Gardiner Leaves University of Minnesota

From Coming Down the Pipe:

Max Gardiner has left the University of Minnesota after just one season because of a lack of playing time. That according quotes from Gophers head coach Don Lucia in an ESPN story here.

[...]

"We talked to him last year when he wasn't playing a lot, met with his dad and his agent and just let them know that we were interested and let them know about our program," said Tory, "We take a different approach, we don't do the hard sell, we respect the decisions and the commitments that players make. Our approach is to let them know that we're here, that we feel we have a program that can help them get to their destination. At the same time we understand that those are difficult decisions so we leave them alone."

"This will be a decision made between Max and his family," said Tory, "I'm sure St. Louis would be involved in that as well. We'd love to have him on our hockey team, there's no question about that, because he's a a good quality player and we think that we can help him move toward pro if that's where his ambitions are."

[...]

"If I had a perfect wish list I'd have Jaden Schwartz and Max Gardiner on the same line," Tory stated.

"I could have a pretty good college team if I could form my own school and put all of those guys on one team," he kidded, "We could have a chance at going to the Frozen Four. Even my coaches are ex-NCAA guys so it would be perfect."  (CDP)