Ice hockey experience

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College hockey on the boys side is going to get even harder now that players from juniors will be eligible. Only a very small percentage go straight from hs to college.

I have two that started travel hockey at 9. Both still play and love it. It is a huge time and money commitment. I would not go into with expectation of playing in college or improving college admissions.

Juniors has been the pathway to college hockey for years. My son played D1 hockey and had to go to juniors after HS. He graduated from college 3 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How has youth hockey experience been for those who started young. Started club/travel at the age of 9/10. Did your DC burnout? Competition increases at each level, travel increases etc.. did they get to play in college? Did it help them get into top 20 colleges? Any input is appreciated.

There are plenty of top 20 schools which have hockey teams (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Michigan, Army plus a bunch of other Big10 Flagship schools all play D1 hockey, and Williams, amHerst, Middlebury, Tufts, and other NESCAC schools play D3 hockey). The problem is that the level of play at the D1 schools is so high, that it is very, very unlikely that you kid will be good enough so that it helps them get in there. But not impossible. On the boys/mens side right now, we have local kids playing at Cornell, Brown, and one going to Army next year. But all except the kid going to Army had to leave the area as 13-15 years old to be able to continue to develop the point of being good enough for the level. Even the D3 teams are insanely competitive, drawing most of their players from New England prep schools.

And even then they usually have to play juniors first. The top club hockey teams are insanely competitive, littered with kids from top prep programs who just didn't want to take more time away from school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How has youth hockey experience been for those who started young. Started club/travel at the age of 9/10. Did your DC burnout? Competition increases at each level, travel increases etc.. did they get to play in college? Did it help them get into top 20 colleges? Any input is appreciated.

There are plenty of top 20 schools which have hockey teams (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown, Michigan, Army plus a bunch of other Big10 Flagship schools all play D1 hockey, and Williams, amHerst, Middlebury, Tufts, and other NESCAC schools play D3 hockey). The problem is that the level of play at the D1 schools is so high, that it is very, very unlikely that you kid will be good enough so that it helps them get in there. But not impossible. On the boys/mens side right now, we have local kids playing at Cornell, Brown, and one going to Army next year. But all except the kid going to Army had to leave the area as 13-15 years old to be able to continue to develop the point of being good enough for the level. Even the D3 teams are insanely competitive, drawing most of their players from New England prep schools.

And even then they usually have to play juniors first. The top club hockey teams are insanely competitive, littered with kids from top prep programs who just didn't want to take more time away from school.

To add: anyone who thinks hockey is a gateway to college is kidding themselves. Play it because you love it, but it's the absolute worst choice for recruiting, thanks mostly to the juniors system. Soccer, lax, football, all a better path than hockey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, your AA kid from the DMV that gets into an Ivy is not walking on to the NCAA team. Full stop, not going to happen.

For girls, it is a little easier, but still not easy. There aren't junior leagues for girls like there are for boys. But there's a lot of international players recruited to to NCAA teams. The top US and Canadian recruits have been part of their respective country's development programs. Like the boys, they were identified at a young age and put on the elite development track. They leave home to go to places like Shattuck St. Mary's.

Girls playing AA/A travel in this area would be hard pressed to make it to an NCAA team. The Washington Pride is the only Tier 1 hockey girls program in the area and is housed at Rockville. They have done an excellent job getting girls recruited to NCAA. Last year they had 7 girls commit to play NCAA D3 hockey. This year there are already 5 commits (2 D1, 3 D3) and likely a couple more before the end of the season. Many of the girls in the area leave to play Prep, but honestly, based on the kids my daughter has played with, the results are about the same there in terms of getting committed. If you want to send your kids away for educational or other reasons prep is certainly an option, but if the main reason is getting recruited, unless your daughter is clearly D1 material, you can save a lot of money and stay in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hockey is the absolute pits

Why? Please elaborate.

5am and 11pm practice or games times. Ice time is extremely expensive.

Can't play at a park - need to travel long distances to play away games at other rinks. Rinks are few and far between relative to the large number of fields and gyms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dream on if you think your kid gonna play college

My oldest is playing D1 hockey, started out at MYHA. I think 7 kids he played with locally are now playing D1 hockey. And it started as a dream, his dream as a little kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dream on if you think your kid gonna play college

My oldest is playing D1 hockey, started out at MYHA. I think 7 kids he played with locally are now playing D1 hockey. And it started as a dream, his dream as a little kid.

What was his path? Where is he playing D1?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dream on if you think your kid gonna play college

My oldest is playing D1 hockey, started out at MYHA. I think 7 kids he played with locally are now playing D1 hockey. And it started as a dream, his dream as a little kid.

What was his path? Where is he playing D1?

MYHA, TM, Boarding School and top Hockey program 10-12th grade, NAHL after nationals in 12th grade, USHL, now in college in NE.

Someone in this thread mentioned play for the love of the game, that is correct. He had a dream and chased it, but it’s brutal path. When he was a peewee the coach did a presentation showing the path to D1 hockey and only 5 kids from Maryland were currently playing D1 hockey then. The number is higher now, but it is still very unlikely, even if your kid is really really good.

With the OHL changes it will become even more challenging. D3 and club will get more competitive and D1 will likely expand, but that takes time.

[Anonymous]

Agree play because they love it and you can learn about hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. Those are life skills my kid is getting while doing something he loves. He is also busy and getting exercise. Is it a pain to drive and expensive? Yes. But it's worth it

[Anonymous]

One less NCAA team for aspiring college players. Northland (D3) announced they're closing at the end of the academic year.

[Anonymous]

AIC is getting rid of their D1 program as well. Tennessee state has a new D1 Program starting next year.

[Anonymous]

When does recruiting start for D3? Junior year? Or earlier?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree play because they love it and you can learn about hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. Those are life skills my kid is getting while doing something he loves. He is also busy and getting exercise. Is it a pain to drive and expensive? Yes. But it's worth it

Not sure why teamwork, perseverance and hard work can be achieved only through Ice hockey. Can you elaborate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When does recruiting start for D3? Junior year? Or earlier?

Junior year of high school? LMFAO. Try when they are 19 years old during their gap year playing juniors. Very, very few of the top prep school kids in the Northeast have a slight chance at playing D3 right out of college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When does recruiting start for D3? Junior year? Or earlier?

Start with how many kids from this area have played NCAA D3 hockey in the past 5 years. Very few, but I'll let someone more knowledgeable respond. Then, what teams did these few kids plan on from 14u on, and what junior team did they play on? And what kind of connections did their parents have? If your kid isn't on the same path and as good or better, then it won't happen. They may have a chance at playing ACHA club hockey, which is still very competitive and stacked with good AAA players. This is the most realistic path to play college hockey, and even it is becoming increasingly more competitive. I don't think you see many A or AA players any more on ACHA M1 or M2 rosters.