Shawn Hunwick to dress for Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.

[MGoBlueMB]

Twitter is blowing up on it.
From Kevin Porter:

@shawn_hunwick dressing for the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. #straighttotheshow #kidcanplay

— Kevin Porter (@kporter12) March 28, 2012

Hey @shawn_hunwick have a safe drive down to Columbus for your NHL debut #midget

— Greg Pateryn (@Greg_Pateryn) March 28, 2012

LOL @ Pateryn's hashtag

[tommyz]

Good for him...would be awesome if he played

[MGoBlueMB]

Good for him...would be awesome if he played

If he plays, that's awesome for wings fans because it means the wings will have shelled whoever the starting goalie is.

[The Black Hand]

Let me rephrase that. If Michigan were still in the NCAA hockey tournament right now, who would be the starting goalie? Bear with me. I’m black. I don’t understand all of this hockey stuff.

[MGoBlueMB]

Let me rephrase that. If Michigan were still in the NCAA hockey tournament right now, who would be the starting goalie? Bear with me. I’m black. I don’t understand all of this hockey stuff.

If Michigan were still playing in the NCAA tournament, Hunwick wouldn't be able to play for CBJ unless he wanted to void his NCAA eligibility.

[The Black Hand]

Wait... the goalie who is currently on the team?

[MGoBlueMB]

Wait... the goalie who is currently on the team?

Yep, the kid who's been starting for Michigan all season is dressing for CBJ tonight.

[The Black Hand]

Yep, the kid who's been starting for Michigan all season is dressing for CBJ tonight.

How do you get drafted while you're still playing in college?

[MGoBlueMB]

How do you get drafted while you're still playing in college?

He's not drafted, so he's a free-agent. The season is over and so is his NCAA eligibility.

[The Black Hand]

He's not drafted, so he's a free-agent. The season is over and so is his NCAA eligibility.

So, in theory he was an undrafted free agent like LeGarrette Blount and signed with Columbus? If that's the scenario I guess I understand. I don't get how they don't have any other goalies in their system ready to dress for the game tonight.

[jdk1980]

How do you get drafted while you're still playing in college?

Hockey has different rules concerning being drafted while still retaining your NCAA eligibility. Although Hunwick was never drafted & was a free agent leaving him free to sign with whatever team he chose (or who would pick him), players can be drafted by the NHL but still play in college.

The NCAA basically has a loophole in their rules which allows this. So long as an agent hasn't made contact with an NHL team, the player is still allowed to play in college. Here's an article that basically explains this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/op...exemption.html