Will Devine wrote:

>This is just a guess, but I would think that it's more difficult to scout
>players in Eastern Europe because it's more expensive to travel there as
>opposed to not having to leave the continent.  Additionally, there's the
>problem of the language barrier--most of the players scouted in North
>America speak English, after all.  Well, except for a few Quebecers, but I
>imagine it's more likely that NCAA scouts and coaches will know French
>than Russian, Czech, Finnish, etc.
>
>

This was also my first thought till I remembered that even on my one
peek into Soviet Russia and Estonia in 1987 communication was relatively
easy because enough locals walked up to obvious tourists like me and
spoke in English.  After being invaded by capitalism and western
commerce, I'm guessing English is the second language and I'm also a bit
surprised Div I hasn't recruited more.  Maybe they're all being
attracted to Middlebury for hockey and language courses.

As for the expense of traveling there to recruit, the school that
invests in getting the first couple from a good supply area reaps a
windfall when the word gets back home from the athletes themselves.
That's how Michigan got its national championships in the old days, by
first opening the spigot for the flow from Minnesota and then switching
to St. Pats alums and western Canadians when Red Berenson wrote home and
said "follow me!"   Is it Colorado College that just started a Czech
connection?  For accounting purposes, initial expense of such recruiting
investment should be capitalized and amortized over ten years.

Bob Griebel