U hockey: Bickel signs with Anaheim
Posted on July 1st, 2008 – 5:13 PMBy Roman Augustoviz
Defenseman Stu Bickel of the Gophers signed with the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL on Tuesday.
“I thought about it long and hard,” said the 6-3, 210-pound Bickel who had one goal and six assists last season as a freshman. “In the end, I thought it was the best decision [to sign]. I thought it was the right decision.
“I really enjoyed my time [at the University of Minnesota]. I liked the coaching staff. Obviously, the hardest part for me, by far, was leaving the guys on that team because of the relationships I had developed with those guys.”
He signed a three-year, two-way free agent contract with the Ducks and will probably be assigned to Des Moines of the AHL.
“It’s a big blow,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said.
6 Responses to "U hockey: Bickel signs with Anaheim"
Time to drop the hockey program. This no longer has anything to do with education.
no, time to stop signing kids who aren’t gonna stick around…
It is very sad to see the declination of my favorite spectator sport, D1 college hockey. The days of upper classmen-laden powerhouses battling it out in the NCAAs has long past, due to the money and promise of an accelerated route to the NHL. Damn you “big media”, NHL management, the NCAA, sports agents/”family advisors”, advertising agencies, deep-pocketed and overzealous corporate sponsors and the youthful athlete prone to the need for instant gratification! Did I leave anyone out?
Yeah Neal Broten sure stayed all 4 years at the U didn’t he? That was 1981? No different than today.
University of Miami should quit football because 3/4 of their team leaves early and usually gets drafted.
Kids not wanting to complete college will always be a part of college hockey. College is not for everyone, nor should it be.
Exactly, so what are they doing in college?
Then why pick on Hockey? Football and Bouncyball have their players leaving early too. This just goes to show how difficult the head coaching position has become. Recruit Blue-chip players and they leave early. Recruit role-players and they leave early too.
Good luck Stu.
