Q&A with Zac Dalpe

wow man… great job on these interviews! thanks a LOT! I am also sure Zac will do what is best for himself… whatever that might be, I will be happy.

Sorry for my ignorance here… I have never really gotten into the NHL/MLB drafts before, because of the whole “prospect” thing- and players not actually going to the teams that draft them(NFL has THE BEST draft in my opinion), but I understand the need for it. How does this whole thing work? We drafted Zac, so we have the rights to sign him… but when do those rights end? If Zac end up at OSU for 3-4 yrs, then then plays in Plymouth(why there and not ALbany?!), when can he be a ’CANE?

We Will Have the rights for Dalpe for 4 yrs. If he chooses not to sign (eh-um Blake Wheeler) he bocmes an unrestricted Free Agent.

so if Zac plays at OSU for 4 years, then he is a UFA?

That’s right, unless he comes to the Canes at the end of his fourth year. This is the real reason that JR traded Jack Johnson, his Dad privately told the Canes that he would never sign with us, in fact, rumours are that Dad told JR to not even attempt to draft him, ie Lindross. Most of the best prospects only play a year or two of College before jumping to the NHL Keep in mind Dalpe was rated as one of the top skaters in North America before an off year saw his “value” slide. He should be a good player or trade bait fro our organization for years to come.

That’s an excellent question packpigskin fan, and it actually gets a little complicated, (like everything else in the CBA).

Just like CRDbest and Swenk say above, if Dalpe goes to Ohio State the Canes will have 4 years to sign him. He stays Carolina’s property until the August of the 4rth year. (Zac’s college eligibility is over)

But, if Zac goes to Plymouth to play juniors, it’s a whole new ball of wax.

He would lose his juniors eligibility at age 20 and would need a contract in order to keep playing. The Canes would maintain their rights to him for 4 years, (after his draft date), as long as they offer him a “bonafide contract” in accordance with the rules of the CBA when his juniors eligibility is over. If the player turns down the legitimate contract offer (to play in either the NHL, AHL, or ECHL), the club maintains the player’s rights. But if the team does not make a contract offer, they lose the rights and the player can become a free agent.

Obviously, that rarely happens because teams do not want to lose rights to drafted players. So they will make minimal offers to juniors players at age 20 to keep those players in the system even if it’s at the minor league level.

The CBA has pages of rules about this, (minimum dollar amounts etc etc), but I think the whole thing is based upon when the player loses eligibility at either the college or juniors level.

try nhlscap.com it might answer some of your questions

thanks for the help everyone!

i had a chance to see Zac play about a month ago. Im a UNO Maverick hockey fan and me and other MAv fans traveled to watch them play OSU in a CCHA game. Zac was probably the best player on the ice without question, he seemed to have that extra gear. I dont beleive he scored that weekend but at the half way point in the season he leads the team in goals with 9 in 18 games.

Good prospect and i cant wait to hopefully see him in a Canes sweater some day!