Okposo leaves the Gophers

[ScottM]

Okposo didn't seem all that enthused to be returning to Minnesota before the season. Too bad he didn't have the stones to take off before the season started.

[AZSIOUX]

Okposo didn't seem all that enthused to be returning to Minnesota before the season. Too bad he didn't have the stones to take off before the season started.

before the season many indications pointed to kyle wanted to go but the isles didnt think he was ready.

then fast forward to now - kyle wasnt progressing like the isles wanted him to at UMtc in his 2nd year so they both agreed the time was right for both sides.

[dallassiouxfan]

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&a...rticleid=347229

Nothing to do with Okposo but thought it would fit with all the wjc talk. Too bad this wasn't around last year.

[rochsioux]

I have lttle respect for players that bail on their teammates during the season. I have no respect for Greico for doing this to UND and I have no respect for Okposo for leaving Minnesota.

Once a player commits to coming back he should stick it out for the entire season. If the Gophers were were 10-2, leading the WCHA and ranked #1 would he have left ? I highly doubt it...that tells me all I need know about his character. There is no way I would want him as my teammate.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going...to the NHL.

[Siouxman]

First off I will say that I always enjoy seeing the Gophers in misery, just not this way. This is a really mixed bag. It is bush league for a player to quit on his team in the middle of the season, but on the other hand, if his heart isn't really in it then it should be good riddance. I believe that UMD got attitude poisoning a few years ago from some of their upper class players. If KO's attitude isn't there, then it is probably best for them that he is gone. However, I simply don't know one way or the other.

It is not good for college hockey to have players leaving in the middle of the year either. It creates instability and hurts the game. You have to feel for coaches who get caught in this situation.

That said, I would rather have seen the Gophers experience misery with KO than without him.

[dead_rabbit]

I have lttle respect for players that bail on their teammates during the season. I have no respect for Greico for doing this to UND and I have no respect for Okposo for leaving Minnesota.

Once a player commits to coming back he should stick it out for the entire season. If the Gophers were were 10-2, leading the WCHA and ranked #1 would he have left ? I highly doubt it...that tells me all I need know about his character. There is no way I would want him as my teammate.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going...to the NHL.

I'm on the fence about Greico...realistically, how much playing time was he going to get this year, or next year, or the year after (If he would have been one of three goalies on the roster instead of two, that'd be a different story). I don't think Okposo's leaving can be compared at all to Greico leaving. Greico needs to get time between the posts to move on to the next level...Okposo had to sign on the dotted line to move on to the next level. Let's face it, most of UND's and UMtc players didn't sign on with their teams to get a free education.

LMO...I was right clicking to get rid of the red line under Okposo's name, and the word from the dictionary my right clicker magic speller thingy came up with was "stinkpot."

[happy]

If the NHL does not change the rules, then some college teams will have to worry every year at the wjc that they will not get all their players back. if this starts happening every year, you can bet that UND, with all of its young talent, will be a major target. Signing new talent, at a very low wage, may be just the thing for bottom dwelling NHL teams without much cap room start to do every year. Signing Kyle will take a little bit of the heat off the Islanders for Simon, and that's all they care about. If it works out for the Islanders, look for other teams to do it, too.

[yzerman19]

Leaving mid-season is a horribly selfish thing to do to your teammates. That being said, however, I wish KO the best of luck at the next level. He is an outstanding hockey player who seemed to always work hard. His strength was sick. MN will definitely be hurting down low without Stoa and now Okposo. Wheeler is big and skilled, but not very strong. I just don't know if the Gophs have anyone who can fill KO's shoes. You can't fault a kid for taking the money. If the league rookie max is thrown at you, you'd be nuts not to take it. A player only has so many years in his legs.

[AZSIOUX]

If the NHL does not change the rules, then some college teams will have to worry every year at the wjc that they will not get all their players back. if this starts happening every year, you can bet that UND, with all of its young talent, will be a major target. Signing new talent, at a very low wage, may be just the thing for bottom dwelling NHL teams without much cap room start to do every year. Signing Kyle will take a little bit of the heat off the Islanders for Simon, and that's all they care about. If it works out for the Islanders, look for other teams to do it, too.

this is such a isolated situation. go and name me another example of this happening to a top 5 pick or anyone of this talent? it was KO and the ISLES decision and it sure sucks as a gopher fan i can only imagine. usually players leave due to lack of playing time and other similar reasons. so if the isles did this in part with the simon situation which i highly doubt then why would other teams do this? we dont even know if KO will be up with the isles. he could be in the AHL and either way the isles suck and they will with KO the rest of the season. i wouldnt worry about this happening. usually a player will decide before the season and KO never wanted to play with the gophers this season the way i read into it. i think things werent going the way he wanted them to go and the isles agreed so he jumped ship and quit on his team with the help of the islanders. anyway you spin this isnt gona help KO in this situation. just looks bad on him overall. he could have waited until late march when the gophers will be done playing but didnt.

[dagies]

Lou Nanne was on KFAN tonite and said he's quite certain that Bettman is talking to all of the GM's and telling them that signing players during the season will be frowned upon. For what good that does.

It will be interesting to see where Okposo goes. There's a lot of assumption that he'll go to the big club to fill in for the suspended player. But Okposo isn't available for probably close to 2 weeks? So they will fill in somehow. If they weren't sure Okposo was ready last summer, they can't be sure he's ready now.

Despite what Lucia said, I'm guessing Okposo was the main driver in this deal.

[AZSIOUX]

Lou Nanne was on KFAN tonite and said he's quite certain that Bettman is talking to all of the GM's and telling them that signing players during the season will be frowned upon. For what good that does.

It will be interesting to see where Okposo goes. There's a lot of assumption that he'll go to the big club to fill in for the suspended player. But Okposo isn't available for probably close to 2 weeks? So they will fill in somehow. If they weren't sure Okposo was ready last summer, they can't be sure he's ready now.

Despite what Lucia said, I'm guessing Okposo was the main driver in this deal.

agree, of course with help from the isles but he wanted to go. its obvious. if he wanted to stay he would have only been there for 3 more months.

[happy]

this is such a isolated situation. go and name me another example of this happening to a top 5 pick or anyone of this talent? it was KO and the ISLES decision and it sure sucks as a gopher fan i can only imagine. usually players leave due to lack of playing time and other similar reasons. so if the isles did this in part with the simon situation which i highly doubt then why would other teams do this? we dont even know if KO will be up with the isles. he could be in the AHL and either way the isles suck and they will with KO the rest of the season. i wouldnt worry about this happening. usually a player will decide before the season and KO never wanted to play with the gophers this season the way i read into it. i think things werent going the way he wanted them to go and the isles agreed so he jumped ship and quit on his team with the help of the islanders. anyway you spin this isnt gona help KO in this situation. just looks bad on him overall. he could have waited until late marcv when the gophers will be done playing but didnt.

fine, I am sure no players from UND will ever be tempted to going pro early. and, I am sure that now it has happened once, it will never happen again. Of course, if it works out well for Motherwell, and Okposo, I am sure no other family friend will try to talk any other kid into doing it. Heck, Maybe next year und will actually have aplayer good enough for the wjc.

[AZSIOUX]

fine, I am sure no players from UND will ever be tempted to going pro early. and, I am sure that now it has happened once, it will never happen again. Of course, if it works out well for Motherwell, and Okposo, I am sure no other family friend will try to talk any other kid into doing it. Heck, Maybe next year und will actually have aplayer good enough for the wjc.

you are a bright one...wow. he QUIT. my point since you cant understand is that he LEFT MID SEASON. it doesnt happen often and especially to a player like KO and his talent. of course players leave early but thats before the season genious, the sioux have 3-5 it seems every stinkin year like the gophers and top programs but to leave mid season when things arent going good for you or your team is gutless. many players are probably asked to leave after world juniors but 99.9999% of the time they dont leave. they made a commitment for that season to a team and honor that. KO was my favorite non sioux for sure. loved his game but something wasnt there for him this season so he bailed.

and yeah, we are really worried that we didnt have a wjt player this season. im sure it will hurt in recruiting, what in the fk will hakstol do, might as well fold the program let a genious like you take it over. thats cool, you do have 4 proud to wear the M gophers on the USA team which i will be cheering for, oh wait, make that 3 gophers now and a NY ISLANDER, lets hope KO doesnt bail when they get to the medal round

[squirtcoach]

fine, I am sure no players from UND will ever be tempted to going pro early. and, I am sure that now it has happened once, it will never happen again. Of course, if it works out well for Motherwell, and Okposo, I am sure no other family friend will try to talk any other kid into doing it. Heck, Maybe next year und will actually have aplayer good enough for the wjc.

Fine.

Late last summer, didn't someone talk about Lucia recruitiung the mercenary type hockey players, that tend to leave teams in a lurch much like KO, Mueller, Kessel, Johnson....

Having been involved in youth hockey in Minnesota for the last 15 years, and seeing all these same kids I mentioned above play, I saw them as mercenary types who were all about the name on the back of the jersey, not the team logo on the front. They all jumped their community teams as soon as they were offered something better.

But Happy, please don't worry your little head about the Fighting Sioux. I think we'll do just fine even without those WJC stars this year. And thanks for stopping by to let us know you're worried about the future of Fighting Sioux Hockey all the same.

[siouxforeverbaby]

It pains me to admit it about a Goof player but I thought he was one of the best players on the ice for the recent series, so it will be interesting to hear him explain why he would chose to bail on his team half way through the season. Perhaps he was somewhat skipping out on the academics and realized that the WJHC was only going to cause him to be further behind? I would say that pretty much puts the nail in their coffin for this season.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=225542&hubname=nhl

unless Minnesota ends after North Dakota does or starts before North Dakota, he wouldn't miss that much school. All of our players were back before the start of school last year and they only missed finals week, which finals can be arranged to be taken sooner.

As much as this hurts the Gophers, I wouldn't count them out just yet. They might surprise us and no one can underestimate anyone in this year's WCHA.

Stinks to be the Gophers right now, and we just need to remember that this could happen to us, not counting Grieco leaving of course.

[siouxkid12]

Fine.

Late last summer, didn't someone talk about Lucia recruitiung the mercenary type hockey players, that tend to leave teams in a lurch much like KO, Mueller, Kessel, Johnson....

Having been involved in youth hockey in Minnesota for the last 15 years, and seeing all these same kids I mentioned above play, I saw them as mercenary types who were all about the name on the back of the jersey, not the team logo on the front. They all jumped their community teams as soon as they were offered something better.

But Happy, please don't worry your little head about the Fighting Sioux. I think we'll do just fine even without those WJC stars this year. And thanks for stopping by to let us know you're worried about the future of Fighting Sioux Hockey all the same.

"WE", since when did you play for the Gophers? and why is it so bad that a player leaves when they are offered something better? If you got offered a job at a different place that paid more wouldnt you leave? I bet you would! These kids dont owe anything to anyone, they are looking out for whats best for them and yea it sucks that he left midway through the season but he felt that it was the right time, can't hate on a kid for that!

[passit_offthegoalie]

"WE", since when did you play for the Gophers? and why is it so bad that a player leaves when they are offered something better? If you got offered a job at a different place that paid more wouldnt you leave? I bet you would! These kids dont owe anything to anyone, they are looking out for whats best for them and yea it sucks that he left midway through the season but he felt that it was the right time, can't hate on a kid for that!

you have to play for the gophers to be a fan of the sioux??? wow, this changes everything

[siouxkid12]

you have to play for the gophers to be a fan of the sioux??? wow, this changes everything

oops my bad!

[Big A HG]

I must have motivated him when I told him he'd be the Islanders biggest bust in history while he was sitting in the penalty box.

[AZSIOUX]

if the islanders wanted him that bad they would have told him to skip the WJT and come right in to NY. maybe NYI didnt want to piss off USA Hockey for the future but he wont even see NY for another 3 weeks. interesting all around, he should take Team USA out for a luxurious steak dinner

[Siouxdonyms]

"WE", since when did you play for the Gophers? and why is it so bad that a player leaves when they are offered something better? If you got offered a job at a different place that paid more wouldnt you leave? I bet you would! These kids dont owe anything to anyone, they are looking out for whats best for them and yea it sucks that he left midway through the season but he felt that it was the right time, can't hate on a kid for that!

A lot of fans use "we" when referring to their team, even though they don't play for the team, so even though this was a Sioux fan who made the statement, and you've been corrected already, I still think it's a pretty petty argument to make. As far as what do they owe the team? Players make a commitment to play for a team, and they should honor that commitment. The school's commitment is to give them a top quality education for free. However, it goes beyond that. In the adult world, which maybe you'll enter sometime, when you make a commitment, your character is judged on that commitment, especially when you break it. The "me" attitude isn't what wins in hockey, nor in life.

[dagies]

A lot of fans use "we" when referring to their team, even though they don't play for the team, so even though this was a Sioux fan who made the statement, and you've been corrected already, I still think it's a pretty petty argument to make. As far as what do they owe the team? Players make a commitment to play for a team, and they should honor that commitment. The school's commitment is to give them a top quality education for free. However, it goes beyond that. In the adult world, which maybe you'll enter sometime, when you make a commitment, your character is judged on that commitment, especially when you break it. The "me" attitude isn't what wins in hockey, nor in life.

After you blow town in the middle of a tough season see how welcome you are when you come back to pick up your couch. Sure, they'll have you in for a beer, but they won't tell you about the bars of soap in the towels (cue Full Metal Jacket here)...

[Siouxdonyms]

After you blow town in the middle of a tough season see how welcome you are when you come back to pick up your couch. Sure, they'll have you in for a beer, but they won't tell you about the bars of soap in the towels (cue Full Metal Jacket here)...

Memories of the good 'ol military days!!! Can't do that to the panzies in the service these days!

[Blackheart]

Good riddance to another rodent.

I just hope the rest of the guys can grit it out, especially with World Jrs. coming up...

[DAR]

This is pretty bush league....how would we feel if Oshie did that....which of course he never would. I am thinking Kyle saw how well Johnny is doing and wanted a piece of the pie. Hard to say what his motivation is. Anyway anything negative with the Goofs is fine by me.