Erik writes:
>Jon Greene writes:
>>I've been curious about this.....what was the rationale behind granting
>>Katlaps' eligibility?  It seems that on both age and professional status
>>(if Major A is professional...which it is...it seems that the Soviet
>>Elite teams must also be pros) he should be ineligible.  How many years
>>of eligibility does he have?
>
>I believe he has only one year of eligibility; I'm sure some of the Badger
>fans will correct me if necessary.
 
Are we going to hear "Ulvis has left the building" now in Madison?
 
On eligibility, I don't know the specifics here, but hasn't he been at UW
for a year already?  That would make him 24, maybe only 23 when he entered
UW.  Age itself is not a factor in determining eligiblity, rather, number
of seasons of organized hockey played following age 20 is.  I can see how
he might have played three seasons before UW (thus still having a year).
 
On professional status, the Soviet Elite teams were never determined to be
pros.  The IIHF rules change allowing pros in the Olympics was a compromise
between the Eastern bloc and the Canadians/Americans, but the IIHF never
stated that the former Communist country athletes were actually pros.  This
was probably a difficult question for the NC$$, but last I'd heard, they
likewise had not considered these athletes pro.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*