Photo by: Michael Furman
Not only have the Pioneers lost a spot in the Frozen Four Friday they also are losing up to three players early to the NHL.
Although DU was ranked No. 1 for most of the season, the Pioneers still needed to prove themselves to go into the NCAA Frozen Four tournament. They lost 2-1 in a lack-luster game against Rochester Institute of Technology, then-ranked No. 20.
The Pioneers finished the season with a 27-10-4 record. This was the third consecutive season in which they lost in the first round of the NCAA regionals.
“I was disappointed and with four games to go, we weren’t able to win them,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “Everyone expected us to win our league and be No. 1, and we did that for six months,” Gwozdecky said.
This was not to be and defections started right after Friday’s loss.
Sophomore Joe Colborne signed a contract with the Boston Bruins Monday evening and junior Marc Cheverie and sophomore Patrick Wiercioch also are expected to sign NHL contracts this week.
“I felt like I’ve had two years of great development down here,” Colborne said Monday afternoon. “I have my coaches teammates to thank for that. Boston said they definitely thought it was good for me to come now. They have been really impressed with what’s gone on here and the help I’ve gotten here. A decision here as a group, my family and my agents in Boston as well thought it was a great time to make a move.”
Colborne was the Bruins’ 2008 first-round draft pick, No. 16 overall, and finished the season with 39 points on 22 goals and 19 assists. He said he is leaving Denver Wednesday morning.
“It was a huge disappointment for us,” Colborne said. “We definitely had some higher goals than that, but overall it was a great year. We fell short and I feel like I let some people down. I wanted to get a national championship before I left.”
Although he’s listed as a junior, Cheverie will graduate at the end of the quarter. He was drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2006. Cheverie was ranked as one of the top goaltenders all season, with a 93.2 save percentage, 2.03 goals allowed against average and six shutouts.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I’ll figure it out in the next few days.”
Discounting rumors, Wiercioch said he has not yet made a decision about next season. He was the Ottawa Senators second-round draft pick in 2008, No. 42 overall.
“It was news to me,” he said Monday afternoon. “I got a few text messages saying ‘Congratulations.’ It’s not true as of yet.”
Wiercioch said he doesn’t know when he will make a decision.
Players leaving early for the NHL isn’t a new problem for the DU hockey program. On average, two players have signed contracts each year.
“If it never happened before, it would be [frustrating],” Gwozdecky said. “But it’s constant for us. It happened last year and the year before. It’s just a part of the program. You don’t like to see it happen…. You want to have those guys around for four years.”
Gwozdecky said when you have a top program, losing players early is a part of the territory. Last year, DU lost Tyler Bozak to the Toronto Maple Leafs after his second season. Midway through the 2008-2009 season, Brock Trotter left to pursue a career with the Montreal Canadiens affiliate. When the Pioneers lost their NCAA regional that year, Chris Butler left a year early for the Buffalo Sabres.
Captain Rhett Rakhshani, drafted by the New York Islanders, does not have final plans to leave yet, he said, but could be leaving as early as this week. Rakhshani graduated after winter quarter.
“It’s part of the landscape of college and professional hockey these days,” he said.
Gwozdecky speculated why athletes leave early in college hockey, discounting the attractiveness of the money a professional player earns.
“I think it’s about the NHL and their demand to bring players along as early as possible,” he said. “Most of these guys have a dream of playing professional hockey and that’s it, plain and simple.”
