Dream comes true for St. Denis

[nivek_wahs]

From Greg Harder's weekly colum in the LeaderPost http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=1848d954-a742-49db-b9e6-687c8b253ab7


Dream comes true for St. Denis

Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, January 18, 2007

Kyle St. Denis got his wish.

Despite the Regina Pats' best efforts, St. Denis never warmed up to the idea of moving east to begin his WHL career, a stance that ultimately resulted in him being included in a six-player trade with the Kelowna Rockets on Dec. 6.

St. Denis, a 16-year-old native of Trail, B.C., ended his WHL boycott on Friday, scoring once in Kelowna's 4-0 win over the Prince George Cougars.

"I really didn't want to go down that side of the mountains (to Regina)," he told the Kelowna Daily Courier. "I wanted to stay here because it's been my dream to play for Kelowna since I was a kid."

Regina sent St. Denis to the Rockets along with Justin Bernhardt and Jason MacDonald for Troy Ofukany, Kirt Hill and Kaspars Saulietis.

St. Denis, Regina's fifth-round pick in the 2005 bantam draft, is projected to become the best of the six players involved in the trade. The Rockets are already comparing the diminutive forward to a former fan favourite.

"A lot of people are going to see Tyler Mosienko when they see him play," said Rockets assistant coach Ryan Huska. "But I think this guy's got quite a bit more skill than Tyler does. He'll be an exciting guy to watch."

St. Denis is committed to playing out the rest of the season with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers, but he may be called up again by Kelowna before joining the WHL club next season on a full-time basis.

Had the Pats retained his rights, he may have chosen to stay in the junior A ranks.

[Redwic]

... more & more players seem to be making ultimatums as to where they will & will not play. It's a little discouraging, to say the least.

[witness]

Not really. It is nice to see that players have options and have some control over their destiny. Opposed to being just another asset.
In the end, it is about the WHL product. This kid is going to be a star in this league and this is where he should be playing. If I was an owner, GM, or a coach, I would like my kids to be happy. They will be much more productive that way.
And who really knows what the kid's story is. He is 16. Some 16 year olds are ready to move 3 provinces away from everyone they know, and others are not.
Then there are other ties, like parents, grandparents, and other relatives. You have to remember that the Pats make that West Coast tour only once every two years. As a parent, I would like to see my kid 2 - 4 times a month, rather than 2 - 4 times a year. The phone calls just don't cut it.
And the kid didn't say he wanted to be traded to Kelowna. He just said he had reservations about moving so far east and would explore his options. And the Pats have finally learned to except that, get what you can for the player, and move him along.

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

Its becoming very irritating that the pats have to lose so many players because of outside issues, especially selfish ones.

It shouldnt matter what dreams you have. If your committed to go to the next level, you should be greatful to play for any of the teams. Sure he is a kid, but if he gets "home sick" and wants to play for a team closer to home where he can hold his mommys hand, then he should think twice about making the transition to the league at all. What happens when he makes it to the NHL, and gets drafted from a team that ISNT Vancouver? What is he gonna do if he goes to Florida or some place that far away? Is he going to demand a trade? or will be pull a slade?

Either way, I getting sick and tired of this bull****. Its situations like this that have prevented the pats from making any real progress in the last 10 years. Why does it always gotta be the talented players that do this too?

However, if Robert Spalenka(Hanzels Agent) is St. Denis's Agent, then I might know what the problem is. :dead:

[rinkrat]

"I wanted to stay here because it's been my dream to play for Kelowna since I was a kid."

LOL isn't he still a kid?? :spineyes:

[old_time_hockey]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I read that.

I think some of these kids are getting too full of themselves. And you know who I blame? Eric Lindros. I don't want to go to Quebec so I won't and hold out for a trade. FOOL! could have been part of a Stanley Cup winning team.

[rinkrat]

Mario Lemieux was the earlist hold out I can remember,but Tommy McVie and his ilk may have several old time examples. ;)


Quote "Loudest booing by fans watching the draft: Watching back at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, thousands of Penguins fans began booing Mario Lemieux when he snubbed the Pens. It's customary for players to go up to the stage, put on some the team's gear, and shake hands with the team's brass. However, Lemieux refused, sending fans in Pittsburgh into an uproar. Lemieux wouldn't even go over to the team's draft table because his agent and Pens were locked in contract negotiations."

[Swando]

When players who are "truly kids" have options to continue playing at a high level like the Pacific Jr et........doesn't seem to hurt their chances of draftabilty if they are good. So if a "kid" does not want to be away from family for long periods IT's his option. It hurts when your team is affected but that's life and the kid has his rights. In St Denis case being on the very small side an NHL career may be a long shot so why struggle 2000 miles from home and be unhappy when you can play near home either way!!

[rinkrat]

Why not ask the players to "opt in"?

If you want to enter the bantam draft or NHL draft,you sign a form stating that you will report to said draft team.

[Bran]

It's frustrating when teams waste drafts picks on kids who don't want to report, but there isn't really anything you can do about that. I wouldn't really compare Hanzal and St. Denis...same end result, but the factors leading up to it are different. What I don't get is this: hockey is a game of sacrifice, sometimes you've gotta give something up to win, or in this case, even to play. Yeah, he's young. I don't blame him for wanting to be close to home, but what about the other 400+ players in this league? I'm sure most of them dreamed of playing for a particular team growing up, for 99% of them that didn't happen. But for most of these kids their ultimate goal is the NHL and most of them realize that they might have to give some things up to reach that goal. St. Denis has the talent and probably will make it someday, most of these guys never will, and yet they're willing to play wherever they can. When Mike Reich was traded to Regina he said this was the only place he ever wanted to play, he was ecstatic to be here. But he didn't hold out until he got his wish. So what message does this send to players, really? If you're going to be a star in this league you can play where you want? What's this kid going to do when he reaches the NHL? He won't be able to dictate where he will and will not play forever. I wish him luck, but he's got to learn that you can't always get what you want.

[witness]

Let's get this straight, to my knowledge Kyle St Denis did not tell the Pats that he would never play for them. He did not request or demand a trade. He was exploring his options. The WHL is not a grapevine to the NHL. Players can get drafted from the US college ranks and even from the BCHL. The NHL has scouts everywhere and if he is that talented the chances of him being over looked would be because of his size not where he plays.
I agree that teams need to do more homework on the players. The Pats finally woke up about three years ago and talked to the players and their parents about their interest in playing for the Pats. It has served them well because a majority of drafted players have reported or signed. St Denis was a 5th round draft choice and sometimes you just take a chance, it didn't work out. No sense whinning about it, time to move on.
Regina has taken some steps to clean up their act. There was a reason why players didn't want to play here. Interfering and bad management, bad to borderline abusive coaching, poor medical staff, and inappropriate billets (not all but some). Things are better and the attitute of the players have improved. The team climate is much better, and hopefully keeps improving.

[Bran]

Let's get this straight, to my knowledge Kyle St Denis did not tell the Pats that he would never play for them. He did not request or demand a trade. He was exploring his options. The WHL is not a grapevine to the NHL. Players can get drafted from the US college ranks and even from the BCHL. The NHL has scouts everywhere and if he is that talented the chances of him being over looked would be because of his size not where he plays.
I agree that teams need to do more homework on the players. The Pats finally woke up about three years ago and talked to the players and their parents about their interest in playing for the Pats. It has served them well because a majority of drafted players have reported or signed. St Denis was a 5th round draft choice and sometimes you just take a chance, it didn't work out. No sense whinning about it, time to move on.
Regina has taken some steps to clean up their act. There was a reason why players didn't want to play here. Interfering and bad management, bad to borderline abusive coaching, poor medical staff, and inappropriate billets (not all but some). Things are better and the attitute of the players have improved. The team climate is much better, and hopefully keeps improving.
Very good points. I understand where some of these kids are coming from. I wouldn't necessarily want to leave home either, but if it meant a better shot at my dreams, I think I'd do it. Would it make a huge difference which league he's playing in? If he's as talented as they say, then likely not.

As far as the Pats...over the past couple of seasons there have been HUGE improvements and they're easy to see. Where it's most noticeable? The players are happy! Who'd have thought? Everyone's committed to the same goals, and everyone (finally) knows their place in the organization. Top to bottom. It finally fits. Aside from management, coaching issues, etc. the past two seasons we've seen players who are not only talented, but hard working. They want to be successful and they want eachother to succeed, everyone gets along. How novel. I understand why St. Denis would want to play in BC. I don't think you can even compare him to Hanzal. Completely different circumstances. Is it frustrating? Maybe a little...but losing St. Denis made room for some good players, and even better people. They're a huge asset to this team, and to the community. In the end, maybe we lost out on a great player, but we'll be fine without him. (I meant better people than players, not better people than St. Denis! I want to clear that up before anyone takes it the wrong way!)

[Warrior Fan]

Parker has had a history himself of screwing over some very good hockey players who were picked and committed to playing for him.

Example, Ryan Neiszner from MJ. He was drafted and played well when called upon. He was the starter on the team that won gold a couple of years ago and Rowat was his BACKUP. Last year at camp they sent him to Kindersley. He was called into the office and told the news in the mean time the team had all left for a team function. He was left in the Agridome for 2 1/2 hours waiting for a ride to his billets house with no offer from anyone in the Pats office at all. His dad had to leave work and travel from MJ to REG to pick him up and take him home. Unreal.

They call him up and use his college up and give him nothing for it. No schooling, no games, no chance of playing at the next level full time. Now here is a 18 year old kid who had asked for a trade and never got one til it was too late. Calgary had expressed interest. No DEAL. They just kept him on the roster and didn't allow him to try to get on with a team. They had no intentions of using this guy so why would u hold onto him. Let him go and play somewhere. Trade him somewhere.

Then Pats fans wonder why it is players don't want to go there. It is very unpredictable. All the players that just flat out quit. More than any other team in the league bar none. Why is that?