We'll be hearing from the NHL very soon on this, so I thought you folks
would find this article by Larry Mahoney of the Bangor Daily News (a
week or three ago) interesting.  If you can extrapolate past the "Maine
slant" of this article, I think you'll see a problem brewing for many
hockey schools and many recruits.  The remainder of this posting is a
direct quote from the article "Walsh wants quick Dream Team decision".
 
cheers,
wayne
 
For University of Maine Coach Shawn Walsh and assistants Grant
Standbrook and Red Gendron, the National Hockey League's decision on
whether to put Dream Teams on the ice for the 1994 Olympics can't come
quickly enough.
 
The NHL is supposed to make a decision on the proposal some time next
month.
 
If the proposal to use NHL players in the Olympics is shot down, then
the Bears could lose from three to six players to the U.S.  and Canadian
Olympic teams.
 
So the recruiting process has been hampered.
 
"I am concerned.  It's tough, planning-wise," said Walsh.  "You've got
to prepare for both situations.  We could have anywhere from three to
nine scholarships available, depending upon what happens.  And the NCAA
has cut back from 20 to 18 scholarships next season.  So there's a
double effect."
 
"The fortunate thing about next year's class is that there aren't any
guys who are head and shoulders above anybody else," added Walsh.
"There are some real good candidates, but there aren't any can't-miss
ones like last year.  And the real good ones will wait for the good
schools."
 
"The Dream Team thing is making our recruiting very tentative," said
Standbrook.  "It is preventing us from fully committing to top players
because we don't know how many spots will be available.  It means a lot
of players who are interested in us will not be available.  They won't
want to wait."
 
"It places all the schools in the same situation, so you have to do your
homework," added Standbrook.  "You have to have a backup list."
 
Walsh and Standbrook pointed out that some schools put time constraints
on their recruits, asking them to make a decision within an allotted
amount of time.
 
"When one school puts a time constraint on a recruit and you aren't in a
position to make a final decision, you're likely to lose that player,"
said Standbrook.  "A scholarship in hand is worth more than a promise."
 
"Recruiting deadlines should be illegal," stated Walsh.  "It isn't fair
to the kids."
 
Walsh said a lot of colleges are panicking and signing players early,
but he isn't an advocate of that philosophy "because you run out of
money and, sometimes, you make a mistake on a player."
 
"I'd rather make sure we're correct," added Walsh.
 
Maine has signed two players so far in defenseman Jason Mansoff and
forward Danny Bousquet.