Are there any colleges with intramural or club hockey? I thought ACHA was still pretty competitive.

Are there any SLACs or anything where kids who love hockey can play without trying to aim for the NHL?

Also can someone explain how college level club hockey works? Are the kids still expected to go to juniors, are they recruited, do they know if they make the team before having to commit to the school, etc

This is all really helpful. Very new to all this. A PP said it is all harder for a goalie… can you explain? Which parts are harder, is the path different, etc.?

No, they'll take the better hockey player but weaker student. There's a cutoff of how low your ACT/SAT can be that varies a bit school to school.

This was what I was trying to say above, but this is much more succinct and informative. Sadly for him, it doesn't work in my kid's favor. He's a very good player and could potentially play at the D3 level, but his very good academic credentials (35 ACT score and 3.98 GPA/4.5 wGPA don't help him as much as I wish they did.

Anonymous wrote:Watch those teeth!

That hasn't been a thing since they started wearing mouthguards and full cages.

Anonymous wrote:Wondering… do the hockey players at top schools (like Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Amherst) usually go to juniors first? Or do they tend to have an easier route because they have a 1500+ SAT or whatever and there aren’t as many of those?

No, they'll take the better hockey player but weaker student. There's a cutoff of how low your ACT/SAT can be that varies a bit school to school. Bowdoin told my son he needed a 1200 SAT to play. He went to a well regarded NE Prep school, and had good grades. A 1200 SAT was no problem for him, but I know of a good player who didn't go there because he couldn't make the cut academically.

Anonymous wrote:Is it the same deal for all players, or is it different for goalies?

It's very different for goalies. Much harder.

Anonymous wrote:Wondering… do the hockey players at top schools (like Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Amherst) usually go to juniors first? Or do they tend to have an easier route because they have a 1500+ SAT or whatever and there aren’t as many of those?

Almost all go to juniors first (or sometimes a PG year at a prep school). I know two kids who are freshman at Amherst this year. One did a year at an NCDC team, and another did a PG year at a NE prep school. Neither is really playing much this season. There isn't really an easier route. I was at an event with the Dartmouth coach, and a parent asked "If my kid has really high grades and scores, does that mean he can be a little worse at hockey and play for you?" (I'm paraphrasing here). The answer was: "We want the best possible hockey players we can get in. So if the choice is between a kid with a 1590 SAT and 4.0 unweighted GPA and a kid with a 1420 and 3.5 GPA and the second kid is better, we want that kid" (again, I'm paraphrasing).

Anonymous wrote:Watch those teeth!

and brains.

Is it the same deal for all players, or is it different for goalies?

Wondering… do the hockey players at top schools (like Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, Amherst) usually go to juniors first? Or do they tend to have an easier route because they have a 1500+ SAT or whatever and there aren’t as many of those?

What about prep school hockey as an alternative to sending your 15-year old to move in with a host family and worrying about things like sexual abuse, because that is truly horrible and I'd rule it out on that risk alone? If it's affordable, can you send your 10th grader to one of the better Northeast or Midwest prep schools as a path to playing D1 or D3 hockey, or do most of those kids still have to play juniors and then start college/college hockey at 20 or 21?

HS hockey is a joke compared to junior hockey.

Of course this is true, particularly in the DMV. But it doesn't mean HS hockey isn't fun. Its just not a big step on the way to college hockey (except perhaps in Minnesota and/or NE prep schools).

Anonymous wrote:Let him play because he loves it. Don’t focus on playing in college.

The odds of any kid having the talent and dedication to play D1 hockey is really low. I've known a few D1 hockey players and they all played junior hockey. A family member played in the NHL years ago and he grew up playing Major Junior Hockey in Canada. He basically moved across the country at 15 and lived with a host (billet?) family. Btw, a decent amount of sexual abuse between player and coach at the time. HS hockey is a joke compared to junior hockey.