Money: Cornellians lost to (and gained from) the portal

[ugarte]

3. I'm still confused why everyone feels so betrayed by Cournoyer dipping but didn't bat an eye when Robertson did the same. It's the same story in my book - one of our best players ditches personal and team success for the Big 10. Robertson had one of the best years for a freshman defenseman in Cornell history, and while he had a down sophomore year, the team won back to back ECAC Championships! His leaving was much more inexplicable than Cournoyer leaving, given Cournoyer's background (CHL overager, draft pick, seemingly unserious student, etc.)

Robertson's exit wasn't as ugly, for one. He came in entirely unheralded, for another - his freshman year had to have been one of the most unexpected in quite a while. His departure was a surprise but it didn't seem mercenary. He appears to have saved his family tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money, which is not a small thing, plus whatever he received himself in NIL. We had a pretty good defense with or without him and the incoming class included XV. A Michigan diploma looks just as good on the wall as one from Cornell imo. I just don't think the Robertson transfer was primarily about hockey, although it was probably partly about hockey. Slotting in to an elite team in the best conference is also a hell of an opportunity. Obviously some of these things also apply to Cournoyer; Wisconsin is also an excellent school!

On the other hand, Cournoyer came in with huge fanfare, started hot as hell, then faded and left like an asshole. And he plays a position where we had no depth! I don't know what to tell you other than "different things are different" once you get past the overlap of transfering out of our beloved alma mater.

I am very much on the record as saying that most of the time I think of the athletes on the teams that I root for as gentic-lottery winning mutants dancing for my amusement so I do not grow attached to them as people. I play this ironic detachment for laughs. Cournoyer should fall into an open manhole tomorrow. Robertson's departure just doesn't trigger anything like that because he didn't make it weird. He just left.

And this isn't "average job mobility." It's a freshman, starting goalie, award winner, and NHL draft pick leaving immediately after Year 1. The  Sun article adds context that makes it worse:  the blindsiding of the coaching staff, the implication that he doesn't value an education, it raises questions about judgment and priorities.

Unless Cournoyer does actually fall into that open manhole and his hockey career is over this week, nobody in a position to affect his life will ever care about the quotes he gave to the press in 2026. Nobody. Ever.

[stereax]

3. I'm still confused why everyone feels so betrayed by Cournoyer dipping but didn't bat an eye when Robertson did the same. It's the same story in my book - one of our best players ditches personal and team success for the Big 10. Robertson had one of the best years for a freshman defenseman in Cornell history, and while he had a down sophomore year, the team won back to back ECAC Championships! His leaving was much more inexplicable than Cournoyer leaving, given Cournoyer's background (CHL overager, draft pick, seemingly unserious student, etc.)

Robertson's exit wasn't as ugly, for one. He came in entirely unheralded, for another - his freshman year had to have been one of the most unexpected in quite a while. His departure was a surprise but it didn't seem mercenary. He appears to have saved his family tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money, which is not a small thing, plus whatever he received himself in NIL. We had a pretty good defense with or without him and the incoming class included XV. A Michigan diploma looks just as good on the wall as one from Cornell imo. I just don't think the Robertson transfer was primarily about hockey, although it was probably partly about hockey. Slotting in to an elite team in the best conference is also a hell of an opportunity. Obviously some of these things also apply to Cournoyer; Wisconsin is also an excellent school!

On the other hand, Cournoyer came in with huge fanfare, started hot as hell, then faded and left like an asshole. And he plays a position where we had no depth! I don't know what to tell you other than "different things are different" once you get past the overlap of transfering out of our beloved alma mater.

I am very much on the record as saying that most of the time I think of the athletes on the teams that I root for as gentic-lottery winning mutants dancing for my amusement so I do not grow attached to them as people. I play this ironic detachment for laughs. Cournoyer should fall into an open manhole tomorrow. Robertson's departure just doesn't trigger anything like that because he didn't make it weird. He just left.

And this isn't "average job mobility." It's a freshman, starting goalie, award winner, and NHL draft pick leaving immediately after Year 1. The  Sun article adds context that makes it worse:  the blindsiding of the coaching staff, the implication that he doesn't value an education, it raises questions about judgment and priorities.

Unless Cournoyer does actually fall into that open manhole and his hockey career is over this week, nobody in a position to affect his life will ever care about the quotes he gave to the press in 2026. Nobody. Ever.

Yeah, I think the difference is the mercenariness of it. Robertson it just feels like he needed a change of scenery - I think part of it was financial reasons, too. Plus even on the hockey side, again, with XV coming in, does Robertson even get PP time? We already had Fegaras for PP2, plus Stanley got PP1 time, plus Ashton also sometimes played on PP2.

I mean, I don't remember anyone saying anything along the lines of being "blindsided" by Robo's transfer, or any form of anger towards Robertson, which is pretty clear to read from Casey's thoughts on Cournoyer. Cournoyer did one year with us and ran away with the next "shiny thing". And the info we have about his agent basically cold emailing everyone to see if there was anyone who was interested backs that up. Robertson, we never heard anything as crazy as that.

And Robertson sure as shit didn't interview and say that Michigan was a "better opportunity". Which, well, Michigan is a perennial contender with so much high-end talent, even if they choke all the time, and probably IS a better opportunity than Cornell hockey-wise. Wisconsin is a lot shakier of a program with crazy highs and crazier lows.

Actually - here's what Robo DID say:

A big factor in his decision was cost. Ivy League schools do not offer full-time athletic scholarships, so he felt that it was a lot to ask for his parents to pay for another full season of school. Meanwhile, the tuition kept increasing.

"Once I went into the portal, I kind of explored every option, took my time and tried to kind of see what would be best for me to continue my college career," Robertson said.

[...]

"I could probably say it was the hardest decision I've had to make in my life. The success I had, the friendships that I made there, obviously going into college there as a freshman. I made a ton of great memories there with the older guys that we had," Robertson said. "It was just kind of bittersweet saying goodbye to all my friends, but at the end of the day, they kind of understood."

Cournoyer... did not say anything like that. That's the difference, I think.

[fastforward]

I have greatly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on this matter, but for me, I'm over talking about someone who is no longer with us
I would much rather talk about our incoming goalie and the great team that we currently have in place!
Forward motion, or "fast forward"  as some may say  😂

[adamw]

I still think anyone who thinks a future employer will give the slightest shit about this is bonkers.

The future employer stuff is why the ECAC is the only league on Earth that doesn't announce suspensions. I wrote a diatribe about this a few years ago which I should just automatically re-publish every 3 months, because it remains a preposterous premise.

[Snowball]

I still think anyone who thinks a future employer will give the slightest shit about this is bonkers.

The future employer stuff is why the ECAC is the only league on Earth that doesn't announce suspensions.

So opinions on whether this matters or not vary.

[Snowball]

I have greatly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on this matter, but for me, I'm over talking about someone who is no longer with us
I would much rather talk about our incoming goalie and the great team that we currently have in place!
Forward motion, or "fast forward"  as some may say  😂

Nicely put

[adamw]

I really personally don't have much interest in debating whether anyone should be more mad at Robertson or Cournoyer or anyone at all. But I will say that there are many behind-the-scenes, and front of scenes, reasons why one could consider Robertson to be just as bad or worse. Just one example - the courtship, as it were, was going on much longer in Robertson's case. Whether this makes it better or worse -- to each their own.  But ultimately, it's seems a waste of time to debate it.

[stereax]

I have greatly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on this matter, but for me, I'm over talking about someone who is no longer with us
I would much rather talk about our incoming goalie and the great team that we currently have in place!
Forward motion, or "fast forward"  as some may say  😂

Rousseau highlights from the Q and WJC, anyone?

[Trotsky]

If people put the time and effort they expend on analyzing off field sports processes into analyzing sociopolitical and economic processes, most of the disasters of the last 50 years could have been avoided.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.

[marty]

That part I got. But his reasoning for transferring is what I want to know, and that is still a mystery. Did he transfer because he though Wisconsin would give him a better opportunity to sign pro? Because he was struggling in school/didn't want to go to class anymore? "He only cares about hockey" seems clear, but why transfer? I can think of several reasons, but we don't have much clarity as to the ones that led to the decision, other than maybe a vague allusion to the "education" bit.

I think it's pretty clear that if he doesn't care about the degree and is ready to jump ship to the pros ASAP, he'd rather be someplace that has the B1G's NIL budget, scholarship generosity and academic support (TAs who will take his exams). I don't know if Cornell's coaching/schedule came into it at all but it seems secondary. I honestly doubt that MTL cares very much which program he was at. 

That's true but it seems relevant which of those purported reasons was decisive. It's vague as to which of the following affected his decision and to what degree:
—he wanted more of a challenge (I suspect it's not this but that's basically the answer he gave to the Wisconsin journalist)
-money, whether scholarship or NIL (not mentioned in either of the articles but could of course be a reason)
-he didn't want to go to school (sort of alluded to by Casey but only if you squint)

I know people roll their eyes when I harp on this stuff but it's a lot different if a kid is dipping because he has to pay tuition versus because he thinks the ECAC is weak versus because he isn't a serious student. Yeah the answer could be "all of the above" but in terms of future recruiting it's good to know why a player like this would leave Cornell when so many other good players do not. The coaching staff got burned and it'd be nice to not have that happen again.

roll my eyes is one way to say it ... I mean, if you think the definition of journalism is forcing a run-of-the-mill college hockey player to confess, on the record, all of his deep thoughts about why he transferred, just to satisfy the burning curiosity of 10 people who absolutely need to know or it will kill them ... then ... good luck waiting on that.

You've been given way more to infer on this one case, either by my comments here or Jane's articles, than 99.9% of all the other 200 kids that transferred last week and pissed off the fans/coaches of the place they left.

She had Casey on the record. I was hopeful this would reveal more than we already knew, but it didn't. Not expecting her to grill Cournoyer, obviously. I think Jane is a promising journalist and the Sun's hockey coverage has been great, to be clear. But people wanted to know why he transferred and it's still extremely murky.

And it's none of your business.

I'm sorry if it offends you that the media covers the comings and goings of college athletes but you should get used to it.

The media can cover it as it will but the fact that you can't get all the answers you want is just too damn bad.  Stop your whining.  Cournoyer is gone.  You, as always, have to have someone to blame.  Preferably, as always for you, a Cornell coach.

Yawn. *taps the sign*: https://elf.elynah.com/index.php?topic=270518.msg285337#msg285337

If you think that Al or any other critics of your incessant stream of (lack of) thought postings are going to take advice from you, your delusions only prove our conclusions.

*Taps  the sign*: https://elf.elynah.com/index.php?topic=270518.msg285337#msg285337

Once again,  QED

[The Rancor]

I have greatly enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on this matter, but for me, I'm over talking about someone who is no longer with us
I would much rather talk about our incoming goalie and the great team that we currently have in place!
Forward motion, or "fast forward"  as some may say  😂

Rousseau highlights from the Q and WJC, anyone?

Looks like a smaller, highly mobile and athletic goalie with lightning reflexes and big personality. Love to see it. Welcome to the Big Red.

[ugarte]

So opinions on whether this matters or not vary.

opinions vary, sure, but that doesn't mean they're equally grounded

[Snowball]

So opinions on whether this matters or not vary.

opinions vary, sure, but that doesn't mean they're equally grounded

I still think anyone who thinks a future employer will give the slightest shit about this is bonkers.

The future employer stuff is why the ECAC is the only league on Earth that doesn't announce suspensions. I wrote a diatribe about this a few years ago which I should just automatically re-publish every 3 months, because it remains a preposterous premise.

I got it I got it I got it.

You and Adam are right, the ECAC and I are wrong.

Issue resolved!

[adamw]

So opinions on whether this matters or not vary.

opinions vary, sure, but that doesn't mean they're equally grounded

I still think anyone who thinks a future employer will give the slightest shit about this is bonkers.

The future employer stuff is why the ECAC is the only league on Earth that doesn't announce suspensions. I wrote a diatribe about this a few years ago which I should just automatically re-publish every 3 months, because it remains a preposterous premise.

I got it I got it I got it.

You and Adam (and every other sports league in the world) are right, the ECAC and I are wrong.

Issue resolved!

FTFY 

[BearLover]

3. I'm still confused why everyone feels so betrayed by Cournoyer dipping but didn't bat an eye when Robertson did the same. It's the same story in my book - one of our best players ditches personal and team success for the Big 10. Robertson had one of the best years for a freshman defenseman in Cornell history, and while he had a down sophomore year, the team won back to back ECAC Championships! His leaving was much more inexplicable than Cournoyer leaving, given Cournoyer's background (CHL overager, draft pick, seemingly unserious student, etc.)

Robertson's exit wasn't as ugly, for one. He came in entirely unheralded, for another - his freshman year had to have been one of the most unexpected in quite a while. His departure was a surprise but it didn't seem mercenary. He appears to have saved his family tens of thousands of dollars in tuition money, which is not a small thing, plus whatever he received himself in NIL. We had a pretty good defense with or without him and the incoming class included XV. A Michigan diploma looks just as good on the wall as one from Cornell imo. I just don't think the Robertson transfer was primarily about hockey, although it was probably partly about hockey. Slotting in to an elite team in the best conference is also a hell of an opportunity. Obviously some of these things also apply to Cournoyer; Wisconsin is also an excellent school!

On the other hand, Cournoyer came in with huge fanfare, started hot as hell, then faded and left like an asshole. And he plays a position where we had no depth! I don't know what to tell you other than "different things are different" once you get past the overlap of transfering out of our beloved alma mater.

I am very much on the record as saying that most of the time I think of the athletes on the teams that I root for as gentic-lottery winning mutants dancing for my amusement so I do not grow attached to them as people. I play this ironic detachment for laughs. Cournoyer should fall into an open manhole tomorrow. Robertson's departure just doesn't trigger anything like that because he didn't make it weird. He just left.

This isn't right. Those of us who follow recruiting knew Robertson was going to be very good. He was second of all USHL defensemen in scoring. He was on the NHL Central Scouting Rankings. His freshman year was certainly not "the most unexpected in awhile." It was entirely expected if you followed him before he got here.

Also, I don't get why this matters. Both were very good players for us. Who cares what they did beforehand?

All the stuff you said - about their new school being good academically, about saving money - applies just as much to Cournoyer as it does to Robertson!

Lastly, I don't understand at all this notion that Robertson's exit wasn't as ugly. That seems to be based on ELynah's reaction, but we have no idea how Robertson's exit was perceived within the program. Per Adam's post, it sounds like a lot more tampering/shopping may have gone on in Robertson's case.

Yeah, I think the difference is the mercenariness of it. Robertson it just feels like he needed a change of scenery - I think part of it was financial reasons, too. Plus even on the hockey side, again, with XV coming in, does Robertson even get PP time? We already had Fegaras for PP2, plus Stanley got PP1 time, plus Ashton also sometimes played on PP2.

I mean, I don't remember anyone saying anything along the lines of being "blindsided" by Robo's transfer, or any form of anger towards Robertson, which is pretty clear to read from Casey's thoughts on Cournoyer. Cournoyer did one year with us and ran away with the next "shiny thing". And the info we have about his agent basically cold emailing everyone to see if there was anyone who was interested backs that up. Robertson, we never heard anything as crazy as that.

And Robertson sure as shit didn't interview and say that Michigan was a "better opportunity". Which, well, Michigan is a perennial contender with so much high-end talent, even if they choke all the time, and probably IS a better opportunity than Cornell hockey-wise. Wisconsin is a lot shakier of a program with crazy highs and crazier lows.

Actually - here's what Robo DID say:

[snip]

Cournoyer... did not say anything like that. That's the difference, I think.

Again, this is all just ELynah perception. It is not reality. Robertson was coached, or had better sense, regarding what to say in a public article about his decision to transfer. As I said previously, what these kids say publicly about their transfer decision is pure gobbledygook -  it's meaningless euphamism.

I'm not going to judge Cournoyer more harshly just because he's a goalie or because we had another offensive defenseman to replace Robertson or because Cournoyer didn't say nice things about Cornell (in an article behind a paywall written for an audience of Wisconsin fans, no less).

Sounds to me like people are just pissed because our starting goalie left, and are overlooking the fact our best defenseman made almost the exact same move last season! He may have even left for the same reasons, and may have engaged in even more unscrupulous activities behind the scenes to pull it off!