Im thinking of giving in and using a family advisor to help navigate the next steps of the process to get to College hockey. I have been contacted by 3 this spring but have been hesitant to pull the trigger. Anyone on here actually ever use an advisor? Son had been off the radar but had a growth spurt and now getting some interest.

Yes, but ours has a 100% solid rep, and is an NHL certified agent. There's a list of those. Not sure whether any of the three that contacted you are. My guess is no, or you would have been a bit crazy to pass.

If they are charging for your services (more than a nominal amount to stay NCAA legal), then buyer beware. That by itself doesn't mean they can't help, but it becomes trickier.

What you want is someone that has enough traction in the marketplace to get his calls answered. If he's not that guy, the rest you can do yourself.

Correct, they are not NHL certified agents but does that matter at this point? My kid is only 15 but I personally don't know what to do next.(He's playing FS u16 next year) I don't want him playing all spring and summer (hasn't done any tournaments, just daily off-ice conditioning).
One told me if he's not going to do the summer "tour" then we should at least reach out to some coaches for introductions, while another told me to focus on the off-ice workouts as he's got plenty of games to "showcase" himself next season. Very confusing time, kid just wants to play college hockey and that's all hes focused on.

You can want it. Your kid and want it. But at the end of the day he has to be good enough. Paying for advisors won't change anyone's evaluation of him as a hockey player. He's 15 and just starting to grow. Give him some time. Focus on his development first. After he grows a bit you, and others will have a better idea of where he projects. Hockey is a year by year sport. See where he is next year. If he projects D1 it will be more obvious and you'll have people contacting you. If D3, they take older kids anyway so no rush if that's where he wants to play. They will look at kids later in HS and want them to play juniors so it's foolish to think any coach cares about your kid today when he projects to possible be a player in 5+ years.

If they are NHL agents establishing an informal relationship then fine, that means your kid is really on the radar. If it's a service that charges a fee, then you are wasting your money. You can call any school, any coach, go to their camps and have a conversation to establish a relationship, all without paying someone to do it for you.

Going to piggyback this to reply to the OP's follow-up post.

This is all true. You CAN contact the schools yourself. You will in all likelihood get a very nice reply. You WILL be able to help your kid, without the help of an advisor. But, he will be one of 1,000, probably more.

Having one of the NHL Certified agents doesn't mean you think your kid is going to the NHL. They probably take on representation of dozens of kids each year with the hope that one makes it. And for the most part they have ID'd the kids they want to represent by 8th grade so they can work with them on getting into Prep schools.

What do these guys do that you or a true paid advisor can't?

When he calls a coach he will get direct and honest answers. Why? The coaches HAVE to shoot straight with him because they know they will need him to put in a good word for them with clients down the line. They can't BS him without it whipsawing on them.

The true paid advisor doesn't get the benefit of that level of honesty. The coaches know who has earned it.

On the topic, I saw this on Twitter yesterday. It isn't directly related to hockey but it's still on point. Worth a read.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open-letter-athlete-we-must-stop-recruiting-becky-carlson/?trk=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_learning&irgwc=1

Stay far away from Hockey Concepts. They are the biggest scammers out there claim to be agents but not certified and only connection is a newspaper writer for the Lowell Sun. Buyer beware. Total joke.

Thanks for the info, almost called them today.