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Last week this Daily Dish focused on the need to eliminate in-season poaching from the level of play.
Well, it did not take long to discover the first major offender.
The Western States Hockey League's Bay
Area Seals are the first team being added to the Poachers' List after snagging
a pair of high-end prospects from the Northwest Junior Hockey League's Grand
Prairie JD Kings.
The Seals brag about their catch in
this article that was featured on the team's website.
Forward Corey Wamsteeker was the NWJHL
rookie of the year last season and also tearing the Canadian league up again this
year. JD Kings defenseman Mac Putio joins his buddy Wamsteeker in California.
The JD Kings are being left is a
difficult position now that the December 1st deadline for adding
players has come and gone. In this article, posted on the team's website, the writer talks about the WSHL teams'
ability to snag players without compensation.
In an exchange
of voice mails on Friday, Bay Area Seals' boss Chris Collins had this to say.
"I did not rip
anybody, and don't appreciate the accusations," Collins told us. "I don't give
a f*** what they said, if players want to come down here to get better exposure,
I'm going to let them."
Better
exposure? Come on Collins, you can't be serious.
"One of the
guys wants to go to college the other is a professional prospect," Collins
explained. "The parents contacted us and said they wanted their sons down here."
This is a
direct contradiction of what the Seals are saying on their own website: Once returning from Las Vegas, both Collins
and Racette, went north of the border to make two significant acquisitions.
The Kings, on the other hand are very upset with Collins and the Seals."The fact that
none of our executives or any coaching staff was contacted in regards to this
is pretty pathetic on the part of that hockey club; we asked numerous times to
be contacted but received nothing."
"They don't
have any right to tell me how to run my business," Collins added. "I have 25
years of National Hockey League and professional experience and it will be a
cold day in hell before anyone tells me how to run my business."
WSHL
Commissioner Ron White agrees that nobody should be tampering with players on active
rosters but admits that he is essentially powerless. "The WSHL (and Amateur Athletic Union Hockey) does
not have a roster protection agreement with Hockey Canada or the North West
Junior Hockey League," White said.
The big
question is this, are all these players really paying to play?
What kind of
penalty could we possibly impose on Chris Collins and the Seals? I declare Open Season on the Seals roster. If any team is short on players, the Seals
have a number of good ones right now. We know of a number of North American
Hockey League teams that could use a few imports now that the limit has been
raised by two. Coaches and team owners are encouraged to comb the Seals roster
for the prospects of your choice. Facebook is an easy way to contact players.
Mr. Collins,
you can't say we didn't warn you.
JuniorHockey.com is the premier website dedicated to delivering the latest
news and developing stories from junior hockey across North America, as well as
providing online tools for junior hockey players and prospects. With over
225,000 views each month Juniorhockey.com is the internet's leading source of
junior hockey news and information.
Stephen Heisler resides in Puerto Penasco, Mexico with
his wife, Maria, and their two children, Sonia and Tomas. Tune in to his Mexico
based Classic Rock Station, GoPenasco Radio. POACHER'S LIST Bay Area Seals, WSHL. Added 1/5/2013, Expireds 1/5/2014
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