Jared Cowen

[westbeach55]

Saskatoon defenceman Jared Cowen is heralded as one of the best 1991-born players in Canada, but he has asked the Spokane Chiefs not to pick him first overall in next Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft.

Ok Eric Lindros, nobody should pick this kid up, he thinks he is too good he can choose what team he wants to play for. He said he wants to be close to his family. grow up you can't be a mamma's boy your whole life.

[Triton]

Agreed.I think he should be grateful a CHL wants him.I'd kill to have played in the WHL more than a exhibition game.

Cowan..time to get off mamma's tit.

[dondo]

I third the motion.. as was brought up in a Bruins thread.. nobody is above the game and if you aren't willing to play for the team which drafted you then you shouldn't play in the CHL at all - full stop.

Now teams need to take this into account and if there's a comparable TEAM player then take him above this whiny dipstick - maybe sliding waay down the draft will smarten him up.. if not the league needs to step in and give this BANTAM player a slap upside the head and an ultimatum - play or don't play at all in the CHL.

[Trav]

it does make him look selfish in a way, cant really blame him for wanting to stay close to home though however if Spokane were to pick him, he should play for them no questions asked. Suspense before the bantam draft, I like it lol.

P.S Should Spokane pass him I doubt fans would care two years later. Colton Gillies did the same thing, told the PG Cougars he wanted to come here to Saskatoon which he did at 2nd overall. At the time people criticised him, dont hear much of that now though.

Gotta feel for PG since the guy they took (Ryan Kerr) isnt even on the team anymore.

[Dwight Schrute]

spoke should take him anyway
they can at least trade him too
also if he was unwilling to play for spokane they would still hold his rights so he couldnt play for another team
if spoke passes on him will red deer take him at 2 ?
i think if he is there at #4 the raiders would take him

[Warrior Fan]

Trade
Spencer Hoehn 2nd round pick(16) we won't have room for him again this season, so they may as well move him.
1st rd pick 2006 draft
Cullen Morrin. (16) Good looking dman. Handles the puck well and seems to be getting some nice size to him. Buried though behind some better D. Deserves a shot at playing somewhere though.
This deal would land Moose Jaw a huge talent and keep him close to home. It would move them up in the draft to get him. We give up 2 pretty solid young players plus they still get a 1st rd pick for this season. This is a deal that would benefit both teams for sure.

Hoehn is a smaller but skilled player with exceptional speed and decent puck handling skills. He has quick release shot and has alot of tools.

[grainbear]

I am seeing a lot of flak , for this kid.I for one I admire his honesty . I would rather have a player up front tell me not to pick me then choose him and then not report. This is much better for the Chiefs, who at least now can pick their choice of player who will report and make a significant impact for the team . When push comes to shove their is really not much difference in players taken in the first round. If the teams have made proper choices they will all certainly have an impact on the team and make a difference.

[Toswammi]

We are starting to see more this now. And it is quite frankly starting to annoy me. Watching hockey in swift its only a matter of time before some one holds out here cause we are too small market or something. If you are fortunate to be drafted suck it up and play for them, or at the very least keep this kind of thing on the d.l. and work something out later.

[Beaner]

Cut the kid some slack. And I emphasis KID.

If he is willing to go to the media and say he isnt ready to go that far away from home, at 15, then he isnt ready. If his parents dont want him to go to a team that far from home, then thats fine, they are his parents and he is still, a KID.

This is not the first time, or the last time that this will happen in this league. We are dealing with 14-15 year old KIDS here, not guys moving to the pros like Lindros.

Part of drafting in this league is knowing wether or not the family or the kid will even report, and wether or not they are planning on going the college route.

If I was in Spokanes' shoes, I would talk to the family see if there are teams he would be willing to play for then see if a deal can be reached.

Calling him a whiney dipstick is uncalled for IMO. In fact I think its pretty childish. And comparing this to the Eric Lindros situation is not comparable.

[Warrior Fan]

It would be hard for me as a parent to watch my kid move that far from home when he is only 15 years old. Just alot to ask of a young man. Even at 16. So if he waits til he is 17 it could hurt his development. Either way they don't want their "young" son playing that far from home. This league is about developing players no matter what team they are on. Pick someone that wants to play their. I am sure many would love it.

[N.W. Bruin]

? being a late bantam pick or a PPL spot or something. It least Cowan hasn't led the team on and have them waste the pick. They can get one of the quality forwards that are available in the bantam draft. The bantam draft sort of makes this happen here and there but just get him to some team that he is willing to play for instead of him going NCAA route though that would be a farther distance from home. Spokane has several options here - just pass on him, take him and trade him for some value or trade the pick for some value. Taking him and just holding his rights and him not reporting is not a option.

I remember Dennis Sobchuk didn't want to come out to the coast when Estevan moved out here for the 1971-72 season and he was a hot shot sixteen year old who had piled up a bunch of points for one of the Junior A teams in Saskatchewan and had picked up quite a number in some games in a callup situation in Estevan. Bruins traded him to Regina for five players. Sobchuk had over 100 points as a 17 year old for the Pats and increased the total as a 18 year old and though dropped back point wise still had well over 100 points as a 19 year old and led the Pats to their last Memorial Cup victory.

[dondo]

okay maybe i went over-board, but Lindros actually did this kind of thing at the lower levels as well. Don't you think that even though they are kids they are moving towards being professionals?

I guess you could say that its admirable for a player to say that he won't play for a team prior to being drafted, but i find that on the other side of things is that it's tanatamount to encouraging this kind of behavior, is it not?

[Tinner]

If your goal is to play hockey at the highest level, the NHL, then you go and play for the team that drafts you. Everyone knows that there are 20 teams in the league and wherever you are drafted, you should be grateful. Spokane should draft the best player available and then worry about what happens later. I too am getting tired of everyone thinking they have the right to tell teams where they want to play. All "kids" know how the system works and to that end, must live by the rules. Certainly there are other options available if he doesn't want to play for the team that drafts him......stay in midget, play tier 2 or quit.

[WHL Rules]

If your goal is to play hockey at the highest level, the NHL, then you go and play for the team that drafts you. Everyone knows that there are 20 teams in the league and wherever you are drafted, you should be grateful. Spokane should draft the best player available and then worry about what happens later. I too am getting tired of everyone thinking they have the right to tell teams where they want to play. All "kids" know how the system works and to that end, must live by the rules. Certainly there are other options available if he doesn't want to play for the team that drafts him......stay in midget, play tier 2 or quit.

Yes in a perfect world you would be right. ;)
Why should he be grateful to play in the Dub when he has more than likely a bunch of top NCAA teams on his doorstep (and before we all agree that the Dub is the better route, don't forget that from the top 5 in the CSB ranking in this years draft 3 are going to College)? That's the problem here, the playing field is not leveled. So the top players are getting more power to say where they want to play, because the CHL leagues do not want to loose them to College hockey. (That's the reason why Tavares was allowed to play as a 15 year old, why Esposito could choose to go to the Remparts at the tenth pick and so on).

[peatfan]

Too far away from home so he was traded to Oshawa. Who seems to get a lot of incredible gifted young stars-Lindros, Orr, Tavares.
I don't blame Cowan for not wanting to leave home yet. He is only 15 and how many of us were ready to leave home and our country at the age of 15. And I'm not talking about runaways. Most of us would prefer to stay at home or be close to home. Spokane knows this and can trade the pick away or still draft him and then trade him or since he can't play for a year wait and see what the kid's mind frame is in one year. Maybe at 16 he is willing to venture out and if not then trade him or wait until another year. Calgary has waited two years for Seabrooke to show up(granted he was a 4th round pick)a nd are still unsure about him. Sometimes you just have to wait and if I was in Spokane's shoes and if I felt the COwan is the best than draft him and wait a year.

[chiefgongshow]

Someone needs to take this kid aside and tell him about life in junior hockey. Part of what makes the experience fun is being away from home without parents close to control things and being with the boys. Overbearing parents make life miserable for the teams that draft players with them. Not sure if the Cowans are those people tho the signs are there, but here in Spokane the Chiefs are just about to rid themselves of such parentals.

Who trades for Cowan, and what are they willing to give? Sutter is widely rumored to have an agreement with Ferarro already, and Cowan wanted to play in RD. Swift owes the Chiefs after the disaster trade landing softie Schulz in the Can. I say work a deal with the Broncos for where the 1st's are swapped and Swift gives up a 89 or 90.

Jared Cowan is really Robbie McConnell haha. The Tournament, was based on his upbringing....I kid I kid. :groovy:

[dondo]

it just seems to me that more and more young players are too busy making negotiations (thanks to being targeted by agents earlier and earlier), and not spending time to actually play the game and become part of team.

By allowing individuals like this (and their agents.. and if you think Cowan doesn't have an agent in the background you are being naive), dictate how and where and when they play leads to players believing that they are above the game and above their team.

Hockey is one of the most pure TEAM games and treating individuals with talent like they deserve special treatment gives the wrong message imo. I was interested to learn about the college dynamic though, but I don't see NCAA colleges drafting/signing (for lack of better word) bantam players (or do they?)

Also the poster that mentioned that getting away from home and playing in a different city is part of the growth process is correct. The experience of getting away from your formative influences allows a young player to discover themselves earlier. Coddling will not do that.

[CB123]

He has asked the Spokane Chiefs not to pick him first overall in next Thursday's Western Hockey League bantam draft.

What a joke! All the GMs should just get together, and be like, yeah, he isnt worth it.

If he was drafted by Spokane, then he could just ask to be traded afterwards, dont make a big deal about it before the draft, and just assume you are the #1 pick (even though he may be).

[SeventhHeaven4U]

Dondo pretty much nailed it. It has nothing to do with "being close to his family at home" and has everything to do with "negotiating power" because it is a known fact that he is good and can use that to his advantage to be drafted by the team HE WANTS TO PLAY ON. If he was so close to his family, would he not have stated he would be more than happy to play with the Blades (his hometown team) or the Raiders, or Warriors, or Broncos or Pats which are a hell of alot closer to Toon than BRENT SUTTER IN RD. Face it, the kid wants the best coach and in his eyes its Sutter. In my eyes, it looks like he's not a "team" player, if he wanted to contribute his talent to a team he would not diss the Chiefs, he would be more than happy to help bring this club to its potential! Not going to Spokane has nothing to do with them finishing in last place (the Rebs didn't do much better) and it has nothing to do with being close to home. It's a power move, wouldn't you think that you're chances of being NHL drafted would increase if you had a Sutter as your coach to market you?? Anywhoo that's my opinion based on all the crap I've read, both fact and fiction.

[Toswammi]

Speaking of swift, it looks like the Broncos may end up players in this whole thing. Chenowyth(sp?) has stated that he is open to either trading up or trading down at the draft this thursday.

[rinkrat]

If he was so close to his family, would he not have stated he would be more than happy to play with the Blades (his hometown team) or the Raiders, or Warriors, or Broncos or Pats which are a hell of alot closer to Toon than BRENT SUTTER IN RD.

How many times does Spokane play in Saskatoon each season?
If he played for any team in the East,they would see him at least 4 times in Saskatoon,plus 4 in PA and they would probably go to Regina,Moose Jaw and other close cities too.They could watch him play dozens of times each season.Not to mention visiting and staying in touch.

[N.W. Bruin]

Too far away from home so he was traded to Oshawa. Who seems to get a lot of incredible gifted young stars-Lindros, Orr, Tavares.
I don't blame Cowan for not wanting to leave home yet. He is only 15 and how many of us were ready to leave home and our country at the age of 15. And I'm not talking about runaways. Most of us would prefer to stay at home or be close to home. Spokane knows this and can trade the pick away or still draft him and then trade him or since he can't play for a year wait and see what the kid's mind frame is in one year. Maybe at 16 he is willing to venture out and if not then trade him or wait until another year. Calgary has waited two years for Seabrooke to show up(granted he was a 4th round pick)a nd are still unsure about him. Sometimes you just have to wait and if I was in Spokane's shoes and if I felt the COwan is the best than draft him and wait a year.

As the Oshawa Generals were a Boston Bruins' sponsored team so that was the only place in the OHA (OHL) where they could assign him. He did get preferred attention by being able to go home more than the other players on the Generals but than he was only 14 when he started as career in Tier one Junior A. Boston actually got a hold of him when they spotted him at a game which they were actually scouting two other players on the opposite team. They quickly checked if anyone owned Parry Sound territorial rights and finding that no other team had it covered, quickly set up the arrangement with the Parry Sound Minor Hockey so they had exclusive rights to anyone coming out of the minor hockey organization.