Tyler Hirsch - The Drama Continues

Wild Thing

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Feb 18, 2003
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Now what?

Hirsch dismissed from Gopher hockey team
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota men's hockey team has dismissed forward Tyler Hirsch.

"Tyler Hirsch's hockey career at the University of Minnesota has come to an end," coach Don Lucia said Saturday in a prepared statement. "This is a private and confidential matter between Tyler and the coaching staff, and there will be no further comments from any members of the hockey program or the University of Minnesota. We wish Tyler success in his future endeavors."

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/16352824.htm

What is it with this poor guy? He just can't seem to keep it together. Anyone hear anything about this? There hasn't been a hint of this in the local media up until now, and I have no idea what led to this.
 

Realm

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Jun 5, 2005
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5 Gophers at World Juniors already and now this.....this team just keeps winning though!:handclap:
 

haelwho

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What is it with this poor guy? He just can't seem to keep it together. Anyone hear anything about this? There hasn't been a hint of this in the local media up until now, and I have no idea what led to this.

Eh, to call him a "poor guy" is a stretch. He's had far too many chances to turn this problem around. Goes to show you just how far you can get on talent alone.
 

Wild Thing

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the kid has mental health problems, yes i would say poor guy.

Exactly. Maybe a lot of people outside of the Twin Cities don't realize it, but he's had more than his share of emotional difficulties the last couple of years. It ain't easy being Tyler Hirsch, and I just hope the poor kid finds a way to pull it together. Maybe being away from big-time college hockey for a year or two is the best thing for him.
 

Ban Hammered

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May 15, 2003
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I wish him the best, but I think he's done as a hockey player.
Hopefully the fans are respectful when MN comes to play SCSU as his sister is a Freshman on our women's team.
 

5mn Major

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Hopefully the fans are respectful when MN comes to play SCSU as his sister is a Freshman on our women's team.

Frankly I can't imagine any other response. Tyler was a tragic figure but someone who the vast majority of MN fans had sympathy for. I would be more concerned about visiting other schools.

Best of luck Tyler...hopefully things come together for you out there!
 

boredmale

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I seem to have missed something....

What's the story of Tyler Hirsch? Anyone wanna let me in on it?

I know he was suspended for a couple games earlier this year for bad grades, it probably goes beyond that though.
 

5mn Major

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I seem to have missed something....

What's the story of Tyler Hirsch? Anyone wanna let me in on it?

OK...here's a topline...anyone else feel free to give thoughts.

Two years ago...on a very good, but extremely young team...junior Tyler Hirsch emerged as one of the most talented playmakers in the NCAAs. He passed sophmores Ryan Potulny, soon to be a Hobey Baker finalist, and Danny Irmen, another extremely prolific and talented player. Tyler ended the year as the team's top scorer in a flury of scoring.

Then at the end of the year, the team lost a heartbreaker and Tyler kind of snapped. He skated out on the ice all by himself after everyone else had left, took a puck down the ice, shot it in the net and just crashed into the net, falling over in the process. Although initially it was just positioned as an isolated incident...Tyler did not take the ice in that year's NCAA playoffs and was said to have 'personal issues'. As the Gophers lost in the final 4, Hirsch could potentially have made the difference in a national championship.

The thinking was that it was a short term issue and there was a lot of optimism for the following year, as most of the young team plus its top scoring Tyler Hirsch would return and take another run at the NC. But soon it was announced that Hirsch would take a 'red shirt' and sit out the following year keeping his remaining year of eligibility. The word on the street was that Tyler had some substantial issues to work through. The Gophers with Potulny and Irmen carrying the team cruised to the #1 team in the country. However, in a gruelling 8-7 WCHA playoff loss to St Cloud, Potulny and Irmen short circuited and floundered in the NCAAs and unable to carry the team, #1 Minnesota lost a well publicized game to extreme underdog Holy Cross. Again, a leading scorer Tyler Hirsch, a year older, IMO would have meant a likely national championship.

Fastforward to this year as Minnesota had one of the most heralded recruiting classes in NCAA history. And a key component, was a single veteran playmaking wizard forward in Tyler Hirsch (as Potulny and Irmen moved on). Tyler joined the team but warning signs were early. Tyler showed up later for practice before the first game...and was suspended. Hirsch evidently reported regularly for practice in the following weeks. His play was (as expected) spectacular...making passes that I have never seen in 25 years of watch NCAA hockey. His PPG was among the nations top. Then he was reported to have some school problems and was benched again. The team continued to win...but Tyler Hirsch would have been good for probably 2 more goals a game. Tyler returned to his amazing ways...but something appeared to be bothering him on the ice. In a 8 - 2 blowout of rival Michigan, I saw Tyler stand around and then look for a perfect pass (which often he found).

But something was clearly wrong. As the weeks progressed, and much of the extremely talented Minnesota team went to the WJCs, Tyler Hirsch was to be relied on heavily. But as the Dodge Holiday classic unfolded, word was that Tyler was playing some of his worst hockey ever (I didn't see the game) and was benched in the 3rd period of a game. The next day a press release from the University of Minnesota program said that Tyler Hirsch...perhaps the NCAA's most talented playmaker of the last 5 years...was released and would not play college hockey again.

Its a sad story of a stunningly talented player who just couldn't focus on the game.
 
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xIsle

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Oct 24, 2006
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Maybe the Isles will be interested. I think Hirsh and Okposo were doing well together on the same line. He could maybe be a Ted Nolan-type player?
 

UvBnDatsyuked

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Everything I have read mentions that he refuses to comment on the reports of a mental health issue. His actions to me point to someone who goes through bouts of being medicated and keeping everything under control and then goes off of his medication. Just speculation but it is very similar to a friend of mine.

If it is a mental health issue, it will be very hard for him to do anything competitive with hockey. My friend who was bipolar couldn't even keep his head on straight to play very low level minor league hockey. The medication for some of these disorders have very bad side effects.

Hope he gets his life back in order
 

Chrisd

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Dec 20, 2005
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i don't see him having a nhl career....

he's very small, and his track record isn't too well.....

he's mentioned as having a lazy work ethic, not motivated all the time and has some mental health issues...

I think he needs to work on life, more then hockey.
 

XX

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i don't see him having a nhl career....

he's very small, and his track record isn't too well.....

he's mentioned as having a lazy work ethic, not motivated all the time and has some mental health issues...

I think he needs to work on life, more then hockey.

So taking away what little structure and guidance he has in his life is the answer? I'd say someone like Sutter or Nolan should sign him and get things straight with the kid.
 

Zine

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Feb 28, 2002
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So taking away what little structure and guidance he has in his life is the answer? I'd say someone like Sutter or Nolan should sign him and get things straight with the kid.

The structure and guidance Hirsch needs in life won't come from hockey; it goes way beyond that. Sutter or Nolan whipping the kid into shape would just be counter productive - you don't deal with mental illness that way. Hirsch would just fly off the handle again.

He needs a professional who understands his situation and can use hockey as one of the tools (incentives) to keep him on track. But hockey, in and of itself, isn't the answer to his problems.
 

haelwho

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So taking away what little structure and guidance he has in his life is the answer? I'd say someone like Sutter or Nolan should sign him and get things straight with the kid.

No offense, but there are more important things in life than hockey.
 

Wild Thing

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I think hockey is his worst enemy right now - it seems that the pressure of playing big-time hockey is what makes him unravel. It's a terrible shame, but I think this is one promising career that's done before it even really started.

The kid's got tons of talent, though. It's a real loss to the hockey world. I saw him play at a pond hockey tournament last winter, and he put on a veritable clinic. I didn't even know he was entered, and was surprised to hear his name announced when they introduced the two teams playing for the championship. He just totally dominated play in the first half - scored three or four goals, including the first goal of the game, a pinpoint laser wrister from center ice that never got more than a half inch above the ice. For the first half, he was easily the best player I saw in the whole tournament, and there were a lot of former NHLers and major college stars playing, including Brian Bellows. He looked like a grown man playing with peewees; just toyed with the other team and did whatever he felt like doing whenever he felt like doing it.

And then in the second half, he completely disappeared. Just a complete non-factor. You wouldn't have even noticed he was on the ice most of the time, and his team lost the game - and the championship - by one goal. If I hadn't been there for the first half and the player introductions, I would have just thought it was some stiff from a beer league. Very strange, but I came away with a better understanding of what people mean when they talk about his inconsistency and motivation problems.

Good luck, Tyler. I hope it all falls together for you sometime soon, and that you wind up doing something with your life that makes you happy.
 
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