(above) Portland Winterhawks GM & Head Coach Mike Johnston welcomes defenseman William WrennMike Chambers of the Denver Post looks at William Wrenn's departure from the team. There are some quotes from Coach Gwozdeck as well.
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The Oregonian in Portland mentions Wrenn's impending arrival and its expected his first game with the Portland Winterhawks will be on Sunday night.
14 comments:
Good luck to Wrenn. I hope he finds his footing in the WHL.
For those of you who know more about the CHL that I do--based on what we've seen regarding his ability and talent, is he likely to step right in and contribute in the WHL?
Total lack of leadership in the DU program for not instilling team first mentality.
Anon 4:49,
Care to elaborate? Or are you here to mudsling?
Simple...... Coaches instill character, obviously that didn't happen. Gwoz should look in the mirror for an explanation to a mid-season defection.
Wrenn was bust at the WCHA level, pure and simple. Injuries did not help, but DU did all they could with a player who just wasn't developing into a WCHA caliber defenseman.
This has almost nothing to with Gwoz instilling character and everything to do with an underperforming hockey player wanting more playing time when he can't crack the DU lineup. Second round draft picks want power-play time, and there is no way Wrenn was near that level of play. Wrenn has one point in 18 games and was a team low -7, with no one else even close. Gwoz played Wrenn all he could as a 7th d-man, but Wrenn was simply not good enough be in the top 6 d-men at DU. Gwoz developed 2 high character, recruited walk ons who beat out Wrenn for defensive slots, and Wrenn could see even better players coming next year.
So instead of sitting on the bench, he bailed on his school, his teammates and and a $200,000 education, which he is going to likely need after his minor league career is over.
Wrenn is a good kid. But he's not a good enough player to play regularly for a top 10 hockey team. Could he have been? Maybe. But he didn't want to wait.
Wrenn could be okay in the WHL playing against teenagers, but he made a big mistake in throwing away an education he'll now have to pay for, and will need, because he doesn't appear to be a high level pro prospect anymore.
5:57Maybe Wrenn should look in the mirror eh?
Wow, nice "throw under the train" rant, swami. Wrenn obviously got a whiff of Gwoz's "me first, team second" attitude. Penn State here I come.
4:49.......good stuff. You make up good creative crap. You and the Exiled One should write a book together.
Well, on to greener pastures, I suppose. I hope Wrenn finds his new home hospitable.
It's time to unleash the Brehm!
Wrenn was a leader on his u18 team; respected and liked as a team player by all his teammates despite being consistently over shadowed by Cam Fowler thru his tenure at the ntdp. My recollection is that he was elected captain of the u18 world tournament team. That he hasn't been able to make the transition to top 4 d-men at a top 10 program does not mean that he isn't capable of playing at the college level. What it means imo is that he probably felt a sense of entitlement (based on his high draft status) to play ahead of undrafted players and/or walk-ons. It is very unusual for players drafted in the top few rounds to be healthy scratches; even during their freshman year. However, i give their coach credit for playing based on ability and performance, not nhl predictions. If his minus 8 for the season had been earned while always playing consistently against the other teams top lines, then i believe you can discount the figure; but for a 3rd line d-man, plus minus needs to be better than that to move up the depth chart ladder.
Wrenn wasn't even in the top 6. He wasn't good enough to play regularly, and when did play, he was very average, at best. He was a subpar player, end of story.
If you actually watched him play, he was often tentative rather than decisive in his decision-making. That will get you killed at this level, hence the -7.
The second part of his his game that was subpar was his footspeed, which may be a product of the injuries. He has average speed and is not a fast player right now, which also contributed to the -7.
Thirdly, the "plays with an edge" part of his game was largely missing at this level. He wasn't a nasty player to play against - not a punishing hitter, nor a feared opponent.
Finally, the offensive puck-moving and point-producing part of his game wasn't able to translate at this level. 8 points in 42 games tells the story, with 1 point this year.
There is no question that he's a good kid, a good student and good leader, and I would have like to see see him stay a part of the DU team. But since he's struggling at the D-I level, his pro prosepcts aren't good. He should have got the diploma.
Some people don't hesitate to speak their minds because they have nothing to lose.
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