[News] Stefan Legien quits hockey!!

[angus]

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/2008/08/shocker_1.shtml

wierd....

Legein\'s mother, Christine, said around 5 p.m. that she hadn\'t heard the news yet. Either Stefan has some explaining to do, or Mrs. Legein wasn\'t in the talking mood. I can\'t blame her if she wasn\'t. UPDATE: Just talked to Stefan\'s father, who said: \"Until Sept. 20 (when training camp starts), he hasn\'t quit anything.\" He did confirm, however, that Doug Woods still represents his son as an agent.

I\'ve since gotten two more calls from north of the border saying it\'s true. Unbelievable. This isn\'t a 35-year-old veteran we\'re talking about, or a 25-year-old who\'s never going to get an NHL shot. This is a young player with a real bright future ahead of him.

[JagrBomb]

next up, sundin

[jL67s]

Hopefully it turns out to be a Daniel Ryder situation and he steps away from the game for a short time only.....

[ultrawhiteness]

interesting.

[Shao]

Who??

On another note, my promising career as an NHL star has ended.

[angus]

Who? Did you watch the WJC?

[tiantonio]

angus wrote:

Who? Did you watch the WJC?

Playing in the NHL is not the ultimate goal for every kid.

Maybe he just doesnt have the desire inside him.

Give the dude a break.

[doulos]

I\'m not shocked. I\'m actually surprised we don\'t hear more stories like this. The hockey culture is a pretty garbage one overall - at least from what I\'ve experienced. The stats on kids quitting are actually quite high now.

[Dobber]

Nice find.
I bet it\'s related to his injury. Something hidden?

[tiantonio]

To be fair, getting drafted by the Jackets may be on par with being sent to the hole on Alcatraz.

[angus]

tiantonio wrote:

angus wrote:

Who? Did you watch the WJC?

Playing in the NHL is not the ultimate goal for every kid.

Maybe he just doesnt have the desire inside him.

Give the dude a break.

? I didn\'t slam him anywhere, was just wondering how Shao had never heard of him (Legien was fantastic at the WJC).

Still, weird for such a high pick to just bail.

[tiantonio]

Sorry Angus. Didnt mean to seem like I was snappin at ya. It was a more a general response to the news for anyone eager to jump on this kid before the full details come out.

I still want to hear the whole Daniel Ryder story.

[angus]

I heard off the cuff that Ryder was battling depression. Whatever he was going through seemed like it affected his brother as well.

No worries.

[fzusher]

Here\'s the latest from Portzline in Columbus; I\'ve pasted what I thought was the important section:

full story

The burning question, of course, is what\'s going on with Legein?

He helped lead Canada to another World Junior Championship last January, serving as alternate captain. He\'s as cocky and gregarious as any player I\'ve ever been around, so full of energy and passion for the game. He had such a great skill set, a big-time agitator with hands and feet good enough to play on a third line, maybe a second.

But late last season, after he came back from the shoulder injury, Legein wasn\'t the same player. That\'s what lots of folks in Ontario told me today. He didn\'t get along great with his junior club teammates, the Niagara IceDogs, and he left the Syracuse Crunch after only two playoff games, saying he wanted to go back home to start working out and getting ready for 2008-09 season.

Be honest: Have you ever heard of any athlete at any level who would rather work out than play a game?

Legein took part in the Blue Jackets\' development camp, but he was not one of the five or six most noticeable players, as one might expect. Typically, agitator types don\'t do well in \"camp\" settings because those are your teammates you\'re going up against. But Legein did not fare well in camp. He wasn\'t in great shape, either, apparently.

It\'ll be interesting to see what lies ahead here. The Blue Jackets considered Legein one of their top prospects, but they weren\'t counting on him to make the 2008-09 roster, necessarily. Their chief concern is that Legein is making this decision on his own merits, that there aren\'t other problems that could be worked through to make his outlook change. If he needs help, they\'ll help him get it. Right now, they\'ve been told only that he\'s \"lost the passion\" needed to play the game.

[wizworm]

I\'ve read he\'s got maturity problems and has gotten by so far on his skill level. He\'s kinda \"coasted\" and not had to work for it. Now he\'s had a taste of what it\'s going to take at the pro level and it\'s an eye opener. There was also talk that he\'s got a huge ego and the fact that he\'s expected to work for a roster spot instead of being handed one has put him in a sour mood. Oh. And I also read that the fact he is \"in love\" has something to do with it too.

I don\'t know what to take from it really. The way he plays on the ice would lead you to belive that he\'s a competitor and would do whatever it takes to reach the NHL. I just don\'t get it. If you read some of his dad\'s comments he sounds pissed. He\'s as surprised as anyone.