It doesn't look like the Broncos will see their 1st round pick from the 2009 bantam draft in the near future.F Evan Richardson, who the Broncos selected 15th overall in the 2009 bantam draft has decided he'll play with the BCHL's Victoria Grizzlies.
Richardson won the B.C. major midget league's top scorer this season with the North Island Silvertips.
He has left the door open to join the Broncos in the future.
The complete story from the Victoria Times Colonist can be found here
15 comments:
Ouch. That really hurts.
I hope to talk to Evan in the coming days.
So I was partially right in saying it was Evan Richardson related, I just had him reporting when it appears he is not...for now. In regards to "At least for now", does that imply possibly next year, later this year or something else? This together with the possibility of Eakin making the jump to Pro...interesting.
Too bad. The WHL has become the NHL on so many levels. Big league players don't want to play for small market teams. If this kid's rights were owned by Calgary or Vancouver, I'll bet he'd sign. That's why there will never be parody in this league, players like this don't want to play for the Swift Currents or the Moose Jaws or the Prince Alberts, they want to be in the big city. Small markets will be competetive but never contenders. No different than Heatley saying no to Edmonton in the NHL.
Tyler,
No, this wasn't what I was referring to earlier.
I'm curious what the news potentially could be then...Ortio coming to Swift this year was another thought.
You can read the article and take from it what you want.
You never should rule out options as a player. I'm sure that's what Evan is doing.
For now, he's a Grizzly and will be until further notice.
Dogger,
Each team has their no-shows from time to time. No team is immune.
Kelowna didn't get Luke Moffatt - 2nd overall pick two years ago.
Tri-City didn't get Jonathan Toews - 1st overall pick in 2003
Vancouver didn't get Daniel Bertram - 2nd overall in 2002
These are just a few examples.
I know what you're saying though.
with all due respect to the WHL, 367 players in the 2008-2009 season were from NCAA. If he goes NCAA It's not like he's choosing broomball as a path to the NHL.
CDSC
Dogger: I think the word you were searching for is parity (not parody-which is something entirely different). As for players not wanting to play in the small towns: Your management has to begin promoting the benefits of playing in a small town; contrary to what you may think there are many good things about playing in places like Swift. For starters: kids have to be more accountable for their behavior because they can't hide (everyone knows who they are). For parents who care about their child's integrity, this is very important. As well, I've heard of players in large cities driving 20, 30 or more minutes one way just to get to the rink. Players rarely get together because they all live so far away from each other. Not so in places like Swift, where kids are 5 minutes away from school or the rink or their buddy's house. Those 20+ minutes on the road represent a lot of extra time and gas for the vehicles. As well, some places (Portland, for example) don't have one central rink where they practice and play so players end up carting their gear around from rink to rink. As well, Swift's travel schedule is not anywhere close to the worst in the league. As I said, recognize the benefits and promote them to prospective players!
I did mean parity. You don't need to tell me about the benefits of small town life and it's advantages, you're preaching to the choir here. Ultimately it's up to the kid and his family. Trying to get a kid from the Vancouver/Victoria area to come to Swift has challenges. Big markets can recruit because they're viewed by up and coming players to be a more desirable place to live and play. Not too many 16 year olds are thinking about the benefits of small town life when they are looking at their hockey future. I've seen it happen time and time again in the dub...markets like Calgary and Vancouver are able to recruit these guys time and time again. A prime example...Kevin Cannaughton in Vancouver last year. He was NOT coming to the dub to play in Swift or Moose Jaw. It's a big problem for the WHL...the disparity between markets, and I don't know how you address it. I stand by my comments. As far as yours' about the benefits of living and playing in Swift, I couldn't agree more, just not too sure some hockey players choose to see or look at them.
Ok so we agree about the benefits of playing in places like Swift. I rarely hear of these benefits touted to parents of prospective players (I have some experience here). What I heard was that the players in small towns are treated like celebrities (so to speak). But I don't find that to be a good thing always. Particularly for a player still in school, I'd rather hear that my kid won't be exposed to long drives when he is tired from getting back late from a road game. I'd rather know that my kid doesn't have to pack equipment around to different rinks. I'd rather know that the players live close to each other so they can get together without much effort. Maybe I wasn't listening, but I don't recall anyone articulating these intangibles...and I think it would be beneficial to do so.
While there are many benefits to playing in a small town, there are significantly greater benefits to a hockey career playing in a big city.
Red Deer just dropped huge dollars into a brand new dressing room. SC did as well, yes, but I don't believe this is a comparable scale.
Bigger city teams have their own team buses, not rentals, some of which include full cable and wireless internet.
Bigger city teams, especially Calgary, have access to more than a dozen camera angles for video review for all of their home games. Teams like Swift have to base their home game video reviews off of a single, stationary camera.
You also have to factor in scouting. While scouts do travel to Swift Current for games, it is much easier to watch Swift/Calgary, Swift/Regina, etc. in the home city of the bigger centre because of travel. A star player will attract scouts from any which direction, but a 'hidden' gem has a better chance of being spotted in a bigger market.
I agree entirely on the benefits of small city life for junior hockey players. It is safe, they are local celebrities, and they may be able to bond as a team more b/c of proximity. For a career, however, playing in a bigger centre has huge advantages (in my opinion) that small market teams can't compete with and never will be able to compete with.
Do you agree?
I agree there is disparity between teams in the 'dub that affect the success of recruiting efforts. Dogger stated "If this kid's rights were owned by Calgary or Vancouver, I'll bet he'd sign." That may be true, but do you fold up the tent and go home because you're not Calgary or Vancouver? Or do you play the cards you have been dealt as skillfully as possible? Calgary or Vancouver are not your competitors for this player, the Victoria Grizz of the BCHL is.
Why did Richardson choose the Grizz over other Costal Conference teams? That decision might give some indication of the parent's and player's mindset that can be exploited (for lack of a better word at this time) for Swift's benefit.
What does Swift offer that the Grizz might be lacking? With the your GM and the Ass't GM recent ties to the NHL, perhaps those ties are used to garner NHL attention for players? (I have no idea if this is common practice). You also have at least a couple of players that should garner heavy attention from scouts this year; perhaps this is a really good year to be playing in Swift if you want to be noticed by scouts.
Different people will attach different value to things like driving distances, buses, dressing rooms, support staff, video review, team bonding, scouting possibilites, etc., depending on their core values and what they expect to achieve at this level. However, I guarantee that many will have underestimated, in hindsight, the benefits that places like Swift offer, if they have even thought of them at all. It's up to management to make sure the benefits you do have to offer are given the recognition they deserve.
dogger is totally on point here. cdsc is not the spokesman for the ncaa.
rise against CDSC
Post a Comment