Isles Prospect/Brandon Wheat King Ryan Pilon leaves team

[MrMastodonFarm]

At the age of 18, defenseman Ryan Pilon has decided to leave the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.
“Ryan came to me this week and told me that at this time he has lost his passion to play hockey and will be leaving the team,” Brandon coach and GM Kelly McCrimmon said, according to Sportsnet (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/pilon-lost-passion-to-play-leaves-wheat-kings/).


http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2015/09/05/isles-prospect-pilon-has-lost-his-passion-to-play/

Plenty of people, myself included, were high on Pilon going into the draft. I was wishing the Flames would have taken him in the 2nd or 3rd round and was shocked he slipped all the way to the 5th.

Good for him for walking away if he doesn't want to do it anymore, and more ice time for Oliver Kylington? ;)

[Rick M.]

This makes me very glad we didn't draft him.

[FlameZilla]

You just never draft a defensemen whose name is


http://i40.tinypic.com/2d0zzgk.jpg

[Badgers Nose]

How long do the Isles keep his rights?

Just in case he gets his head screwed on right and decides to come back to hockey and make a ton of money, before moving on to whatever it is he is passionate about.

Most people would be happy to make a million a year to do something they don't like. LOL

[3thirty]

There must have been some signs at the draft that teams picked up on, as he did slide quite a ways. Isles probably decided his rights may be worth the risk of a 5th round pick. IIRC they get his rights for 3 years, but I could be wrong.

[Badgers Nose]

Even a 2-3 year entry level contract would really set him up with a great start to his life.

He probably has high school and that's it. Making even the AHL salary will be tough for him to attain in the normal world starting from zero in this economy.

If he hasn't already, he should get some guidance. Sounds like he is getting bad advice now.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Well he turns 19 in October so yeah safe to assume he just has his High School Diploma at this point. He does have four seasons of WHL service though, which should set him up for post secondary with their scholarship program. And I'm sure if he wanted to play for a University team he'd get his school paid for that way.

Don't know why you'd assume he's getting bad advice. Maybe the bad advice is continuing to do something you don't like and don't see a future in?

[mile]

He left the Lethbridge Hurricanes too when he wanted a trade. Not surprised he dropped in the draft.

I don't blame him for quitting though. In a way he's fortunate that he already knows that this isn't for him, being this young.

[Muta]

Hey, it's his choice. If he lost he passion to play, no point in sticking around. This stuff happens. Good luck to him in whatever he decides to pursue in the future.

[Derek Sutton]

Even a 2-3 year entry level contract would really set him up with a great start to his life.

He probably has high school and that's it. Making even the AHL salary will be tough for him to attain in the normal world starting from zero in this economy.

If he hasn't already, he should get some guidance. Sounds like he is getting bad advice now.

His Post Seconadary Schooling is pretty much covered given the WHL education program which covers 1 year of books and tuition for every year played in the league. He does not have to play CIS to take advantage of that. Players leaving hockey at 19 is not all that uncommon but rare for an NHL draft pick. Two years ago there was a lot of talk about him being a potential 1st rounder but his stock sure dropped since then.

This is essentially the second time he has given up on hockey as he left the Hurricanes a couple of years ago as well (although there were a number of factors surrounding that). One would have to think at that time his parents thought that a change of scenery would help him find his passion. It takes so much self discipline to play at the junior level and beynd that it is certainly not somethng anyone could do. Hopefully he knows what he wants and begin to work towards that.

[VladtheImpaler]

Son of Rich Pilon, who was a decent defensive dman in the 90s?

[Vulcan]

Son of Rich Pilon, who was a decent defensive dman in the 90s?

He's his nephew.

edit: now they say he's Rich's younger cousin.

[Buff]

I've seen people suggest that we should have seen this coming because he did it with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. The problem with that is he wasn't the only person to demand a trade and I think one other also held out on them.

It is still possible that whatever he experienced in Lethbridge caused him to "fall out of love" with hockey. It certainly wasn't good in Lethbridge for a while. However I don't think this speaks about a major character flaw on his part.

[codynw]

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, ruining promising hockey careers since 2009.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Lots of kids that age change career goals/university majors/etc.

If it's not his passion so be it.

I recall Flames prospect Daniel Ryder walking away from the game as well for as-reported-at-the-time similar reasons (but as it turned out due to mental health issues).

I wish the young Mr. Pilon well.

[calgaryblood]

How long do the Isles keep his rights?

Just in case he gets his head screwed on right and decides to come back to hockey and make a ton of money, before moving on to whatever it is he is passionate about.

Most people would be happy to make a million a year to do something they don't like. LOL

If he doesn't make the NHL, he doesn't make a tonne of money. Most NHL dreams end up living out in the AHL or worse making peanuts and then having nothing to fall back on when hockey is over. It isn't as glamorous as people think it is. If it makes him happy making $30,000 a year doing something he loves then good on him.

[mile]

The Lethbridge Hurricanes, ruining promising hockey careers since 2009.

Around the time they hired this guy:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/RichPreston.jpg/225px-RichPreston.jpg

[The Original FFIV]

Crummy thing is that a kid who really wanted to hear his name called at the draft missed out and someone who was picked walked away.

Good on our scouts for not picking him. All the best to him in his future endeavours.

[calgaryblood]

Even a 2-3 year entry level contract would really set him up with a great start to his life.

He probably has high school and that's it. Making even the AHL salary will be tough for him to attain in the normal world starting from zero in this economy.

If he hasn't already, he should get some guidance. Sounds like he is getting bad advice now.

even a 3 year entry deal doesn't guarantee he gets paid in the NHL. At the AHL level he would get maybe $70,000 a year. Does $4500 (taking into account taxes) a month doing something he isn't passionate about risking significant injury every time he steps onto the ice seem worth it? I know some people with Junior high education who make more than that and don't risk as much.

[FBI]

This brings back memories of Howse..

[Displaced Flames fan]

This brings back memories of Howse..

And Dan Ryder

[CliffFletcher]

People have been warning about hockey prospect burnout for years. In an era when these guys start playing and training competitively for 12 months a year from about the age of 8, this is going to become more and more common.

[Finger Cookin]

People have been warning about hockey prospect burnout for years. In an era when these guys start playing and training competitively for 12 months a year from about the age of 8, this is going to become more and more common.

Yeah, the signs are clear that this is on the verge of becoming an epidemic when 1 out of 211 drafted players has already decided to call it quits.

[CliffFletcher]

Yeah, the signs are clear that this is on the verge of becoming an epidemic when 1 out of 211 drafted players has already decided to call it quits.

It’s important for children to play other sports, says Gretzky, after a spate of young stars have lost their desire for hockey (http://icasebaseball.com/gretzky-also-recommends-baseball-for-youth-hockey-players/)

But hey, what does Gretzky (or that buffoon Duhatschek who wrote the article) know about it?

[Finger Cookin]

Hand-wringing over fundamental systemic problems with hockey in Canada is like shooting fish in a barrel. I think a player like Pilon deciding to quit now has far less to do with institutional shortcomings than it does with his individual situation. YMMV.