Carol writes:
>Doug Zmolek, <who will be a senior defenseman this season> has been guaranteed
>a spot on the 1994 U.S.Olympic team if he stays in school and plays his final
>year at Minnesota and doesn't sign a contract with the San Jose Sharks.
>Zmolek,
> a first-round draft choice who went to San Jose in the expansion draft, has
>set a price and told San Jose he will go back to school unless his demands are
> met.
Tim writes:
>Why would anyone pass up a guaranteed spot on Team USA in '94 to play for
>one of the worst teams in the NHL? I would glady give up playing in the NHL
>for 2 or 3 years to represent my country in the Olympics. Is money really
>that important? It really makes me sick to see someone turn down such an
>opportunity because of money when it would be a lifetime dream come true
>if I played in the Olympics.
Some hockey players do dream of representing their country in the Olympics,
which is a good thing, since Olympic hockey wouldn't get very far if no one
wanted to play it. Other players, however, dream of playing in the NHL and
competing against more or less "the best hockey players on earth" (in the
worst-run sports league on earth, but that's another story). A guaranteed
spot on the Olympic team sounds great (it also sounds a little strange --
how can anyone "guarantee" Zmolek a spot on the team two years in advance?
Doesn't it depend on who shows up for the tryouts?), but if Zmolek is more
interested in the pros, there is no reason why he should put his career on
hold just so he can play with Team USA. People tend to feel that talented
athletes are obligated to be "patriotic" and to represent their country in
the Olympic Games, to the point where they express outrage if the athlete
decides that he or she has a different agenda. Remember the flak over
whether Michael Jordan was going to be on the US basketball team or not?
Some might say that Zmolek could wait until after the '94 Games to sign with
San Jose. That way, he would have the experience of playing in the Olympics
and the money would be waiting for him when he got to the pros. However, if
he were to do that, there would always be the chance that he might not play
as well during his senior season -- or worse, that he might be seriously
injured -- and his pro career would suffer. This happened several years ago
to RPI's John Carter, who, after the Engineers' NC$$ championship in 1985,
elected to return for his senior season while some of his teammates
(including Darren Puppa and Adam Oates) went pro early. As I recall, Carter
injured his knee, and his potential (and market value) as a pro dropped like
a rock.
Is money that important? Well, in some cases it is, and not just because of
greed. I don't know what Zmolek's situation is, but there's always the
possibility that he might want the extra cash to support his family. (Watch
the segue here, folks! :-) This is exactly the reason that Cornell's Parris
Duffus gave for jumping to the pros early, according to an article in
today's _Ithaca Journal_. Duffus was quoted as saying he had intended to
return to Cornell in the fall, but "My family is not in a great situation.
My little sister [a student at Nebraska] has been out of school for a year.
It's tough for my parents to send us both, and I have two younger brothers
and a younger sister besides. I decided to take a look and see what my
options might be with the Blues..." You can't fault anyone for turning pro
under those circumstances, and perhaps Zmolek's situation was similar.
Whatever the reason, going pro is his own decision to make.
By the way, Duffus' contract is apparently a two-year one with an option
year. Terms were not disclosed, but his agent has indicated that the
contract "has tremendous upside potential" if Duffus makes the NHL.
--
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and probably '94
LET'S GO RED!!
"You know what ticks me off about men? ... Stress makes them eat less and women
eat more."
--"Sylvia"
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