Kodiak Connection Alive and Well

In a surprise notice on the Heisenburg blog, it appears that the UMD Bulldogs Hockey Club has secured another committment from the Alberta Junior A Camrose Kodiaks. Mike Connolly has apparently verbally committed to the bulldog program for the 2008-2009 season. He will join Evan Oberg, another current Kodiak that year bringing the total compliment of Kodiaks in the UMD program up to 6.

What will be interesting to see however is what efforts the bulldog executive make in trying to entice early departures by either of these two recent recruits. Although most Bulldog fans would love to see WCHA allstar status bound Mason Raymond for another couple of years, one would think that the Vancouver Canucks may be calling on this young phenom to take the next step up and play for one of their farm teams in the not too distant future. If Raymond does decide to bolt early Sandelin and the boys will be struggling to fill that void.

Is young Connolly or Defenceman Oberg ready to make the jump a year early. This prognasticator says NO. They will be fine additions to the bulldog program but can use another year in the AJHL before making the jump. One has to look no further than the early departures of Danny Bertram and Tyler Swyston from that same Kodiak program to see that they left too early and struggled in the college ranks.

Hopefully, if Sandelin is intending to accelerate either of these players into his program, he has the wherewithall to communicate his intentions to Head Coach Boris Rybalka, who is always planning his team roster 1 to 2 years in advance. Early departures from the Rybalka program are more difficult to adjust from if players leave early without expressing their intentions to him. It would be a shame if the working relationship between these two coaches broke down as a result of no communication being shared between them regarding their mutual expectations. The Kodiak program has been a great pipeline for the Bulldogs and I as one blogger and fan of both clubs would hate to see that relationship breaking down because of that.