Panthers prospect Rocco Grimaldi takes Twitter followers for a ride

Yahoo! Sports

Mon Aug 15 12:23pm EDT

Panthers prospect Rocco Grimaldi takes Twitter followers for a ride

Panthers prospect Rocco Grimaldi takes Twitter followers for a ride With junior hockey watchers on a hair trigger for NHL prospects reneging on college commitments to play in the Canadian Hockey League, Florida Panthers second-round choice Rocco Grimaldi apparently thought he'd have some fun on Sunday night.

It didn't cause the Internet to blow up, but it did set some people to murmuring when Grimaldi Tweeted that he was "going with the Dub," using the common nomenclature for the Western Hockey League.

Many different choices, but I'm going with the Dub. The Dub is the best fit for me #TheDub

The setup for the joke was as obvious as a bad Photoshop job. Grimaldi is committed to play for the University of North Dakota — which already lost New York Rangers first-rounder J.T. Miller to the Plymouth Whalers. The Portland Winterhawks, who hold the 5-foot-6, 163-pound Grimaldi's right forward's rights, have a good recent track record with recruiting players who were on the NCAA path; last year, they added a NHL-drafted defenceman, Wiliam Wrenn, from the Denver Pioneers in December.

It took some quick sleuthing, but Guy Flaming of Edmonton's Team 1260 and Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald figured out that Grimaldi meant he was buying a Volkswagen, which some refer to as a V-Dub. Well-played, Rocco, well-played.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports . Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.