And you know this, how? How many games did your kid play in the league?

It takes time to adapt to the speed the game is played at each level on the ladder You can't gauge a player's ability to do that from one weekend.

There is no substitute for learning to play against the talent in the USHL than playing against the future talent in the USHL. That talent at 16/17/18 is predominantly from two leagues - the T1EHL and the HPHL. Unless you want to move your kid to the midwest at 14/15/16, the local teams provide that. Your kid's team - whatever it was - didn't.

Don't waste your time at the "Futures Camp" - those are money grabs.

If he gets invited to a Main Camp you have to go to that. Was the best thing my son ever did in hockey last summer.

yes, exactly, the Main Camps. The combines are bit of money grab, but at the same time, good way to compare your kid.

If your kid is U15 then you are wasting your time and money. These camps are important fund raisers for junior teams. Some raise enough money to pay asst coach salaries in one weekend camp. He'll have time to show how he "measures up" down the road when he is older, stronger and more able to compete physically.

Not sure I understand your logic. Phase 1 of the upcoming USHL draft is for current 2001 players. why would his U15 kid need to wait?

It's only a waste of money if your kid goes and then doesn't do the work. There is zero that can be a negative about skating against the best kids in the country.

Because the futures camps are not the best kids in the country. All the teams in the league have to fill 100+ spots for a weekend at $300 - 400 per kid and every kid that's ever laced em up at his age group will get an "invite". They send out mass e-mails to a ton of kids and hope just to fill the camp with whoever can make it and pay.

My 2000 son is still getting futures emails invites even though he's too old to even attend.

My son has been invited to the 03 combine. I'm not sure its worth it at this point, has a few years to grow before this is even an option.

Good thought. Better to not attend, than make a poor impression. They'll ask again.

Yes, they all have a few years that's why the look at them now to project where your kid will be when he is ready.

Not sure how much of an impression a 120 lb kid can give when they haven't hit puberty yet? I'd wait, my son went to the combine for 2 years and decided he wasn't ready when the time came, he didn't want to leave home. It hard not to caught up in the hype but a 16 year old isnt always ready to go live with a billet and leave everything behind.

For all the bashing and rightfully so at times, Jr hockey in the area can lead to college commitments and give your kids a few years to mature mentally. Do your homework and get involved with the right people, stable teams, and let your kid develop.

Agreed! I hope the NCDC takes off

The logic is this. The futures draft is just that, for the future. Very few kids will play in the league the following year. The NTDP team will play with the best '01's and lose just about every game. If they are not talking to you and your kid directly and your just getting emails then they will want you to come out for fund raising purposes. If your kid is drafted, then maybe attend the main camp to see what it's like but spending all that money on travel and the camp provides little benefit when he won't play in the league for another year or two. If money is not an issue, then go and have fun.

But consider that even main camps are primarily fund raisers. There are 16 teams holding camps with anywhere form 80-160 kids at each camp. There are not that many elite players out there so there is a lot of bad hockey at the main camps. If you want your kid to make a team for next season, consider that most teams have 10 or more returning players so they are not looking for all that many and they are going to have their 98/99 affiliate players next in line. Many 00's and '01's on teams will most likely be at the end of the bench and so do you want your kid spending a year out there as a fourth line winger or 7th dman?

I always laugh when I hear parents say, don't you want your kid playing against the best. Sure, but only when he is ready. There are many from New England who have gone out too early and it's hurt them. They were not ready to play against 19-20 year olds. Were not ready for getting scratched or playing 6-8 minutes a game.

USHL is marketed as a development league but it's not the core of how most teams run. Coaches are there to win. They all want to move up in their coaching careers and they do that by winning. They also want kids there for multiple years. They will bury younger kids at the end of the bench to show "they are not ready" to move on. They tell kids/colleges that the kid needs another year.

IF you haven't gone through it then it would be foolish to make assumptions like "what can go wrong". Lots can go wrong.

Great Post! Spot on!

Quote:
I always laugh when I hear parents say, don't you want your kid playing against the best. Sure, but only when he is ready.

Like you said, watching 54 minutes a game and playing 6 minutes is not playing against the best.

Once the kid is ready by all means, make the move.

Here's another point to consider. 1/3 to 1/2 of junior games are special teams. If your kids not a top six F or a top 4 D getting PP or PK time, then he is already limited to half the game. If he's only out there every 3rd or 4th shift at even strength, he won't even need to shower after most games. Might sound good to tell your buddies in the men's league that your kid is playing in the USHL but deep down you will know you made a mistake.

Dosent the same thing happen in D1 High School and Prep?

Yes but if your kid is a bottom six forward on HS or prep then you wouldn't be asking about the USHL.

Have you ever even SEEN a USHL game? No? Then got to the website and look at the stats before you talk out of your ass.

The league average for 2016/17 was 3.8 PPOP per game. Now, some of those will be shorter, if a second penalty is committed, meaning the original PP will be less than 2:00 and then providing a short one the other way. Some could be majors. But, for argument's sake, let;s just call each PPOP 2 minutes. That's 7.6 minutes of special teams per game. Ignoring OT, that's 12.6%. Double that, since it's per team, and you get 25.2%. Put anohter way, and 75% of the games are played at even strength.

1/3 to 1/2? "JUUUST a bit outside."

1/3 is not far off with majors but point stands, if your kid is not playing special teams, it's seems like an eternity, especially when the line rotations might start over from the top. But hey, if that's good development for your kid, go for it.

You REALLY need to learn the game before offering your opinion on how Junior hockey works.

Fighting majors rarely result in a PP. And, since you've never been to a USHL game, you won't know that fighting is way down, anyway.

You think there are that many egregiously bad high sticks and checks on the numbers at that level that non-fighting majors will dent that statistic at all?

So, 10 skaters are sharing 7.5 minutes of PP time, 8 of those are sharing an additional 7.5 minutes of PK time, 15 skaters are sharing the other 45 minutes reasonably equally, and the 4th line (usually 17/18 year olds) is getting 7 minutes a game, each. That means that 15 of the 18 are getting a lot of ice, and the other three will get their turn.

If my kid gets a chance to go, he's going. I'll take my chances on his being top 4 D.

Well hurray for you.

Your kid, Top 4 D????? Cmon Man.

Whether its 25% or 33% or 50%, we all know special teams is a big part of the game and if your kids not out there, it also means he's not out there in the last 5 minutes of the third period so it's a bad spot to be in.

So if your kid is not a top 6 or top 4 then its not worth the experience? Your out of your mind!

I think his point is wait until he is ready to compete for time. At 15 or 16 your kid is better off playing Tier 1 or Prep school until ready. If he is older and not playing, than maybe he overshot a little. BCHL, NAHL, NCDC might be a better fit. Does not mean he is not good enough or will not be good enough.

USHL is the gold standard but there are far more future d1 players than there are roster spots in the USHL.

My kid was invited to an NHL development camp this summer, but I think I'm going to skip it since I don't know that he will be on the PP or PK his first year with the team.

Playing in a three day long ( for free) with an NHL team as a high school or college player, is a lot different than sending your underage kid out to the midwest to sit on the bench during his prime development years.

The kid going to the NHL camp has already chosen his path; College or Jr A's. Nothing to lose, Everything to gain. Has a poor showing, so what. Next season his play will dictate what NHL Dev Camp invites he gets.

One is an " either or" the other is an "add on"

Not sure why I bother with these false narratives you moron's create during your union 15. Get back to sleep slappy.

Easy to be a dink on the dboard but most who have gone through it get it. To each is how and pick your own path but they all have pitfalls. Lots of kids go to USHL too soon and never develop. Now had they waited would they have been better off? Who knows, maybe they just reached their peak and would have faded away no matter what path.

Same goes at other levels. Some kids leave college early and never pan out. Some are told to leave, but stay in and make it to the NHL.

Everyone peaks, just at different times. Don't have numbers but there seems to be more NCAA/Undrafted players now in the NHL than ever. It just highlights the issue of rushing kids when they are still growing and not giving them a chance to pan out.

Bottom line is there are no do-overs.

As luck would have it, I actually saw those stats, courtesy of the NHL< and posted on Twitter @collegehockey. 314 NCAA alumni in the NHL, 32% of players, the most ever. 85 were undrafted. Now, I believe that includes players that played one game as a call-up.

Would you include 20 year olds that have left college early, like JFK and CW, in your "issue of rushing kids when they are still growing and not giving them a chance to pan out?"

Yes highlighting exceptions and applying their path it to any kid is a great way to prove your point. Bravo Beavis.

If a kid is good enough then the next step becomes more obvious. That happens for very few.

Really numbnuts? You know JFK and CW are "NHL ready?" Based on what? Their coaches and GMs don't know that, but you do?

My point was that rushing kids at any level can have a negative impact on their chances of success. I chose those two as examples, not exceptions. It's a risk, one that makes sense for some, not for others.

Was there anyone out there saying these guys were anything but automatic for the NHL? Why else would they have left school skippy? Playing college, world juniors is a heck of a lot closer in level and a much more reliable predictor than new england hs or prep to the ushl. If they weren't close, they would have been told to stay.

I'm sure all the scouts following your kid are telling you he is ready for the USHL so you go for it.

Already said it, I'll say it again. Their coaches and GMs both have said they aren't sure they are ready. But, now that KH and JV have blown the lid off of the NCAA-to-the-team-that-drafted-you-four-years-ago game, the ice has tilted.

If you watched them play, and I did, they both would benefit from some time in the A. The concern is you get buried there for a few years, then all of a sudden you're 24 and a 4A player. So their agents negotiated NHL time into their deals. Whether they're ready or not.

Yeah ok your right. It really is the same as predicting a HS kids ability in the USHL.

Man, you're dense. The parallel is, isn't it decreasing the probability of success to rush a kid at any level, in any sport?

You can go backwards too, and look at kids like JE or CW that were playing U16 at a very high level at 13, or NH, who was playing top Prep against 20 year olds as a true 8th grader. It ended up fine, but that's because we know they made it. What about the cases where it didn't end up fine?

It's a risk, a calculated risk, and one that has to be considered for each kid independently, whether at the youth, HS or Pro level.

Did I make the point clearly enough for you now?

Wow I bet your nickname as a kid was wingnut and you could never understand why.

Pretty sure none of those guys went into the next level based upon an email invitation their dip**** dad got but you go for it. I'm sure the email you got was meant differently than the 100's of others sent out.

Lighten up, Francis. It's a beautiful Friday in May.

And the OP didn't ask if he should send his kid for the season. He asked if he should attend a camp. It's a long way between attending a camp and actually sending your kid to Omaha. Which is why the parallels you are drawing are not apt.