Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

[Priceless]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Because he's 13

No, it's disgusting regardless of school.

I understand the concern, but if the NCAA is going to consider leagues that can sign kids as young as 16 "professional" and eliminate any college eligibility, then college hockey is going to have to go after them younger.

Rather than rewrite what I've already written on this, here is some of what I said on Facebook:

I would add that with this move, Oliver increases the odds that he will have a somewhat normal childhood and teen years. He will not be inundated with email, letters, texts etc from college coaches and will not have to go through the whole recruiting process. In that regard, his high school years will be better than a lot of kids his age because he already knows where he wants to go to college and what he wants to do there. For most college-bound kids, that adds a lot of stress to already stressful years. Yes, he has made himself a bit of a celebrity by announcing now, but A) he already was a minor celebrity thanks to those trick goals and B) this notoriety will be fleeting.

 

[walrus]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

didn't realize BC even had a commitment from a 13 year old. wait...they don't.

anyway, this isn't just a Maine thing. it has gotten out of control everywhere. these commitments so early on mean absolutely nothing to begin with. other schools/major junior won't back off. there is plenty of time for this kid to change his mind. happens all the time.

Didn't BC have a or some 15 yr olds commit awhile back? Maybe it was another school but I seem to remember Chris!!! being all excited about it

 

[Drew S.]

Didn't BC have a or some 15 yr olds commit awhile back? Maybe it was another school but I seem to remember Chris!!! being all excited about it

I think Hanifin and Fitzgerald were only 13 or 14 when they committed a few years ago.

 

[northeastern]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Didn't BC have a or some 15 yr olds commit awhile back? Maybe it was another school but I seem to remember Chris!!! being all excited about it

Cam Askew was 15 when he committed to NU.. then decommitted & committed elsewhere.. then decommitted & now think is playing in the Q..

 

[ck1969]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

I understand the concern, but if the NCAA is going to consider leagues that can sign kids as young as 16 "professional" and eliminate any college eligibility, then college hockey is going to have to go after them younger.

Rather than rewrite what I've already written on this, here is some of what I said on Facebook:

Dude you are sooo far off. He's 13. he doesn't really know where he wants to go to college......If he wants to go to college.... what he wants to do in 5 years. He's barely hit puberty. Clearly you aren't a parent and don't remember what you were thinking about at 13. Let the kid be a kid. I'll bet you a million dollars right now he won't be at Maine in 5 or 6 years from now. This is the parents doing not a 13 year old. It shouldn't happen and it pizzes me off.....If you couldn't tell!

 

[CollegeHockeyRinkReport]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

First off - to stop all the insanity here.

For all any of us know, Maine doesn't even want him. Anyone can say that they've committed to anywhere. Princeless and CK both have points. It's absurd, but hopefully by colleges engaging earlier, major junior is less of a factor.

 

[ck1969]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

First off - to stop all the insanity here.

For all any of us know, Maine doesn't even want him. Anyone can say that they've committed to anywhere. Princeless and CK both have points. It's absurd, but hopefully by colleges engaging earlier, major junior is less of a factor.

I think this is looking more like a publicity stunt by the parents to get his name out there on a national level. I bet his parents screamed at little league umps too.

 

[northeastern]

Hell, and they're even more reliable than the 50 year old hockey coaches, who barely know what they are offering you for scholarship money, because they can't actually be held to it. The kid has a bad year at 16 and they cut what they promised him, tell him they need him to spend 4 years in Fargo, or lots of other steps.

The incidents to 13 year olds backing out are outdone by the incidents of 50 year olds backing out.

Make the coaches sign a binding contract, and they'll hold off making promises to 13 year olds.

no kidding.. verbals .. take em out of the equation. It's all about LOIs.

 

[all bear]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

"I would add that with this move, Oliver increases the odds that he will have a somewhat normal childhood and teen years. He will not be inundated with email, letters, texts etc from college coaches and will not have to go through the whole recruiting process. In that regard, his high school years will be better than a lot of kids his age because he already knows where he wants to go to college and what he wants to do there. For most college-bound kids, that adds a lot of stress to already stressful years. Yes, he has made himself a bit of a celebrity by announcing now, but A) he already was a minor celebrity thanks to those trick goals and B) this notoriety will be fleeting. "

Bingo. This is the most important thing. He might actually have an enjoyable high school experience with minor distractions. Imagine how easy it will be for him to say "sorry, I've already committed to Maine, where I always wanted to go and where my Dad went to school. But thanks anyway for the thought."

Everything else is all window dressing and irrelevant imo.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Dude you are sooo far off. He's 13. he doesn't really know where he wants to go to college......If he wants to go to college.... what he wants to do in 5 years. He's barely hit puberty. Clearly you aren't a parent and don't remember what you were thinking about at 13. Let the kid be a kid. I'll bet you a million dollars right now he won't be at Maine in 5 or 6 years from now. This is the parents doing not a 13 year old. It shouldn't happen and it pizzes me off.....If you couldn't tell!

I think he does know. Kid I grew up with had his heart set on Bowdoin College from the time he could walk. Kids at NYA are VERY driven to excel and many choose colleges early. It wouldn't surprise me if some of his classmates already have a good idea where they want to go. I would estimate over half my class eventually enrolled in the same college we envisioned as sophomores. But yeah, he might change his mind, get burned out on hockey, grow freakishly tall and switch to basketball or follow scholastic dreams that take him elsewhere. You can't be 100% sure.

I would agree that 13 is too young, but as I said, if the NCAA is going to consider major juniors as "professional" then college coaches are going to have to start younger.

According to NYA coach Eric Graham, other schools had already talked to him - it wasn't just Maine. As long as the recruitment rules remain, I think we're going to see more 13- and 14- year old kids making these commitments.

 

[ck1969]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

I think he does know. Kid I grew up with had his heart set on Bowdoin College from the time he could walk. Kids at NYA are VERY driven to excel and many choose colleges early. It wouldn't surprise me if some of his classmates already have a good idea where they want to go. I would estimate over half my class eventually enrolled in the same college we envisioned as sophomores. But yeah, he might change his mind, get burned out on hockey, grow freakishly tall and switch to basketball or follow scholastic dreams that take him elsewhere. You can't be 100% sure.

I would agree that 13 is too young, but as I said, if the NCAA is going to consider major juniors as "professional" then college coaches are going to have to start younger.

According to NYA coach Eric Graham, other schools had already talked to him - it wasn't just Maine. As long as the recruitment rules remain, I think we're going to see more 13- and 14- year old kids making these commitments.

I get that. But a key thing you said is you and many of your classmates had made up your minds by sophomore year. Not in 7th grade! Anyway, I'm done ranting on it. This will fade away soon enough. Still bet you the million tho.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

I get that. But a key thing you said is you and many of your classmates had made up your minds by sophomore year. Not in 7th grade! Anyway, I'm done ranting on it. This will fade away soon enough. Still bet you the million tho.

Heh. I wasn't at NYA in 7th grade. For me, college seemed like something that would never get here. Once I went to NYA it was like, oh, college...right around the corner...

I expect the flurry of activity surrounding this will die off after a few days and he will sink back into relative anonymity.

 

[claver2010]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

I would add that with this move, Oliver increases the odds that he will have a somewhat normal childhood and teen years. He will not be inundated with email, letters, texts etc from college coaches and will not have to go through the whole recruiting process. In that regard, his high school years will be better than a lot of kids his age because he already knows where he wants to go to college and what he wants to do there. For most college-bound kids, that adds a lot of stress to already stressful years. Yes, he has made himself a bit of a celebrity by announcing now, but A) he already was a minor celebrity thanks to those trick goals and B) this notoriety will be fleeting.

Because surely once a kid commits, everyone stops recruiting him.

I agree, a kid signing at 16 and losing eligibility is a huge issue. JD you'll remember what was the kid's name? Shea?

 

[Ma#1ne Hky]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Well its been a week since the Maine/Quinnipiac game...will O'Conner & Byron be on the Ice for tomorrow afternoons game vs BU @ Frozen Fenway..?

 

[AMC]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

The Wahlstroms went through the proper channels under the NCAA guidelines by contacting the coaches, arranging an unofficial visit and paying for it.

Eileen Flaherty, UMaine’s associate athletic director for compliance and its senior woman administrator, said NCAA guidelines allow potential student-athletes of any age and their parents to contact and talk to the coaches and visit the school at their own expense, which is what occurred.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/...s-youngest-recruit-13-year-old-from-yarmouth/

 

[walrus]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Dude you are sooo far off. He's 13. he doesn't really know where he wants to go to college......If he wants to go to college.... what he wants to do in 5 years. He's barely hit puberty. Clearly you aren't a parent and don't remember what you were thinking about at 13. Let the kid be a kid. I'll bet you a million dollars right now he won't be at Maine in 5 or 6 years from now. This is the parents doing not a 13 year old. It shouldn't happen and it pizzes me off.....If you couldn't tell!

Did you read about how much hockey the kid plays, this league,that league,some Swedish team, NYA, camps, the kid likes hockey, his dad has ties to UMaine, who the heck knows whether any of this will work out. Some kids figure out stuff early, mine wanted to be a pilot in 3rd grade, guess what, he's a pilot

 

[dover4345]

Did you read about how much hockey the kid plays, this league,that league,some Swedish team, NYA, camps, the kid likes hockey, his dad has ties to UMaine, who the heck knows whether any of this will work out. Some kids figure out stuff early, mine wanted to be a pilot in 3rd grade, guess what, he's a pilot

How anyone can defend this is beyond me... No other 13 year old has ever committed--so lets not toss around that other 13 year olds have. Red Gendron and his staff took advantage of a kid and will attempt to hold him accountable for a decision he made while starting puberty...

Kid will never go to Maine... He will go to Maine hockey games for the 6 years and guess what, it will lose its allure and he will end up at BC, BU or in the Q...

No other school talked to this kid...that's BS...knowing about him and offering him a scholarship are two different things...

Maine is so good now that they need or worry about recruiting for the next1-3 years that they can be watching 2000s and offering scholarships to them?

Disgusting is right....

 

[blackbearbandie]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

I think it's a much lower risk involved than the New York Islanders made by signing DiPietro to his mult-year contract that didn't work out.

No money was exchanged. Wahlstrom has obvious skills and fame. He wanted to go to Maine. His dad played at Maine. He's a 7th grader who plays on the top line of a varsity high school team. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Things happen. But if he stays on his trajectory I think he could at least be as good as Robert Ek, even without Ek's size. Yeah, I know Ek played defense, and it's like comparing apples and oranges, but Ek was of Swedish descent too, so that has to count for something, right?

 

[Priceless]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Let's address this point by point

How anyone can defend this is beyond me... No other 13 year old has ever committed--so lets not toss around that other 13 year olds have. Red Gendron and his staff took advantage of a kid and will attempt to hold him accountable for a decision he made while starting puberty...

This kid and his family made the visit themselves. No one "took advantage" of him. They may want him to honor the commitment, but hey, it's a verbal commitment so he can change his mind if he wants.

Kid will never go to Maine... He will go to Maine hockey games for the 6 years and guess what, it will lose its allure and he will end up at BC, BU or in the Q...

The kid won't be going to Maine games for the next six years. He will be in school, usually playing at the same time Maine plays. NYA has games every Saturday, many on the road. And it isn't like Orono is just down the street like Bowdoin or USM. Orono is 2+ hours away so it isn't likely he'll be going much.

No other school talked to this kid...that's BS...knowing about him and offering him a scholarship are two different things...

According to Eric Graham, his coach, he had talked with other schools.

Maine is so good now that they need or worry about recruiting for the next1-3 years that they can be watching 2000s and offering scholarships to them?

Is Maine not allowed to look beyond the next 1-3 years? Someone who is already on their radar walks into their office and declares he wants to play and Red is supposed to say "No thanks" and let some junior scout sign him to a contract - thus losing his college eligibility forever? Sure. I bet Jerry York and Dick Umile would have done the same thing Red did.

Disgusting is right....

You're entitled to your opinion.

 

[northeastern]

Re: Maine Recruit Updates: All Are Welcome.......

Passed by a colleague, frm a source at USHR I am told:

Wahlstrom: Too Young

Perhaps we’re too old, but all we have to say about the commitment of 2000-born North Yarmouth Academy forward Oliver Wahlstrom to the University of Maine is: he’s too young.

It was a bit of an eye-opener when Springfield Cathedral freshman goalie Keith Petruzzelli, a Feb. ’99 birthdate, committed to Quinnipiac recently, but Wahlstrom’s commitment blows that one out of the water. Wahlstrom, from Yarmouth, Maine, is 13 and a half, a 6/13/00 birthdate, a 7th grader -- and the youngest player to ever commit to an NCAA Div. I program. He is due in Orono in the fall of ’19.

We learned all of this when we woke up to find a press release from North Yarmouth Academy. That in itself is a first. We can’t recall ever getting a press release (see link below) from a prep school announcing a verbal commitment.

Wahlstrom has received a ton of attention across the YouTube-iverse for scoring lacrosse-style goals during Mini 1-on-1 shootouts between periods of Bruins games at the TD Garden – he’s done it twice, humiliating the poor kids between the pipes with the show-off move.

Wahlstrom’s father, Joakim, played for a year at Maine in the late ‘80s before going on to play pro in Sweden, and has reportedly been a driving force behind his son’s career.

In talking to people in the hockey world this morning -- college coaches, junior coaches, prep coaches, and agents -- there is an overwhelming feeling of discouragement over the Wahlstrom decision. College hockey is not college basketball or football. It’s a distant third, and the last thing the game needs is to give the appearance that young children are being offered college scholarships. Perhaps, the NCAA might take a few minutes away from worrying about Johnny Manziel, and decide that hockey has gone rogue on them.

If so, could this be a turning point? Will we finally scrap verbal commitments and get back to Letters of Intent?

We also think it’s bad for the kid. He’s a known hard worker, and will likely continue to develop, but, as the saying goes, there’s many a slip twixt cup and lip. Will the Maine staff still be together in the fall of ’19? What if Wahlstrom’s development slows? Will Maine lose interest? If Maine struggles, will Wahlstrom decommit and go to another school? Will the siren call of the Q be too much to resist? Will he fall out of love with hockey? We’ve seen all these scenarios come to pass, many times.

He's just too young.



again, FWIW...