Mick Hatten of the St. Cloud Times is reporting that sophomore forward Cam Reid has left St. Cloud to play for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL.
The initial reaction for most was that academics must have been a cause, given that academics played a role in Reid initially switching commitments from New Hampshire to St. Cloud, but Reid insisted that he would have been eligible for the second half of the season. Reid's rights were traded to Portland prior to the WHL's trade deadline and Reid said he was promised the chance to play center on Portland's top line between big scorers Sven Baertschi and Ty Rattie(likely among other things).
Reid is a huge loss for a St. Cloud State team that is currently tied for seventh in the WCHA and, given North Dakota's injury troubles, might have a chance at creeping into the last home ice in the WCHA. Reid had 15 points through 22 games and was one of the most dangerous scoring threats on St. Cloud's team, especially after the Huskies lost Drew LeBlanc for most of the year with a broken leg.