Alton

June 29th, 2012 at 10:05 AM ^

Michigan still has 5 of its 6 regular defensemen from last season returning:  Merrill, Bennett, Moffie, Clare and Serville (only Senior Greg Pateryn is not returning).  Mike Chiasson was not a regular by the end of the season, but he did play 30 games.  First-round draft pick Jacob Trouba will certainly be an every day player. 

Michigan will still be able to put out 5 players on "D" who have been drafted by the NHL (Moffie, Merrill, Bennett, Serville, Trouba).  Their 6th D-man will be Kevin Clare or Mike Chiasson, with Mike Szuma providing depth.  So basically this means that Kevin Clare will be a regular instead of Connor Carrick.  It hurts, but not as much as losing a forward or--dare I say it--a goalie.

 

 

Leaders And Best

June 29th, 2012 at 10:05 AM ^

I think we lose at most one of that trio.

As for Connor Carrick, another source, this one an OHL scout, says it will depend largely on Trouba. Wants ice time. Plymouth can offer it.

OHL source with knowledge tells me today Jacob Trouba's chances of playing for Michigan are 50/50. Kitchener holds his OHL rights.

I wonder if Carrick signed knowing Trouba was leaning toward Michigan? It would suck to lose both. There has been no indication that Nieves is looking to sign, and given the Rangers success with Carl Hagelin, Derek Stepan, and Chris Krieder, I doubt they push him.

bacon1431

June 29th, 2012 at 9:47 AM ^

It's hard for me to criticize 18 years old kids and I usually refrain judgment on them......but how hard is it to just admit you'd be open to listen so that the coaches don't just assume you're 100%? These kids continue saying they're 100% Michigan and then when there's nothing that we can do to replace you, they jump ship. Makes me sick. Fuck you OHL

Don

June 29th, 2012 at 10:15 AM ^

I sympathize with your sentiment, but the OHL is not holding a gun to these kids' heads and forcing them to forgo a largely-free education at one of the world's foremost public universities. If I were a parent with a kid in that situation, there would be no question whatsoever about the decision: he's going to Michigan, and he's going to goddamn graduate, even if it's with straight Cs. If he's good enough to play pro after that, fine, but he's going to have his degree in hand first. I think it's parental malpractice to do anything else.

ChasingRabbits

June 29th, 2012 at 11:05 AM ^

It's not hard for me to criticize an 18 year old kid in this instance.  What changed in the last month? 2 Months? 3 months?  Year? The opportunity was always there to go the OHL route.  He chose UM, gave them his word that he was coming, did it over and over and over, and now, he changes his mind.  All the facts are the same. Its a low character move, plain and simple.  I don't think like some that you have to go to school and get your degree. I wouldn't even force my own son to go that route if there was a compelling reason against it.  The O is a fine option for some, and works out quite well.  But once you commit to a school and they arrange their roster around that commitment, its poor form to switch at the last minute.  That is something my son wouldn't do. 

lhglrkwg

June 29th, 2012 at 10:09 AM ^

Screw him. How long has he been committed? And now he decides to leave about 2 months before fall semester. I know we're log-jammed at D but could yo ube more of an a-hole? I suppose he could've actually made it to campus like Gibson did. Screw both of them.

lhglrkwg

June 29th, 2012 at 4:46 PM ^

Not sure what anyones kid have to do with it (since I'm near his age) but it is a jerk move to be committed for roughly two years and then back out 2 months before you're supposed to arrive when we have no chance to get anyone else comparable and the depth chart has been basically unchanged for the last season

And for the comment below, I've endured quite a few of these summers but I still get irked every time because Michigan and the NCAA are at a complete disadvantage to the O and we just get raided every year. It's frustrating (as I'm sure you know)

Lionsfan

June 29th, 2012 at 6:42 PM ^

Exactly, when Domi was tweeting all that Go Blue stuff last year as a cover, yeah it sucked to be used, but he never committed or anything like that. It's just so infuriating to see these guys sign up, give us their word, then break their word and bail on us, and completely screwing us over in the process.

I know they're only looking out for themselves.....but Fuck the OHL

Rabbit21

June 29th, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^

The guy wants ice time and he probably went to the OHL on the urging of his NHL team.  I think we've all seen that some NHL teams want their guys to go the Major Junior route vs. the college route.  It sucks but not our lives.  I don't think it's a low character thing, but it is irritating.  I'd hate to think of the abuse the kid is getting over twitter.

I'm just pissed there isn;t a regulatory mechanism to keep the OHL from pulling this crap every year.

 

ChasingRabbits

June 29th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^

What's different about his icetime today than last week?  Month? He could have read Mgoblog to see what his ice time would be... nothing has changed, other than the NHL team and the O being skeezy and him buckling to that pressure.  Going back on your word is low character.  Just because it is common place in the US and world today doesn't change that.

pullin4blue

June 29th, 2012 at 1:17 PM ^

Young athletes are all the same. They do what they do because they love it AND if they're good enough they have a chance to get paid to do it for a living. I know Connor personally. I have billetted for USA Hockey and I know all the guys. To the man, they would all like to play pro hockey. The OHL is a legitimate way for them to get a lot of ice time and make the move to the NHL. If there was a system like this for football, you would see guys skipping college like crazy. Connor was an honor student at Pioneer while taking AP classes and not the easier load like some others. He qualifies for admission to U of M with or without athletics. Connor is a quality guy from a great family.  When I last talked to him he was very excited about playing for Michigan and couldn't wait. His decision to go to the OHL was only after the draft.

If you've lived with these guys you would see how much time and effort each one puts in. For some, opportunity only comes knocking once. I know this was a terribly difficult decision for him. I love Michigan Hockey but if this is the best thing for Connor, then I support him 100%.

 

bacon1431

June 29th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

I don't think anybody would be nearly as upset if the timing wasn't so completely awful. He gave Michigan his word and his signature. They were counting on him. And he leaves them with no options. I can buy that he did what was best for him. But he also completely screwed Michigan and it didn't have to be that way at all.

Bando Calrissian

June 29th, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^

I guess I don't get the outrage.  Yes, it's a bummer for Michigan, and yes, it sucks, but at the same time, this happens just about every year.  It's the nature of the beast when you've got college kids with pro contract rights.  

Red gets up every year and rails on this problem, and he's right to do so.  Yet you can't fault a kid for making an informed decision based on what's right for him just because the decision doesn't benefit you as a fan.  Michigan does a better job than most schools of offering kids just as great of an opportunity to get to the NHL from a college hockey program as they'd get in the OHL.  But every situation is different, from the OHL opportunity to the NHL franchise holding the rights.

Bottom line:  Let's cut the indignation at the kid.  The system sucks.  But he's a teenager making a decision about his own future, and we're fans on a message board.

stephenrjking

June 29th, 2012 at 2:14 PM ^

That's actually a pretty significant change, if Carrick does indeed plan on taking classes at Michigan while he's playing hockey.  It makes Plymouth the only team this works for, which may explain why it happened. Guelph is not a little sister in the OHL--they're a significant program trying to keep up with London and Kitchener. 

Plymouth wasn't taking a flyer. They knew.

Clarence Beeks

June 29th, 2012 at 10:11 PM ^

Except that players playing in the CHL aren't being paid to play. They receive a stipend for living and education expenses. I've never heard of CHL players being considered "professional" by anyone other than the NCAA. In fact, players in the CHL are explicitly deemed as amateurs under Canadian law. They were also considered amateurs for Olympics purposes before the Olympics made the switch to allow all athletes to participate. In other words, literally, the only people that consider CHL athletes as "professionals" is the NCAA, and even that hasn't even always been the case.

WCHBlog

June 30th, 2012 at 11:51 AM ^

I don't see how you can call it anything other than a professional league, especially the week of the Import Draft and some of the dollars thrown around there. There's a difference between some players getting an embarrassingly small amount of money and players not being paid.

Clarence Beeks

June 30th, 2012 at 12:11 AM ^

We weren't talking about his NCAA eligibility.  You're the one who is trying to limit the discussion to that point.  Look, you can look at it that way if you wish, but no one else in the hockey world considers playing in the CHL to be "turning pro".  Just you and the NCAA.  Furthermore, as JimLahey astutely points out, to extend your logic about being paid equating to professional status, NCAA players are paid FAR more than CHL players when you consider the entirety of their respective compensation packages, it's just that the NCAA exempts the compensation that NCAA players receive from its definition of compensation.  It doesn't get much more self-serving than that.  I've seriously never, and I do seirously mean never, heard anyone argue that the CHL is professional hockey.

Lionsfan

June 30th, 2012 at 12:29 AM ^

I'm not arguing the CHL is professional hockey. And yes, his NCAA eligibility is the forefront of this discussion. He was an amateur set to come here, but signed with the OHL and by the NCAA definition, is getting paid and is now a professional hockey player, so he can't play here anymore.

I'm not here to debate NCAA benefits vs. CHL benefits or the worldwide opinion of CHL players. My original comment, was basically, no the thread title does not need to be changed, because from a Carrick coming to Michigan standpoint, he no longer can because according to the NCAA, whose rules Michigan hockey is subject to, he's a professional.

Clarence Beeks

June 30th, 2012 at 12:56 AM ^

Do you honestly (and I am being absolutely serious and not snarky) think that the OP meant it that way?  If he/she did, OK then, but I doubt it.

Honest to God, though, this is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read and is 100% typical of the NCAA (to be clear, my snark here is directed at the NCAA, not you, because it's their rule, not your post, that dictates this result):

"I'm not arguing the CHL is professional hockey. And yes, his NCAA eligibility is the forefront of this discussion. He was an amateur set to come here, but signed with the OHL and by the NCAA definition, is getting paid and is now a professional hockey player, so he can't play here anymore."

You're not arguing that the CHL is professional hockey, but you are arguing that a player playing in the CHL is a professional.  Read: a professional player is playing in a non-professional league.