NCAA MVP finalist elects to stay in school, NHL will wait

Forward Jimmy Vesey, a finalist to the prestigious Hobey Baker award given to the top college player in the NCAA, has elected to stay one more year with the Harvard Crimson. Vesey was a third round pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL draft. Last season with the Crimson, he led the nation with 32 goals in 37 games. Vesey will be a senior next season with Harvard and felt that earning his degree from one of the world's most prestigious university was more important than entering the NHL right away. Per NHL.com:

"It was a really tough decision for me," Vesey said this week at Nashville's development camp. "I sat down with my family and we kind of weighed our options. At the end of the day, I just wanted to make sure I got that degree from Harvard because hockey is not going to last forever and that's something good to fall back on. I'm going to wait one more year and finish my college season and hopefully sign after the year."

According to Vesey, the Predators are supportive of his decision despite the fact that they thought he was ready to turn pro.

"They were awesome about it," Vesey said. "I think I have a really good relationship with the organization. I talked to [director of player development] Scott Nichol, [general manager David Poile and assistant GM Paul Fenton] quite a bit throughout the whole thing, and they were really understanding, since I go to Harvard, that the degree is so invaluable; they understood why I'd want to go back. They were great about it."

At 6'1 and 194 lbs, Vesey is a gritty player who could very well go straight from the NCAA to the NHL. His numbers increased in a big way last season, going from 22 points in 31 games to 58 points in 37 games. Image courtesy of Keystone Press Agency