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apsco17
09-02-2011, 10:54 PM
http://slightlychilled.areavoices.com/

The Only One…

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Ryan S Clark


Dubuque Fighting Saints head coach Jim Montgomery says he frequently gets texts or emails regarding his star forward Zemgus Girgensons.

He definitely got a few of them not too long ago after a report came out in DubNation, a WHL blog, regarding Girgensons. Girgensons, who is slated to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, was taken in the CHL Import Draft by the Kelowna Rockets.

Dubuque’s management has said multiple times Girgensons will play this season in Iowa and then go onto Vermont next season. Yet Rockets general manager, Bruce Hamilton, indicated the chances of the Rockets getting Girgensons was very much alive.

Here’s what Hamilton said to DubNation about Girgensons:

“His agents think (Dubuque) is where he should be playing and he’s very loyal to that program. But I know as soon as he’s drafted, the NHL team’s not going to want him in Dubuque and they’re not going to want him going to the University of Vermont, either. We’ll have a real good opportunity to have him here for sure next year, and potentially after Christmas this year. When the Latvian team plays in the world juniors, we’ll be very aggressive again there.”

Montgomery was given the chance to respond on Wednesday to what Hamilton said and here’s what the former University of Maine great had to say.

“First of all, I was wondering how he could be tampering with a player that plays with another junior team in the middle of the season. I was also wondering about his ethics and why would you want to try and approach someone trying to win a gold medal for his nation. Being a Canadian, he should know how important it is to win a gold medal. If junior hockey is coming to this type of level where you’re going to bother someone while they’re trying to win a gold medal for his country speaks volumes about the integrity of some of the people in junior hockey. I know for a fact that (Girgensons) hasn’t spoken to an adviser and (Girgensons’ adviser) hasn’t spoken to the kid either. He’s defending his draft pick and that’s why he’s putting a positive spin on it as possible. Really, he’s making himself look like he’s unethical.”

The battle for Girgensons is just another footnote in the long chapter of Major Junior vs. NCAA/USHL this summer. Tri-City’s Daniil Zharkov on Wednesday became the fifth player set to play in the USHL this summer to jump to Major Junior.

On the other hand, the USHL has retained four players from joining Major Junior teams this summer including Girgensons.

Montgomery, who is heading into his second season at Dubuque, said that he’s not really worried about the threat of Girgensons leaving. Dubuque director of player operations Adam Micheletti said a few weeks ago that the Rockets were not a major threat in regards to Girgensons leaving and that his one concern was Dinamo Riga (KHL) would offer Girgensons, a Riga native, a contract.

“He’s a loyal and intelligent young man. He’s not your normal 17-year-old. He’s the kind of kid who looks five years down the road,” Montgomery said. “I tell people that I email with the kid back and forth and we’ve talked about him being a force to be reckoned with in the USHL. If he’s going anywhere he’s pulling the wool over my eyes.”