1st Round Picks

[Brandonite]

Brandon has always drafted grat players but is it just me or have we had some really bad luck lately with 1st round picks especially not panning out with certain picks? Jeff Topilko (bust), Mike Cann (bust), Sanfred King (bust), and now Brandon Regeir (no show) just seems like some bad luck lately. I know when these kids are only 14 its a crap-shoot as to what your getting in the future but thats just one thing I have noticed lately.

[Trav]

Regier isn't coming this year shouldn't mean it's bad luck. Look at the Wheat Kings lineup right now, he likely would've been hard pressed to make the team, especially since they signed Lewadniuk and if Mayorov comes thats another spot used up. Also Stone and Depape might be higher on the depth chart to.

He can go back to midget or whereever and play a lot and should have a pretty good season.

[GlutenGlutton]

Don't forget those plugs they took in 06. The names escape me. Brayden somebody and Glen Scottie? :)

In all seriousness, Regier would have been lucky to get into 40 games. He's better off spending a year tearing up midget. It didn't work out all that bad for Matt Calvert.

Pressure's on King. If he isn't a notch above last year I don't know where he fits in.

[nivek_wahs]

Regier update..... from Alan Caldwell's Blog http://smallatlarge.blogspot.com/2008/08/regier-update.html


Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Regier update

I guess the news for the Wheat Kings gets worse....2007 first round pick Brandon Regier isn't just declining to play for them this year, he's quitting hockey altogether. He has a mid-90's average in school and wants to focus on his education and getting on with his life. With marks like those, the opportunities for him outside of hockey will likely be pretty good as well.

Bad, bad news for the Wheaties but we should all keep in mind that Regier's only 16 years old and could yet change his mind quite easily in a year or two. Perhaps after he finishes high school he might want to give hockey another shot before going to university....he'd only be 18 and could still play two or three years in the WHL at that point.

It's hard to understand, for those of us who never had the ability to even dream of playing in the WHL, how a kid with Regier's combination of size and skill could abandon a legitimate shot at the extreme fame and fortune of an NHL career, but at the end of the day if you're not happy doing what you're doing, you should probably consider doing something else. As long as he's happy with his decision, it's the right one to make....

Posted by Alan Caldwell at 1:04 PM

[Vik]

That sucks something fierce.

I can't get my head around it. Regardless of my marks in school I can't imagine passing up a potential hockey career. But I guess he ain't me.

[Purple_Monkey_Dishwasher]

What a punk

[Trav]

for wanting to stay back in BC for another year instead of playing perhaps 4th line minutes in the WHL? Wow, thats sure being immature. Why don't you think before you make a stupid comment like that.

[Purple_Monkey_Dishwasher]

for wanting to stay back in BC for another year instead of playing perhaps 4th line minutes in the WHL? Wow, thats sure being immature. Why don't you think before you make a stupid comment like that.

Have you read, he doesn't intend to play at all. Grow thicker skin, realize it's the internet than come back when the fantasy you live in is over.

[sbtatter]

Give Regier time, he may change his mind in a year or so....at least we have 6 or 7 other forwards chomping at the bit to make this team....
King will likelt only be a squad player this year, unless he's decided to become more physical out there.....

[Trav]

that nivek posted but still just because he's quitting hockey all together right now doesn't mean he should be bashed and called a punk. People are entitled to make a change in life so everyone should respect his decision, the Wheat Kings are.

[Purple_Monkey_Dishwasher]

I can call people whatever I want. It's the internet. You people here are so over protective. Like my god, can't say anything without the mods coming in and deleting every word that doesn't pertain to hockey. It's a message board, it's the internet, not bible college or church.

[Scout]

I searched this thread for a deletion by a Mod and found only one, which was deleted by the poster himself. Can you please tell me where in this thread there was a deletion by a Mod. Secondly, threads are not deleted for not being hockey related but for name calling or attacking a poster. Thirdly, yes it is the internet and yes you have the priveledge to post as you wish within guidelines. If we did not monitor posts this forum would be like the old grey board. I am one of the original members of this forum and the reason we started it was because so many other forums turned away from hockey and went to nothing but name calling and personal attacks.

Scout

[Scout]

Top hockey prospect hangs ’em up

By Dan Kinvig - Abbotsford News

Published: August 13, 2008 6:00 PM
Updated: August 13, 2008 11:02 PM First round pick Regier, 16, stuns Wheat Kings

Becoming a big-time hockey star is what every Canadian boy is supposed to dream about.

But with the bright lights of the Western Hockey League staring him in the face – not to mention the dream of a potential NHL career after that – highly touted prospect Brandon Regier has made a stunning decision to hang up his skates.

The 16-year-old Abbotsford product recently informed the Brandon Wheat Kings, who made him a first round bantam draft pick in the spring of 2007, that he doesn’t intend to play hockey this year – not in the WHL, not on any other junior circuit, not even in the local men’s league. And while Regier hasn’t completely closed the door on returning to the game, it sounds for all the world like he’s done with hockey for good.

“It’s never been my favourite thing to do in the world,” he told The News on Tuesday. “Everyone’s telling me they hope I change my mind.

“But I haven’t been on the ice since March, and I haven’t missed it at all.”

For a kid who doesn’t really like hockey, Regier happens to be pretty good at it. Just over a year ago, he was the toast of the local hockey community after the Wheat Kings selected him in the first round of the bantam draft, 17th overall. His stats the previous season with the Abbotsford bantam AAA Hawks were a testament to his rare blend of speed and skill (52 goals in 62 games) along with size and toughness (174 penalty minutes), and scouts called him a prototypical WHL player.

But as it turns out, hockey had never really captured Regier’s imagination. When he was a kid, he says, his dad more or less had to drag him to the rink. And early in the 2006-07 season, he told WHL scouts he didn’t even want to be drafted. As the year wore on, though, he changed his mind, as teenagers are known to do from time to time.

Regier, who suited up for the Fraser Valley Bruins major midget squad this past year, decided his heart wasn’t in it when the season wrapped up in March.

At this point, he’s not sure what he wants to do with his life, but he’s fairly certain it’s not hockey. He’s a gifted student, maintaining an academic average in the mid-90s at W.J. Mouat Secondary last year, and he imagines he’ll attend university one day, perhaps to pursue a business or finance degree.

“I’m just a kid – my mind can change at any moment,” Regier acknowledged. “I’m not going to promise I’m never going to play hockey again, but for now, I really don’t want to.

“Right now, I don’t think I’ll regret it. People who make it to the NHL want to be there (at the rink) every second of the day.”

Regier’s choice to walk away from the game is even more fascinating when you consider that his older brother Jeff is as driven as any hockey prospect you’re likely to find. Abbotsford bantam AAA Hawks bench boss Troy Campbell, who coached both Regier brothers, called Jeff “the most intense player I’ve ever coached” on draft day 2006 when the Everett Silvertips picked the burly blueliner in the second round (34th overall).

Asked if he’d ever consider hanging up the skates, Jeff Regier could only chuckle.

“Absolutely not,” said the 17-year-old, who appeared in 41 games with the Silvertips last season. “We’re brothers, but there’s a few things where we’re different.

“I tried to change his mind, but it didn’t work out,” he added. “I didn’t like it at first, but it’s his decision.”

Brandon Regier played four games for the Wheat Kings last year as an affiliate player, and the WHL club anticipated that he’d crack the roster this fall as a 16-year-old rookie.

“We were caught off-guard, just based on how good a player he is and the fact that he was real excited to be part of our organization,” Wheat Kings coach/GM Kelly McCrimmon said. “Everything was on track for him to be on our team this year. But that’s life – people make decisions, and he deserves some credit for being honest and up-front about how he feels.”

Scout