Here are the Spirit picks who are confirmed to play for Team USA (U-17 or U-18) next season, according to a very recent press release:

2002 Picks playing on U-18 Team:

Kevin Porter (will be going to Michigan)
Todd McIlrath (Notre Dame)
Jason DeSantis
Brandon Burns

All four who were with U-17 will be moving up to U-18 (Porter had been playing a few games with U-18 already last season). We knew that Porter and McIlrath were pretty much NCAA locks, however, this pretty much shuts the door on guys like DeSantis and Burns who still had the option of choosing Saginaw this season.

2003 Picks playing on U-17 Team:

Phil Kessel

This one was pretty much a no-brainer. Very likely that he will never see the OHL anyway, but this means we won't be using our wild card on him for this season (we were going to use it on Crowder anyway). Still has the option to choose the OHL next year, but I think this pick was pretty much a flyer if anything. A good pick to use in the 4th round.

Overall I think Costa learned from his experience with the 2002 Draft. US kids and parents (who are more used to the idea of NCAA college hockey) need to be more familiar with the OHL before they give it a legitimate chance down the road. Hopefully more OHL teams in US cities (especially Plymouth and Saginaw for the Michigan kids), TV exposure, and promotion will make it a more accepted part of young hockey players' aspirations. It will take time, perhaps a decade or more.



KING OF THE DANCING FREAKS

Enjou reading your posts Disco. I agree that the OHL has to get more exposure out to the American hockey players but it's going to take a lot more than exposure to change the kids/parents mind. It's going to take kids like Taylor Raszka who turned down the invitation to play for the USA team and his college eligibility to play in the OHL. It's going to take a burning desire to want to compete in the OHL and forgo everything else to do that. For the canadian kids the OHL is a no-brainer, nothing to lose, get to play great hockey and if it doesn't work out you can still attend college in Canada and play college hockey. When you see an American kid playing you have to know that he's given up his safety net to compete at this level of hockey. So we can expose the OHL to the American kids but if they don't have that burning desire to play in the O I don't think the exposure will do much to convince them.

Last year's draft is starting to look kinda poor with these US guys not reporting. To get a sense of the difference between the goals of American and Canadian kids, visit the Thunder Bay Kings website and you will find that each kid in his draft year is quoted as saying that their goal is to play professional hockey or in the OHL. Then visit a US based midget team such as the Chicago Chill or perhaps one of the Detroit based team and you will find the kid's goals (when indicated) as playing college hockey. So what good is it to draft a talented player if he has no intention of reporting?

Disco, what press release are you referring to? I don't think Porter is a lock for anything yet. In my last conversation with Costa, he was pretty positive about the Porter situation. From what I hear, he doesn't want to go to college (for the education that is). And don't rule out Kessel either. There are some ties to Saginaw OTHER than having relatives here. I doubt that we will see him this year, but next year may be a whole different story.

Hereandthere234, you made some great points but I still think that exposure will help to lure these kids to the O. Why would a kid want to play college hockey other than it's all he's heard of growing up? Not as much ice time as in the O, Gotta wear those stupid full face shields, fighting is a no-no, got to wait until your 18, not as many NHL’ers drafted from college. What's the up side? TV exposure? Education? Most of these guys don't give a rat’s butt about an education, at least not right away. So that leaves TV exposure. Add more OHL games to FOX sports and you've countered that. Sure, I agree there will be the few that really do care about an education, or want to go to Michigan cause that's where daddy went, but now that our local boys have a choice and can see the difference I think a lot more interviews will end with "I want to play for the Spirit and then go to the NHL".

Here's the link.......

http://www.usahockey.com/usa_hockey/ntdp/home_ntdp/

i dont know about everyone else but ive always maintained major junior hockey is 10 times better for a kid making a serious effort at making hockey his career than college hockey. college needs 3 things
1. no more full cages
2. play with a red line
3. with the no cages you allow fighting


and i know im not the first to think of this

Sparky, you sound like you know more that you can, or are willing, to tell us. Rumors are great for the board however. How's this one. I noticed when looking at the Spirit page that Phil Kessel is wearing one of those cool red Spirit golf shirts like all of the prospects were wearing at the mini camp even though he didn't play. Most of the other "not likely to report" draft picks are in street clothes or uniforms from their current teams. Does the fact that Phil has on of those cool golf shirts mean anything? You decide.

Maybe Kessel just has good taste in Golf Shirts!

The choice to play college hockey or major junior is a big decision no matter what country players are from. Historically major junior is the quickest route for very talented players. It best prepares players for the grind of a pro hockey season not anly in number of games but also in style of play. I agree with some of the downfalls of college hockey that were mentioned. Others to consider are the smaller number of games played and the fact that historically at many schools freshman do not see an abundance of quality ice time. I am sure there are others as well.
As for the education debate it is my opinion that there are just as many players who are serious about their education in major junior as there are in college hockey. OHL teams provide extensive educational pakages for their players. I am not saying that all take full advantage of this but it is there for the motivated ones. On the other side many college players in major programs do not care about thier education or are not permitted to take certain classes because they are deemed too dificult or do not fit into the plans of the hockey team. However, forefitting the chance for a full ride for the chance to play in the OHL is a major decision for players on both sides of the border not just Americans. The benifits of the education they will recieve, mixed with the exposure, and the similarities to the pro game must be promoted to all players. With all of that said the major junior game is not for everyone and some will excelerate at the US college level or even the Canadian university level. Sorry that was kind of a response to the multiple posts on the subject all wrapped together.

Fox, your right I do know something that I can't share at this time. Whether or not it's accurate or even pertains to Phil’s future plans is yet to be seen. What I can say though, is I have been on the inside of this team even before Garber bought it and what I can tell you is things change day to day and minute to minute with this group of people so it is hard to speculate on anything! I'm not saying that's bad, in fact it could be good, no one knows what your next move is. So will Phil show up at training camp? I doubt it, though I have heard things that could give the idea he would be there. Next year? Most likely. Speculate all you want, that's the fun part about being a part of this board..