Katie writes:
>Curtis Joseph was a 21 year old freshman in his season with the
>Badgers.
 
The interesting thing is that the 20 year old rule is listed in the
NC$$ Manual as having been "revised" on 1/10/90 (and 1/16/93).  Since
Joseph entered Wisconsin in 1988-89 at the age of 21, and the rule as
currently listed was revised in 1990, I am not sure if the rule as it
stands was in effect in 1988.  But I seem to recall that it was, and
if so, then Joseph would have still only had 2 years of eligibility
left after his great rookie season; thus he was really technically
a sophomore, even though the 1988-89 Wisconsin Media Guide lists him
as a freshman.  That's probably to draw attention to the fact that he
was in his first season.
 
It's always confusing when players "jump" years from one season to
another.  Claudio Peca and Daryl Krauss were reported as freshmen for
Merrimack last year, but this season they are listed as juniors.  They
also entered Merrimack at the age of 21 last season.
 
On the other hand, one Warrior freshman this year, Gaetan Poirier, is
from Canada and is still 17.  He turns 18 at the end of December,
which makes him eligible for the NHL draft next June, and his size and
skills had a number of scouts watching him early on.  But he suffered
an injury early in the season that he hasn't been able to shake, which
ended up keeping him out of the two games last weekend against
Northeastern.  He has the tools, and if he is able to bounce back and
draw some attention the rest of the way, he could be a selection next
summer.
 
For those keeping score, all current Merrimack freshmen, including
eye-openers Casey Kesselring and Martin Laroche, are "true" freshmen
in that they have a full four years of college eligibility.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93