Puck Swami
New member
Re: Michigan Hockey 2010 - Delivery or Take Out?
Michigan has a huge crossover in its primary recruiting pool (Michigan and Ontario) with the OHL, which has become much more aggressive in recent years in recruiting these same players. The OHL has revamped its schedule to reduce travel, improved facilities and also moved into aggressively promoting it's educational packages to keep Ontarians at home, and entice players from Michigan to try the OHL. Addtionally, the NHL's CBA sees young players as cheap labor and are signing them earlier and earlier, and to get signed early and for the most possible money, players want big stats, which are much easier to get in junior hockey, playing against players your own age (16-20) vs 18-24 in the NCAA. The OHL is also reportedly paying some players families up to six-figure signing bonuses. NHL teams like the OHL, which has more games and NHL-firendly faces doing the coaching. Red Berenson, while respected, is also reviled in some NHL organizations because he's called them out in the past for signing players too early. Add it all up, and Michigan has to work that much harder to sign and retain playes from its own historical talent pool.
Michigan has a huge crossover in its primary recruiting pool (Michigan and Ontario) with the OHL, which has become much more aggressive in recent years in recruiting these same players. The OHL has revamped its schedule to reduce travel, improved facilities and also moved into aggressively promoting it's educational packages to keep Ontarians at home, and entice players from Michigan to try the OHL. Addtionally, the NHL's CBA sees young players as cheap labor and are signing them earlier and earlier, and to get signed early and for the most possible money, players want big stats, which are much easier to get in junior hockey, playing against players your own age (16-20) vs 18-24 in the NCAA. The OHL is also reportedly paying some players families up to six-figure signing bonuses. NHL teams like the OHL, which has more games and NHL-firendly faces doing the coaching. Red Berenson, while respected, is also reviled in some NHL organizations because he's called them out in the past for signing players too early. Add it all up, and Michigan has to work that much harder to sign and retain playes from its own historical talent pool.