No NHL registered agent executes any formal invoices/payments with prospects.

Wrong.

We started working with a certified agent several years ago. At that time the NCAA had clarified their policy, and the agency we're with complied.

I'm sure it's possible some agencies didn't, or don't.

Once again, just because something is your experience doesn't mean it's everyone's experience.

No your wrong, my kid plays DI hockey, has an NHL agent (considered an advisor at this point) since he was 15, we've never paid him a dime or his agency. They get paid when he go pro.

How can you say someone is "wrong" about a personal experience? Were you ******* there?

I'm not saying your agent charged you anything. I'm only saying ours did, an extremely nominal amount, just to fulfill their understanding of the rules in effect at that time. The same agency didn't charge a friend of mine a few years earlier. Maybe that is the same time frame as your kid? Maybe the interpretation of the rules changed?

Try to not be such a hardon all the time. You can't possibly know everything about everything, so you end up looking foolish when you pretend you do.

If your kid is good enough, you don't pay.

Yeah not quite. My son just took a full ride offer and I am a nobody with no connections and Jeff Cox doesn't think my son is good at all and has written that. It's kind of why I think he's gonna play a lot when he gets to school. LOL.

He made it cause he can skate his a$$ off and worked his a$$ off. He's not big either and has zero connections.

For him it's been skating, work ethic and a hockey IQ that is off the charts.

This thread predictably went to **** in a hurry.

You can't stereotype. Not all D-I programs have the same talent levels. Not all D-III programs have players that can't play D-I. The top D-III schools, many of which are in NE, are probably better than lower ranked D-I programs. Some D-III players get more money over their four years than some D-I players.

The only clearly identifiable difference between D-I and D-III is the size of the school. That seems to get lost in translation.

We are going through the college process now. There are big schools, small schools, liberal arts schools, and engineering schools on his list. We are more concerned with academic fit than hockey. He isn't the kind of kid thay wants to sit in a lecture hall with 250 other Freshmen. And, as his advisor has made clear, the odds are the school he will ultimately attend isn't going to be the one he chooses this Spring. Since he is going to have to play Juniors anyway, we aren't solely focused on hockey right now. That day will come.

Great point. Some kids are in D-1, D-3, ACHA for different reasons and ah, yeah some of it should be the actual education. Some kids focus on D-1 because they feel they have a future in the family business (hockey), some go D-3 because there is a specific school or experience they would prefer, some go ACHA because they've had enough hockey and want to hit the books. It's not as if every 18 year old is dying for a year or two of juniors to attend the school that selects them just to wear the D-1 badge.

What gets the eye of an advisor? Does a coach reach out on your behalf, do they just look at the top point getters (forwards)? What gets the player on the radar? My son is only 15, playing FS 16 and putting up good numbers (top 20 in the league). Need to learn more about this process from you guys who are going through this or have gone through this.

In our experience it was a skills coach. My understanding is the most common age of contact is 8th grade when the parents are looking at Prep schools.

SO your saying there's a chance? In 8th grade my boy was 5' 5"..today hes in 10th grade and 5' 10"..is it your experience that puberty plays a role in all of this?

My experience is, at least for defensemen is you should contact the team of where you & the kid want to end-up. Or have your F.S. coach contact them if he's connected. Forwards are pretty easy, does the kid average need a point a game and is his +/- respectable. Defensemen it's a lot more subjective. Many who have similar numbers can have totally different skill sets and knowledge of the game so they need to be watched. And there certainly they will come out to watch without an invite if you have the right last name. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

No nhl agent establishes a relationship with a player/family and charges money. Especially a 'nominial' amount. What would the point of that be? The $250 wouldn't be worth the headaches. Have fun on your kids NCAA clearninghouse when you have to answer "yes" to having a formal relationship with an agent where money was exchanged. Or is it that your lying. C'mon admit it. I know your lying. Anyone on here who has an NHL agent as an advisor knows your lying. Now everyone on here knows your lying.

It's the opposite, Sherlock. NCAA requires that an advisor be comped for their services, they just don't say how much. If you were right, all the fee-for-services advisors out there would constitute NCAA violations. And we know that isn't true. Don't we?

If your advisor spends one hour performing services on your kid's behalf and you don't pay him one red cent, there's a risk of a violation. Our advisor's legal advice based on the facts at the time was that the nominal payment provides an insurance policy. I can't speak for other agencies or even the transactons our agency has entered into in the last three years, but those were the facts at the time we began our relationship.

So don't call me a ******* liar. You. Weren't. There.

Ok so you have the only guy who thinks a "nominal fee" for years of services is an "insurance policy" when there is no need for this and the NCAA has said as much. Keep the story going though.

No, your wrong, and if your paying, your being hosed, but then again, if your kid was good enough, you wouldn't be paying anyhow. The previous poster is correct.

Just an FYI:

From UMASS student athlete questionnaire:
NCAA Rules DO allow you to have a “family advisor.”
The rules allow a student-athlete to have an advisor to review a prospective contract provided that the athlete pays
the advisor the going rate for the advisor’s services and as long as the advisor does not participate in negotiations on
the athlete’s behalf with the professional team.

In addition, in January of 2018 the NCAA changed the rules to allow players to sign with agents, similar to what is done with baseball but the representation ends after enrollement in school.

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/20/16911646/ncaa-rules-agents-hockey-baseball-football-basketball

From the NCAA Guidelines:
Finally, it is important to note that in order to maintain your eligibility at the NCAA school, if you receive assistance from an advisor, you will be required to pay that advisor at his or her normal rate for such services

I also have some property in FL to sell you

Leave the guy alone. Clearly he’s the only one who has figured it out.

Haven't figured anything out. I'm not the one calling anyone a liar. Just relating to people that don't have an advisor - which is the question I originally answered that started all of this - what my personal experience has been.

What I also can't figure out is the mentality of people that would tell someone whose experience is different than theirs they they are "wrong." My guess is these are the same wing nuts that are best avoided at the rink, because they know everything.

I especially love the guy that said I was getting "hosed." Three years of extremely helpful advice, access to the contacts of an NHL certified agent that represents many, many professional players, including several Bruins, with as many as six more years to go, for the price of a stick. Yeah, I'm feeling really taken advantage of.

Legal advice is funny. Very smart lawyers will interpret the same rules very differently, Some are conservative, some are aggressive. I didn't tell the guy how his company should do business. I have zero problem with the relationship we have. I don't care if I'm the only one he charged, ever. It was how they were interpreting the rules at the time. I'm sure all of you that know better would have told the guy he was "wrong" when he asked to represent your kid.

Paying for helpful advice doesn't make your kid better.

Anyone know the difference between club-d3-d1? Is there a big difference or are kids basically interchangable based on who you know?

Yes there is a difference, sometimes the differences are glaring other times they are much more subtle but there is usually a difference in the caliber of players. Watch a game for UMASS Boston then watch say Minnesota State vs. Minnesota Duluth and you will realize there is a difference, you just might not be able to really articulate it well.

As for club, it's all over the place. Large schools with a solid hockey tradition can have very good club teams while at smaller schools the club teams would lose to many Varsity high school hockey programs.

Sounds confusing. Should I hire someone to help advise me and my son? Also I never played but it just so happens my last name is Messier and I named my kid Mark. Will that help at all?

Make sure you pay the Advisor $250