I keep seeing posts suggesting that we should all forget this junior crap and have junior go straight to college after graduation. Well, I felt exactly the same way a year ago. In fact, we turned down a couple tenders and committed to a college because I figured the chances of playing D1 hockey (having no offers so far) was extremely low. I was also worried that if he went off to play junior this year, he might want to play another year and I really wasn't down with that.

Well, my wife and some friends convinced me to give him one "gap year" where he could get noticed or just have a year having fun playing junior hockey. Otherwise, he might spend his life wondering what might have been. Moreover, he is a very late bloomer, so I figured that there might be some interest even though there wasn't much before.

So, off he went to play tier 2 junior for a coach who liked him and his style of play. He gets a lot of ice time and has been contacted by numerous D1 and D3 programs - not the elite D1 programs like Michigan or Minnesota, but good colleges. In fact, it's looking like hockey may help him get into some elite academic schools that he might not have gotten into otherwise.

As such, the gamble seems to have paid off for us. The question now is whether we let him play another year of junior. The answer is probably "yes", provided some of our target colleges remain interested but want him to mature another year.

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You, my friend, are a very rare breed of parents. Most parents cannot help but be impressed by their kid's abilities, be they athletic, academic, artistic, or otherwise. Any talent or potential is dramatically outsized in the minds of the parent, almost without exception. Until you came along.

You, and your spouse, are probably the first hockey parents who were unable to spot they hidden talent tucked way down deep behind your kids inadequacies.

Somehow, without your support and confidence in him your kid overcame almost insurmountable odds to land a D-1 roster spot.

BRAVO!





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Thanks Junior Coach/ Coaches

You guys are making the kool aid, alright.

Going to have 2 in college next year. Why does Financial Aid suck? They consider a "loan" as Financial Aid? What are others seeing? Looking at 65K per year for 2. The math isn't adding up.:grin:

Or play juniors and then get into a high paying trade.
I know kids quickly making six figures with a pension and ZERO college debt.
Sure beats four years of a useless major graduating making half that with $150k in debt.

Not much scholarship money for average 3.5GPA white kids these days.

Son has 4 D3 schools interested "if" he stays and ages out of Jrs. He's 19, putting up points, what do they think is going to change in a year. He's ready for school and doesn't want to wait just to play at the schools he has talked to. How do you convince a kid to do another year of Jrs when they are pretty much done.

Yes, the NAHL is tier 2. Not all NAHL players get offers, but many do.

I am not entirely surprised that NCDC kids are not getting offers. NCDC is not viewed as favorably as the NAHL.

Americans playing in the BCHL without offers? That surprises me.

I agree that OP did not say "offers" - he said interest, not offers. There is an obvious difference.

I do not agree that all NAHL players must await their age-out year to get offers. Yes, many NAHL players need to sweat it out until the age-out year before the first offer comes. But I know several current or former NAHL players who got offers - some from very good schools/academies - one or two years before the age-out year. A quick look at the NAHL news section reveals several 03s who not only got offers, but committed this year. Depends on many, many factors, including the player's size, ability, character, grades, experience, representation, coach support, etc.