E-mail received about Ryan Walters' decommit from U

[GopherHole Staff]

GopherHole received this e-mail from the Walters camp:

Ryan just decomiitted following his meeting with coach lucia yesterday asking him to wait to 2011 and change the agitator part of his game.

Ryan just decomitted to the Gophers.
He was promised 2010 and he did everything they asked. since he was 15. He went and led STA as a sophomore and state title. They wanted him to have 60 plus points this year be on short hand and pp hew was
they wanted him in the allstar game he was and MVP
they wanted him to be a captain the last part of the year he served as an alternate

As late as last August when he left for Des Moines he met with them and they said hed go in.
At model camp they said the plan was to be in in 2010

Then they accelerated a second guy he was fine with that
then they brought in walk ons not good with that but would deal with it
then asked to play a 3rd year jr was really not good with that but would do it
until Friday when they told him to change his game and not be chirpy and an agitator just a scorer that was the final

Also they said he would only need one year of jr and didn't need to leave STA as a junior but he said he wanted to be more than prepared to contribute right away in 2010.

 

[bulldog.fan]

Ryan would look good alongside the Crandall brothers at UMD, help christen the new arena!

 

[buddylee853]

Ummm, okay, so he went through all that trouble just to change his mind. Good for him (or his dad, I should say). The funny thing is he's going to have to listen to coaches wherever he goes. Maybe it's better he finds a place that fits his style of play.

Good luck to the guy in his future endeavors, wherever he goes, but I think all of us could have DEFINITELY gone without the drama-queen letter.

 

[Gopherstud10]

It sounds like Ryan Walters and his dad are both cry babies

 

[ditt1605]

I can see why he de-committed and, personally, it makes me wonder what Lucia is thinking. If he was told to go to juniors for 2 yrs with the understanding that they would bring him in in 2010 and the U backed off that commitiment, he has every reason to change his mind. That's not a big deal in my eyes, sometimes things just don't work out. My issue is with Lucia trying to get him to change his game. Pretty much all the players the U is recruiting/bringing in are "scorers" or "playmakers". However, anyone who watched this team the past 3 years knows we lack players that fill the agitator/chippy palyer role. I don't understand why Lucia would ask him to change his game when it's a role that we need filled on this team. It's not like he's just a goon, since it seems like the guy can put up points as well. Maybe Lucia knows something we don't (already has physical players coming in, sees this guy as developing into an elite scorer..etc), but right now, I just don't get it.

 

[maxwellsmart]

Okay, I goof around on the BB and FB boards, kind of jump in and stir the pot a bit, but this is hockey, so it's time to get serious. Is this an authentic announcement from a legitimate source? It looks a bit sloppy to me. Anyway, IF it's accurate, it's import lies in further illuminating what seems to be a systemic problem with Lucia's program.

This year, while a bunch of Gophers pretty much took the season off, there was a Minnesota kid playing for BC in the NCAA title game, at least for his the second time. He was drafted early 2nd round out of HS. Never considered by the Gophers. There is another Minnesota kid who is playing in the W and is a fan favorite who never received interest from the Gophers. Why? No reason I know of other than they didn't play for one of the "name" high school hockey programs so evidently slid under the radar. Well, either that or Gopher coaches pay too much attention to where players are from rather than what they bring to the rink. Too many darn good hockey players are leaving this state while we fiddle with fair-haired stick handlers.

I once asked a Canadian junior coach / GM to define his ideal player. It went something like this, "Around 6' plus, a couple of hundred pounds, leads the league in scoring and also penalty minutes." This guy knows you need both. We have the scoring potential but not the other. If our coaches don't understand that, which is tough to believe of experienced hockey men, then we need a change sooner than later. If they do understand it, then there is no excuse for the message contained in the OP.

 

[umgh23]

Well Minnesota hockey can't have someone who might hit an opposing player, or go into the corners, so it's understandable that Walters would not fit on the current Gopher team of no-contact sissies.

 

[ditt1605]

I was listening to "beyond the pond" on saturday and Walters decommit was mentioned. It was either micheletti or Miller that mentioned that the U had been hoping that this kid would decommit. They said that they heard that the U has had issues with him for about 2-3 yrs. Not sure if that means if they have issues with his attitude/skills/development or what. It was a pretty much a glancing comment as if Micheletti/Miller expected this for a while and it was no big deal.