Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Drew George About To Become A Red Wing:

This is posted on Greg Harders Blog:

Drew George about to become a Red Wing

By Greg Harder Wed, Dec 23 2009

It has been apparent for some time now that Drew George would eventually end up with the SJHL’s Weyburn Red Wings. Well, after roughly three weeks of on-again, off-again negotiations, Weyburn has finally agreed to terms on a trade with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. Red Wings GM Ron Rumball confirmed the news to CKRM’s Rod Pedersen on Wednesday and did the same in a subsequent conversation with the Leader-Post. The latest on the deal is that George has apparently agreed to join the Red Wings, but the deal is pending league approval.
Rumball said he doesn’t expect any snags, so it should be a formality for the two leagues to officially sign off — perhaps when the trade moratorium is lifted after Christmas Day.
Rumball admitted the deal took a lot longer to come together than he anticipated because the sides couldn’t agree on compensation. At one point, Cowichan pulled the plug on direct negotiations with Weyburn and asked to involve a third team in the deal. Then the BCHL club had another change of heart so the sides went back to the original deal with Weyburn, which is a one-for-one swap.
In the midst of it all, the WHL’s Regina Pats had offered George a contract but he turned them down for the second time in less than a year because he wanted to pursue an NCAA scholarship. The Pats eventually cooled in their pursuit of the former midget AAA scoring star when the situation began to drag on and it became clear that he had other priorities. The Red Wings have apparently been contacted by three NCAA teams who encouraged the club to acquire George if possible.
In conversations with the family, Rumball said he was given the indication that George’s decision wasn’t a matter of turning down the Pats or having any issues with playing for them. It had simply been his goal for some time to play in the NCAA so he didn’t want to lose his eligibility by joining the WHL club. The 18-year-old Regina native originally turned down the Pats last spring to join the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers, who later traded George to Cowichan. He refused to play for the last-place Capitals and subsequently turned down four other SJHL teams, resulting in a prolonged saga that is now approaching its long-anticipated conclusion.
Regardless, it’s a nice Christmas present for George, who gets what he wants, and for the Red Wings, who will certainly benefit from the deal if George becomes the player that many believe he can be.

http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/slapshots/archive/2009/12/23/drew-george-a-red-wing.aspx

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