Son of a Spit! He's a Colt

It was funny, stupid, arrogant and unfortunate.

Spits' GM, Warren Rychel says he's going to wait 'til the end of the season to digest just how badly he was victimized during Saturday's OHL draft. He didn't get the player he wanted when he wanted him. How tragic.

Let's be clear: Rychel made himself the victim by expecting trust and sportsmanship from people who are neither fond of him nor his organization. And he further pissed off his "haters", both casual and de facto, by arrogantly announcing to the league that he planned to take his son in the 2nd round. He's the architect of a Memorial Cup champion for God's sake. Yet naively planned on seeing his boy, Kirby waiting there unselected with a pick to spare in round two. Here's the funny part. Not only did it not happen, Kirby was snapped up by the Barrie Colts with the very next selection. Not in the 2nd round where Dad had him valued, but on the final pick of the first frame, owned and happily utilized by those Colts.

It's posturing at it's finest on behalf of Barrie, and again Kirby Rychel might just be worthy of the selection. He is afterall a member of an NHL family. A family whose patriarch is effin' furious tonight. Hey, give the Colts some credit. They're finished in these finals anyway. In addition to doing some physical damage before bowing out (see the last 40 seconds of game 3), why not inflict a little psychological trauma on the Spits too? Let's make another thing clear: The Colts owe the Spits nothing. While they didn't do themselves any favours by helping themselves to forbidden fruit, Barrie's focus is itself. Or so we hope.

Taking Kirby was an automatic dig at the dastardly Spitfires, and most likely a sleek hockey move by the folks on the tip of cottage country. But if Colts management somehow came down with a case of the 'resentments' and chose the younger Rychel just to stick it to his old man, then it's disrupted its own plan both on and off the ice. I'm betting the pick was designed to accomplish a few objectives. I'm also betting Rychel; known to hold a grudge, or several, won't forget this, ultimately causing even more hurt. He'll no doubt remain vengeful. And estranged from the kid who's number one in his heart, 2nd on his depth chart.