By Jared Shafran, News Staff
Freshman forward Brodie Reid’s departure from Huntington Avenue is the latest men’s hockey player leaving the team early to start a professional career.
Reid reportedly received a “maximum contract” for a player of his age from the San Jose Sharks, a team that also has the rights to three other Huskies: sophomore forwards Justin and Drew Daniels and freshman Cody Ferriero.
Reid will most likely have to spend a few years in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Worcester Sharks, growing and developing his game, before he even gets a shot to play a game in the NHL.
While Reid’s absence will surely hurt the Huskies offensively next year, just like the losses of defenseman Jake Newton and goaltender Brad Thiessen did after the last two seasons, head coach Greg Cronin and his staff are planning on bringing in more-than-capable recruits to fill the hole Reid left.
The departure shows us a few things: One is that Cronin is now bringing in a different caliber of recruits to Northeastern. Old forwards like Ryan Ginand and Kyle Kraemer were players who needed more time to develop, and had to wait a few years before garnering interest from professional teams.
But now players like Newton, Reid and freshman defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, who is expected to be a first round pick in this summer’s NHL draft, have scouts salivating and are proving that NU is able to recruit the best players from all over North America.
Players leaving school early isn’t just happening here, but across the country. Last season, 18 players left early for the pro ranks.
The reality is that most of the time, college teams are not able to keep their best players for four full seasons. Coaches have come to expect players to jump from school to the NHL after having an exceptional season, like forward Stephane DaCosta of Merrimack, who left after spending just two years in a Warriors sweater.
Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy said he was just happy to get DaCosta back for a second season. The Paris native signed with the Ottawa Senators soon after his team bowed out in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
But if you look at the track record of players who have left early, it is hardly all positive. Yes, some are enjoying successful careers, but the majority of these college standouts have struggled to do what they did in college at the professional level.
Newton left the Huskies in 2010 after a solid freshman campaign in favor of a “max” contract with the Anaheim Ducks. This year he didn’t even sniff the NHL, playing 48 games with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, recording nine points and +/- of -18.
NHL teams, who will normally give out million-dollar contracts to their veteran players, are not monetarily affected when they give out a “max” contract for a player leaving college early. If the move doesn’t pan out and the player never makes it, the amount of money spent on him is not enough to affect an NHL team’s bottom line.
Other players who played out their full four years have seen more success at the next level. UNH’s Bobby Butler found himself a spot in the Ottawa Senators lineup this year after finishing college last season. This year, in his first professional season, he played 36 games in the NHL, registering 10 goals and 11 assists.
College coaches and fans are hoping that when the NHL revisits its collective bargaining agreement at the end of next season, it will take another look at the rules and see why some top prospects are jumping to the next level before they are ready, otherwise there is nothing else preventing this trend of players who leave the Huskies prematurely from continuing.
