The First No

Every year as hockey gets started, the three-letter sports television network starts getting giddy over the World Junior Championship which has become one of its biggest attractions. The pundits on the network guess at who will make the camps, whose camps might be threatened by cuts, and all the other guesses they can make. One of the annual rites of passage, however, is seeing which NHL teams will release their junior-aged players to participate in the Christmas tournament. With no NHL this year, there was excitement over who may be able to play, but I don't think anyone would have guessed that non-NHL players would be held back from their teams. That is, until today when the an NCAA school made this call on one of the players attending the institution.

It's hard for me to speculate why the University of Michigan would make this decision, but they informed Hockey Canada today that defenceman Owen Power will not be released from his obligations at school to attend the Canadian selection camp slated to run from November 16 to December 13 in a bubble in Red Deer, Alberta.

"After ongoing discussions with the University of Michigan, Hockey Canada has been informed that Owen Power will not be released to participate in Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Selection Camp on Nov. 16," said Hockey Canada's Scott Salmond in a statement. "We understand this year's World Juniors and selection camp are unique, but we believe the chance to represent Canada is a tremendous opportunity for any young player. Although we are disappointed Owen will not be able to join our team at camp, we understand and respect the decision made by the University of Michigan."

Let me be honest: I don't understand the decision. The World Junior Championship is a higher standard of play than what Power will see at the NCAA level, and it's very likely the 17 year-old defender would improve during his time in the Red Deer bubble. That improvement would be seen when he rejoined the Wolverines for the NCAA schedule, and he likely would be in great shape upon returning from his World Junior experience.

Last season, Michigan allowed both Johnny Beecher and Cam York to play for Team USA, and they have often released players for other teams over the two-week period where there's no NCAA hockey being played as it is. JT Compher, Andrew Copp, and Quinn Hughes all participated at World Junior Championships for Team USA while players like Jason Botterill and Andrew Cogliano played for Canada in the past while Carl Hagelin played for Sweden. Releasing the 6'5" Power would be good for both the player and the Wolverines, yet they've prevented that from happening.

The other thing that the University of Michigan may have done is hurt Power's draft stock for the NHL as he was the only draft-eligible defender that Canada invited to camp this year. Te other 14 defenders at the Canadian camp have already been drafted by NHL teams, and Power could have at leats showcased his talents in the pre-tournament games he may have played in with scouts watching. And I'm not going to say Power was a long shot to make the team whatsoever since, out of the 15 defenders Canada invited, he was the biggest defenceman listed at Canada's camp. Instead, he won't even have an opportunity to make the list now that the University of Michigan has opted not to release him.

There are always injury concerns over players who go to the World Junior Championship, and I understand if there was an injury that Power had that the university training staff wanted to ensure he didn't aggravate or something, but nothing seems to indicate that being the case. If so, I struggle to understand this decision from the hockey standpoints of all three of Owen Power, the University of Michigan, and Hockey Canada.

Sometimes, we never get the answers we seek. This might be one of those times.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!