wbhockey27 wrote:packerboy - he is a bum because he quit on his teammates the coaching staff and the gopher hockey fans halfway through the season. In any level of professional anything sports related job related anything, no matter how bad things get you stick through it and ride it out. If you were to walk out of the office at noon and say your never coming back, what would people think? It's not the gophs are playing that bad, they just came off of a nice win against the fighting sue, and now they are getting carman back for the rest of the way and were poised for a second half run.
His teamates are based on whoever is making the best offer. Thats the way he was "raised" by hockey.
He isnt backing out on anybody. He is doing what we trained him to do. All of us, including the coach he is "walking out on". Was Lucia unemployed when the Gophers found him?
Hockey has been a business for Kyle for a long time.
His stock was falling, he isn't the same player he was for the reason Neutron stated. He had to do something while there were still scraps on the table. At the end of the college season, NY would be encouraging him to stay another year for his own development. His window of opportunity was closing quickly. What he doesn't realize, his game and abilities will be exposed even greater at this next level. Fizzle Fizzle Fizzle
This is addition by subtraction - the gophers will now only get better. Insert a kid who wants to be there and wants to make the team better.
This is like a dream come true! Yeah I know wrong topic, but am so happy. This move will unite the team.
The Gophers being better without Okposo is a tough sell.
But lets face it, they weren't very good with him.
I give Lucia a lot of crap and rightfully so but he has a tough job. How do you pick kids who are good but not so good that you lose them in a year or 2?
wbhockey27 wrote:packerboy - he is a bum because he quit on his teammates the coaching staff and the gopher hockey fans halfway through the season. In any level of professional anything sports related job related anything, no matter how bad things get you stick through it and ride it out. If you were to walk out of the office at noon and say your never coming back, what would people think? It's not the gophs are playing that bad, they just came off of a nice win against the fighting sue, and now they are getting carman back for the rest of the way and were poised for a second half run.
His teamates are based on whoever is making the best offer. Thats the way he was "raised" by hockey.
He isnt backing out on anybody. He is doing what we trained him to do. All of us, including the coach he is "walking out on". Was Lucia unemployed when the Gophers found him?
Hockey has been a business for Kyle for a long time.
It is a garbage thing to do to leave in the MIDDLE of the season. Just because hockey has been a business for Okposo doesn't mean he doesn't need class. HE is bailing on the gophers mid-season and that is a low class thing to do. He has to learn to finish what he starts, and he started this season. It is accepted for players to leave at the end of the season, but it is not classy to leave in the middle of the season.
If he was going to be ruled academically ineligible, he let his teammates down in the classroom, if he is leaving just to play in the NHL a half a year early, he let his teammates down on the ice.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Islander's didn't dictate this move. They have a stake in this and my guess would be that they didn't like the way things were developing for their draft choice. Boston had the same thoughts and things went well for Kessel. Why do you think St. Louis wanted Johnson out so quick.
I heard from a very good source the Islanders contacted him and they weren't happy with his development at the U. He will play in the World Juniors and officially sign after that and will probably start in the AHL but will be in the NHL sometime this year.
packerboy wrote:The Gophers being better without Okposo is a tough sell.
But lets face it, they weren't very good with him.
I give Lucia a lot of crap and rightfully so but he has a tough job. How do you pick kids who are good but not so good that you lose them in a year or 2?
elliott70 wrote:Perhaps, if we are patient, we will hear the whole story.
Perhaps then, we can judge him to be a bum or not.
Wise words indeed.
To sit in judgment upon those things that you percieve to be wrong or imperfect is to be one more person who is part of judgment, evil or imperfection.
What ever the case may be...here a the fact a lot of people are missing..these guys have a short time to make a lot of money and if the Islander said it's time, then it's time most of the guys on this bored that are moaning about this will never have that type of cash flashed in front of them their entire lives. Division 1 Hockey is a big business...Pro Hockey just happens to be a bigger business. Would Donnie blow off the Goofs if say the Rangers called with a Head Coaching job....in a NY minute.
No problem with a kid turning pro and collecting a nice paycheck but when you set out to play a season you should finish it out...period,end of story. Lucia should get a clue and quit going after all these prima dona "stars". Get some guys that can fill a role and let the chips fall. This team was supposedly lead by guys like Okposo you've seen the team chemistry in action this season and it is brutal!
State Champ 97 wrote:What a selfish, bull___ thing to do. Anybody know the reasons for this besides money and a tough stretch by the team.
This quote almost says it all. The part about selfish. I think Okposo is an excellent player, but at times is very selfish and will not give up the pass. Take a good look at the Gophers this year. They need a change and this may be what they need. I wish him the best of luck in the NHL. Let's move on now...
I'm watching the Islanders game on center ice right now and their announcers were just talking about him. They sounded surprised that he would opt out of college in the middle of the year. They also said that he would more than likely spend a majority of the season in Bridgeport. You don't get too many chances to play in the NHL, so you must make the most of these opportunities when they are presented to you. Good luck to Kyle the rest of the way, but I wish the Gophers no luck at all!
I have to think that there's something in the hopper, but it's almost a little bit more of a slap in the face if he's not going to be playing somewhere in the next day or two.
What a garbage thing to do. This kid needs to grow a pair... in a hurry.
He can't sign because he's "leaving" after the junior championships (which he still has to be an amateur for i think)
And as far as the odd timing my guess would be a mix of not getting the national championship he hoped for and classes... it is finals week at the U...
bulldog14411 wrote:He can't sign because he's "leaving" after the junior championships (which he still has to be an amateur for i think)
Amateur status doesn't matter in this event. But teams won't release guys for it either if they are playing a role in the NHL.
My only beef with Okposo is the timing. I don't care if a kid goes pro early when it is the off-season. At least that gives a coaching staff the opportunity to react and plan accordingly. I also don't mind if a HS kid decides to play in the USHL (or some other entity) full time if the decision is made in the off-season. It may drain a little talent but at least it gives the coach a chance to plan and prepare.
But making such choices in the middle of a hockey season when you should be committed to your current team's season is wrong.
Gopher Blog wrote:My only beef with Okposo is the timing. I don't care if a kid goes pro early when it is the off-season. At least that gives a coaching staff the opportunity to react and plan accordingly. I also don't mind if a HS kid decides to play in the USHL (or some other entity) full time if the decision is made in the off-season. It may drain a little talent but at least it gives the coach a chance to plan and prepare.
But making such choices in the middle of a hockey season when you should be committed to your current team's season is wrong.
My guess is you'd be saying this OK and the kid just trying to make the cash while it's available if it was any other team in the WCHA this happened to.
Furthermore coaches at this level cut players midway through the season for various reasons shouldn't they be committed to the players for the full season if they made a committment to them. What's good for the goose is good for the gander as this level has become more entertainment and big business than most people realize. Curious what does a coach make a year at this level and what does a player make?
Is anyone really suprised that this happened? As long as the U continues to recruit players from shattucks/holy angels/etc, which are players who feel no team loyalty whatsoever, they will continue to have these problems. The same goes for out of state kids as well for the most part.
I'm glad this happened, maybe Lucia will now stop recruiting players we all know won't stick around and work on developing players who will stay 3-4 years.
But he won't cuz he's an idiot.
Undercover Hockey Lover wrote:My guess is you'd be saying this OK and the kid just trying to make the cash while it's available if it was any other team in the WCHA this happened to.
Honestly, I would not. I just think it is wrong to quit on your team in the middle of the season no matter whose uniform you put on. My beliefs aren't going to fluctuate simply because of whose team a guy is on. Unless there are some extraordinary circumstances, I just think it is wrong.
Furthermore coaches at this level cut players midway through the season for various reasons shouldn't they be committed to the players for the full season if they made a committment to them.
I agree it isn't fair to cut a player mid-season in college for performance alone. Although I don't know that I can recall a guy who was given the boot simply because of that. Usually he will just get benched for the remainder of the season if he isn't playing well.
But I can see cutting a player for poor conduct. If you break team rules or do something detrimental to the team (break the law, etc), I see removal as being fair. Hirsch is the only one that immediately comes to mind as being removed mid-season and he was removed for conduct and academics. This was after he had been given a second chance by the team. Even with his removal, he was still on scholarship for the remainder of his time. So he wasn't left out in the cold in that regard.
The parents move so they can be in a better youth program.
They leave their high school programs to go to a better one or they play at Shattuck.
After they are there for awhile, they leave for juniors or the NTDP.
All of this is just great with everybody and the college coaches.
They then come to college to play for awhile and then they leave there after a year or 2 and go pro and we weep.
So what if its in the middle of the season. These top kids dont bleed maroon and gold. Its not rah ,rah ,rah for Ski U Mah for them. Its a place to play while they are waiting to go pro.
Thats what we have created. Dont blame Kyle Okposo for it.
I cant believe how immature and just ignorant SOME of you are sounding. I have never met Okposo, but these events do not make him a bum, a trader, or a bad person. Either the Islanders wanted him and contacted him (which it is starting to sound like), or he didnt like the situation he was in and chose a different option.
It is disappointing as a Gophers fan, but he is not quitting on me and owes me nothing as some of you "fans" are making it seem. I totally believe in honoring comittments and seeing things through.
A few thoughts/questions to think about:
- If a player leaves his Junior team and joins the Gophers to fill this vacancy, is this Junior player then a quitter/bum and cheating his coach and teammates he committed to for the year? Easy answer!
- Lets say you sign a contract to be employed by a company for the upcoming year. If you are offered a more attractive job (better hours, more $$$, closer to home, etc) would you not take it?
- If you are unhappy at your job, things just are not going the way that you thought they would, you have another opportunity present itself that seems very promising. Would you not get out of a bad situation?
- If your 18 year old son loves working on cars and is very good at it and decides he does not want to go to college, does this make him a bad person? What if he tries a semester or two of college and decides it is just not for him, does this make him a bum? College is not for everyone, and some people are just not good students.
- Lets not forget that Lucia left a previous employer for an opportunity he felt was better. If TJ Oshie could transfer to the U, Im pretty sure all the Gopher fans would welcome and celebrate his decision to leave his former teammates and coaches. Gopher fans would not be talking about loyalty, honor, or committment.
- Okposo was being trained probably since he was 14 years old or younger to play professional hockey. Its unfortunate that it is happening in the middle of the season, but I would guess that Lucia understands.
- Maybe Okposo was torn between staying and leaving, maybe his heart and interest were no longer in playing college hockey, maybe the Islanders made the decision for him, in any case it doesnt really matter and it doesnt make him a bad person. If Evan Kauffman loses interest in hockey and decides his heart is not into it, maybe he decides to go on a mission trip to help under privelaged kids, does this make him a bad person for leaving his teammates? Isnt staying just for the sake of staying when your heart is not into it, isnt that cheating your teammates?
Kyle made a decision based on many factors, some we will never know about. This is not an addition by subtraction, maybe the team will be better in the long run who knows, but he will be missed. I wish him the best of luck and hope to see him on NHL highlights for many years to come.
