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Response

AndyCoppSr

New Member
Apr 22, 2015
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Thank you all for the thoughtful responses and I will attempt to answer your questions.
First to the donors...I can't thank you enough for your support of the program and the players. Andrew was fortunately enough to earn a full scholarship which helps tremendously. I hope and expect that as Andrew starts to earn a living that he and our family will give back to the school and program.

As a parent we do help guide our kids through decisions, but as they mature that reduces. We are a very close family and we have excellent communication with Andrew as well as a very good knowledge of hockey and development. I can understand that it may seem obvious to someone on the outside that he should stay, but knowing all aspects of the decision making process (some of which is private) it wasn't from his or our end. Andrew is a smart kid and has taken hard classes and done very well as I believe as he has made the honors list every semester and he takes his schooling seriously as we do. Andrew will get his degree, and while it would have been easier to get next year I would expect that it he will have it completed in short order. So it may seem odd but school wasn't a factor in the decision as it will get done either way and he is close to finishing.

Most of us remember college life as a special time and it is for a lot of people and some enjoy it more than others. I can tell you that while Andrew did enjoy it, he was pretty focused on schoolwork and hockey and it is pretty much like a job for athletes, especially with captains duties. He is a very serious and no nonsense kind of person so a lot of the extra curricular activities didn't appeal to him. At times I wish he would loosen up a little but that is just who he is. So in other words missing out on a year of the college life wasn't as important to him as you may think. He did enjoy his teammates and fellow athletes and he will miss them.

The hardest part was probably leaving as a captain and I can tell you that the decision making process was very difficult for him, but as I mentioned earlier he consulted with several of his teammates and had their support. He is very confident that the team has many good leaders ready to continue to move this team in the right direction. A close second will be missing playing at Yost and in front of the Michigan fans.

I want to choose my words carefully here and I hope you can understand that. I think in the end it was purely a hockey decision. His ability to get training, coaching, practices, and competition at the pro level will be the best way for him to improve next year as long as he is ready for it. Andrew has a very strong desire to improve and feels this is the best opportunity to do that. It was been widely reported that Andrew plays a pro style game and is Winnipeg's most pro ready prospect. A lot of very knowledgeable hockey people feel he is ready to make the jump, but most importantly Andrew feels he is. It won't be easy and without set backs, but as I mentioned in the earlier post I think that is the environment that he thrives in.
 
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Thank you again for your response. Hopefully after things cool down Andrew will be an active alumni with the program and we can celebrate some great happenings in the NHL.

I would have to think it hurts a lot as to what happened at the banquet, but is that standard operating procedure when a player leaves early? something in the back of my mind says it is but I'm not 100% on that.
 
I couldn't attend the banquet last year so I'm not sure how he handled those departures but when Trouba left they mentioned often his accomplishments and wished him well. With Trouba they were just happy to have him and knew they wouldn't have him long, with Andrew it was different because he was more invested in the program and they assumed he would be there for 4. Red is notorious for taking his stance against people leaving but this is the worst I have seen it. I know that they are concerned about others potentially leaving and part of it is trying to send a message to those players.
 
Thank you for your responses. Best of luck to Andrew and the entire Copp family.
 
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