Toronto Maple Leafs' Prospect Matt Frattin Arrested and Suspended

Just saw this via Illegal Curve and Brad Elliott Schlossman's blog where there seems to be some argument over the punishment meted out by the University of North Dakota's coach Dave Hakstol:

UND came down on junior forward Matt Frattin on Wednesday, announcing a minimum two-game suspension, reducing his scholarship money and ordering him to attend counseling following his arrest for disorderly conduct early Tuesday morning.

While there is certainly something to be said for players heading to the NCAA to take on more mature competition the other side of the coin is that they will be in college and subject to all of the attendant temptations including something I've done myself:

Frattin was arrested along with former Sioux hockey player Joe Finley at about 3 a.m. Tuesday after campus police saw the pair throwing objects — cups, plates, a kitchen table and a lawnmower — from a residential garage on the 400 block of North Columbia Road, where one of the two lives. 

When approached by police, Frattin ran and was charged with fleeing. Finley gave a false name and was charged with giving false information to officers. 

Police said the only property destroyed belonged to Frattin and Finley. A street cleaning crew cleaned it up quickly. The players told cops that they "routinely destroy each other’s stuff," police said.

Well, it wasn't quite routine when my buddy and I got rid of our dirty dishes at the end of university but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Good thing we a. didn't get caught and b. weren't on a hockey scholarship. I think this can be safely chalked up to boys being boys. The counseling should help to prevent an incident like this from becoming the norm.

But who the heck is Matt Frattin? Frattin was the AJHL's rookie of the year in 2006-2007 and he is entering his third season at UND. His first two saw him post 4-11-15 in 43GP and 13-12-25 in 42GP respectively. Hockey's Future has him as a 7.0D which means that his peak would be as a second-liner but he's unlikely to hit that peak.

Frattin uses his excellent shot to back defenders off down the wing and shows good hands when opportunities arise in close. He had a squatty build at 5'11 and 185 pounds. He is not afraid to do the dirty work in the corner but is at his best when posted up in the slot. He needs to work on his skating, which is considered just average.

- Hockey's Future

Western College Hockey Blog, where we can track Frattin all season long, had this to say about the situation:

The two games seems to include the team's exhibition opener against Manitoba and first game against Merrimack. That in itself probably would have been sufficient. The counseling probably isn't a bad idea if it's a consistent problem, and judging from their drunken comments to the cops, that's not out of the realm of possibility. The scholarship reduction seems a bit fishy, but it's not as if Frattin is on the Kyle Radke Bust-Turned-Goon Scholarship.  Frattin established himself as a solid second-liner and legitimate goal-scoring threat last season.

And that's the way it is.