Neil Goldberg and some others raise some interesting questions about
the effect that the new NHL draft rules will have on college players.
 
My opinion is that it will actually prove to be better for those
players and their teams.  There's nothing a player like Jeff Kealty
needs less while trying to make the adjustment to college and college
hockey than the pressure of being a heralded first round pick.  I
thought he was fortunate to play for a team in BU that was deep enough
at D and a coach in Parker who knew to let him develop at his own
pace.  He will be a good one, it may just take him a little longer
than some people.
 
The players who are good enough will still be drafted early on, and in
many cases they will be the immediate impact players in college.  A
big negative of the draft that I have seen is the millstone it hangs
around the neck of a player who might not have been quite that good
but will always carry the stigma of being drafted.  Sometimes it
results in higher expectations from the fans, sometimes in higher
expectations and pressure of the player on himself.  Often it hurts
the player much more than it helps.
 
And we all know that just being drafted isn't a harbinger of things to
come anyway.  The history books are full of players who were drafted,
even highly, and never went on to play even a game in the NHL.
 
Will it hurt players' bargaining positions?  I can't claim to be an
expert on the intricacies of the draft and negotiation, but I do
believe that the players who prove they deserve to be there will get
there.  Blaine Lacher was never drafted but he got a decent deal,
proved he belongs in the show, and will reap the rewards.  He won't be
the last.
 
I say, so what if fewer collegians are drafted...I doubt it will have
a significant effect if any upon the number of collegians who actually
play in the NHL, and it will probably prove to benefit the majority of
players who will have a little less pressure to deal with.
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                                            [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc.                                    *HMM* 11/13/93
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