UPDATE: The UW Athletic Department issued a statement clarifying the suspension, saying: "The reduction means that Kerdiles will miss Wisconsin’s first 10 regular-season games, which includes the two games already played against Northern Michigan last weekend. He will be eligible to compete on Friday, Nov. 30 in Wisconsin’s game at Denver."
According to Darren Dreger of TSN.ca, Wisconsin Badger freshman forward Nic Kerdiles had his one-year suspension reduced by the NCAA Friday, a day after the University filed their appeal on his behalf. Kerdiles will now serve an 11-game suspension.
Kerdiles already sat out last weekend's series against Northern Michigan, and those two games will count towards his suspension, leaving only nine games left that he would have to sit out.
The Irvine, Calif., native was the second round pick of the Anaheim Ducks (36th overall) in the 2012 NHL draft.
According to a report from unitedstatesofhockey.com, Kerdiles allegedly stayed in a hotel room during the draft that was paid for by a family friend and certified agent, Ian Pulver. Despite the fact that the Kerdiles family eventually paid Pulver back, it still constituted a violation of an NCAA bylaw that prevents athletes from receiving any financial compensation for their talents, including loans.
For this, Kerdiles was initially suspended for the entire season.
Kerdiles is expected to play a major role on the Badgers’ team this year. He was slated to start on the teams’ top line prior to his suspension.
While the suspension was reduced, Kerdiles still has the choice to either sit out the 11-games and join UW later this season, or leave Wisconsin and join the Kelowna Rockets, a Canadian junior team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) also own the rights to Kerdiles in their league.
Kerdiles was the highest drafted Badger since 2008 (Jake Gardiner, 17th overall).
