Okposo To Sign With Islanders

Well I decided that I should make this another post since it had nothing to do with the North Dakota series but it's still news. I guess to most people it doesn't come to a shock. For me it's not that it is shokcing it's just his timing is extremely bad for two reasons. One, it's the middle of the season and two, he has two days left of his semster. It's the middle of the season if your going to go pro don't make it such a big deal and draw attention to you by doing it in the middle of the season. Obviously if you leave college to go pro your going to get attention but not only do you cast the spotlight on the U but also on all of your team mates... Yeah Kyle that's right the other 24 guys on your team. Did you ever think about them? Probley not because if you leave in the middle of the season chances are your thinking of yourself. TWO DAYS LEFT IN THE SEMESTER!!! Not only does that scream hey sorry I messed up in some of my classes and can't pass my last couple finals... but it also says that he doesn't like school. Two days left and he couldn't have waited until Friday to inform his coach, the media oh yeah and his teamates so that they could get through their finals too? It is so frustrating how in one day Kyle can go from being someone kids look up to to an arrogant jerk who abandons his team. Honestly he wasn't having a terrific season so I don't understand how the Islanders want him. Shame on them for taking a kid away from school. Honestly I didn't really care when Erik Johnson left because he was always going to be a one and done kind of guy and after the comments he made I lost all my respect for him but Kyle I care about. He could have waited three more months!!!!!! But no since some enforcer got suspended for 30 games Kyle will get a chance to play in the NHL when he comes back from the World Juniors. Now don't get me wrong I think Kyle is a great hockey player and he will have a great career as he continues on the the NHL I just think he could have waited. I wish Kyle all the best no matter how hard it is to see him go. Kyle is expected to sign with the Islanders in early January and I just hope Kyle knows how much he will be missed. Kyle had 11 points this season with the Gophers. He was a ninteenth overall pick by the Islanders in the 2006 NHL entry draft.

Good-Bye Kyle.. I wish you all the best and I hope you know I'll be cheering for you.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA:

University of Minnesota sophomore Kyle Okposo has chosen to forgo the remainder of the 2007-08 season and his career with the Golden Gophers to sign a contract with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.

Okposo was the Islanders’ first-round draft choice and the seventh player taken overall in the 2006 entry draft. He is the eighth Minnesota player to leave college early for the professional ranks since the end of the 2005-06 season. Okposo is departing today for the Czech Republic as a member of the United States’ under-20 national team that is competing at the International Ice Hockey Federation world championships and will join the Islanders following the tournament.

“While I’m disappointed Kyle is leaving at this point of the season, his dream has been to play pro hockey,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “It is unfortunate that the Islanders put him in a very difficult position. I think our team has made strides the last few weeks and I’m looking forward to the second half of the season.”

A St. Paul native who attended Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn., Okposo burst onto the collegiate scene last season with 19 goals and 21 assists in 40 games as a freshman. He earned second-team All-WCHA honors and was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team. Amid speculation that he would leave for the NHL after his freshman season, Okposo announced on June 6 that he would return to the Gophers.

Okposo had a slow start to the 2007-08 season with an eight-game scoreless streak after a three-point game in the season opener against Rensselaer. He scored points in six of the last nine games, totaling seven goals and four assists over the team’s first 18 games as Minnesota currently owns a 9-8-1 record.