Harsh Reality of Making it to the Show

[B-Ville Hockey Guy]

If you want a reality check see how many players actually make it to the NHL. There is a great website that breaks it down for you. If I am looking at the site correctly Only 5600 Players have played in the NHL since its inception. 5% have only played in one game (280 players) and over half have played in less than 100 games.

http://www.quanthockey.com/Distribution ... ngthGP.php

Brings it into perspective when you are looking at how tough it is to play at the next level.

[B-Ville Hockey Guy]

couple of notables:

Only 237 Minnesotans have played in the NHL- Seems like a small number

Ken Yackel- 6 games- ( isn't there an arena named after him?)

Chris Marinucci- Hobey Baker winner- 13 games 5 points- seems like he maybe should have gotten a better look?

Mike Antonovich- 87 games 25 points -27 - I know it was in the 60s but minus 27?

And my favorite- ( Don't know him ) Carl Sneep- 1 game 1 assist +1- who did he tick off to not get another look?

Lots of info if you have the time....

[elliott70]

couple of notables:

Only 237 Minnesotans have played in the NHL- Seems like a small number

Ken Yackel- 6 games- ( isn't there an arena named after him?)

Chris Marinucci- Hobey Baker winner- 13 games 5 points- seems like he maybe should have gotten a better look?

Mike Antonovich- 87 games 25 points -27 - I know it was in the 60s but minus 27?

And my favorite- ( Don't know him ) Carl Sneep- 1 game 1 assist +1- who did he tick off to not get another look?

Lots of info if you have the time....

Sneep is a Brainerd high graduate.
Big strong Dman.
Very good football player, also.

[The Exiled One]

This has been a big selling point for NCAA hockey. A lot of Minnesotans who made the NHL went through the NCAA, but for those who didn't make the show, many have a bachelor's degree in hand.

And to throw a bone to the WHL fans of this board, yes, a bunch of the Minnesotans who went through the WHL made the show. And, a bunch earned enough scholarship money to get a bachelor's degree... but very few (none?) did both.

[Winter is Coming]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

[Nuts&Bolts]

Stats coming from Scorekeeper in 3-2-1

[The Exiled One]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

I'm sure that's the reasoning for a lot of the kids who go that route. Of course, I hope my kid doesn't think that way.

[MrBoDangles]

This has been a big selling point for NCAA hockey. A lot of Minnesotans who made the NHL went through the NCAA, but for those who didn't make the show, many have a bachelor's degree in hand.

And to throw a bone to the WHL fans of this board, yes, a bunch of the Minnesotans who went through the WHL made the show. And, a bunch earned enough scholarship money to get a bachelor's degree... but very few (none?) did both.

Percentages in the high teens in the late nineties to over thirty percent currently collegians. With a steady trend upward..

I'm wondering what leagues are taking the hit with former college players in the NHL going up? CHL, WHL percentages going down? European leagues? Something has to be taking a hit..

Trending numbers and a degree to boot.

[Marty]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

No so sure this is wise advise.

But then most of the Starks are dead.

[Survey]

This page of that website shows total number of players and divides it up by nationality:

http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/national ... stats.html

Those numbers are even crazier...looks like you want to be born in Canada.

[Winter is Coming]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

No so sure this is wise advise.

But then most of the Starks are dead.

I do not see either option as wrong. Personal choice is a nice thing.

The Starks???

[scorekeeper]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

You absolutely get scholarship money to go to college. And not the 50% that most schools are offering, but full tuition/books at the rate of 1 year college per each year of play up to a maximum of 5 years.

As has been pointed out on this forum many times already, not only does the WHL offer the best route to pro hockey, but also the best alternative for college as well, trumped of course, by personal choice/circumstance, which everyone is entitled to and should always take precedent and be supported by others. It's definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

[TennJed]

The Starks? Perhaps an abstract reference to Game of Thrones?

[Winter is Coming]

The Starks? Perhaps an abstract reference to Game of Thrones?

I see that and have a thought on it. He is saying (not to put words into his/her mouth) that the Starks took a chance, pursued something and for the most part got killed while the Lannisters all sat home, did not take too much of a chance and relied on their name to get stuff. Then, in the end, they got killed too (sorry to wreck the ending). So I guess he is saying you have a choice here, you can pursue a dream and probably go down swinging or you can sit home waiting for your ship to come in and still end up dead. Either way most of these kids will have their hockey dreams end at the ripe old age of 22 or 23 so I guess you have to ask yourself if you want to go down swinging with memories of having a go at it or go down sitting down saying I wish I woulda, I wish I coulda, I wonder if I shoulda................... I am sure that most kids dreamed of playing for the Sioux growing up and realized that they would probably have to settle for playing for the gophers if all else failed. If that was their dream and they are OK with not getting to play D1 hockey then I guess that is just the other side of the coin choice wise, and an OK choice at that.

[MrBoDangles]

I always look at stuff like this and wonder. The big push against WHL is the fact that you won't get scholarship money to go to college. Who cares if you don't if going that way means that you get to have fun playing hockey? If you have to go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans but you had a ball playing hockey for the WHL I think it will be worth it down the road. Sure it would be nice to get some help from them by playing hockey but if you don't get a chance to play hockey for them or if you get to play 1 year and then you are on your own anyhow I think you take your chances if offered. Personally if I had a kid who could go WHL and play hockey or take a chance on getting into a D1 school for a scholarship I would tell him to head west and have fun. Life is too short to pass on oppertunities to pursue a passion just because you might get a better offer down the road.

You absolutely get scholarship money to go to college. And not the 50% that most schools are offering, but full tuition/books at the rate of 1 year college per each year of play up to a maximum of 5 years.

As has been pointed out on this forum many times already, not only does the WHL offer the best route to pro hockey, but also the best alternative for college as well, trumped of course, by personal choice/circumstance, which everyone is entitled to and should always take precedent and be supported by others. It's definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition.

Thought I read that 4 out of 25 rostered CHL players will end up getting a degree in their life? Add that to the info above about career length in the NHL and things don't look too bright.

* 23.5 out of 28 for college players.

[Winter is Coming]

A college degree is not a way to say that you are a success or not. You don't need to go to college to suceed in life and going to college does not say you will succeed. Some of the biggest dead beats that I know went to college. How many of those 21 CHL players became plumbers, truck drivers, welders, etc? The big question is how many of them ended up under a bridge in a cardboard box with no shoes on? Not many I bet. The WHL is another option for kids who want to play hockey. U18 AAA midget is another option. All have good parts, all have bad.

[almostashappy]

So I guess he is saying you have a choice here, you can pursue a dream and probably go down swinging or you can sit home waiting for your ship to come in and still end up dead.

I give you mixed points for metaphor usage....

"Go down swinging" is an outstanding selection, given how many fights there are in the WCL compared with NCAA hockey.

But "sit home waiting for your ship to come in and still end up dead?" Do you die from boredom waiting for that ship? How about, "or you can hunker down in your bunker and starve to death"? That fits with the "stay home and play in Minnesota" mentality.

Oh, and thanks for the GoT spoilers.

[Winter is Coming]

So I guess he is saying you have a choice here, you can pursue a dream and probably go down swinging or you can sit home waiting for your ship to come in and still end up dead.

I give you mixed points for metaphor usage....

"Go down swinging" is an outstanding selection, given how many fights there are in the WCL compared with NCAA hockey.

But "sit home waiting for your ship to come in and still end up dead?" Do you die from boredom waiting for that ship? How about, "or you can hunker down in your bunker and starve to death"? That fits with the "stay home and play in Minnesota" mentality.

Oh, and thanks for the GoT spoilers.

I totally blew that metaphore. Hunker down and starve fits perfectly. I can see the old guard of MN hockey right now saying stuff like "back in my day we let the food come to us", and "back in the good old days we did not have to leave the bunker", and "it worked just fine for me so I don't see a reason for these kids to try something new, it is just checkbook food chasing". lol.

Sorry about the spoilers, at least I didn't tell you how they died, hint, none of them starved to death

[alcloseshaver]

Could have used a better spoiler alert.

[BlueLineSpecial]

A college degree is not a way to say that you are a success or not. You don't need to go to college to suceed in life and going to college does not say you will succeed. Some of the biggest dead beats that I know went to college. How many of those 21 CHL players became plumbers, truck drivers, welders, etc? The big question is how many of them ended up under a bridge in a cardboard box with no shoes on? Not many I bet. The WHL is another option for kids who want to play hockey. U18 AAA midget is another option. All have good parts, all have bad.

A college degree is indeed a way to say or measure success. You successfully completed educational prerequisites often required for a particular field. Many degrees take significant effort, intelligence and a lot of years. A degree signifies mastery (success) in that subject.

Of course it doesn't guarantee future success; nothing does. But take a peak at almost any halfway decent job and you're gonna need post-secondary education. You're closing a whole heck of a lot of doors not having a college degree. That's a fact. It doesn't mean you can't be successful without one, but it will severely limit the roads you can take to get there.

Point is that clearly not many young men (less than 6k in the history of the NHL) will get to that level, or probably any playing level that you could sustain long enough to make enough money to live off of for the rest of your life. Even if you're lucky enough to make it, what do you plan on doing with the next 50 years? Get that degree kiddos!

[GreekChurch]

[quote="B-Ville Hockey Guy"]couple of notables:

Only 237 Minnesotans have played in the NHL- Seems like a small number

Ken Yackel- 6 games- ( isn't there an arena named after him?)

Chris Marinucci- Hobey Baker winner- 13 games 5 points- seems like he maybe should have gotten a better look?

Mike Antonovich- 87 games 25 points -27 - I know it was in the 60s but minus 27?

And my favorite- ( Don't know him ) Carl Sneep- 1 game 1 assist +1- who did he tick off to not get another look?



Antonovich played in the for the Fighting Saints of the WHA from about 1972 -1976, and played a couple seasons for the Hartford Whalers. He was a big part of the Saints team. He only went on to the NHL after the WHA league folded if memory serves. It was another avenue back then. Got to see Gordie Howe play with sons Mark, and Marty. Also, a 17 year old Gretzky was memorable in 78/79 before Edmonton went to the NHL

[Winter is Coming]

A college degree is not a way to say that you are a success or not. You don't need to go to college to suceed in life and going to college does not say you will succeed. Some of the biggest dead beats that I know went to college. How many of those 21 CHL players became plumbers, truck drivers, welders, etc? The big question is how many of them ended up under a bridge in a cardboard box with no shoes on? Not many I bet. The WHL is another option for kids who want to play hockey. U18 AAA midget is another option. All have good parts, all have bad.

A college degree is indeed a way to say or measure success. You successfully completed educational prerequisites often required for a particular field. Many degrees take significant effort, intelligence and a lot of years. A degree signifies mastery (success) in that subject.

Of course it doesn't guarantee future success; nothing does. But take a peak at almost any halfway decent job and you're gonna need post-secondary education. You're closing a whole heck of a lot of doors not having a college degree. That's a fact. It doesn't mean you can't be successful without one, but it will severely limit the roads you can take to get there.

Point is that clearly not many young men (less than 6k in the history of the NHL) will get to that level, or probably any playing level that you could sustain long enough to make enough money to live off of for the rest of your life. Even if you're lucky enough to make it, what do you plan on doing with the next 50 years? Get that degree kiddos!

I agree about getting an education but do not think that because a kid does not have a college degree that you should look down on him. The fact that 21 out of 25 CHL kids do not get a college degree tells me that those 21 kids found away of doing something other than going to college to make a living. I guess it also depends on how you define halfway decent job.

[hawkenjonny]

I agree blueline! While I know successful people who went to college, and many who did not, face facts! The employment world is changing and you better have either a college degree or a degree from a technical school or program with a skill these days. Go play some post high school hockey if you can, but DO NOT bank (pun intended) on getting a scholarship to college to play hockey. Very few are full rides, contrary to an earlier post on this thread. Also, if you come into college at 20+ after a couple years playing, whether you get to play hockey or not, you are the old man on the block. Some can handle going from an unstructured life style in juniors to school again. Go in with your eyes open, and be skeptical of the hype of any junior program claiming D1 or NHL futures. Especially the checkbook teams.

[Winter is Coming]

You are saying what I am saying. The fact that 21 out of 25 CHL kids do not get a college degree was presented in a way that I took to mean that those kids did not succeed in life. I assume (ouch) that the poster did not include kids who got a truck driving cert and are driving truck. The kids who got a plumber's cert and are now in business for themselves. The welder who does not have a degree but is making a killing in the oil fields of ND. and etc. You have to have some sort of post secondary education, high school won't do the trick. If you are saying that those kids also did not get any sort of Tech School degree or cert either then yes, there is a problem. I sort of read it to mean that your numbers were pointing at the traditional 4 year BA/BS in some field and that the numbers were mute on the tech school angle.

I do think you are wrong though abuot the kids who are 20 something going back to school. Most of them are there because they want to be, they have drank their beer and chased skirts and just generally goofed off so they are ready to study. The kids that I see that fail college are the ones who are away from home for the first time, experience freedom for the first time and go wild. Like I said, go play WHL and have fun chasing the hockey dream and then go to college the old fashion way with pell grants and student loans.

[scorekeeper]

Thought I read that 4 out of 25 rostered CHL players will end up getting a degree in their life?

Not sure about the OHL/QMJHL but I know in the WHL it's twice that much. Over 30% of WHL players go to college on the money they EARNED playing Major Junior Hockey. Also, 60% of them turn pro.

Worth noting that a bachelor degree isn't what it used to be. Most new grads are struggling to find work and those who do find work aren't getting jobs that can support a family.

Also worth noting that you can go to school at any time in your life, but the window for hockey is short and closes before you know it.

Nothing wrong with making a few bucks and getting some life experience before grabbing a college degree. Especially these days when the 30's are the new 20's.

Lots of routes for sure. For those pursuing a pro hockey career, the WHL, IMO, definitely at the forefront for both achieving the goal of pro hockey and for keeping all other options open.