In view of the sometimes-commented strategy of the Oil to hire 'smart kids' I noticed the following comment about recent Vancouver signing, Byron Bitz: "It should also be noted that Bitz comes from an Ivy League school, and that the Canucks under general manager Mike Gillis have long been enamored with players who have strong scholastic backgrounds, because they believe such players have the tools to understand what it takes to succeed in hockey, and in life." I'm still wondering whether the 'kids with degrees' factor really makes any impact on the decision-making of GMs, or whether this is simply window dressing and has little tangible impact. Could it be that 'the academic' is the NHL roster's new role player, alongside 'the energy player' and 'the goon'? Really??