Ice hockey experience

[Anonymous]

It sure has changed. I went to a college in the late 80s that was D3. It was mostly players from Northeast and everyone was from US. Now, same school, but has Canadians, Norwegians, Swedes and US kids from Northeast, Minnesota, Michigan. It’s much more competitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Oswego has 16 Canadians on their roster! Absolutely nuts. Also pretty telling that the bios list their junior team (or NCAA for transfers), not high schools. Tells you that no one makes the jump for HS right to NCAA.

My husband is from Minnesota and I'm form Northern Wisconsin. We met at Minnesota-Duluth and lived in the Twin Cities before moving to DC. We considered moving back last year, figuring that the additional hockey opportunities it would give our son would be a nice bonus. And maybe it would have been a nice bonus, but it brutally cutthroat (according to friend there) and even kids in Minnesota move away from home to play juniors just to go to a D3 team. Top level.hockey is insane and I'm glad to not be on that path.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

Sorry should be One reclassified and did a PG year and the other reclassified and did a year of juniors. Both went 2 years after their originally scheduled HS graduation. Of the twenty or so kids I know playing college hockey I can only think of one in D3 who didn’t reclass or do a PG year or juniors after high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

That didn’t answer my question. Look at the roster for 2024-2025. 90 percent or more have NE prep school listed as the last stop before Colby. Presumably, if they were recruited from a juniors program that would be listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

That didn’t answer my question. Look at the roster for 2024-2025. 90 percent or more have NE prep school listed as the last stop before Colby. Presumably, if they were recruited from a juniors program that would be listed.

They went to juniors. For whatever reason, Colby opts to list their high school, not their junior team. But a quick look on Elite Prospects shows Colby players spend at least one year in juniors between graduating from high school and attending Colby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

That didn’t answer my question. Look at the roster for 2024-2025. 90 percent or more have NE prep school listed as the last stop before Colby. Presumably, if they were recruited from a juniors program that would be listed.

They went to juniors. For whatever reason, Colby opts to list their high school, not their junior team. But a quick look on Elite Prospects shows Colby players spend at least one year in juniors between graduating from high school and attending Colby.

Aha. That makes sense. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

PP was referring to Canadian Major Juniors (OHL, WHL, QMJHL)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

That didn’t answer my question. Look at the roster for 2024-2025. 90 percent or more have NE prep school listed as the last stop before Colby. Presumably, if they were recruited from a juniors program that would be listed.

They went to juniors. For whatever reason, Colby opts to list their high school, not their junior team. But a quick look on Elite Prospects shows Colby players spend at least one year in juniors between graduating from high school and attending Colby.

Correct. Their Captain is 25 years old. LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

D3 focuses on Jr age outs (20+ years old). What is even more ridiculous is that they recruit over the bottom half of their roster. Super cutthroat. There are some pretty mediocre local players that made it to NCAA D3 because they were willing to be 21-year-old Freshmen at pretty suspect schools. EHL post high school has been best path for that but we lost our local EHL team this year. Two local 2003 players from NAHL Black Bears last year are now Freshmen at a strong NCAA D3 Oswego State program (but left the area in HS). Some other TM 03's stayed through HS and now play D1 (UAA) and D3 NCAA hockey (Conn College) after Jrs. Many of the strong 04s who played NCAA hockey bailed after freshmen year and went to Mount St Charles, one got drafted by the NHL.

I think you see a lot of strong players from this area go club route now because the NCAA D3 hockey schools are generally not the best with the exception of the NESCAC. I see strong players on rosters at solid schools like VT and MD that were much stronger players than some of the local NCAA D3 kids.

Hockey still a great experience for the kids and is a great sport for adults. There is a lot of fan support for local HS hockey which makes it fun for them. Just play and see what happens.

NP. Not saying you’re wrong but for the heck of it I just pulled up Colby’s men’s ice hockey roster for 2024-2025. Almost every single one of these kids was from the U.S. ( I saw one Canadian listed) and almost every one of them came from a NE Prep school, including the Canadian. Are you saying they all went to play Jrs after prep? If so, why isn’t that listed on their bio?

NP the average age of an ncaa men’s hockey freshman is 20. I know two players at Colby. One reclassified and the other did a PG year, the other reclassified and then did a year of juniors.

That didn’t answer my question. Look at the roster for 2024-2025. 90 percent or more have NE prep school listed as the last stop before Colby. Presumably, if they were recruited from a juniors program that would be listed.

They went to juniors. For whatever reason, Colby opts to list their high school, not their junior team. But a quick look on Elite Prospects shows Colby players spend at least one year in juniors between graduating from high school and attending Colby.

Correct. Their Captain is 25 years old. LOL.

Colby is also in the NESCAC. You can make those programs out of prep school but many are reclassed players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It sure has changed. I went to a college in the late 80s that was D3. It was mostly players from Northeast and everyone was from US. Now, same school, but has Canadians, Norwegians, Swedes and US kids from Northeast, Minnesota, Michigan. It’s much more competitive.

Maybe more competitive but still not very diverse or multicultural.

[Anonymous]

So, for whomever is tracking the outcome of D3 kids starting college at 20, what do they do after college? How are the job prospects for former hockey players in the NESCAC, for example? Are they launching into promising professional careers, or do they become hockey coaches?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, for whomever is tracking the outcome of D3 kids starting college at 20, what do they do after college? How are the job prospects for former hockey players in the NESCAC, for example? Are they launching into promising professional careers, or do they become hockey coaches?

The best D3 players may play a limited amount of semi-pro hockey like the SPHL or Federal League, maybe getting a sniff at 3rd tier North American pro (ECHL) or pro leagues in non-traditional European countries (France, Netherlands, etc.). None of them are making hockey their long-term career.

Some will go into coaching at local youth programs, but I don't know that that pays more than $10k or so per year. If they really grind it out, coaching is probably their best chance to make a living if they get lucky.

99% are just getting a regular job after playing.