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By Tris Wykes. Photo from www.salisburyschool.org

NORFOLK_As the Norfolk Admirals removed their wet gear Saturday night following a home loss to the Binghamton Senators, a young man in coat and tie stood a bit awkwardly in the middle of the team locker room.

Kevin Quick, who only days ago was one of U.S. college hockey's bright young prospects, now looked like one of his new teammates' little brothers, complete with a touch of acne.

Quick, 19, couldn't be blamed for being a bit wide-eyed or for having a churning stomach. Two days earlier, shortly after attending statistics class, the former third-round draft pick of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning was dismissed from the University of Michigan and its second-ranked hockey team.

Now, he was about to start his pro career with new and older teammates, a new organization and in a new city. Signed Saturday to an amateur tryout contract, Quick has presumably lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in signing bonus and contract money he could have pocketed had he stayed with the Wolverines and played well for them.

``I'm excited and nervous,'' said Quick, who had two goals and two assists in 21 games with Michigan this season. ``This is a big jump from college hockey but it's also a new start.''

One's apparently needed for the Buffalo-area native, who said the reason for his dismissal was getting into ``an off-ice situation with another kid.'' Asked if it was a physical confrontation, Quick shifted uncomfortably and said ``not exactly''. He said it was a legal situation and he couldn't elaborate further, though he added the other student involved is male.

Michigan coach Red Berenson, a former NHL player who's only dismissed one other player in his 24-year Wolverines tenure, told the Ann Arbor News that Quick's alleged offense ``was just a total violation of our team trust and our rules''. He added on his weekly radio show that Quick wasn't cooperative when the incident was first discovered and investigated but eventually confessed to his role in it.

Michigan alternate captain Mark Mitera, who had played with Quick on the team's first defensive pairing for 14 games, told the Michigan Daily that the incident would make it difficult to maintain their friendship. The Ann Arbor News asked Berenson if the victimized party had been one of Quick's teammates but the coach cited federal student privacy laws as his reason for not answering the query.

A Sunday story by Buffalo News columnist Bucky Gleason included the sentence ``Sources said the defenseman stole a credit card, used it as a personal piggy bank and spent thousands of dollars.'' Quick said after Saturday's game he expects to soon return to Michigan to deal with legal consequences.

``I've got to face that I made a bad decision that cost me a scholarship,'' said Quick, who attended a Connecticut prep school called The Salisbury School before matriculating at Michigan. ``I know there will be questions and I'm not going to lie. But Tampa's giving me a second chance and I'm grateful for it.''

While there was immediate speculation that Quick would join either join a team in the Ontario Hockey League or play at roughly the same level in the United States Hockey League, he said he was too old for the OHL and thought the USHL wouldn't do much for his development.

Claude Loiselle, the Admirals' general manager and Tampa's assistant general manager, said the Lightning hope Norfolk's coaches, players and staff members can have a positive impact on Quick.

``This is a chance for us to evaluate his behavior and help him out,'' Loiselle said. ``We did research on him and followed him around before we drafted him and felt he was a good kid. He made a foolish mistake but we're the kind of organization that will offer him a second chance.

``This is an allegation and he hasn't been convicted of anything. We take these things on a case by case basis and we're comfortable with the decision that's been made at this point.''

Admirals coach Steve Stirling, who has two sons, said he sat Quick down Saturday afternoon and gave it to his new player straight. You're under a microscope, the coach said. Don't drink and certainly don't drink and drive, because Virginia's laws on that are among the toughest in the country.

Don't embarrass yourself or the Tampa Bay Lightning organization and the hockey will be the easy part, Stirling said. You can still have a bright future on the ice.

``I told him I knew he'd made a mistake and I didn't need to know what it was,'' said Stirling, who at 58 and with a professorial personality, is well-suited to play the father figure. ``I think he's a young kid who's taking responsibility for what he's done.''

Until earlier this week, Quick was mostly known for being the 78th selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Weeks later, he wowed Stirling and Lightning general manager Jay Feaster with his skating, offensive instincts and defensive positioning at the organization's prospects camp. Stirling said Quick was the best player there, even over goaltender Karri Ramo, who's now one of Tampa Bay's netminders.

Quick resembles current Admirals defenseman Mario Scalzo, Stirling said, but is a better skater and will eventually grow thicker than his current 6 foot, 175-pound frame. The youngster was only 160 pounds during the prospects camp but used smart body and stick positioning to compensate for his lack of size.

``He's here and we're thrilled to have him and I think he'll take advantage of the opportunity,'' said Stirling, adding that Quick will be living near the Oceanfront with Radek Smolenak and Paul Szczechura, a Western Michigan University graduate who's mature beyond his 22 years.

``How fast we'll break him in, time will tell.''

Loiselle said he doesn't anticipate Quick suiting up for Norfolk's game against visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday and perhaps for some time after that contest.

``He has to practice with the team and gain the players' and coaches' trust,'' said Loiselle, who added the Lightning theoretically have until 2011 to sign Quick permanently because that's the year he would have graduated from Michigan. ``We've been playing well of late and he's got to crack the lineup. This isn't a gift by any means.''

Gleason, whose son attended hockey clinics run by Quick and his father, Kevin Sr., closed his Sunday column with a piece of advice for the young man.

``He's a good kid, but it's time he starts carrying himself like a man before the kid's game is taken away.''

For a personal viewpoint on Quick joining the Admirals, visit: http://dailypress2.com/forums/showth...9522#post19522

Updated story at: http://dailypress2.com/forums/showth...9555#post19555