After much deliberation (and consultation with hockey-l elders :-) ), I
decided to venture to post this article from today's (2/2/96) Minnesota
Daily. When this topic comes up on this list, it's usually in the tone of
a flame war with people spouting off opinions intended only to raise each
others' ire, and any attempt at reasoned discussion of the pros and cons is
lost in the wreckage. Here's hoping that this post meets a better fate...
Should Woog look outside Minnesota for top recruits?
Jeff Sherry - Staff Reporter
No issue divides Minnesota hockey fans more than the Gophers' policy of
recruiting only in-state players. Most point to the all-Minnesotan roster as
a source of state pride. Some consider it a reason why the Gophers haven't
won a national championship since 1979.
While it may seem more difficult for the Gophers to win titles without
access to top players outside the state, WCHA coaches feel little pity for
the team. With the limited supply of talented Canadian players available
these days, league coaches are envious of the Gophers' position in what is
regarded as America's greatest hotbed of hockey talent.
"Don't let anybody say, 'The poor old Gophers can't recruit outside of their
own state,'" Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. "I have heard statements
like that. It really isn't fair to the state to downplay the quality of its
players like that.
"Minnesota produces the very best players, and it has a huge talent pool.
And those players are just dying to play for the Gophers."
How good is the state's talent? Eight of the WHCA's 10 teams have more
Minnesotans on their team than players from any other state. And Minnesota
is tied with Michigan for supplying the most players to a ninth team,
Northern Michigan. Of the 163 American players in the WCHA, 106 are from
Minnesota.
Yet even with all those players coming out of the state, opposing coaches
say there isn't that much top talent available -- the Gophers usually grab
the best prospects.
Enter the Canadians and Europeans. WCHA teams have a combined 104 foreign
players on their rosters, including 90 from Canada.
But a high number of Canadians on a team doesn't necessarily mean a higher
level of talent, especially in recent years. The improved management and
marketing of Canada's major junior hockey leagues, the premier junior
leagues in North America, have attracted most of the country's best
16-to-19-year-old players.
And unfortunately for U.S. college teams -- other than Minnesota, that is --
NCAA rules say players are ineligible at American universities once they
sign with a team in Canada's major junior leagues. So most Canadians in the
WCHA are from less competitive junior leagues that preserve their players'
collegiate eligibility.
"If the perception is that the major junior teams are the best way to get to
the NHL, then that perception becomes a reality," Gwozdecky said. "Even six
or seven years ago there were (Canadian) kids you could get that were so
good you knew they'd go pro within a couple years. That talent pool just
isn't there anymore."
Because of the reduction of Canadian talent and the Gophers' ability to sign
the top Minnesotans, WCHA coaches are being forced to sign less gifted
players. Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich said the Gophers' cable
contract, facility and corporate sponsorship make it hard to compete for the
blue-chip in-state players.
"The pie is appealing," Sertich said. "But it isn't as big as people think.
I'd love to have Bonin, Crowley and Rasmussen -- and I tried to get them.
But when you miss out on those players you may have to go for the second-,
third- and fourth-best players."
The Gophers have long attracted the state's top high school talent. The last
eight "Mr. Hockey" award winners in Minnesota have chosen to play for the
Gophers.
"Look at the players we have coming next year," Gophers coach Doug Woog
said. "Ben Clymer (Bloomington Jefferson) doesn't need to play in the
juniors. He's already got his scholarship to come here. Dave Spehar (Duluth
East) doesn't need to go to the juniors. He's already got his scholarship.
"The need for us to look at junior-leaguers isn't that great if we can get
good players like that early."
But there is a tradeoff. Because so many other teams dip into the junior
leagues with such frequency, their players are usually a bit older and more
physically mature than the Gophers.
A couple years of age and experience can make a big difference when playing
in the physical WCHA.
"When you look at a senior in high school, he's playing against 15-, 16-,
and 17-year-old kids," Sertich said. "If he plays in college six months
later, he's immediately going up against 23- and 24-year-olds. That's a big
swing emotionally and physically."
But the high level of the Gophers' talent has made the team more capable of
winning with younger players than its rivals. Sertich said of Minnesota
defenseman Mike Crowley: "Crowley will be Crowley whether he's playing
college, juniors or high school."
The Gophers' youth has been compounded over the years by the early departure
of several of their top players. Darby Hendrickson, Trent Klatt, Craig
Johnson and Doug Zmolek, who have all played in the NHL this year, each left
the Gophers in the past four years without completing his senior year.
Probably one of the biggest reasons the Gophers are having their best season
in team history is their uncommon age and experience. Minnesota has 10
seniors on its roster this season.
And they didn't lose any players early from last year's team. The only
former Gopher who could still be on the team is Hendrickson, who played for
the 1994 U.S. Olympic team. He still had two years of eligibility remaining
when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But even without Hendrickson, the Gophers currently have their most
experienced team in decades, possibly ever. In fact, University Media
Relations checked every media guide it had -- back to the 1969-70 season --
without finding another Minnesota team with 10 seniors. Only one team had
nine seniors in that stretch.
The Gophers may have more experience than usual, but they're still the
second youngest team in the WCHA. As of Feb. 1, the average age of a Gophers
player was 21 years, four months. Colorado College has the league's oldest
team with an average age of 22 years, two months.
With three seniors, Minnesota's NCAA runner-up team in 1989 proved teams
don't need a veteran roster to play for championships. But riding a 19-game
unbeaten streak, this year's team is showing experience doesn't hurt.
All things considered, is it time for Woog to go outside state lines to
recruit future Gophers?
"Why would you want to go elsewhere?" Gwozdecky said. "In my mind it would
be a big mistake for them -- especially with the dwindling talent pool in
Canada. They've got a lock on the best players available in North America.
"It would probably hurt them in the long run. If they started bringing in a
kid or two from Wisconsin or Ontario, it could hurt what they have going
now. It would be very difficult to explain and rationalize doing that."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
=A9The Minnesota Daily
Pam Sweeney
Go Gophers!
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