The worst kept secret in Spirit-land has been that Chase Crowder, our 3rd rounder from the 2003 draft, will be our "wild card" pick for this season.
If anyone not familiar with the new rules regarding 16 year olds, they go like this: Teams can still have 16 year olds (or this year, "87s") on the roster if they are drafted in the first two rounds (Rizk, Raszka, and Borges this past season...McNeill, Pyatt, and Asselin this season).
In addition, teams can also have a "wild card" 16 year old from any of the remaining 13 rounds of the draft on the roster. I assume for most teams this will be the 3rd or 4th round pick.
I assume this was done to give teams the safety net of being able to save "risky" picks (top prospects considering NCAA) in the 3rd and 4th round and stick to primarily drafting "sure things" in the first two rounds. I like the new rule because of this reason.
Anyone who attended the Spirit rookie camp at the Bay County Civic Arena knows that there were some players who stood out more than others, and one of them was Chase Crowder from the Sun County Panthers, who has a very nice set of hands and a nose for finding rebounds around the crease area, something we really could have used last season (we did not take advantage of as many rebounds as other teams).
The spot seems like it belongs to Chase, and I don't think anyone would disagree. I talked to Chase at the rookie camp and he really, really wants to play in the OHL. And, I assume negotiations have been going on between the team and his parents that have been somewhat hush hush, as they all are, but especially in this case because it is technically a spot that could still be earned in camp by any of the other 14 young men who were drafted by Saginaw in rounds 3-15.
However, I have heard a rumor on the Midget AAA board that Chase's spot and educational package are all worked out and he is signed, sealed, and delivered, a little Stevie Wonder Motown lingo for you there. The team has probably not announced it (as they did with Asselin) because (1) details are still possibly being finalized, or (2) they perhaps do not want to discourage the other players in rounds 4-15 into thinking they don't have a chance to make the team this year (???).....
Combine this with Chase's scheduled appearance at the hockey school, and you pretty much have to believe that he is already locked in to play here next year.
Phil Kessel has signed to play with Team USA U-17, good for him. And, our three drafted goalies would be much better off finding a team at the Tier 2 or Junior B level to play for in preparation for the Mike Brown's backup contest in 2004-05. But the other 10 players have probably resolved themselves to finding a Junior A team to skate for this season. I could see though how one of these kids could be a tad disillusioned at not getting a solid chance at the wild card (though you can argue they did at rookie camp). I just hope Costa is handling the situation carefully. I trust him this far, he hasn't made a bad move (other than drafting too many non-OHL committed kids in 2002).
As for Chase, I am pretty happy he's going to be here this season. He has the skills to play in the OHL, the only question is his size. He is currently listed at 6-1, 170 lbs. Which, reminds me of Taylor "Tony" Raszka's size last year: 6-1, 185.
Taylor has been bulking up this summer with the weights, and I would like to see him around 200 as he seems to dive into trouble as if he is 20 pounds heavier than he actually is. I see Chase as the same kind of player. We might have to watch out for the cheap shots on Chase this season, and he will obviously have to add muscle to become the kind of "drive to the net" power forward that I see him becoming.
KING OF THE DANCING FREAKS