Hail, I'm the AcidQueen and I'm Asatru.
(Hail, AQ!)
Now that we've established that I'm probably the only follower of a "non-mainstream" religion in these parts (and that I'd appreciate it if you'll just keep that bowl of hot coals away from my midsection*)....
I don't think that comparing Benjamin Rubin to Patrick O'Sullivan (as Jordi did) is really a fair comparison. From what I understand and have been told by various people, teams passed O'Sullivan over specifically because they didn't want to deal with the kid's father (who has demonstrated through repeated attempts to contact his son that he's more than willing to violate the 29374 restraining orders that are outstanding on him). It wasn't the kid himself, it was the baggage that lives about an hour away from me in Winston-Salem (which, by the way, is why the Hurricanes passed on him--they liked his skills, but neither they nor the Wake County Sheriff's Department could guarantee the kid's safety).
This isn't the same thing. It's kinda-sorta-maybe-not-really close, but not the same thing.
I can see teams wanting to take a chance on Benjamin Rubin if he's got teh leet skillz--but his career's going to be limited because of his strict adherence to his faith, which I'm sure he understands.
I think he also understands that at the heart of it all, this isn't a religious issue; it's an issue of practicality. If a rabbi will give Benjamin Rubin a dispensation of some sort so that he can play or practice on the Sabbath, great--the sky is the limit for him and I am sure that he will become a wonderful example for young Jewish kids everywhere.
But if not? I think that he's pretty much going to be a fourth-liner for his entire career--which is unfortunate, but also the only in which he'll be able to even have an NHL career.
Just my two cents.
*: Historical points to anyone who got that.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hockeyin' it down on the Heathen tip, y'all.
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If by "around here" you'll include readers as well as contributors, you're definitely not the only follower of a non-mainstream religion around here. ;)
Also, a great big fat "Word!" to the entire rest of your post. It's inappropriate for someone to force Rubin to violate his religious beliefs to play, but it's also inappropriate for Rubin to expect that the practical implications his beliefs have for his usefulness as a player aren't going to be a limiting factor for his career.
If there was a player who wouldn't play on Tuesdays because he went to go visit his mom in a mental hospital every Tuesday night, and that not-playing was not negotiable, that would limit that player's career, too. The concern for the team isn't the why of the not playing, it's the rigidity of the not playing. That's the only thing that affects the player's usefulness to the team--but it definitely does affect the player's usefulness to the team and in that respect it is most definitely a real, practical issue.
About O'Sullivan - I don't think it's the same case at all either. I only mentioned it to show that GMs are willing to skip something such as a good first round pick for the sake of keeping them malleable.
Maybe choosing the coffee machine over this guy was a tad exaggerated (unless the machine made uber coffee). The road is long for Rubin and he has a lot of ways to work it out. Hell Komisarek jumped on a plane after each practice or game so he could visit his mother dying from cancer.
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