It’s my Parting Shot to bring up the whole W-H-L players leaving early for the N-C-A-A ranks and significant N-I-L money trend – again!…..
I bring this up because this is potentially another big loss for the Western Hockey League in general and the Prince Albert Raiders specifically!
Cam Robinson is the Senior Director of Hockey Media and Relations and Senior Crossover Scout for the Elite Prospects website. He’s attending the Memorial Cup right now in Kelowna, but came up with this chilling post on the social media site once known as Twitter – and I quote…
“I’m told Daxon Rudolph (pictured) has narrowed his N-C-Double-A options down to three schools – Denver, Michigan State and Boston College. Rudolph is expected to visit Denver in the coming days as programs continue pushing to finalize next year’s recruiting classes.”
The ardent, loyal and hardcore P-A Raiders’ fans have already seen this, I’m sure, and are hoping that Cam Robinson is talking out his back end! However, I’ve found him to be a very reliable source because he’s very plugged in with what’s going in the developmental stages of hockey!
The fact is Daxon Rudolph is going to do down a route that many top prospects in the C-H-L are likely to follow now. He’s ranked fifth amongst North American skaters by Central Scouting for next month’s N-H-L Draft. T-S-N’s Craig Button has him listed seventh overall. Eight of 13 other rankings have Rudolph being selected in the Top 10. Folks, he led Prince Albert in points this past season with 78, 28 of them goals – and he’s a defenceman!
He’s really good!!
Here’s what’s likely going to happen with him – and others from now on with the development landscape having been changed. Daxon Rudolph, his parents and his agent will come to an agreement with the N-H-L team that drafts him that he won’t sign with them right away, which allows him to commit to a Division 1 N-C-Double-A school. They will pay him six figures worth of name, image and likeness, or N-I-L, money to play there as an 18-year-old. He will then sign with the N-H-L team that drafted him next off-season and go play for that team’s American Hockey League affiliate as a 19-year-old – because that rule has changed – meaning Daxon Rudolph has likely played his last game for the Prince Albert Raiders – sorry to say!
Again, he won’t be the only one going this route because that is how it’s going to be in hockey for the elite athletes, so better get used to it!!
That’s my Parting Shot. I’m Les Lazaruk…and it turned out nice again…..
