Angelo Esposito to play in the Q (TSN)

[Mat]

No one had more bargaining power than Crosby.
Rimouski was the worst team in the league. Did you see him pull this lame ass stunt?

lame? hell, id do the same thing if i were him

 

[ZombieMatt]

I'm not sure why anyone is surprised. Once the Remparts traded up to make the selection is was pretty evident that something was up.

That said I do think this is the right choice for him, although he went about it the wrong way.

 

[FREE DENTAL CARE]

Quebec First Liners 2005-2006

LaVallee - Esposito - Radulov - WOW

 

[habbyfan60]

I just think that if Esposito is that good - which I have no doubt that he is based on what I've heard - go to the damn team that needs you the most and make that organization a contender like the Crosbys, Lemieux's, etc. did. That's the mark of a great competitor and most importantly an honest player.

What's he going to do when it comes NHL draft time? Is he going to pull a Lindros/Quebec deal?

I'm tired of players getting their own way. That's the problem toady, the players/agents want to control the game.

I really don't care or have a dagger for the kid. After all, you're right, he's only 16 but, man, where's the ethics in the game? Those teams with a 1st or 2nd overall pick have earned the right to pick the best available player and build from there.

If old Patty forked out that kind of money, shame on him and the league.

 

[Garp]

Don't forget that this is not NHL!

And don't forget that St-John could have drafted him and try to convince him to come in the Q, but they didn't.

 

[timlap]

That's a little naive. I guess he's innocent until proven guilty but then again, OJ got off scotch free.

Naive, eh? Well, okay. But I think you mean to say "scot free."

"Scotch free" would be another problem altogether.

 

[timlap]

If this is how it happened, then I applaud the Remparts for hitting a home run.

However, it could just as easily have happened that Esposito's representatives told certain teams that he wouldn't report if drafted and told the Remparts (and perhaps a select few others, who knows) that he would report to them.

Of course, neither I nor most here have that knowledge, so it's all speculation. Something along the lines of LOI (maybe if you draft a player who has committed to NCAA, he can't play for you until next season) would be a good idea to try to stop that kind of hand-picking, although it will probably be next to impossible to stop it entirely (or to even determine when it has happened).

Perhaps you're right and it was pre-arranged. It doesn't make much difference to me. I'm the wrong person to be debating this issue, really. I have a hard time getting mad at 16 year olds for the decisions they make reagrding their athletic careers.

 

[timlap]

Not as the rules are written now it isn't. I think that's what most are getting at. I don't know Esposito from Adam, so I don't personally think any less of him in particular, but it's unfortunate that rules aren't in place to at least try to curb the potential of this type of manipulation.

As a fan of the Fog Devils, it's especially disappointing. I would have loved to have seen either him or Alex Grant in St. John's this season.

I sympathise with you in that case.

But you are right that the blame should fall on the rules, not on the kid.

 

[CH Wizard]

LaVallee - Esposito - Radulov - WOW

Is Lavallee gonna return in the Q...as an overager next year?

What a steal...it's very clear that he had no interest to be drafted by an expansion team.Well, the thing is that the team who drafted him took a big risk because we were really sure that this kid was going to clearly take the NCAA route.Well, Esposito didn't react properly but still.....KUDOS TO THE REMPARTS.If they convinced him then...they made a really big steal and a good job.I was really sure that this kid was just trying to send like a ''FAKE'' warning.

Well, I've just see him play once and he has sick skills...he's determined and all and has a good size.I can't wait to see him play.

 

[FREE DENTAL CARE]

LaVallee just turned 19. He's not an overager. So far the Remparts have Melanson as the only "signed" 20-year-old.

 

[Oilers Chick]

I think the players who wants to play in the NCAA before the draft shouldn't be allowed to be draft...

Are you referring to the Canadian Junior League draft(s) or the NHL's? If you're implying that he should NOT be allowed to play in the NCAA before the NHL Draft, then that's a pretty unfair statement to make.

While it would've been nice to see Angelo head to either BU or UNH (the schools reportedly having the most interest in him), he made his decision. It's apprarently done and I wish the young man all the best in the path he has chosen.

 

[timlap]

Are you referring to the Canadian Junior League draft(s) or the NHL's? If you're implying that he should NOT be allowed to play in the NCAA before the NHL Draft, then that's a pretty unfair statement to make.
. . .

I think he means that anyone who declares an intention to play in the NCAA should be ruled ineligible for the QMJHL (and presumably WHL and OHL) draft(s).

I'm not sure that such a rule is feasible, or desireable. Some players decide that the NCAA isn't working and then switch to the Q mid-season. They can only do that if they've already been drafted.

 

[RyanM]

These are what, 16-year old kids? No way would I want to see my kid go just anywhere. It's not the pros, and it's totally irrelevant to make any comparison to the pros. I'd do anything in my power as a parent/agent to make sure my kid landed in a good situation too.

Not that these Esposito/Couture cases are anything new. But if anything, I think we need to see more of them, not less.

It's the leagues responsibility to make sure that all their teams are on a fair playing field and how is it fair that the best young players can dictate where they're going to play? It makes the whole draft process pointless and just hurts the smaller market teams because they have a smaller player list to pick from then anyone else does.

What's the point of going to a game in Rouyn-Noranda, Val d'Or, or Bathurst when you know that your team has NO shot at the best players because Patrick Roy can give a kid whatever he wants to play for the Remparts.

If you think more of this stuff is needed then you are an idiot. Stuff like this is killing junior hockey in a lot of markets in Canada because the smaller market teams can't compete on a consistant basis like the big market teams who make side deals with the top players and pick them well below they should be taken.

 

[RyanM]

Is Lavallee gonna return in the Q...as an overager next year?

What a steal...it's very clear that he had no interest to be drafted by an expansion team.Well, the thing is that the team who drafted him took a big risk because we were really sure that this kid was going to clearly take the NCAA route.Well, Esposito didn't react properly but still.....KUDOS TO THE REMPARTS.If they convinced him then...they made a really big steal and a good job.I was really sure that this kid was just trying to send like a ''FAKE'' warning.

Well, I've just see him play once and he has sick skills...he's determined and all and has a good size.I can't wait to see him play.

Yeah, Roy traded up thinking he was taking a gamble


Roy knew when he made the pick that Esposito would be a Rempart in the fall.

 

[pei fan]

I just think that if Esposito is that good - which I have no doubt that he is based on what I've heard - go to the damn team that needs you the most and make that organization a contender like the Crosbys, Lemieux's, etc. did.

I don't know exactly what you mean by "that good" but he's not going
to have a 16 year old season like Crosby.Not even close really.He may duplicate Lemieux's 16 year old season on relative terms but he'll be on a better team from the get go.I'm pretty sure he's not good enough to have made St.John or St. Johns
a contender immediately but he may have made them more competitive and
possibly a contender after a couple of years.To give you perspective of how
good he is his production at Shattuck St. Mary's was half or less than half of
Crosby's.Still very good for a 15 year old though.

 

[Russian Fan]

It's the leagues responsibility to make sure that all their teams are on a fair playing field and how is it fair that the best young players can dictate where they're going to play? It makes the whole draft process pointless and just hurts the smaller market teams because they have a smaller player list to pick from then anyone else does.

What's the point of going to a game in Rouyn-Noranda, Val d'Or, or Bathurst when you know that your team has NO shot at the best players because Patrick Roy can give a kid whatever he wants to play for the Remparts.

If you think more of this stuff is needed then you are an idiot. Stuff like this is killing junior hockey in a lot of markets in Canada because the smaller market teams can't compete on a consistant basis like the big market teams who make side deals with the top players and pick them well below they should be taken.

While I understand your point & I agree with it. Great junior players can do what they want & if the CHL make rules to make sure the best player got to go where he's GOT TO BE draft, they can lose a lot of good players to the NCAA. the CHL is a tough league where regular players earn 85$ a week, play 70 games a year + playoffs & even if they can go to school the hockey rhythm makes most pf the players fall out of it & some great journalism showed that even if the teams says they have some teachers that are with the team, they know they dont focus on schools so the NCAA route is a good way to have a diploma & play on weekend.

So if they need 100K or 500K or a million to make them play, I think it's good for once that some money$ goes to the players instead of the owners who are making A LOT OF DOUGH by exploiting this kids.

 

[Blind Gardien]

It's the leagues responsibility to make sure that all their teams are on a fair playing field and how is it fair that the best young players can dictate where they're going to play? It makes the whole draft process pointless and just hurts the smaller market teams because they have a smaller player list to pick from then anyone else does.

What's the point of going to a game in Rouyn-Noranda, Val d'Or, or Bathurst when you know that your team has NO shot at the best players because Patrick Roy can give a kid whatever he wants to play for the Remparts.

The league is welcome to TRY to make a level playing field, but the players are equally welcome to get around that if they so desire.

The draft isn't made pointless. Not every kid has the leverage or the options to get around it. But for those who do... why not? I don't care about the viability of Rouyn-Noranda, Val d'Or, or Bathurst more than I care about the well-being of my son, and I don't expect the Espositos to either. Why should they?

If you think more of this stuff is needed then you are an idiot. Stuff like this is killing junior hockey in a lot of markets in Canada because the smaller market teams can't compete on a consistant basis like the big market teams who make side deals with the top players and pick them well below they should be taken.

I'm an idiot, then. I actually think junior hockey could stand to be killed in a few markets in Canada, because it's already watered down enough. Many teams could have called the Esposito bluff on draft day if they had a big enough problem with it. Who knows, maybe they could have pocketed some of Roy's millions themselves if they had done that.

Of course, I have no real idea about the specifics of how the Espositos viewed their options or how they acted. Maybe they were sleazier than they had to be to achieve the same result, maybe they weren't. I don't really care. They had the right to do it. And it sounds like it worked rather nicely for them.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

Only thing i think the CHL and NCAA should do, for both sides is this:

If a player signs a letter of intent to play at an NCAA college, than that player is not allowed to enter any CHL draft. If a player signs a "letter of intent"for the CHL ( i know they dont really have one of these) that player may not play at any NCAA college.

Other than that, lie cheat and steal to get what you want.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I'm amazed at the naivete of some of the posters today. First, don't take it so personally if Angelo doesn't go the NCAA route.

Secondly, as I reported 10 days ago, Patrick Roy visited the Espositos on a Sunday night (the 12th) and, after offering $500,000 for Angelo to play in Quebec City, was sent on his way with a bill for a cool mil.

Did he succumb to the million, or did they split the difference at $750,000?

Anyway, once the press conference is over, Angelo will be a little more well-heeled than he was when he got up this morning.

My son is thrilled, he'll be playing against his buddy Ange once again, with bigger crowds this time.

whos your son play for?

 

[ZombieMatt]

The problem with forcing players to determine if they want to go NCAA or CHL at 16 is that not all players immediately jump from being drafted to their respective CHL leagues. In fact, really only the top players do. So this may work well for the top ten picks, but for all the other players, it could severely limit their options, particularly if they may not be even be playing in the CHL or NCAA for another two years.

I completely disagree that any of the leagues are watered down. The CHL continues to be very entertaining and continues to produce the most (and arguably the best) NHL players in the world. It seems to be working pretty well right now.

I agree that Esposito made the right choice to play in the CHL. I do think he is better suited to the Q style of play rather than the NCAA. But I cannot understand how anyone thinks the way he (and by he I mean his family and agent, or "advisors" as the BS term is) went about handing the situation was in any way proper or fair. If the reports are accurate, he essentially lied and extorted his way into getting what he wanted.

 

[stocktrader]

I don't know exactly what you mean by "that good" but he's not going
to have a 16 year old season like Crosby.Not even close really.He may duplicate Lemieux's 16 year old season on relative terms but he'll be on a better team from the get go.I'm pretty sure he's not good enough to have made St.John or St. Johns
a contender immediately but he may have made them more competitive and
possibly a contender after a couple of years.To give you perspective of how
good he is his production at Shattuck St. Mary's was half or less than half of
Crosby's.Still very good for a 15 year old though.

Actually it was about a third of Crosby's unbelievable year.
Could be deceiving based on Ice time etc...
but still, he is obviously a gifted player but won't come close to having Crosby like impact in the Q.

 

[Funkymoses]

Only thing i think the CHL and NCAA should do, for both sides is this:

If a player signs a letter of intent to play at an NCAA college, than that player is not allowed to enter any CHL draft. If a player signs a "letter of intent"for the CHL ( i know they dont really have one of these) that player may not play at any NCAA college.

Other than that, lie cheat and steal to get what you want.

NCAA players are still about a year away from being able to sign a letter of intent when the CHL drafts them.

 

[VOB]

Esposito was going to the Q long before St Patrick stepped up to the podium to draft him and if you believe anything differently you are very naive.

The CHL will never institute a policy forcing elite players to sign letters of intent because they realize that it is far better to have a franchise player in London or Rimouski than not to have him in the league at all. If Esposito could not have chosen which team he was to play for (and ironically in this case it was not the Remparts - they did actually have to convince him because he had his heart set on Rimouski and was none to pleased when Roy screwed it up for him) he would have really taken the NCAA route.

 

[Mat]

I'm tired of players getting their own way. That's the problem toady, the players/agents want to control the game.

well maybe if the owners werent so willing to comply?

 

[Cole Caulifield]

Esposito was going to the Q long before St Patrick stepped up to the podium to draft him and if you believe anything differently you are very naive.

The CHL will never institute a policy forcing elite players to sign letters of intent because they realize that it is far better to have a franchise player in London or Rimouski than not to have him in the league at all. If Esposito could not have chosen which team he was to play for (and ironically in this case it was not the Remparts - they did actually have to convince him because he had his heart set on Rimouski and was none to pleased when Roy screwed it up for him) he would have really taken the NCAA route.

First how is it you know this ?

Second isn't he better with in Quebec city, with the remparts ?

After all guys like Crosby, Pouliot, Roussin and co will be gone next year so...