OT - FREEP article on Michigan Tech (CC HOCKEY)

Going to be a long running pool.

I love Red, grew up looking at the back of his head every other weekend from seven rows up. But no one deserves as long as they want. That attitude at Best gets you in a Bobby Bowden situation and at worst Joe Paterno. And, what the fuck with Quinnipiack? Why would any hockey player want to go there, let alone enough good ones for them to be a powerhouse? White Plains, seriously?

Some here would tell Red to 'shut up" with his "uninformed rant."

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/032615aad.html

"I told Andrew, 'You're going to make it in the NHL. You're going to have a long career; there's no doubt in my mind. But you don't have to go now. You can do it your way. You can do it the right way. You can do it for the benefit of the team. You're a captain.' You're asking me where I'm coming from? That's where I'm coming from. And he would get the same money from them next year that he is going to get this year.

"Am I disappointed? Yes. Do I wish him luck? Yes. And I wouldn't be surprised if he played in a game (this season) and he wouldn't be out of place."

However, Berenson knows the realities of such situations. He said Copp has no guarantee of being more than a "practice player" this season and could be sent to the minors next year. Berenson cited several examples of his players who left early with such promises of staying in the NHL, but instead got shipped to the minors.

"I'm disappointed in Andrew Copp that he's leaving," said Berenson, who is returning for his 32nd season as coach. "He's developed into a pro prospect. He was a fourth-line player when he got here and he developed; good for him. He worked hard every day. He became better and better, and was a significant player on our team. He became a captain and accomplished a lot.

"But I was hoping and he was hoping that he would elevate this team and get us back in the (NCAA) Tournament, and be one of the forces behind us. We lost to a senior-laden team in Minnesota, and why aren't we a senior-laden team? Well, there's a good example. I told him that he's as NHL-ready as anyone on our team. He's right there with (senior) Zach Hyman (a Florida Panthers draft pick). But I just think there's unfinished business here. I could've left when I was at Michigan, and they told me I was crazy to stay. They gave me all these false hopes and told me the things I wanted to hear. But I was confident enough to do it my way. I wasn't going to let the guys I played with or my coach down -- or let my school down. I was going to graduate from Michigan, and it was as simple as that."

Berenson did just that before moving onto the Montreal Canadiens, winning two Stanley Cups with them, and going onto a 17-year NHL career before coaching in the league and then returning to his alma mater.

"If you've got a ticket to the NHL," said Berenson, "I'll drive you to the airport. But until then, you are going to listen to me and do what's right. I've had a lot of kids sit in here and say, 'I think I'm ready.' And how many of them do you think were ready? Maybe 10 percent before they finish school.

"I don't think you should play in the minor leagues at the expense of your senior season. If you ask Brendan Morrison, Mike Knuble, Marty Turco and Carl Hagelin -- players who Michigan graduated before going onto the NHL -- ask them, 'Would you have given up your senior year to play in the minors?' And they will laugh at you."

Berenson pointed out that Morrison, after scoring the winning goal in the 1996 national championship game, had the "humility" to tell the New Jersey Devils he wasn't ready for the NHL. Morrison returned for his senior season and won the Hobey Baker Award in 1997.

I don't understand the sentiment of red deserving as many years as he wants, when you are being paid to do a job, then you must show results. If red was coaching for free then I would agree, but just like any other paid job in this world, you must show results