College Hockey PROSPECTive

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On Saturdays, College Hockey Prospective is pleased to welcome voices, on a rotating basis, from around the world of college hockey on topics that have caught their attention. Matt Mackinder takes a trip to the sports confessional today.

By Matt Mackinder, CHP Columnist    June 8, 2012

Now that the warm weather has finally arrived, it seems like a perfect time to step back and get a break from college hockey.
 
After all, with the Stanley Cup finals almost complete, the MLB season in full swing and the pool open, the summer months in college hockey terms generally mean schools releasing their schedules for the coming season, players leaving early for NHL dough and junior hockey drafts taking center stage.
 
I like to be involved in all of the above.
 
What makes me a hockey nerd, though, is the fact that when watching the NHL playoffs, I see players I have covered and written about while they played juniors or college hockey. In one sense, it makes me feel old. In another way, it makes me see how privileged I am to have been a member of the hockey media fraternity for so long (15 years now. Yikes!).
 
Heck, even when I watch the so-far disappointing Detroit Tigers or any MLB game for that matter and when a broadcaster says where a certain player is from or what college they attended, my mind immediately plucks a hockey player’s name who is from the same hometown or who played at the same school.
 
See? I told you I was a nerd.
 
Then we have those instances where NHL owners throw greens and promises at teenagers and 20-somethings to leave school and play in the NHL. If I was a player, and I’ve said this before, why would I turn down millions to play the game I love? Yes, there is a loyalty factor involved, but at this day and age, if a player is ready and college developed him, I say why not?

I guess it’s just the geek in me that loves the offseason, but in reality, hockey’s offseason can be about as busy as the season itself. No games, sure, but with off-ice events and the NHL draft coming up in less than a month (wish I knew if I was credentialed or not), I’m hip to the offseason.
 
OK, time to take a dip in the pool. 

Matt Mackinder has been in the journalism biz for 15 years and has contributed to such publications as Michigan Hockey Magazine, Rubber Hockey Magazine, Red Line Report, USCHO.com, MichiganCollegeHockey.com and Sports Review Magazine. Matt lives in the Flint, Mich., area with his wife, Stephanie, sons, Ethan and Wyatt, daughter, Madelyn, and dogs, Eddie and Max.