Snow Told Paper Okposo Wasn’t Progressing
January 2nd, 2008 by Tom
I might be late coming to the party on this but I figured some of you folks might have missed it, too. A Dec. 20 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Islander GM Garth Snow convinced top prospect Kyle Okposo to sign with the team by telling him his coach at the University of Minnesota, Don Lucia, wasn’t doing a good job.
“Quite frankly, we weren’t happy with the program there,” Snow told the paper. “They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that.”
“(Okposo) just wasn’t getting better — bottom line. And to me, that’s the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn’t happening.”
The Islanders on Dec. 28 signed Okposo to a three-year deal that could be worth as much as $2.55 million, depending on certain bonus provisions, according to published reports.
In response to Snow’s charges, Lucia told the Start Tribune “I believe our staff does an excellent job of developing our players on and off the ice.
Thanks to Paul Harris’s column at USA Today for pointing out the Star Tribune story.
Dave Says
Coach Lucia says he was doing a good job preparing Okposo for his pro career. The evidence prooves otherwise. Luci put Okposo at Center when this is not his position, Okposo and his numbers suffered there. He requested Lucia put him back on wing and Lucia refused. At that point Okposo has a decision to make in order not to jepoordize his future. The only solution was to play wing and flourish or leave. Lucia closed one door, leaving was the only option. Snow, an NHL GM’s opinion is the only realistic opinion that counts. If Lucia continues to hold his head in the sand and coach his way, he will continue to loose players untill he looses his job.
Jan 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Nick Says
Lets not forget, Don Lucia’s primary responsibility is to win college hockey games and work towards a National Championship - not run a farm team for the NHL. This is a coach who has won 2 National Championships while at Minnesota and has produced players such as Jordan Leopold, Thomas Vanek, Phil Kessel and countless others. My advise to Garth Snow is, worry about your own job, there’s enough there to keep you busy.
Jan 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am