Moving on Up

Chris Holt, a teammate of mine in college, left the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) hockey progam to sign with the New York Rangers. Congrats to him. I wish him the best of luck-- and deep down, hope he doesn't do it all in New York, as it will pain me to cheer for the Rangers-- but having a teammate playing for them will grant them a temporary pardon in my eyes... unless of course he ends up in Hartford, or just isn't playing the game I'm watching.

Since the rumours about him leaving broke about him leaving for the pros-- late Monday, I have spent a lot of time just reminising about my brief 3 month tenure as his teammate. And I can't think of one bad thing to say about him.

Which brings me to my rant for the day...

How can ANYONE bash Holtzy? Some are saying he screwed over his teammates. Some are just mad because he left UNO two years early. Some made comments about greed and money. And some have resorted to bashing his play, saying we are better off without him.

Guess what? I'm going to address all of those right here, right now.

Did Holtzy screw over his teammates? No. He left before the season starts, so the plaers can go into captain's practices and the season with a clear mind. He's not in the dressing room causing a distraction by making his unhappiness known, he's not hurting them with his play because he has too much on his mind. He made the decision to leave before the season started, and the team, come Monday-- when classes start-- will have a clean slate in front of them. They are not expecting Holtzy to walk in the dressing room door, and lead them out on to the ice. Holtzy's gone, the focus turns to Eric Aarnio, Jerad Kaufman, and Joe Grossman between the pipes for the Mavericks, and to Scott Parse, Bill Thomas, Dan Knapp, Joe Grimaldi, and the rest of the players on the ice. No use dwelling over the fact that Chris Holt is no longer on the team.

And why are people made because he left early? It is Holtzy's life, let him choose what he does with it. Did he commit for 4 years, when he signed his scholarship? Sure. But situations change. Just as they did when 3 weeks ago he told me he was coming back for his junior year of college. I don't think he for a minute thought that the Rangers would approach him about signing. Perhaps as the situation developed, Holtzy took the Rangers a bit more serious about it-- thought about it, slept on it, and decided that the time was right to move on. Think about it. Holt is 20 years old. If you figure the average NHLer retires at age 35, that gives Holtzy 15 years of playing time. If he waits until he graduates, that's two years off of that time (maybe 3 if he gets injured), and possibly two years off his NHL career. And then there is the injury issue. Say he spurned the Rangers, and came back to UNO-- what happens if he blows a knee against Army at the Maverick Stampede. Now what happens to his career? An unjury like that could have teken him out of the Rangers plans, and thwarted what could very well be a great NHL career. Bottom line is, to some extent now is not the worst time for him to go.

The money issue. This one really pisses me off. Am I mad because the Rangers offered Holtzy enough money to get him to leave school? Hell no. I am mad about the comments that are being made. One shallow-minded, rude, infantile, meat-eating, me-Tarzan-you-Jane moron went as far as to say "I hope it was worth the money" to Holt. To that individual: Go to hell... go directly to hell... do not pass Go... do not collect $200. What the hell kind of a person makes that comment? Holtzy made was is quite possibly the toughest decision in his life. And I for one believe it was not about the money at all. And NOBODY should assume that he left just for money. For all we know, he signed for the league minimum. I think the decision simply came down to Holtzy simply wanting to continue to progress and improve him game-- and the only way to do that is to continue moving up the ladder. Contary to popular belief-- not every values money as the be-all, end-all of life. Yes, he could stand to make millions from leaving school now, but let us not forget that he can always go back to school when his playing days are over.

And finally, those idiots who continually bash the way Holt plays, or the way he carries himself. You people don't know him. I'm sure some of you have met him, but have you spent every day of a 3 month period (or for those who were on the roster the full year-- an entire 6 month season)? You get to know people when you spend that much time around them. People called him cocky. You have to be to be a successful goaltender-- you have to believe that you can stop anything and everything that is sent in your direction. The second you say to yourself or anybody else, I can't do it-- you're done. So, yes, he was cocky-- but that was a far cry from having an ego about it. Off the ice, with no pads on, Holtzy is a very humble guy, and a gentleman. And stop with the-- I'm glad Holt left, he wasn't that great bullshit. Two years ago, when he got here, he was a nervous wreck, and got thrown into the fire. He was also saddled with the task of replacing Dan Ellis (who also left for the pros)-- who some consider the God of UNO Goaltenders. Not exactly an easy thing to do. He came in, did the best he could, and has steadily improved. In fact, he led this team into Joe Louis Arena-- and he did it with several people questioning his ability. To the people who doubt his ability-- Shut the hell up. He has enough ability to be a goaltender, that the New York Rangers see him playing for them this year. He is that good. The other end of it is. Raise your hand if you have played goalie in hockey before. If you have done so at the junior hockey level. If you have done so at the college hockey level. If you have done so for youtr country's national team. And if you are going to do so at the NHL level. I can relate to Holt because I was in it until the last one (there is a story behind the second to last one for me). I know what it takes to go out and be a goaltender. Not many others do. And to them, I ask them not to comment until they, themselves, know what it is like to be in Holt's shoes.

Now that I have all that off of my chest. I wish Chris Holt the best of luck in his future pursuits. I know how hard it must be for him to leave UNO behind-- and believe me, I have faced that same decision many times during my hockey career. It is a gamble he must take to move up. I want to make sure he knows how much of an honour it was to be a teammate of his. I looked up to him (even through he is 4 years younger than me)-- and it wasn't that he towered over me. He was that strong of a teammate. I look forward to seeing him playing the NHL in the near future. I hope it is a long and prosperous career for him.

Good luck, Holtzy... and keep your stick on the ice.