I was up at Boston College this weekend and got to see BC dismantle V-Tech in football but i also got to see the u-18 NTDP team play #1 Boston College, the game went to overtime but BC did end up winning. Also the week before NTDP took Michigan to overtime.

It was nice getting to see Colby Cohen (Radnor/JR Flyers/NJ Titans) play again, he has improved so much since he left this area, and is a big part of the teams defense, and he is about 6'5 on skates. Also one of the best players on eitehr team was James Van Rimskey (?/Brick), he has such good speed and was able to puck handle around almost everyone on BC's team. I wouldn't be surpised if he went top 10 in this years NHL futures draft.

So it was great seeing two Atlantic Disctric players having an impact on the national level. On Oct 27th I'll be at the University of Michigan seeing them play their homecoming football game but also i will be able to see them play hockey aganist Northeastern, so i'll get to see 2 more local players Chad Kolarik (La Salle/ Jr Flyers/Michigan) and John Brennan (Radnor/Jr flyers/ Northeastern)

Kevin Shattenkirk, formerly of the NJ Devils, is also on that U-18 team with Cohen and Van Riemsdyk.

The Atlantic District indeed has reason to be proud.

heard cohen left team?

I heard he left as well, but I havent gotten confirmation.

OK, here's confirmation. (From the USHR Report)

Cohen Saga Heats Up

By the end of the day, the Colby Cohen saga (see yesterday’s USHR News) may be resolved peacefully, or it may shoot off in unforeseen directions.

We have information, and allegations, we didn’t have earlier – and there’s more here than meets the eye.

The facts are: Cohen has told U.S. Under-18 coach Ron Rolston that he is leaving the NTDP. That’s old news. It’s final; he’s gone. The reason given is lack of ice time, but at the UNH game this typist attended, Cohen appeared to be on the ice far more than fellow d-man A.J. Sturges. After telling Rolston he was leaving the program, Cohen was reportedly given a chance to change his mind and stay with the NTDP, but declined.

As mentioned in yesterday’s report, the BU staff wanted their recruit to stay with the NTDP, so from that one can assume that the defenseman and/or his father are following a separate agenda, which probably doesn’t bode well for his future on the south bank of the Charles. Cohen maintains he still wants to attend BU.

Cohen is waiting for his official release from USA Hockey, which is due today (Wed.).

Once that happens, the defenseman is at the mercy of the USHL and its rules governing such situations. During the regular season, once a player has been dropped, any team can add him provided they have a space for him on their 23-man roster. A number of teams – even all 12 – can add him, provided they’ve cleared a spot. Cohen will then pick his team. He becomes their official property once he appears in a game with them.

So look for Omaha to make a trade – or simply drop a player – in order to clear a spot on their 23-man roster. If what we’re hearing is correct, a number of GMs will be adding him, and then each will try to sell Cohen on coming to their town.

Why don’t they just back off and let him go to Omaha? Cohen is a good player, but not a superstar – and he’s made it clear that Omaha is where he wants to be.

As you may have guessed, there’s controversy here. A number of USHL general managers – the exact number we don’t know – are up in arms, feeling that there has been tampering and collusion in this case.

Reportedly, when Cohen went in and told Rolston he was leaving the team, he also informed Rolston that he was planning on going to Omaha. Therefore, other GMs are claiming, the deal must have been arranged in advance, which is illegal. To make a deal with a player on a rostered team or a representative of that player – e.g. father, advisor – constitutes tampering, which is a violation of the rules governing USHL-NAHL player movement (Note: All 40+ NTDP players are rostered in the NAHL).

At any rate, today USA Hockey will simultaneously notify all USHL teams when Cohen’s release is granted – and we’ll see what happens. So stay tuned. There's more to this story.

Efforts to reach Omaha GM Mike Hastings or USHL commissioner Gino Gasparini were unsuccessful.


10/24/06 Updated 2:30 pm

Defenseman Leaves NTDP

6’3” US Under-18 team defenseman Colby Cohen, a Boston University recruit, has left the NTDP and will be reporting to the Omaha Lancers (USHL).

We don’t know all the details, but it’s a situation that started to boil the weekend the Ron Rolston-coached Under-18 Team came east and played BC and UNH. Cohen, who was thinking of leaving the NTDP at the end of last season, anyway, was reportedly upset at his lack of playing time (though this typist was at the UNH game and thought Cohen saw a reasonable amount of ice time). Cohen’s father, reported to be very hands-on, was also upset, and pushing for his son to leave the program for Omaha, which had once held Cohen’s draft rights.

The situation continued percolating last week. USA Hockey, not crazy about seeing its players defecting, demanded a $10,000 transfer fee from the Lancers, but Omaha refused. We’re not sure how that got resolved, but we’re hearing that Omaha paid some, and perhaps Cohen’s father paid some.

Cohen rubbed at least some of his teammates in Ann Arbor the wrong way, though that lessened over time so it's hard to say if that factored into his leaving. At any rate, with Cohen's departure, the Under-18 Team is left with only six defensemen and an international tournament coming up in early November, so we’d expect a player to be added, if only to have a seventh D for the tournament.

This is the first defection from the Under-18 team this season. Several players left the NTDP the last time Rolston coached the squad, in ’04-05, and a bunch more would have loved to have gone elsewhere, but stuck it out.

Cohen’s arrival should help Omaha. The Lancers are 1-5-1 and have given up a league-high 29 goals. Omaha’s penalty kill – 72.6% -- is not good, either. This is highly unusual for a Lancers' team -- traditionally they play textbook team defense. As for blueliners, Lancers head coach Mike Hastings is highly regarded in the hockey world for his work with defensmen. Hastings' presence is the reason Nick Petrecki, who is expected to be a high first round pick in the June NHL draft, opted for the Lancers over the NTDP. So, from a hockey standpoint, it could help Cohen, who is a projected to go in the third or fourth round of the NHL draft.

Boston University assistant David Quinn, a former assistant at Nebraska-Omaha, and Hastings have a strong working relationship.


Update:

According to Quinn, Cohen has not yet officially received his release from USA Hockey. Quinn also said that BU made a successful effort to keep Cohen in the NTDP last spring, and would like for him to continue there. So there could be further developments here

Colby has been added by Lincoln in the USHL and got his frist point on an empty net goal in his first game, He still plans to attend BU next year.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jigga Beef,

Who could have seen this coming? LOL.

what?

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