Royally Flushed? Not So Fast

Denver defenseman's move to major junior wasn't directed by L.A.

From: CSTV Blog
by ELLIOT OLSHANSKY

(left) Elliot Olshansky is CSTV.com's hockey editor and runs his Rink Rat hockey blog on CSTV.com

For Denver coach George Gwozdecky, defenseman T.J. Fast's decision to leave school to join the Tri-City Americans of the major junior Western Hockey League is disappointing but not a long-term problem.

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"Obviously, we have nine defensemen on our varsity roster," Gwozdecky said. "One of them has been playing as a forward now for a number of weeks, J.P. Testwuide, and with T.J. Fast leaving school, that moves us to a point where, all of a sudden, certain guys who have been in and out of the lineup are going to get a chance to be a little bit more regular, so I think that's a good thing for them."

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However, for college hockey fans who remember seeing two of Fast's fellow Los Angeles Kings prospects--Michigan recruit Trevor Lewis and Yale sophomore-to-be David Meckler--leave college for the Ontario Hockey League after being drafted, the news of Fast's departure from the Pioneers midway through his sophomore year might be seen as a very big problem indeed.

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While the decision of Boston College forward Brian Boyle to return for his senior year and the team's trade for the rights to Michigan defenseman Jack Johnson--who has been adamant about his desire to stay with the Wolverines--may have assuaged some fans' concerns about the Kings attitude toward the college game, the departure of another high draft pick for major junior could raise concerns once again about anti-college bias in Los Angeles.

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However, the only bias on the part of Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi is towards players getting all the facts and making their own decisions.

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"The player still has to make the choice," Lombardi said. "Your obligation is to give him the pros and cons of each decision, and there are pros and cons to whichever avenue he pursues. Now, in the end, it's still going to be about the player's commitment, how good an athlete he is and how much he wants to be a pro. Whether he chooses college, junior, Europe, whatever: it's still going to come back down to the player. All avenues have demonstrated that a player who wants to be a pro can pursue each of these avenues and reach his goal. The most important thing is the relationship of trust that we have with our players; that at that stage of their careers, they're informed of the pros and cons and that whatever they do, we support them.

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"Even if a player does not make his own decision, he has to feel, `OK, I'm going this route, here's the pros and cons. If he doesn't, and he's struggling, or there's a bump in the road, his inclination a lot of times, as a human being, is, `I knew I should have went there! Why'd you tell me to go that route?' I've seen that before, so that's why it's important that with college, junior, whatever, all we do is, `Here's the pros and cons, make your call, we'll support you and stick with it."

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Lest anyone think that Lombardi is merely paying lip service, Gwozdecky can vouch for the Kings and their role--or lack thereof--in Fast's decision to go to Tri-City. In December, Gwozdecky was part of a conversation that also included Fast and Lombardi.

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"Back in late November or early December," Gwozdecky said, "myself, T.J. and the Los Angeles Kings had conversations, and it was made very certain, with no doubt, that Dean Lombardi--who was on the phone with us--wanted T.J. to stay here at Denver, and in no uncertain terms, he felt that this is the place for T.J. to develop, and get his education, and develop a more mature attitude toward life, and at that point, T.J. said, I'm staying."

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Lombardi, for his part, wanted to make sure that Fast made whatever decision he would eventually make for the right reasons.

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"What happens is, if it's not working out, they tend to blame the coach or whatever," Lombardi said. "I told him, basically, to look his coach in the eye and say he had been the best he can be and done everything he was doing, to make sure he wasn't running away from a problem instead of trying to overcome it."

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Two months later, Fast's opinion had changed, but Lombardi's had not.

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"He called to say he wants to leave," Lombardi said. "Same question: Did you do everything possible? Look yourself in the eye and not blame anybody else. Now, it's your decision, but at least now, I think you can look yourself in the mirror, and if he did that, then he can."

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Of course, Lombardi is more than savvy enough to know how Fast's departure might look in the light of previous moves by Kings draftees, and kept that in mind while dealing with Fast.

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"That's why I had the coach on the phone," Lombardi said, "so there's no misunderstanding. George is great. The guy's developed a lot of pros. He understands."

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Indeed, the Denver bench boss believes that anyone who tries to connect the dots between Lewis, Meckler and Fast will wind up with the wrong picture.

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"I think without knowing the story, I think people would probably want to say, `Hey, they're all the same,'" Gwozdecky said, "but I think this issue is much different. I think this is an issue where this young guy is struggling for a number of reasons and he wasn't enjoying hockey very much. He's a `B' student, and he has a lot of good friends on the team, but I think, for him, he probably had some illusions that hockey at the college level would be easier. A year and a half into his career, the role he thought he might be able to play, he hadn't developed into that role yet. So, I think as a result, he wasn't having a lot of fun, and with the full support of his parents, he decided to throw all his eggs in one basket and leave school."

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What will happen eventually with Fast and his "eggs" remains to be seen, but in the meantime, it's clear that it would be most unwise to "bet the farm" on any anti-college bias in the Kings organization.