Jimmy Vesey (going to the Rangers)

[piteus]

Not really. Some Michigan degrees are better than Harvard ones.

Harvard cost. http://https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/cost-attendance

Michigan cost. (remember to take x2) http://www.ro.umich.edu/tuition/tuition-fees.php#fullterm
http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/michigan/university-of-michigan-ann-arbor/

The only way it would be cheap like you think would be if he maintained residency in MI but he would be in Rockford for 2 years so I doubt he would.

Not really. Michigan is a fabulous undergrad ... but they are far more known for their graduate programs. People could point out Michigan's elite engineering program ... but Harvard / MIT students can take some classes on either campus, if they chose. Michigan's great, Harvard's networking is second to none. Michigan is not in the same ball park.

I don't know how hockey does it, but high drafted baseball players usually have a clause in their contract allowing for the teams to pay for a kid's college tuition. I would think it's similar.

Other things to consider. Harvard has a massive endowment. Their financial aid is second to none. Their "need basis" grants helps them in non revenue college athletics (shared scholarships). I have several friends who paid $3K to attend Harvard and "play" football. I'm sure there were leadership grants / need basis awards to supplement Harvard hockey players with partial scholarships.

Did you ever wonder why some high school baseball / hockey players choose college over the pros when their parents are working two jobs just to make ends meet? Most baseball / hockey ships are partial due to its limited number. It's called grants ... disguised as leadership awards, community scholarships, etc. The top athletic programs in the nation all have them.

 

[BK]

Not really. Michigan is a fabulous undergrad ... but they are far more known for their graduate programs. People could point out Michigan's elite engineering program ... but Harvard / MIT students can take some classes on either campus, if they chose. Michigan's great, Harvard's networking is second to none. Michigan is not in the same ball park.

I don't know how hockey does it, but high drafted baseball players usually have a clause in their contract allowing for the teams to pay for a kid's college tuition. I would think it's similar.

Other things to consider. Harvard has a massive endowment. Their financial aid is second to none. Their "need basis" grants helps them in non revenue college athletics (shared scholarships). I have several friends who paid $3K to attend Harvard and "play" football. I'm sure there were leadership grants / need basis awards to supplement Harvard hockey players with partial scholarships.

Did you ever wonder why some high school baseball / hockey players choose college over the pros when their parents are working two jobs just to make ends meet? Most baseball / hockey ships are partial due to its limited number. It's called grants ... disguised as leadership awards, community scholarships, etc. The top athletic programs in the nation all have them.

I disagree but this is not the place to argue this (100% not avoiding the conversation).

Back to topic I would love to sign him.

 

[kmwtrucks]

1st all he would be doing is continue to take classes online and then again in the summer. They are not going to kick him out of being in state for moving to a apt in Rockford. They want him to make the NHL and its good for the ATL dept and school for him to graduate. Mich is a great school but to compare it to Harvard would be crazy. The AVG ACT for Harvard is 34 the Avg ACT for Mich is 30.

 

[AmericanDream]

I think its ridiculous to write off Toronto but if they were out of the picture then the Hawks are the clear destination unless something weird happens and we have Panarin and Boedker/JVR locked up for years at that point (which I don't see happening).

He also isn't another Panarin though. Panarin was a finished product coming here. He's still a prospect.

with regards to Toronto just going off of Vesey's own comments that there is no lead advantage there because his dad is a scout and they have his brother's rights..I honestly see no reason why a kid like Vesey would want to go to that nuthouse and be under a microscope like so many before him have been.

you can come to Chicago, nestle under the breast of Hossa and Kane, and be shielded for 4-5 years while learning the pro game...seems like an easy choice for me..

 

[Bubba88]

Vesey can't come out and say he already made up his mind...

 

[Toews2Bickell]

One time, Stan. One. Time.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Alright, let's get him, boys!

 

[ManChild20]

Yes!!!! Let's do this!

 

[CallMeShaft]

From the rumors and murmurs on the internet, it seems like the Hawks, Bruins, and Leafs are the front runners.

Some guy named Dave Starman had apperared on NHL network a while ago saying how he thinks Hawks are Vesey's first choice.

While Boston is his hometown (and he just wrapped his season at Harvard), and his father works for Toronto (I think they also drafted his brother).

 

[BrianE]

One time, Stan. One. Time.

What is NSH?...nevermind it's Nashville. Just now saw that on NHL tonight, bummer for them. Hobey Baker finalist in 2015 & 2016...80 goals in 4 seasons. Seems like a good prospect. I won't get excited until i see him SIGNED and playing. Not trying to be negative but wasn't Drew Leblanc a Hobey finalist as well?

 

[CallMeShaft]

What is NSH?

Nashville.....

 

[clydesdale line]

Is Vesey really that good? To me he screams solid, very smart two way 3rd liner, and can play top 6 in a pinch, but not a top 6 talent. Maybe guys like American Dream and others who have seen him play can answer that.

He reminds me a lot of Alex Killorn. (Who ironically fits that description and was another Harvard guy with similar senior stats, although Vesey had a much better junior season)

 

[SAADfather]

We're gonna have two top 9 LW spots available next season. I can see us being probably the most appealing team for him. God that would make Nashville fans furious. Get him Stan.

 

[BrianE]

So when is he available or eligible? in June?

 

[CallMeShaft]

Is Vesey really that good? To me he screams solid, very smart two way 3rd liner, and can play top 6 in a pinch, but not a top 6 talent. Maybe guys like American Dream and others who have seen him play can answer that. He reminds me a lot of Alex Killorn. (Who ironically fits that description and was another Harvard guy with similar senior stats, although Vesey had a much better junior season)

He could very well turn out to be a 3rd liner, but a lot of people seem to think he has a legitimate top 6 potential.

HockeysFuture had him second in their most recent top 20 prospects for Nashville Predators list and on a different page on HF's main site (not the forum), a writer compared him to Parise.

 

[BrianE]

We're gonna have two top 9 LW spots available next season. I can see us being probably the most appealing team for him. God that would make Nashville fans furious. Get him Stan.

And their management.

 

[CallMeShaft]

So when is he available or eligible? in June?

August 15 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[hawksfan50]

So he has a tough choice...Clearly a spot open on top line with Toews (since Ladd is a rental we cannot afford to re-sign given our cap and his market price)...or sign with home area Bruins..or with the Leafs cause they hired his daddy ...or with Nashville (which probably least appeals to him unless he loves Country Music)...

 

[TKK]

So the plan for 2016/2017 would go like this...

LW - sign Vesey, resign Fleischmann on cheap veteran deal (1 year, $1.5M)
RW - resign Panik on cheap deal
C - resign McNeill on cheap deal


And then Hawks depth would look something like this...

LW - Panarin, Fleischmann, Vesey, Desjardins
RW - Kane, Hossa, Hartman, Panik
C - Toews, Anisimov, Teravainen, Kruger, McNeill
D - Keith, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Van Riemsdyk, Pokka, Gustafsson, Svedberg
G - Crawford, Darling


This would plug potential LW hole with Vesey and Fleischmann (1st & 3rd line), and give this team a ton of flexibility to shuffle lines (for example TT could be moved to #1RW or #2C, Anisimov to #1LW, McNeill to #3RW or C, etc.).

Key here would be to resign Fleischmann on cheap short term veteran deal (around $1.5M per year) to keep the Cap below $72M.

 

[AmericanDream]

Is Vesey really that good? To me he screams solid, very smart two way 3rd liner, and can play top 6 in a pinch, but not a top 6 talent. Maybe guys like American Dream and others who have seen him play can answer that.

He reminds me a lot of Alex Killorn. (Who ironically fits that description and was another Harvard guy with similar senior stats, although Vesey had a much better junior season)

he can play on ANY TEAM'S top 6 and that was exact quotes from multiple scouts/gm's.

this kid signs and steps in right away like Panarin did. he is big, skilled, and has grit. what he has done in college with far less talent to play with than the likes of Connor, Larkin, Eichel, etc is amazing. the kid is the real deal, but of course nothing is 100%.

when he played for team USA at the WJC, the team was struggling, from top down. Phil Housley moved Vesey who was the 13th forward to play with Gaudreau and Miller, that line absolutely torched the tournament from game 3 on I believe. Vesey was amazing and a full coming out party happened. his hands were excellent as was his vision and his positioning. he helped turn the whole thing around and the team eventually won the Gold.

people have good reason to be excited about Vesey and we do as well as we are definitely in the hunt for his services.

 

[BobbyJet]

This decision by Vesey (and his agent) have the guys from TSN scratching their head. Maybe it is just a matter of not wanting to play or live in Nashville but there must be more to it.

 

[ChiHawks10]

This decision by Vesey (and his agent) have the guys from TSN scratching their head. Maybe it is just a matter of not wanting to play or live in Nashville but there must be more to it.

Yeah, apparently he basically told Nashville he was going to sign with them, so they kept a spot open for him at the TDL rather than fill it. Then all the sudden he decides to test free agency. Seems he was leading Nashville along. They were shocked with his decision.

Would love to see him come to the Hawks. Hopefully he signs here in August.

 

[kcorp90]

This decision by Vesey (and his agent) have the guys from TSN scratching their head. Maybe it is just a matter of not wanting to play or live in Nashville but there must be more to it.

According to TSN:

"Vesey will not gain any financial leverage elsewhere. The maximum salary on NHL entry-level contracts is $925,000, and he would have received the same maximum rookie attainable performance bonus structure ($2.85 million) with likely any team."

Re-Tweeted by Dan Rosen (NHL) per @TomAWillis:
Poile: "Allow me to confirm that we offered Jimmy a spot in our top 6, playoff time, and the chance to burn a year off his ELC." #Preds

It sounds like the Preds offered the guy the moon, and even held off at the deadline to keep a roster spot free for him. Poile wanted to bring Vesey and his family to Nashville to meet after his last game with Harvard, which Vesey declined. There must be more to it... I'm wondering what he'll benefit from going to UFA versus burning his ELC with a decent organization like Nashville. Must really have something against them.. There where claims he and his father both told Nashville (Poile, Laviolette) he would be signing with them. Based on Poile's actions at the TDL he must have believed Vesey. I wonder what happened within the timeframe he claimed he was signing w/ Nashville and now. Tampering?

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/vesey-opens-door-to-leafs-bruins-rest-of-nhl-1.460879

So now he either A. signs w/ Boston the hometown team (read TSN's article for all the connections tying him to Boston). B. signs with Toronto for the family ties (father/brother). Or C. signs with one of the other 27 teams that will be vying for his services..

I can't see him choosing us over Boston or Toronto... We can throw the pedigree, chance to win, possible free roster spot argument at him, but will that be enough?

Interesting situation to watch.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

He does wear #19. Wonder if he's a Toews fan...But not only would NSH have a meltdown if he signed here, so would the Boston/Toronto who fans arguing on the mainboard that are so sure their respective team is a lock to get him. This is really another Mike Reilly situation. I expect the Hawks to be in the final three teams between Boston/Tor. Then it comes down to signing with hometown team/family connect or legit contender with locked up core for atleast next five years on verge of destiny territory.

 

[hockeydoug]

Poile was disappointed and shocked by Suter's decision to go to Minnesota too.

Forgive me if I don't take what Poile says too seriously. It's not as if Poile has a history of being overly generous to RFA forwards on their next contract either. Besides, isn't Vesey going to be slottedbehind Forsberg somewhere with Ribiero or a center that Trotz had already coached all the creativity out of for years? Burning a year off of the ELC doesn't look like it's going to mean as much in Nashville as it would in plenty of other spots.