http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Okposo

I hear this guy, who signed with the Islanders, is leaving Minnesota and going to play for the Isles this year in the middle of the season. I guess there was an unwritten rule about not leaving college for the pros until the season is over.

Your thoughts?

I'm assuming the Islanders made him a contract offer he couldn't refuse. But couldn't they make that offer before the season? It's too bad for the school. I wonder if the NCAA will do something to prevent this in the future? If the rules for hockey players were similar to those for those entering the NBA and NFL drafts they'd no longer be able to return to college.

Yeah, you have a point - it most likely came down to money. It doesn't make sense for him to leave if he hasn't been guaranteed playing time immediately in the pros or if the money was good enough to outweigh staying.

If someone came along when you were in school and offered you a job for a life-altering salary, I can't imagine you wouldn't take it. I mean suppose there was a student who was about to star in a college production and a Broadway producer comes along and offers him the lead in a play. Is he supposed to say no? That would just be foolish.

I'm drudging up a long dead thread but I have to say something here.

Its not like the kid wasn't going to be signed later anyway. He was a high draft pick who had a future in the NHL and everyone knew it.

I agree that he saw money and a chance to play in the NHL immediately so he jumped ship. But frankly, that tells me all I need to know about the kids character. Its not like he wasn't eventually going to play in the NHL whithin a year or two anyway. He was just happy to dump his commitment to his team in favor of money and fame.

Secondly Snow put the kid in a horrrible position. He (Snow) was unhappy with Don Lucia's coaching even though he is one of the best in the NCAA (for full disclosure he was one of my coaches). Snow has been unhappy with a lot of things in the Islanders organization and, frankly, his moves have really only made this team worse, not better. They have now effectively wasted two years towards this kid's RFA. Based on his record, I'm not sure how loyal this kid will be to the organization since he abandoned U of MN when it suited him.