MePutPuckInNet
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Mississauga News
"'Dogs keep smiling over Schremp deal
Gerry Timbers
April 28, 2004
"...More drama? The rumour mill around the Hershey Centre has it that the coach and the owner aren't all lovey-dovey these days and the hard feelings revert to mid-season, when Gilbert suspended all-star scoring machine Patrick O'Sullivan for two games after the pivot joined two teammates for a night on the town and forgot what time curfew was.
O'Sullivan sat in the stands and watched as the IceDogs won the next two games without him. In one fell swoop, [Coach Greg] Gilbert had established that the same rules applied to everyone, winning the respect of every young man in the dressing room.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say, because the once free-spirited, march-to-my-own-drummer O'Sullivan was a back-checking demon in Sunday night's series-clinching 4-2 win over St. Michael's Majors.
Clearly the best player in the OHL, the young American has become a force in both ends of the rink, with or without the puck, and that only spells trouble for the Guelph Storm.
And what about O'Sullivan? Well, give him full credit, because he stayed here to play with what used to be an embarrassingly bad team when the other messiahs couldn't wait to jump ship. Jason Spezza, Patrick Jarrett, the aforementioned [Robbie] Schremp. They all did what they had to do, but they didn't stay home and they didn't lead this to team to the promised land. O'Sullivan may well end up doing both..."
Before further speculation, I wanted to share the above quote, since I am not sure if many of you had the opportunity to see O'Sullivan play this past season. I bring this up, because I didn't want you to base your comments on what you may have read previously regarding his lack of defensive play - since he's upgraded his game considerably.
Presuming that the CBA issue has been addressed and settled by the next draft; and supposing that through no ill will on either side, the Minnesota Wild and Patrick O'Sullivan are unable to negotiate a contract and he thus re-enters the draft in 2005.
Would this be good for him? Or is he likely to go the way of poor Timmy Brent who was recently shot by the Ducks and further traumatized by being re-drafted by them in a round later than his original draft position [in a far weaker draft, I might add]? Or, has he sufficiently proven that he is in fact what nearly all scouts said he was prior to the '03 draft, a top end talent? Where would you place him in a mock 2005 draft - with whatever knowledge you presently have regarding '05 prospects [I realize it's early and I'm reaching here]? I'm just wondering what everyone/anyone thinks....
"'Dogs keep smiling over Schremp deal
Gerry Timbers
April 28, 2004
"...More drama? The rumour mill around the Hershey Centre has it that the coach and the owner aren't all lovey-dovey these days and the hard feelings revert to mid-season, when Gilbert suspended all-star scoring machine Patrick O'Sullivan for two games after the pivot joined two teammates for a night on the town and forgot what time curfew was.
O'Sullivan sat in the stands and watched as the IceDogs won the next two games without him. In one fell swoop, [Coach Greg] Gilbert had established that the same rules applied to everyone, winning the respect of every young man in the dressing room.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say, because the once free-spirited, march-to-my-own-drummer O'Sullivan was a back-checking demon in Sunday night's series-clinching 4-2 win over St. Michael's Majors.
Clearly the best player in the OHL, the young American has become a force in both ends of the rink, with or without the puck, and that only spells trouble for the Guelph Storm.
And what about O'Sullivan? Well, give him full credit, because he stayed here to play with what used to be an embarrassingly bad team when the other messiahs couldn't wait to jump ship. Jason Spezza, Patrick Jarrett, the aforementioned [Robbie] Schremp. They all did what they had to do, but they didn't stay home and they didn't lead this to team to the promised land. O'Sullivan may well end up doing both..."
Before further speculation, I wanted to share the above quote, since I am not sure if many of you had the opportunity to see O'Sullivan play this past season. I bring this up, because I didn't want you to base your comments on what you may have read previously regarding his lack of defensive play - since he's upgraded his game considerably.
Presuming that the CBA issue has been addressed and settled by the next draft; and supposing that through no ill will on either side, the Minnesota Wild and Patrick O'Sullivan are unable to negotiate a contract and he thus re-enters the draft in 2005.
Would this be good for him? Or is he likely to go the way of poor Timmy Brent who was recently shot by the Ducks and further traumatized by being re-drafted by them in a round later than his original draft position [in a far weaker draft, I might add]? Or, has he sufficiently proven that he is in fact what nearly all scouts said he was prior to the '03 draft, a top end talent? Where would you place him in a mock 2005 draft - with whatever knowledge you presently have regarding '05 prospects [I realize it's early and I'm reaching here]? I'm just wondering what everyone/anyone thinks....
