ever went the route of the NBA. One of the reasons I have always liked college hockey was the play was often so much more fundamentally sound than professional hockey. After Jackson came to Notre Dame and I got to watch how he practiced and taught the game I appreciated it even more.

We've mostly been lucky when it comes to losing players early and in the few instances where it happened, I think both parties were generally better off. Kyle Palmieri has been a pretty good NHL player for a decade now but he was not a good presence on a college hockey team, especially one with the style of accountability of a Jeff Jackson team.

is that most 1st round kids - NTDP being especially prone - have their posses all telling them they're good enough to jump. And in the NHL today - unlike even 10 years ago - it's much easier for an 18-19 year old to start and make an impact. The lone outlier G, because the way D is played now even those guys can step in.