--- On Thu, 28 May 98 07:23:44 -0500  Kepler <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>> Is there some loophole that I don't know about?  I always thought
>> that "once a professional, always a professional" was the policy of
>> the  NC$$, and the WHL was considered pro.
 
> The easiest way to put this is that some juniors players are pro,
> but most are amateur.  A few juniors players have signed pro
> contracts but are held in the juniors for seasoning -- Marion
> Hossa of the Ottawa Senators / Portland Winter Hawks is a good
> example this year -- so the juniors are not a purely amateur
> system.  But for the most part, the compensation which the
> juniors players receive is no more "professional" than are the
> athletic scholarships given by many colleges.
 
I thought the fact that major junior players receive some kind of
stipend was enough for the NC$$ to consider them pros.  Thus, not
only those who are already being paid by the NHL are pros in the
eyes of the NC$$.  Haven't we discussed this before?  I do think
that the line between what NC$$ athletes can accept and what major
junior athletes can accept may be quite fine, but this is the NC$$
we are talking about -- it doesn't have to be logical.
 
Ralph Baer
RPI '68, '70, '74
 
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