Reports out of Quebec indicate that sophomore forward A.J. Greer will leave Boston University and join the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, as initially reported by Réseau des sports in Quebec. (Report is in French.) BU has not confirmed Greer’s departure.
Greer played 18 games for BU this season, tallying one goal and four assists in that time. Last season, he had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 41 games.
Francis Perron, a member of Rouyn-Noranda, tweeted a welcome to Greer:
Really happy to welcome @ajgreer_10 in our family!! See you soon brother #wolfpack
— Francis Perron (@fperron27) December 17, 2015
UPDATE:
Translation: Greer denies Q report. Says discussion with agent & family but nothing more. https://t.co/Z27owdmWj1 — Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) December 17, 2015
Translation: Greer says he has signed nothing and still has to exams to take at BU. https://t.co/oOpIgf2enF
— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) December 17, 2015
We’ll provide updates as they come, but as of right now this is all we know.
UPDATE, Friday at 9:45 p.m.:
L'attaquant Anthony John Greer est en compagnie du propriétaire des @HuskiesRn Jacques Blais. #LHJMQ pic.twitter.com/Bh2HXjtkoe
— Jean-François Vachon (@jf_vachon76) December 19, 2015
That’s certainly him — we’ll keep digging, but this is the latest we’ve seen reported. Still no confirmation from BU, and he’s still listed on the roster.
And the beat goes on. We need to somehow have people come here who value an education that BU can give them. This almost never happens in the ECAC as far as I can remember. The middle of thee season is what bothers me so much. He and Coyle are to my way of thinking not BU guys.
It would be tough to loose a player of his size and physical play. But bu has depth and this provides others with opportunities to get in the line up and succeed. His offensive numbers have not been great but he brings a physical aspect that can only be matched by Olson and greenway. With Olson out others will have to step up on the physical front. Short term this might hurt bu but with the captain coming back hopefully nick Roberto seeing some ice time Matt lane playing great and Robbie baligeron getting his confidence back this team is in a great spot. Go bu?
you will never see roberto in a BU uniform again.
here is an SAT word analogy
dirtbag is to scumbag as aj greer is to charlie coyle.
If this report is true this is not good news. A potential top six forward leaving half way thru the season combined with the rash of injuries is going to hurt the team next semester. I do not expect to see Roberto. Nick Olson, Ahti O. and Matt G. are questionable to return. In fact there is a rumor from multiple sources that Ahti O is out for the season and B.U. will bring in a 20 year old freshman. Sarah, updates or clarification from the coaching staff would be appreciated.
Larry,I have heard that Ahti will miss 1 month from the time of his injury,separated shoulder.Nick,you are 100% correct about.Olson,and Grizzy are expected back,Sooner rather than later is what I have heard.As far as A.J.,I don’t believe he is leaving,but could be wrong on that one.Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,let’s hope for a great Second half,we know they can do it,if the players are available and Healthy.
yea, ahti is gone and they are bringing someone in. don’t know who yet
I thought the rumor is that Ahti will be back on January 7th. Where did this new rumor come from?
We could be in real trouble. Why would Olson, Ahti, and Grizz not come back ? What do we know of this situation ?
Vincent
If you are correct and Ahti is gone and Greer leaves things have gone from bad to worse. Evan if someone comes in second semester, will they be talented enough to contribute right away.? Anti seems almost impossible to replace. I do not doubt you I heard the same rumor.
Glen,
The information concerning Ahti was reported on a twitter account of a former student that covered the team for the Daily Free Press.(according to my son)
Walter Crison
All three have issues with injuries. There has been little or no reliable information or updates from B. U. The Ahti rumor was from a Twitter account and Vincent from the blog also made a similar statement.
This team will be fine. They have charcter guys that will make sure of it. They have fast speedy freshman forwards who will only get better 2 half. Defense will also get better. Just like the pats next man up mentality
I place very little credibility in these rumors.
WHAT?? I’ve been hearing the EXACT opposite!! Ahti will be ready after break, same with Olsson and Gryz.
Larry, What’s the twitter name reporting this?
They will be back Guest66,like money in the bank,count on it….except Roberto.
Guest 66
https://twitter.com/aharonson28/status/677545069902196737
My son told me this is the link.
Thanks!! WTH, why don’t they just TELL it like it is?? Stupid if you ask me!
Let’s wait for some official news on Greer before anyone starts throwing him under the bus. Shortly after the initial reports of his departure, a Quebec journalist issued tweets that CHN’s Mike McMahon translated and retweeted, indicating that Greer denied the Q report that he had signed, that there had been discussions with his advisor and family but nothing more, and that he has two exams to take at BU.
Remember that it was about this time a year ago that there were rumors out of Quebec that Jack Eichel was leaving for the Q. It’s fairly common for reporters covering Q and OHL teams to float rumors about NCAA players that those teams are trying to sign.
Re Oksanen, it appears that “clean” x-ray results led to initial optimism for a quick return, but an MRI showed more damage. Hearing he’ll be re-evaluated in a few weeks.
teams don’t give out specific injuries reports to fans. it does not happen in the pros or anywhere else these days. that is internal business and i don’t blame any coach for not revealing the true extent of injuries. on that front, they owe us nothing. i go with my man, belichik. he keeps everything close to the vest. “upper body injury or lower body injury” – that is how injuries are cloaked these days. like it or lump it
midseason (or late august) defections are the most crippling. is greer a great player? not even close. but he does some good things and it just depletes our manpower. next man up? and who would that be ? dillon lawrence? tommy kelly? get real
I have often wondered if a college could take legal action against a pro Jr. team taking a player away. They do have a contract with the colleges for a year as I understand it. There is a quid pro quo in that the education scholarship goes with the student’s playing and there is a meeting of the minds and a signature I believe. I know, however, that the college students have lost in court when trying to form a union in football. But if it come to having to paying some of these players though in the future then the colleges may take some kind of action. Any lawyers out there.? How about a side story about this, Sarah ?
Collin
Character is great but talent is even better. I think it is more like last man standing instead of next man up.
Glen
The problem is without an update by those in charge you do not know what to believe. Some sort of clarification would stop all rumors.
Terrier Blogger
I hope this is not a Charlie Coyle scenario where he initially denied reports but left B.U. Allegedly he or his family received six figure renumeration for his playing for St. John.
Let’s see what happens. I hope Greer doesn’t leave but wouldn’t be shocked if he does. He acknowledged “discussions with his advisor and family”, so there’s definitely smoke. We’ll see soon enough if there’s fire beneath the smoke.
Vincent,
I can understand professional sports not revealing the extant of injuries. Although they are not world secrets and it seems a bit silly. At the college level it is my belief there should be accurate information. Revealing this information will not shift world power. However it would put stop to these constant and unsubstantiated rumors.
Son of CC
You cannot make some one stay if they do not want to be part of the team and school. It would be counter productive to make someone stay who was not 100% committed .Legal or illegal you want student athletes that are committed to the program.
Friend _of BU _ Hockey
It sounds that there might be negotiation going on between his agent and the team in Canada. Eichel always indicated he was committed for the year. Greers comments are ambiguous.
Thank you for the kind thoughts and same to you and your family. I hope you are correct and the only one not available is Nick Roberto. Some clarification from B.U would be reassuring. I was actually optimistic after the big win and any of these potential departures will adversely effect the team.
Guest 66
I am as frustrated as you with the lack of accurate information. It only makes matters worse with all these rumors.
Picture at Q game
If any of you want to boost your spirits and feel great about our team’s future, check out http://www.mynhldraft.com. For the December 16th update, there are FIVE Terriers and Terriers-to-be who are being projected as first round picks next June.
At this point I could care less about future recruits. Half of them decommit anyways
I am looking at what is in front of us and it looks dismal. And we ain’t done. More negative rumblings are in the wind.
They will be fine. Ahti and Olsen back to start 2nd half. Greer is tall, but I didn’t see him contribute much over a season and a half. He just seemed to run around. Kelly has looked sharp and making smart plays in all 3 zones, and can shoot the puck. Having Roberto back too with Kelly will crank things up for the team.
They will be fine. Ahti and Olsen back to start 2nd half. Greer is tall, but I didn’t see him contribute much over a season and a half. He just seemed to run around. Kelly has looked sharp and making smart plays in all 3 zones, and can shoot the puck. Having Roberto back too with Kelly will crank things up for the team.
Vincent, the vast majority of our recruits come and play at least one year for BU. There’s no way around the fact that a pipeline of elite recruits is the precursor to a national championship.
Glenn
Perhaps you should listen to the rumors as there were more accurate than any information from the team. I am focused on this year. I don’t know who will be on the team next semester never mind next year. This is a huge loss as depth at forward was thin before this departure . So please stop sugarcoating this disappointing news!
Larry, at this point there is ZERO news. Of course, I will be disappointed if any of the rumor-news comes true. BU Hockey 7, I am going to hold you to your promise LOL!
I might be wrong about Ahti,Might be done for the season…
anti back????? that is not what i understand
roberto…… see ya! don’t hold ya breath
glen, not so fast. check out yale and union and pc. a nice mix of older players with some elites. BU takes it to the extreme. what the heck good is one year unless the kid is eichel????????
What exactly does BU take “to the extreme” ? Besides Eichel, what other recruit came with the expectation he might be here just one year?
ahti not anti
Glenn
Sorry to be the Grinch but Greer is gone. Not sure if Ahti, Nick O., Matt G or Nick R. will play next semester. Hope Rhett has eligibility.
Gerry
What evidence to you have that Ahti or Olson will be ready for the beginning of the next semester ?
Glenn
The formula to win an NCAA championship is to have a strong senior and junior class like the last three NCAA champs Providence, Union and Yale . The one and done schools have not been successful in the Frozen Four.
Strong senior and junior classes also applies to our 2009 national champions as well as last year’s team, which was one, still-hard-to-believe-gaffe from a sixth national championship. The senior class was small but effective and the larger junior class was very strong. I’ll assume you are not calling BU a one-and-done school; Eichel was an anomaly.
BU acknowledged Greer’s departure in response to a media inquiry, but don’t expect a news release explaining the reason why he left. It doesn’t happen that way in college sports. Reportedly, he wasn’t happy with the way he was being used in the line-up; you’d be hard pressed to say he earned top six time. Given his slow start this year and knowing that a likely first-round pick (Kieffer Bellows) is arriving next fall, it’s possible that he didn’t see himself becoming a top six next season either.
Stop copying my points, Larry :):):)
terrier blogger
it just seems like BU is always in a whirlpool of guys coming and going whether it is in the summer or mid year. you need name tags to follow the departures and replacements. that what i meant by extreme
Gee, it’s too bad things aren’t as neat and tidy as you’d like. Transitions happen in the course of a season—and more in some seasons than others. And it happens elsewhere, too. The school up the block lost Bracco just weeks into the season. A year ago, Milano bolted just before school began. And now they’ve had to add a back-up goalie at mid-season due to an injury.
Some of the transitions since the end of last season were within the BU hockey program’s control; others were not. Duane left because he had little playing time last season and few prospects for more this year. Piccinich was asked to go back to the USHL and return in 2016, but elected to leave. TJ Ryan had to quit due to injury. And despite the conspiracy theories offered on this blog, the loss of Letunov was as much due to the player’s own mistakes in the admissions process as anything else.
Vincent
I am as disappointed and frustrated as you. Lack of information by those in charge make it worse.
Perhaps there is dissension within the team and that would explain their record to date Sorry to plagiarize. I give you full credit Great minds think a like.
I can’t see how Greer would have grounds to complain about his ice time. Ever since the end of last season, it seems Quinn was giving him a lot of time on the first and second lines. He did score several very important goals, but not enough point production to warrant him being used only on the first line.
That is exactly why he left,he thought he was better than he is,and his lack of points is a good example,dumping your team halfway through the season is not a player I would want on my team.
Terrier Blogger
I was referring to #9 but anticipate more one and done players with potential 5 first rounders (maybe)on the team next season. No explanation is simply not acceptable. If he was upset with his playing time or they way he was used ,then why were these issues not resolved? He seemed to disappear a times and has not improved. Is there communications issues between the coaches and players?
You are really a piece of work, Larry, insisting “No explanation is simply not acceptable, as if being privy to all the details is your right as a longtime fan.
When you ask why Greer’s issues weren’t resolved, you’re making lots of assumptions about what was or wasn’t discussed. And some of your assumptions are expressed as negatives–asking if there is dissension on the team or communications issues between coaches and players. That’s trolling for problems that have no factual basis, just because the current regime— for which you regularly show disapproval— chooses to not make certain player issues public.
Larry, you ask why weren’t these issues resolved. Maybe his expectations were not reasonable? You say that as if you expect that the player and coaching staff should come to some agreement/understanding. That’s ridiculous and not true in life … including sports.
Terrier Blogger
Trying to convince a player to stay for the entire year is not unreasonable. I cannot imagine why he left. Unless it was for financial benefits.I expect players to honor their commitments, If he wanted to leave after the season then I have no issue. During the season in my opinion is not acceptable. In life or business there is usually a compromise position. If Greer was that unhappy he should have not returned for his sophomore season.
Terrier Blogger
Stop being a an B.U. apologiest for the regimes short comings. It always the players fault never the school. Why are so many players not coming, leaving or transferring. ?When in doubt blame the student athlete that cannot defend himself.
omg you sincerely are whacked. You clearly think you should be bowed down to. OMG…WOW. Hey Greer left because he thought he was going to be a stud on this team and he isn’t. WHY do you think this team/coaches/ Admins owe you anything?? Just because Parker became a “friend” to you, you think you have some sort of claim on this team? It’s actually very bizarre how insanely angry you are.
Larry,
were you rapping the same thing when coyle left under parker. and when trivino and nicastro brought scandal on the program? or when the host of other players left early – dipietro etc. were you blaming parker then? if you were, then fine. but if not, then i think you have an axe to grind. it has to cut both ways
Vincent
Great question and because you did not spew personal attacks I will answer. In the eighties when B.U. had losing seasons I wrote him letters expressing my unhappiness. After a period when we were not exactly friends, he realized that I wanted the program to be as successful as possible and that sometimes I had a an usually way of expressing my feelings. He knew I was passionate about B.U and although I might criticize and go overboard that I was extremely loyal to the program. After that he would always honestly answer my question. Yes I asked him about Coyle and the hockey scandal. He gave me detailed answers . He never ran away or dodge a question. I agree that he was not perfect and neither am I. After he retired he made a point of personally thanking me in front of my wife and kids for all my support.It was not expected and I was happily surprised .
Ok but you knew Jack so you got detailed answers. I did not know him like that so he would never talk to me the way he talked to you. In fact I wrote him 3 detailed letters raising my concerns after a certain seasons in the early 2000’s and got no response. That’s fine. It does not seem like you have that same connection with DQ so to get a detailed answer is unrealistic. Some of this stuff is meant to stay internally and not for public consumption no matter how loyal any of us are. That is how I see it. Happy new year