By Jason Mastrodonato, News Staff
Northeastern freshman standout Brodie Reid has left the university and signed a professional contract with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. And according to Huskies head coach Greg Cronin, that was a big mistake.
“I told him right to his face he can’t play in the NHL and he can’t play in the top two lines of the American [Hockey] League,” Cronin said.
Reid has been skating with the Sharks the past few days after leaving Northeastern last Friday. He immediately left his classes after signing.
The highest scoring freshman since Jason Guerriero’s 35-point campaign in 2001-02, Reid notched 28 points for the Huskies this season, scoring 17 of those on the power play.
Reid said he thought there wasn’t much left for him to gain from playing college hockey.
“I wasn’t a young freshman,” said Reid, a 21-year-old from British Columbia. “I wanted to play pro hockey and obviously I learned a lot this year and it was a great experience, but when an opportunity like this comes along you can’t say no to it.”
Cronin, who was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders in 1998 for five years before being named the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers for two seasons, wasn’t sold by the San Jose scouts’ assessments of Reid.
“I think it’s a bunch of garbage,” Cronin said. “He had about nine points even strength in 37 games and he was invisible the first half of the year. The only visibility he had was on the power play. I told him he should try and find somebody he can trust and the coaching staff [at Northeastern], he can use us as barometers of where he fits. I talked to San Jose [director of scouting] Tim Burke and I told him I thought his assessment of Brodie was inaccurate.”
After a somewhat dormant first half of the season, Reid seemed to explode in the second half, becoming a dominant force on the team’s power play.
Boston University coach Jack Parker said Reid didn’t make much of an impact the first time the two Hockey East rivals faced off this season, but following the Beanpot he started to stand out.
“I didn’t really notice him the first time we played, but I noticed him in the Beanpot and I noticed him in other games I saw him on tape,” Parker said. “I was really impressed with Brodie Reid. He can really shoot the puck – he’s a terrific freshman forward for them.”
Reid said he had interest from a few NHL teams, and San Jose made the best offer, reportedly a maximum offer for non-drafted college signees.
“They came up with an offer within two days,” Reid said on Wednesday, as he was heading to a skating session with the Sharks. “It was kind of shocking but it had to have been a good offer for me to leave and it was the best offer I could have got.”
Cronin said Reid was told by the Sharks’ management that he would be used on the power play as a top-six forward with the AHL-affiliate Worcester Sharks.
“I said, ‘Brodie, get in line with other guys they tell that,’” he said.
Reid said the organization told him it would depend on the way he played, mostly during summer camps.
Either way, Cronin was incredibly surprised to hear his freshman forward would depart early.
“My whole problem with this is the agents in the NHL and general managers, they basically collaborate to find college players at a low cost compared to what they’re paying the NHL players and they sign them up,” Cronin said. “They don’t care about college. If the kid has got three years and he’s close to graduating, he can go and play pro and go back to his degree, then go do it. But to pull a kid like Jake Newton last year, I mean Jake was different because he had no interest in going to school. But Brodie is a good student and a good kid. I was shocked by it.”
Northeastern Athletic Director Peter Roby responded on Twitter following news of Reid’s exit, tweeting: “Disappointed to learn of Brodie Reid’s departure. NHL rules not very friendly toward college hockey or players getting degrees.”
With the departure of Reid, the Huskies lost the top-four scorers off last year’s squad, including seniors Tyler McNeely, Wade MacLeod and Steve Silva. The four players scored 57 of the team’s 108 goals.
“You’re not going to replace Brodie Reid now,” Cronin said. “You don’t get those players, that talent, this late in the game. We’ve got some underachievement with Justin Daniels and Garrett Vermeersch and Steve Quailer. And Robbie Vroylk was hurt most of the year but he’ll be back healthy. A lot of guys didn’t do a lot that should have and they’re going to have to step up. I think we had a recruiting class that was one of the best in the country, not just in Hockey East. We should have some help there. And as you know our defense should be really, really good. As good a defense as Northeastern has seen probably since the ‘80s.”
As for Reid, his teammates and family members were thrilled he was able to accomplish his dream of playing professionally. He said he’s loved every minute of skating with the Sharks.
“It’s great,” he said. “Unbelievable, actually.”
