Comrie to Michigan: C-ya

Seeking earlier start to his NHL career, Hobey Baker finalist bids Blue adieu

By Joe Smith

Daily Sports Writer

Playmaker Mike Comrie will no longer be dazzling Yost Ice Arena crowds. Not even in the annual alumni game.

On August 16, Comrie told Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson, along with the rest of the country that he will forego his junior season as the Wolverines' star center to play major juniors for the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League.

Comrie took the CCHA by storm the past two years, notching 103 points in 82 games as a Wolverine and earning second team All-American honors.

But the Hobey Baker Award finalist feels that it would be more beneficial to play a year of major juniors in an attempt to become an unrestricted NHL free agent rather than return to the Maize and Blue.

Comrie was drafted in 1999 by the Edmonton Oilers, but thinks that he will have a better opportunity to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the NHL with a team other than his hometown Oilers.

"The main thing that influenced my decision was to do it for my future and so that I can have different options if things don't work out with the Oilers," Comrie said.

Originally, a player must sign with a team that drafted him within two years, or else he would be put back in the draft. NHL rules state that a team holds the rights to their draft picks until their eligibility is up.

But an arbitration ruling regarding former Wolverine Mike Van Ryn on June 23 challenged these rules and dramatically changed the options of college hockey players around the country.

Van Ryn, a 1998 first round pick of the New Jersey Devils, left the Wolverines before his junior year last season to play for Sarnia of the OHL.

After one year of major juniors, Van Ryn still was not signed by the Devils. According to league rules, Van Ryn should have been re-entered into the draft. Arguing that he was too old, Van Ryn sought to be an unrestricted free agent.

The Devils disagreed and thought they still had the rights to the former Michigan defenseman.

But an arbitrator ruled in Van Ryn's favor, saying that he belonged under rules governing major junior players and he was awarded unrestricted free agency from New Jersey.

Later this summer, Van Ryn signed a lucrative three year deal with the St. Louis Blues for over three million dollars.

The success of Van Ryn's decision has paved the way for other players, first Maine forward Barrett Heisten and now Comrie to leave their college teams after two seasons to pursue free agency from their drafted teams.

Many argue that this "Van Ryn" decision is neither good for college hockey nor the athletes, who can leave college early without pursuing their degree, and often times before they are developmentally ready for the NHL.

"It's a big risk that he's taking," Berenson said of Comrie. "He's putting himself in the position that if he wants to play in the NHL, he's only got one year to get ready. It's not cut and dry that this (decision) will help Mike Comrie."

The only question is whether the risk of giving up two years of eligibility at Michigan, a degree, a possible chance of winning a national title and developing more as a player under coach Red Berenson is worth playing major juniors for one year and taking the chance of becoming a free agent.

While some argue that collegiate competition is a better place to develop as a player as well as a student than major juniors, Bob Torry, general manager of the Kootenay Ice, feels that the "business" of hockey is becoming more relevant and agrees with Comrie's decision.

"I don't think that one league develops better than another," Torry said. "The business of hockey is so big now. Education you can always come back to. But hockey you can't play forever."

While Comrie and the Wolverines go their separate ways, the controversy over this decision and its effects on college hockey is being heavily discussed.

Problems that could arise are that many players will skip out of school after two years as a mere bargaining ploy, or even to just get away from the team that drafts them.

This will lead to NHL teams being reluctant to draft college players in fear that they would just jump ship and leave school early to force free agency.

Comrie reported to his new team, the Kootenay Ice, on September 1st, but will not forget what he's leaving behind.

"I'll miss the whole atmosphere," Comrie said. "Any Michigan hockey player will tell you how exciting it is to play all their games at Yost with the fans behind you. I'll miss my teammates that I've developed good relationships with, and I wish them well."