Mike Machnik writes:
>
> Did John Blue receive a scholarship from Minnesota when he was
> recruited, or did he walk on?  For those who weren't aware, Blue was
> from California and became one of the better goalies in Gopher
> history.
>
 
    Although the entire story escapes me at this point (probably has
to do with my advanced age and all the Bud Light I had last night),
regardless of how successful Blue was, and Buetow equally as so, see
how far it got Buetow.  At that point, if memory serves, Buetow was
the most successful U of M hockey coach in the school's history.  But
he committed the unpardonable sin of using a non-Minnesotan, namely
Blue, thus sentencing himself to a long walk off of a short pier and
out of Minnesota.
 
    Don't get me wrong, for I'm not saying that Buetow was right in
doing what he did.  If the unwritten (or written for that matter)
policy is Minnesota for Minnesotans, that's fine.   But I think that
what Buetow did was guided by his desire to continue a winning
tradition, and he thought that he could do that with Blue.  This just
goes to show you how much power the hockey people behind the scenes
at the University of Minnesota wield.
 
    Nor do I think that the "Minnesotans only" policy is wrong.  If it
works for them, so much the better.  However, I think it causes other
problems, whether the people in Minnesota want to admit it or not.
Consider the hue and cry raised when St. Cloud expressed the desire
to go D.I.  IMHO, the gophs saw the talent pool seriously threatened
(see last paragraph for continuation of this logic).
 
    Let's face it, the assistant coach at the U of M in charge
of recruiting doesn't have all that bad of a job...say, stand on the
corner of 4th and Hennepin and say in a relatively loud whisper:
"OK, who wants to play for the Gopher hockey team?"  Hmmm?  How
many high school and junior players native to Minnesota are NOT
going to come running and worship at his feet?  At least he saves a
lot in expenses when it comes to vehicle costs.
 
    But my point is that this policy is one of the underlying (and
studiously avoided) causes for other programs in Minnesota having
great difficulty in going D.I (see Mankato and even Bemidji State
specifically).  And I'll be very surprised if anyone on the inside of
Minnesota hockey would every admit this (after all, who in their
right mind would ever seek banishment from a hockey mecca)?
--
John Hack, SID
UW-Superior