Paul Kelly Leaves College Hockey Inc.

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News broke earlier on this holiday Monday that the Executive Director of College Hockey Inc., Paul Kelly, had resigned his position. The news broke on Twitter this afternoon and the stories started going up at various websites soon after.

Because of the Family Day WHL matinee at Rexall Place and then actual Family Day plans, with my family, I was unable to report or offer comment in a timely manner.

After the jump, several links to get caught up on the news and some thoughts of my own.

Tuesday Night: In Studio Guests and more

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Tonight we had a couple of special in studio guests and were joined by 2 others on the Moosehead hotline as well as running down a few hot topics in the world of hockey prospects. We covered the on going recruiting tug of war between NCAA and CHL, how to win the ongoing battle with concussions in the game and how 2 Buffalo Sabre prospects are progressing in their careers. Also what does the term 'Milk Bag' mean in the game of hockey? Keep reading to find out.

Tuesday Night On TPS

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Tuesday night Guy and I had a live studio audience, went coast to coast in the CHL, introduced you to a Texan eligible for the NHL draft and discussed who would be our 4th nominee for the Calder Trophy.

NCAA Canadian Invasion Underway

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Above is a picture of the CN Tower. If you're taking in Toronto and checking off your list of "Touristy things to See and Do", it's probably near the top of it. A Leafs game at the ACC? of course. The Hockey Hall of Fame? Check. The Art Gallery? Done. Casa Loma? Yep. Queen Street? Sure. Blue Jays baseball or Argonauts football at Rogers Center? Uh huh. The Indy race if you're lucky? You know it.

What's left? Well... how about taking in a NCAA hockey game too?

NCAA in NHL 12?

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You'll recall when College Hockey Inc. Director Paul Kelly was on our program back in May and he told us that negotiations were on with EA Sports to include NCAA hockey in their popular NHL game series. (If you don't, here is the link to that story).

With the recent release of NHL 11, it's obvious that a NCAA component did not make it into the game. However, we had Andy Agostini from EA Sports on The Pipeline Show on Saturday morning (you do know that we've added a second live show each week on Saturday mornings right??) and we brought the subject up again with him.

So will there be NCAA Hockey in NHL 12?

The NCAA Comes North

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Remember last month how Paul Kelly and College Hockey Inc. were mysteriously absent from the World Hockey Summit in Toronto? We had Mr. Kelly on the The Pipeline Show that week to discuss the matter. Well, the NCAA will get its time in the Ontario limelight after all as College Hockey Inc. has created the “NCAA Collegiate Hockey Summit” for this weekend.

Another College Kid Jumps Ship

First it was Nick Leddy (who signed a 3 year - 2.7 million dollar deal with Chicago today) and Josh Birkolz (who violated team rules, reportedly a failed drug test) who left Minnesota. Now Lucas Lessio (pictured) has chosen the Oshawa Generals over the Michigan Wolverines. You can read the story here.

Now, some might say Leddy leaving is a feather in the cap for the NCAA as he will likely either play in the NHL or AHL, but he only played one year at Minnesota. Where I come from it's pretty hard to get a college degree in one year, and one of the biggest arguments from College Hockey Inc is that players get a better education packaged by going the NCAA route as opposed to the CHL.

Throw in the fact that half of the Notre Dame hockey roster has been arrested this year and it hasn't been a good summer for NCAA hockey. There are still tonnes of great hockey players playing college hockey and there will be great games this year, with great story lines that TPS will talk about, but there's no doubt the image has taken a hit this year.

NCAA Hockey Video Game on the Way

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Ever wish you could guide the Boston College Eagles to a Beanpot tournament victory or the Wisconsin Badgers to a Frozen Four final? Well most of us can only dream of doing that in real life but through the magic of technology... gamers and NCAA hockey fans will soon have the chance to do exactly that.

Paul Kelly, Executive Director of College Hockey Inc., made another appearance on The Pipeline Show Tuesday night and talked about a variety of things including the plans for a video game.

CHL reaction to Paul Kelly + CHL in EA Sports 2011

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Paul Kelly's comments are nothing new to listeners of TPS. His critical comments about the CHL can be found here. CHL commish David Branch responded on our show here. Recently Kelly, who works for College Hockey Inc fired off another round at the Canadian Hockey League and specifically the WHL, telling young kids to 'be smart' and not sign contracts with CHL teams. You can find that here.

This afternoon at the Mastercard Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba, the CHL held a news conference featuring WHL commissioner Ron Robison and Gilles Courteau who holds the same post in the QMJHL. I asked Robison about the latest comments from Paul Kelly.

David Branch responds to Paul Kelly

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About 2 and a half months ago TPS welcomed Paul Kelly to the show. The former head of the NHLPA is now working for an organization called College Hockey Inc. which represents NCAA hockey. Kelly surprised Guy and I by firing some major shots at the CHL. He bluntly said the league is paying players under the table and that...

"anybody who doesn't think it's happening has their head in the sand."

If you haven't yet heard Kelly's full comments which included statements that the CHL is blocking players from the NCAA and that the CHL scholorship program is inferior to the NCAA version click here.

To Get a sense of the reaction North of the border, read on...

Paul Kelly:CHL teams are paying players under the table

Paul Kelly was briefly in charge of directing NHL players as head of the NHLPA. He's now working for a league, and hoping to keep college hockey players in college instead of the growing trend that has mostly American players bolting their NCAA commitments for the CHL. Kelly is now the Executive Director with College Hockey Inc.

Canada Sends 4 Home

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Hockey Canada got out the cleaver on Tuesday and chopped 4 players from their camp roster. The team has played a pair of inter-squad games and will faceoff against a CIS All-Star team tonight that is comprised of members of the UofS Huskies and Regina Cougars. Unfortunately for four players, their WJC hopes have been cut short.