Mike writes:
>Lt Matthew W Jonson writes:
>><Mike Machnik writes>
>>>       Once that team was gone and the players were replaced
>>>     by players recruited with the standards in place, they went gradually
>>>     downhill until last year's rebound.
>>>
>>It seems to me that the number of players who left for the PROS without
>>finishing their elgibility had a greater effect on the team's performance
>>in '86 than recruiting standards.
>
>    Well, I didn't mention anything about how players left - it is true
>    that seven players turned pro after winning the NCAA championship, but
>    four of them would have graduated anyway.  Only Oates, Servinis, and
>    Puppa left early to play pro hockey.  Nienhuis, Hammond, Friday,
>    and Langevin were all seniors.
 
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the undergrads probably left
because the NHL was about to start the supplemental draft.  Oates, Servinis
and Puppa were probably not drafted when eligible, and thus were late-blooming
free agents.  If they stayed in college, they would have lost their free agent
status, along with the ability to negotiate plush contracts by having teams
bid against each other.  The negotiating position is much stronger when teams
are concerned about which NHL team signs the player, rather than whether the
team signs their draft choice this year instead of next year.
 
I know that this is the reason Doug Dadswell left Cornell. I think I have
the year right.
 
By the way, does anybody know what happened to Dadswell?  He disappeared from
the Calgary organization and reappeared as one of the goalies in the one of
the international tournaments this past break.  Is he playing for the Canadian
National Team?
 
- Neil Shapiro