Not All Holiday Surprises Are Happy Ones

Okposo's departure is a tough, but not deadly, blow to the Gophers

Dec. 19, 2007

By Dave Starman

Special to CSTV.com

	DAVE STARMAN Dave is a CSTV game and studio analyst, and contributes regular insight to CSTV.com. E-mail here!

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In case you hadn't heard, Kyle Okposo has played his last game at the University of Minnesota. Okposo is on his way to the World Junior Championship, and when he gets back, he'll be joining the New York Islanders, the team that drafted him seventh overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. 

Now, there are two perspectives to consider this from: Okposo's perspective and that of the Gophers.

For Okposo, I think it's surprising because I think his progress was good at Minnesota. I think he was being well coached, and I think he was in a system that catered to his offensive-minded game. Why would you go from a team that stresses offensive play on a big rink with skill development -- which is his lifeblood -- to go to a system which is defensive minded, which doesn't score at all, and where every goal counts.

I think his development is going to slow down, because he's not going to have the same practice time. It's going to be a much different philosophy, and I think he's cheating himself of the ability to grow to his full potential as a collegian before turns pro.

Also, while I think he's ready physically, walking out of a practice at the end of a pro practice, where three-quarters of the guys are going home to their families or other things is completely different than college, where you leave practice and nine or 10 guys go off together and do something or just hang out together. It's a whole different animal, and I think it's going to be a huge adjustment for him.

There's probably more to this than meets the eye, because it's a curious decision. When you look at the position that this team was in, he was getting a ton of ice time. He was in a situation where he was playing a lot. I don't think it was a financial issue.

I think it has more to do with the NHL teams making it harder for top-end players to stay in college. This is something that Red Berenson's said a million times and I buy into it.  

When Rod Brind'Amour was at Michigan State, Ron Mason said to him, "Don't come back here. You're better off going to the pros. You're just too good to play here." Brind'Amour went out and scored 26 goals his rookie year (and five more in the playoffs). If you're that good, then by all means, if you want to leave as a sophomore go. But if you're not going to be that kind of an impact player, why would you leave before you have a chance to develop into that kind of an impact player?

Again, he was in a situation where the coach was encouraging his offense. How many college coaches are going to say to you, "We're going to be a freewheeling, offensive-minded, offense-emphasized team, and we're going to let our guys go and play to the fullest of their offensive potential?" It doesn't happen all that often. He was in a great situation to become a dominating offensive player. This move will slow his progress, though. He's going into a chip and chase, dump the puck, two-line system, and I'm not exactly sure how that benefits him.

Meanwhile, this leaves Minnesota in a tough spot, although I think this could make the Gophers more resilient. They can circle the wagons, and say, "The heck with this. The guys in this room are the guys that are going to have to get this done." They're a team that's gone through its share of small adversities in the last couple of years, and they do have a great tradition behind them. They're still the Gophers. They're not the Gophers of the last three years, but they're still the Gophers, and on any given night that can be a pretty difficult team to play against.