There was a time when pursuing a career in professional hockey meant giving up virtually any hope of a higher education. Would-be NHL players would drop out of high school to chase their athletic dream, and their schooling would consist of whatever street smarts they picked up in every one horse junior hockey town from Nanaimo to Notre Dame-de-Quelque-Chose. If they were lucky or good enough, they'd graduate to the minor pros and broaden their intellectual horizons in such cultural meccas as Rochester, Springfield and Hershey.
The Montreal Canadiens represent a strong and positive example of how times have changed for the better to allow would-be NHLers to pursue hockey and higher learning simultaneously. Jarred Tinordi, whom the Habs selected 22nd overall in this past weekend's 2010 amateur draft, is the fifth consecutive Canadiens first round pick who attended, is attending or plans on going to university, where he'll have the opportunity to lay the scholastic groundwork for an alternative career as he hones his hockey skills.
While their academic credentials took a hit in the 2009 trade that sent Yale alumnus Chris Higgins and University of Wisconsin defenceman Ryan McDonough to the Rangers, the Habs still have a substantial contingent of college men in the system and on the current roster, including current or former Ivy Leaguers Louis Leblanc, Ryan O'Byrne and Dominic Moore, one-time Boston College captain Brian Gionta and McGill grad Mathieu Darche.
Having a roomful of players with book smarts doesn't make the Canadiens a better hockey team. It also excludes the Kostitsyn brothers from a lot of the dressing room small talk. But it sends the important and useful message to prospects and their parents that a professional hockey career and a good education are not mutually exclusive.
