Jon Quick off to the Pros

If you followed the hockey team's historic season at all this year. You know who Jon Quick is. The team's MVP had one of the best seasons ever for a UMass goalie in the team's best season ever (first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance).

Well if you were wondering how good he and the Mass Attack will be next year, you can now count Quick out. He bolted for the pros this past week, signing an offer sheet from the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, the team that drafted him before he began his collegiate careeer.

Most reports are saying he was offered the standard three-year entry level contract, with a $250,000 signing bonus. He will join the Kings' Manchester, N.H. minor league affiliate in the AHL for the rest of this season.

I can imagine how hard it is to turn down money like that. Big-time hockey execs walk right up to you, and throw a check for $250K right in your lap, lay a contract in front of you and say, "The money is yours. No more classes. No living in a dorm room. You can move up to the ritzy part of New Hampshire, play pro hockey, and have no worries about money again."

They pump you up, tell you you're amazing, then give you the least amount of dollars they can to get you to play backup for some minor league team no one watches. He could have taken UMass even farther next year. And where would the money be after that?

Waiting for him in Los Angeles. Quick was the No. 3 prospect in the country when UMass recruited him. That's a big fish to catch for what has been a small-time hockey program in recent past. And he helped bring the team higher than ever (along with head coach Don 'Toot' Cahoon).

The team is only getting better, and is still young. Quick had two more years to play at the college level, where he could finish school, not have to live in the real world, with bills and taxes, and actual worries, and have almost no responsibility, except to get to practice and meetings on time.

I know its easy to chastise an athlete for not finishing school, when the only point of school is to increase your earning potential (he's done that), but what will he do in Manchester that he couldn't do in Amherst?

He likely would win more games, and more significant ones- more people pay attention to NCAA Frozen Four than they do AHL playoffs, and the fan base could not be more devoted. I was in the press box during the home playoff games against Maine. When the Black Bears players were announced the "SUCKS!"I heard all around me made me jump - and I had heard that before every game, so I was used to it. You're not going to get that from fans in Manchester.

Additionally, there's the matter of maturity. Covering the team all year, I've talked to Jon a number of times. I listened to him speak after win and losses in press conferences. I've seen how he acts around the locker room after practice. I've even seen him around campus - in the dining halls for instance.

In my humble opinion, I don't think he's ready to move on yet. He's not mature enough. And I have heard I am not the only one around this team that feels that way.

Maybe there's a part of me that selfishly wants him to stay. I'll be covering the team next year too, and I was looking forward to covering more NCAA tourney games. They may get there anyway, but it would have looked a lot easier with Mr. Quick between the pipes.