By Tim Healey/DFP Staff
UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: BU athletics has sent out a release to confirm the end of Coyle’s tenure at BU.
“Charlie has decided that he would like to focus on beginning his professional hockey career,” BU coach Jack Parker said in the release. “We respect his decision and certainly wish him all the best in the future.”
Parker will not be available for further comment today.
UPDATE 3:05 p.m.: Charlie Coyle has now confirmed his departure from BU.
“Yes, I have made my decision to leave BU because I’m done being a student-athlete and I want to focus on just hockey,” Coyle said via text. “I was not failing out.
“It was definitely a hard decision to make and I will miss my teammates and coaches. BU was a great place to be and I enjoyed my time there.”
UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: A Saint John Sea Dogs’ official has confirmed with The Daily Free Press that Coyle has indeed decided to leave BU to join the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Coyle, a 6-foot-2, 207 pound East Weymouth native, was tied for third on BU’s team with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) this season. A 2010 first-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks – who have since traded his rights to the Minnesota Wild organization – Coyle was named the 2010-11 Hockey East Rookie of Year after collecting 26 points (seven goals, 19 assists)
The news of Coyle’s departure comes three days after news broke that senior forward Corey Trivino, the team’s leading point getter, was dismissed from the team following criminal charges stemming from an arrest on campus Sunday night.
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Despite rumors swirling this morning due to a report from USHR about the departure of sophomore forward Charlie Coyle due to academic issues, Coyle said via phone that, as of right now, he is still a part of of the No. 9 Boston University men’s hockey team.
“That’s all I can say right now,” said Coyle, who was on a plane en route to world junior camp.
Coyle told The Daily Free Press yesterday – before the USHR report this morning – that he is still on the team. Also, he is still listed on the official team roster at goterriers.com.
The original report from USHR says Coyle was having issues in school and would leave the Terriers in favor of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
The team’s sports information director said the team cannot comment on an athlete’s academic standing, and that BU coach Jack Parker was on a plane Friday morning and would be unavailable until mid-afternoon.
If this is true it’s bad news, just when the team has been starting to gel. He may not have been the juggernaut that we were all hoping, but he was a functioning member of a team that was 7-1 in its last 8 games.
I will say that I am a little “concerned” about the “quality” of kids being brought in. We have seen more then the “fair share” of academic issues and recruits leaving early in the past few years and while I know the lure of the NHL, and it’s $$$, is enticing we can’t keep having kids leave us because of academic/behavior issues and still hope to keep up the legacy of BU Hockey…
Center #1 gets kicked out, center #2 leaves BU. The rest of our centers are going to either spontaneously combust or die in a bizarre gardening accident. All I can say is I don’t think I want to be a center for the BU hockey team right now.
The thing that’s concerning about Charlie leaving is that he was so excited about BU. Grew up around the program, following it, and it was his dream. That’s the kind of player who sounds perfect for the program. As good as can be. Local, talented and dedicated. Except he just left.
So when we start getting the “Sucks to BU” chants next semester, I may have to agree. What the hell is going on?
If the Minnesota Wild have his rights, does that mean he is just with this Canadian junior hockey team for the rest of the year and will go to the Wild next season?
All that’s left of the centers will be a globule. Or a stain. More of a stain than a globule, actually.
I find it a bit frustrating that he just decides to pack up in the middle of a relatively promising season.
Right now hes not signed with the Wild but will probably sign with them in the spring or in the summer. He will be with the Wild or their AHL team next season
That’s tough news about Coyle. Top 2 centers done in the same week. This is an opportunity for some guys to step up. I can easily see both Gaudet and Rosen being 2 of the ones who do so. Both are good centers (Rosen surprisingly so especially considering his short tenure at the position). I would not move Connelly to center as his size and physical presence is not there. Keep him at wing where speed is essential.
Being a natural dman, I would put Rosen on the PK and consider him on the PP as well. gifted passing and skills. There’s too much to dwell on with these developments now, thankfully there is the break for the team and coaches to wrap their arms and heads around the changes and plan accordingly.
Go BU!
I agree with the first post. Leaving early to play in the NHL/AHL is one thing, but when our kids start leaving, mid year, getting dismissed or suspended for various infractions it makes you wonder what’s going on. This has been a difficult week after such a promising end to the Fall semester. Hopefully, the rest of the team bands together, overcomes these issues as best possible and makes the NCAA Tourney this spring.
How sad that he’s leaving in the middle of what could have been a wonderful season! First we lose Trivino (which I understand; he should have been dismissed for what he did), but now Coyle? It almost seems like he’s abandoning the team.
Wow, you got scooped by the high school kid with the BC blog.
It’s the Chris Bourque syndrome. He doesn’t like the books. Nobody can make these kids go to school if they don’t want to. Everyone has been telling Charlie he is wonderful for years so he believes it. Well he’s not such a great student. Thanks for a year and a half of not much
Scooped by “a 16 year old with an internet connection”
Seriously people? I’ll wait a day and get valid sources and the right news from this blog than from some kid who can’t type right and doesn’t know how to spell.
One has to wonder if Coyle would’ve left had the Trivino incident not happened, maybe he’s one of the players who are supposedly not happy how candid coach Parker was about Trivino’s drinking problems…regardless, this is as weak and disappointing an early departure as I can remember in recent memory. Coyle didn’t just wake up recently and decided he no longer wants to be a student-athlete. If he was so focused on his pro career, he should’ve never come back this season. It’s unfair for teammates (whom he claims to love) like Alex Chiasson who could’ve left for the pros but chose to come back. I would have disagreed with Coyle had he left after only one season, but that would have been a more honorable departure. Makes you appreciate the Chris Kreiders of the world more, he could easily be playing for the Rangers right now but decided to return to BC so he can go out the right way. Not like he’s coming back for a shot at the national championship because, oh yeah, he’s got one of those already. Coyle’s decision magnifies the problem this program has been dealing with for years: selfish and entitled players who have forgotten it’s a privilege to put on the BU sweater. We need to recruit more John McCarthys and Brad Zancanaros rather than Charlie Coyles and Chris Bourques. Heart trumps talent in my book, and we’ve lacked heart for far too long. Hopefully this team can pull together and fight for each other…and not suffer a Red Sox-like September collapse. GO BU!!
CHARLIE COYLE LOVED PLAYING FOR BU. HE IS NOT SELFISH OR FEEL HE IS ENTITLED PLAYER. CHARLIE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TEAM PLAYER, HE LOVED PUTTING ON THE BU UNIFORM. HE IS A VERY WELL RESPECTED KIND,HONEST, AND IS VERY HUMBLE PERSON. SO YOU CAN WRITE ALL YOU WANT, I HOPE SOME DAY YOU GET A CHANCE TO MEET CHARLIE COYLE THEN YOU WILL REALLY KNOW THE MAN!!!
“Coyle’s decision magnifies the problem this program has been dealing with for years: selfish and entitled players who have forgotten it’s a privilege to put on the BU sweater.”
I think there is a lot of truth to that statement.
BU has been going after the highly-touted, NHL draft choice type kids, many of whom have only looked at BU as a way station on their way to the pros.
Not all, mind you.
But too many of them.
What I find really disappointing is when players leave early, and end up riding the buses in the minors.
BU, and college hockey, is a so much better place to be than the AHL or ECHL.
If a guy is going to the NHL, or is guaranteed a place there is a short amount of time – like a Colin Wilson – OK, take the money and run.
But is David Warsofsky or Colby Cohen better off playing for the last place Providence Bruins in the AHL than spending their senior year in school, and maybe even getting a degree?
I think not.
I want BU players that want to play for BU, that it is important for them to be Terriers. And know that this is a great place to be, at a great time in their lives, that they will never get back.
I’m not asking Parker & company to turn away blue chip prospects. But I want scarlet to be their primary color for at least three, if not four years.
GO BU!
The high school kid who broke the story should run the FREEP.
Agreed w/ Anonymous #16. There’s something to be said when one looks at the two most successful BU Hockey seasons over the past 10+ years (2009, 2006).
The common element of both of those teams: the Senior classes on both of those teams played together all 4 years – no early departures. It’s no coincidence that leadership on those teams was very strong b/c of the strength and cohesiveness of the Senior class.
Anonymous #15: having met Charlie and his family numerous times, I agree with your comments. Very nice young man from a very good family. It’s just disappointing given the timing of the circumstances, that’s all.
Charlie would’ve continued being a major asset to the BU hockey team in the 2nd half of this season; it’s unfortunate BU fans won’t get to see that materialize. Wish him well in Major Juniors and in the pros afterwards.
Damn, the 14 year old kid was right after all. We should be looking at him for breaking news about BU hockey.
I hear the kid was only 14. He knows more about BU hockey than “BU insiders”.
What the real reson for Charlie Coyle leaving BU mic-year is something we may not know for some time, if ever. I choose to believe him when he says he was not in academic trouble. So, it must be something else. I doubt that he just wanted to start his pro career 3 1/2 months early. That is not something you leave your team for.
I just found out about the Coyle situation. After a great recent run BU has now no hope for NCAA or HE playoff championships now. Coyle is selfish./ He was given a full boat that will for most people put them in debt for much of their lives. One of the above uses the terms selfish and entitled. I could not agree more. The John Lilly’s and Ray Bourque’s of the world think they are better than they, in fact, in the hockey world. Neither had any NHL career to speak of after leaving school. The unemployment rate is much, much lower for college grads even in these times. If Coyle plays in the AHL like he did for most of his career he will be gone from hockey in 3-4 years. He will not be given the money a top player would have after a good college career. Most of the BU gays who made a career and a lot of money stayed for four years. There is a major problem in recruiting at BU in the past decade or so. There are good, solid, hockey players in the world that want a $200,00 + education. Let’s look to Europe if we have to to find such players. I hate to say this but it is time for Jack Parker and company to go. Other programs are far ahead of us. I am a fan of almost fifty years and looked forward to the rest of the season. No, Charlie Coyle you are not a man of your word and are selfish. I can not wish you luck as you have let down many people including your fellow college hockey players. In the words of an old English owner of a counting house, Ba Humbug!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Above poster. There is only one point I disagree with you on. You state BU has no hope to make the NCAA’s. How can you say that? You are discounting the rest of the entire team? That’s really dissing everyone else wearing a BU jersey.
If you can see SOOOO far ahead, let’s get together and pick Lotto numbers. Kidding aside, how about positive support for the guys busting their butts that care they play for BU? If you want to spout negativity about making the NCAA’s, then post on Vermont’s site….go BU
Hey 50 year fan, what is this bashing Jack? Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I saw my first BU game in 1956. This year, as I watched the posts when BU lost to HC and got wiped out by Lowell, I thought it was just some young students saying Jack should retire. I chalked it up to youthful exuberance which is better than not caring about BU Hockey. But, it also reflects short memories. All of us should remember it has only been 2 years since Jack and his staff produced a team which won everything, … 7 championships in one year including the big one in historic fashion. We were on a run before the semeter break, as we usually are at this time of year, and one young man got drunk and did something he will regret for the rest of his life. Had that not happened, Coyle and his 4 goals in more than half a season would be just an asterisk in BU’s press guide next year as Coyle would have left at the end of the year anyway. I say we back Jack, his staff and the team.
Guys, this is obvious. Coyle was going to fail out, so he left the week before finals so that he can say he didn’t fail out. Like he couldn’t have waited another 3 1/2 months to sign with the wild. He was going to be ineligible so he left.
Is there any chance we coud use the scholarships to bring in an impact player for 2nd semester?
Response from 50 year fan:
Jack has been a great player and coach. One of his great strengths has been control of his players in the past. For the past ten or so years he has had numerous problems with players.Do we have to mentions all of the published ones or may we start with the Sabo incident. This student kicked another while he was on the ground. He somehow got off via the judicial system. Jack backed up his actions and at the time I could not understand. Fast forward and the Coyle situation. Parker does not seem to think it wrong for a player to leave during the year dispite leaving a large hole in the BU lineup which will hurt his team mates in their future quest for a pro hockey career. He is too old to run the program. He can not keep good asst. coaches (see Quin) when he does win a championship. I have seen the same situation when Harvard and BC had old men trying to do a young man’s job. Their programs went south in a hurry. I am Jack’s age. I coached baseball for many years but I tell you I could not do so today. One only can see the situation at Penn State when one who is of advanced age tries to run a program. Disaster.If he had good assistant coaches maybe it would be different. But he does not. He should keep the $1,000,00 plus dollars he receives but become an “administrator” of the program. Bring in Quinn to be the head coach and let him hire his own assistants. As former President Silber said: ” When it is time to go, it’s time to go.
BU can’t bring in a new player at this time, they would lose a half a year playing eligibility. No one in their right mind would do that
Went through much the same last year at UMD when Dylan Olsen chose not to return from playing for the Canadian JR team. Same rumor, that he was going to be acadmically ineligible for second semester. Hurt more than anyone would admit . But they were able to get it together in the end. The Trivino deal is sad and compounds this.
Coyles scholarship for the 2nd semester will go to a deserving player on the team who did not have a full ride.
What players are not on scholarship now that fit the bill?
Freddy Meyer came in midseason but Parker was desperate and he actually had a decent team that year.
“Actually had a decent team” Right now BU is 4th in the pairwise
Word is going around that Clendening is leaving.
It’s not Clendening….
If clendening has a good world junior tournament he is gone.
The 14 year old kid from Newton broke a new story that said Clendening is leaving. Let’s see if it’s true this time.
Who reported that Clendening is leaving? I haven’t seen that.
Connolly has been a terrible choice as a captain. Next time, Parker needs to pick someone who is actually the same age as the players to be captain.
Who should the captain be. I think noonan
Why has Connolly been a bad captain?
Agreed! Connolly is a great leader. You obviously do not understand the difference between leadership and babysitting. No one asked him to babysit.
I guess it helps the 14 yr old blogger that his dad is the assistant coach (Greg Brown) for BC.
Chiasson has also been identified on USCHO as the next player leaving early. If Chiasson and/or Clendening leave then the team might as well forfeit the rest ftheseason.
Where’s the story to address the rumors that Clendening is looking to leave BU as well?
For the BU writers: Is this team ready to implode? It seems like just matter of time before the commits start looking at other options.
This is exactly what is wrong with D1 sports at major institutions. D3 programs have it right. At D3 schools they are student athletes, with an emphasis on student. At BU there is too much emphasis on playing hockey first and school a distant second. Parker doesn’t care about the players as anything except players. Throw them in the Met program and hope for the best. If he really cared about Trivino, he would have made it mandatory to get help and Coyle (like Bourke) wasted someone’s potential scholarship. You must admit it is quite ironic that Glass is dismissed from the team for studying and Parker does whatever he can to keep the likes of Trivino. He really shows his true colors. Parker does whatever he can to get kids through school that have no right wearing a college jersey and pretending to be student athletes. Does BC have this problem? I think Parker needs to retire. He is an antique.
I don’t think it has anything to do with how a D1 program is run, as opposed to a D3 program. In my opinion, it’s about the type of kid being brought in. Someone said to me that the Class of 2009 stayed intact for 4 years. Now, I am pretty sure this is true and, again in my opinion, this has been a tremendous downfall for the BU program. We have had NO cohesiveness/gel and mostly, IMO, it’s because of the early departures. A ton of our kids NEVER make it to senior year and that leaves a void in the leadership department. That was one thing the 2009 Nat Champ team had plenty of, CHARCTER GUYS AND CLASSY UPPERCLASSMEN…Now, since then think about the defections we have had, whether it’s been leaving for the pro ranks or not…Shatty, Warso, Trivino, Coyle, Clendening, Boninno, Glass, both Sapponari brothers, Colby Cohen…That’s a lot of damn talent that walked, or was kicked, out the door..
One final 4 in 14 years. Obviously a great win but one would have to admit it really was a miracle. Ask some of his former players what they think. From what I hear it’s not very good. Francona was a great Coach but sometimes a change is necessary and I think it’s now. We need someone that can relate to these kids.
Time to fire Parker and replace him with Cookiepuss!
Good points by many in this thread, but to me it comes down to leadership… and I mean leadership at the top. In this case, lack thereof. It starts with how they recruit, who they recruit, will they get 4 years, is the player committed to becoming a college student, etc. And then being a positive force for the players. I don’t see Parker excel in any of these areas. I would be shocked if he is able to attract any local talent in the future. After the mismanagement of Trivino, the Glass fiasco the exodus of Coyle, etc. I would never allow my son to commit to BU. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more players decommit.
Clendening just denied the rumors strongly at the WJC.
Parker needs more players like Glass who actually wanted to study and asked to be excused from a practice because he wanted to study for a test.
Reply to “Good points post. I’m thinking you are not from BU, or BU did not recruit your son.
If you followed college hockey recruiting closely, you would understand that for the past 20 years when ANY coach recruits the top talent in North America and Europe, he knows those players will not stay 4 years. Top caliber 4 year players are few and far between. I’ll take the Tony Amonte and Keith Tkachuk caliber players for 2 years any day of the week. Were they bad recruits? I’m thinking that aside from the great years they gave us when they were student athletes, they gave more money to BU in one year than all of us writing these posts put together. I guess they did not like their leader.
In today’s college hockey world, if you don’t have a few top pro prospects in your lineup, you are not going to be a national championship caliber team year in and year out. I like the 29 Beanpots we have, winning at Fenway Park and MSG, and those national championship trophys look pretty good to me.
By the way, I wonder how many of the hundreds of Parker’s former players you talked with before concluding that BU lacks leadership.
Clendening article states, in no uncertain terms, that he is STAYING for the second semester.
https://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2011/12/20_clendening_im_not_going.php
I’m sure it’s a long shot, but has anyone heard if Drury would have any interest in coaching since he is now retired? I think the program could use the positive vibes. Even on a volunteer basis…
Why does BC almost always have their hockey players stay 4 years. They have two hockey championships in the last few years and could have another one this year. They have one player who could be in the NHL now but he wanted to stay at BC another year. There is something wrong with our not recruiting kids who want a college education and a NHL career. Everyone would not stay but I am sure that they would finish their finals before taking off for pro jrs.
Good point. But when a player gets booted for studying, as a parent you would have to think twice about this environment. With more than half of the kids in the Met, it is not a serious academic situation for players. In fact, you would have to argue that if you are not in the Met, then the coaching staff would think you are not committed.
The NCAA needs to make some rules with the NHL. Schools make a huge commitment to these players and they should be required to stay for a minimum of three years. They should also only have one year after High School for PG or Juniors.
As for BU it appears that the excitement is not there. The BU fans at the BC game at BC were crazy and loud. The next night at BU they sat on their hands and it was like a morgue. Things are stale and it’s time for an infusion of new life on the ice and on the bench.
Why couldn’t Parker pull a Dan LaCouture with Coyle just to get him through the rest of the season before failing out?
No one knows how parker did it but LaCouture NEVER earned a single grade at BU yet managed to pull for a full year.
With the top two players gone, BU hockey is dead this year. At least Beanpot tickets will be easy to get.
To the Anonymous above saying BU is dead… you are a real jerk! the rest of the team will step up and play harder than ever. Have you ever laced up? likely not… guys like you don’t understand the mentality of a real hockey player. The never quit, they always strive… unlike some people like you in the peanut gallery. Good luck at your next intramural water polo game…BTW don’t bother coming to the Beanpot, you don’t deserve to be let in to watch.
this is for the idiot above who talks about lacing them up and playing harder. check out the notre dame score. how’s that for mentality of real hockey players? maybe some of these so called real hockey players can quit like coyle or get kicked off like trivino and play water polo. maybe there is a water polo beanpot. don’t worry,i won’t go to the beanpot because i don’t want to see bu finish 4th AGAIN. i will leave that privilege to the poster above who purportedly knows all about lacing em up. go bu