From NCAA to OHL in Less than a Month
It was only a little over a month ago that the Montreal Canadiens made a trade to move up in the first round of the NHL Draft to grab Jarred Tinordi.
Since then, alot has gone on in Tinordi's career when he was taken 22nd overall in June.
A little background:
The hulking 6'6 defenseman, only moments after he was drafted by the Canadiens, talked about his skating and ability to play the body and that he was going to take full advantage of the weight and training programs available at the University of Notre-Dame this fall.
With his father, former NHL'er Mark Tinordi, by his side, it sure seemed a good bet that the kid would be spending at least the next year in the NCAA.
Well, not so fast as it would appear that Jarred has had a change of mind.
Much like fellow Habs 1st rounder, Louis Leblanc, Jarred is going to apparently pass on the opportunity to play University hockey and will instead opt to play a full season of Junior Hockey in order to help develop their skills.
In deciding to forego the University of Notre-Dame, Tinordi won't necessary lose out on the great weight training program as he will play at least twice as many hockey games for Dale Hunter's London Knights.
This will come as a pleasant surprise to Canadiens fans, mainly because Jarred was drafted only a little over a month ago. The assumption was that he was going to spend at least 1 year in the NCAA, but with a change of heart, it's clear to see that Tinordi is set on developing his game as quick as possible in order to make it to the NHL.
This was first reported by
Patrick Caisse on Twitter, so we will have to await confirmation from the Habs, but if this news holds true, this will be yet another great sign for the Montreal Canadiens revamped prospect system.
I'll be sure to keep you posted on whether or not this is indeed true, but Mr. Caisse is very reputable, so I won't hesitate to back up his information.
This is great news for Habs fans.
Perhaps a Montreal Juniors(Louis Leblanc) vs London Knights(Jarred Tinordi) Memorial Cup Final? Wouldn't that be fun?
*UPDATE*
- The story has been confirmed by the
local London Press
- According to the article, Tinordi has a verbal agreement in place with the Knights and will sign his deal and announce it in the coming days.
- The article also indicates that Tinordi has already informed Notre-Dame of his intention to play in the OHL.
- Interestingly enough, the choice to jump to the OHL will allow Tinordi to attend the Canadiens training camp later this summer. He would not have been allowed to do so had he remained in the NCAA.
- Dale and Mark Hunter will groom Tinordi, a player they have been watching and chasing him since the Knights drafted him 2 years ago.
- One interesting tidbit from the article suggests that Tinordi may be more offensively gifted than first let on. Or at least, that's what the Hunters seem to believe.
- After-thought: Mark Tinordi played 4.5 seasons with Dale Hunter on the Washington Capitals...wonder if Papa Tinordi's relationship with the Knights head had anything to do with this? ;)
www.twitter.com/StevenHindle
[email protected]
[email protected]
Go Habs!!!!!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»