Junior Hockey or straight to College hockey??? What to do?

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gburghiggy
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Junior Hockey or straight to College hockey??? What to do?

Post by gburghiggy » Sun Jan 18, 2009 9:05 am

My question is this: my son is an outstanding hockey player on a lowsy team. He has made all state honorable mention, defenseman, is the captain of his team, has played in competitive NH summer travel leagues and simply has not received the attention of college scouts. Do I put him in junior hockey for a year(he is graduating high school), and then see what happens, or do we simply move toward a college hockey team at a lower level(Division 3) with marginal players where he could make the team????

juniorhockey
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Post by juniorhockey » Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:13 pm

Where do you live? What is NH hockey league? That will help answer your question.

gburghiggy
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Post by gburghiggy » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:33 am

juniorhockey wrote:Where do you live? What is NH hockey league? That will help answer your question.
He lives in New Hampshire and plays in the division 2 league for the state.

juniorhockey
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Post by juniorhockey » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:43 am

OK....

I dont see ever how Junior is a bad option for a kid. School will always be there. If he plays one year and doesn`t like it, or doesn`t think he improved enough, he can always go to school.

The NH Monarchs have a good reputation. Unfortunately it does cost money to go and play there and I am not quite sure how much. If your son is good enough and you have the funds to get him to the midwest, I would try to get him into a USHL tryout. Great opportunity if he makes that league and even if he doesnt there are always 7-12 D1 schools in attendance watching.

Hope this helps a little.

huville
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Post by huville » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:09 pm

The New Hampshire Monarchs cost 7,500 a year to play for their team. All EJHL teams cost that much. They charge the maximum amount allowed by USA hockey.

huville
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Post by huville » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:09 pm

The New Hampshire Monarchs cost 7,500 a year to play for their team. All EJHL teams cost that much. They charge the maximum amount allowed by USA hockey.

Blue&Gold
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Post by Blue&Gold » Tue Feb 17, 2009 4:22 pm

huville wrote:The New Hampshire Monarchs cost 7,500 a year to play for their team. All EJHL teams cost that much. They charge the maximum amount allowed by USA hockey.
What kind of scholarship do the kids get out of this league, in general? I'm not talking about the top few, nor the bottom third, but that average-to-better player on a good team. $7,500 is a lot of clams to pay for the privalege of playing, unless there is a better-than-average chance of getting a 75% scholarship at a D1 school. This makes the USHL and NAHL very attractive, I would think. However, making the Tier 1 or Tier 2 level is not an easy task. The average NAHL player will not see the D1 level after they are done with juniors whereas the USHL player will, more than likely.

Check this out to see where the D1 players are coming from: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key= ... CpqCpRsjRw

Good luck to your son!

jrhockey
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Post by jrhockey » Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:02 pm

With a son still in H.S. Playing in the MJHL, from what I've heard and been told most of the better D-III schools will not look at kids unless they have at least one year of JR.A(certain WI teams won't even let kids try-out without a year of Jr's) Now that does leave others that will but they are usually in the lower standings in thier respective leagues. Unlike D-1, D-III does not offer scholarships, but they can get other type of assistance to help defray the costs. One thing to be careful of however, is the offer to come to Jr. cattle call try-outs.. All Junior teams use this as nothing more than a way to fill the coffers for the coming year. USHL/NAHL teams charge $$$. get 150-250 kids and only have 1 or 2 spots to fill. As all things be careful and ask lots of questions, Jr Hockey is a great thing for your son if you and he both go in with both eyes wide open....Yes $7500 is a good deal of cash, but sometimes you have to take that leap...

Stabbin31
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Post by Stabbin31 » Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:43 pm

$7500 is a great deal of cash. After reading these, I talked to a buddy who is on staff with a T3 Jr A team in the MNJHL (Minnesota). His teams fees are under $4000 for the year due to drawing large crowds and sponsers ect...

Few kids are going D1 out of the league, but quite a few move up to the NAHL and D-3 schools which isnt bad. As far as I know their camps are smaller in size, they invite kids who they think can or will make the team.

Whoever said that a lot of teams just fill camps to make money is DEAD ON... Most are nothing more then a money maker, so be carefull.

Blue&Gold
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Post by Blue&Gold » Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:12 am

I agree on the money-making part. However, a tryout to a Tier 1 or 2 program can let you see where you stack up. (IF you're honest about how it goes, and not using a bias to see the player..) You can see who makes the cuts and if you're not one them, you can compare to what they did different than you did.

I'm always one to say go try out.. But don't make a career out of going to tryouts. If you don't make it at one, then take it as a learning experience. I've watched kids go from one to another to another trying to land a spot. Let's face it, if you're not drafted but are taken on a team from a tryout, you can't honestly think you'll be playing every night.

Good luck!

JrIndians
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Post by JrIndians » Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:47 pm

gburghiggy...I`m operating a new Junior A franchise in Springfield, MA, called the Springfield Jr Indians. We will be playing in the United Junior Hockey League next year. Although we don`t make promises, your son will have the opportunity to perform for college and pro scouts. As an organization, we will also be marketing our players to the NAHL, USHL, College, Canadian junior majors, and pro leagues. We don`t charge $7500, our fees will be $5500 for the season, plus billet fees of $250/mo. Come down for our tryout in April, we have 22 roster spots, plus 5 on our protection list. His chances are much better with us, rather than the monarchs, who may only have 3 or 4 roster spots, plus he won`t be too far from home.

Matt Hernke
Owner/GM
Springfield Jr Indians

Stabbin31
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Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:17 pm

Post by Stabbin31 » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:48 pm

Before you go ANYWHERE, make sure that the League is covered by USA HOCKEY. There are Renegade leagues out there such as the UJHL. Just be careful and get A LOT of facts before you go anywhere.

jrhockey
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Post by jrhockey » Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:27 pm

yeah the owner of the Albert Lea team during try-outs last year was hawking his "other" team in Pa which is a renegade team to everyone who would listen. After watching one of their games I think most of the MNJHL teams could have beat the Albert Lea team this past year.

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