his rookie contract quicker, sure, but it will pressure him to develop faster as well. Though this isn't impossible and Miller could very well be up to it (Lewis just completed his first full season with LA this year and did ok), it does put a bit higher pressure on Miller.

Oh well, I guess. Tough blow for UND. Wish Miller the best. I wonder if this news makes the Cichy transfer more painful? Probably not with the fans. I got the feeling that many commentors didn't much care for Cichy.

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Cormier Elbows Mikael Tam

This is the latest ugly incident to mar the hockey world. Team Canada's world junior captain Patrice Cormier (New Jersey Devils draft pick) was ejected from a QMJHL game in overtime when he delivered a head shot to Quebec Remparts defenseman Mikael Tam. Caution this is video is not pretty folks.

You have to imagine that there will be a hefty suspension coming from the QMJHL.