How good a player do you have to be to play D3?

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joeshmoe
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Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:02 am

How good a player do you have to be to play D3?

Post by joeshmoe »

Roughly, how good does a High School player have to be to have a shot at playing D3?
southernmnscout
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Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:08 pm

Post by southernmnscout »

Most DIII schools recruit from the NAHL and USHl just like the DI schools. DIII hockey is a lot better than it used to be. You still need to be a pretty high end HS player to play at the DIII level. Obviously every school is different but for the top DIII schools you still need to be a good player in the NAHL or USHL to be able to contribute to a DIII school. Check out some of the rosters for DIII schools and you will be surprised by some of the names you see on them..

It is very good hockey!
Westsidefan
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Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:40 am

Post by Westsidefan »

Another option to keep in mind for those who want to continue playing the game post-high school is club hockey. A number of colleges (including the UofM and some D3 MIAC schools) have club hockey teams that play a pretty extensive competitive schedule. It is "pay to play" sort of like youth hockey, but it can be pretty good hockey also and keep you skating. Some schools have intramural teams as well.
O-townClown
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Location: Typical homeboy from the O-Town

tru dat

Post by O-townClown »

Good points. I'm 40. D3 and ACHA "club" hockey have both improved tremendously since my day.
Be kind. Rewind.
HShockeywatcher
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Post by HShockeywatcher »

If you are a borderline player, are there players who will opt to play at St Norbert, or some other top D3 college instead of being a nobody on a bottom D1 roster?

Are there ever top D3 players who go on to play pro hockey?

How would a team like St Norbert do if they were given the opportunity to play an average D1 schedule? They are the top D3 program in the country and have been for most of the recent past. Many of the players they have probably played years of hockey with players on various D1 rosters.
Stealth
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Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 2:05 pm

Post by Stealth »

Would the Bemidji State men’s team be a good example? Where they a D-III program and transition to a D-I? Or where they considered a small college program with no “D” classification?
RFFalcon22
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Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:40 am
Location: Farmington

Post by RFFalcon22 »

To reply to your questions HShockeywatcher:

1. It depends on the player. D3 teams like St. Norbert, UW-Superior, and UW-River Falls have each had a few guys who transferred from D1 schools, some for the playing time others for the school.

2. Several D3 players move on to play pro hockey each season. Not too many have made it to the NHL but there are a few who make it to the ECHL and AHL.

3. St. Norbert is a great program that has good teams year in and year out. They would probably do okay against D1 competition; I think they would be able to beat some of the lower D1 teams and would do okay against some of the "middle of the pack" teams. They would have trouble playing against the better D1 teams because of issues with depth; the top D1 teams are too solid from top-to-bottom.
behonestbenice
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Post by behonestbenice »

Joel Otto Elk River High School Bemidji State Grad way back when it was D3 is probably the most note worthy name I can think of that made the NHL and did something.
ImissMYhockey
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Post by ImissMYhockey »

I have some friends that play D-3 hockey. They were good in high school but with all do respect to them not standouts. They made their schools respective teams without playing juniors. They dont get much playing time but that is because they are freshman. Some talented high school players will talk to D-3 coaches and most times the coaches will offer them a spot on the team if they are good enough. It is my guess that most people that play D-3 hockey out of high school are good enough to play juniors but dont want to spend the 2 or so years it takes to get recognized by D-1 schools. They would rather start on their education and still be able to play hockey at a very high level.
Club hockey is also a great option too. It isn't much of a commitment so you can still focus on school, the price is not bad, you travel around the state and you still get to play at a competitive level.
ACTUALFORMERPLAYER
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Post by ACTUALFORMERPLAYER »

Dustin Penner started out playing junior college at NDSU-Bottineau. He went to Maine from there. Signed with the Ducks as an undrafted free-agent. Playing for Edmonton now making over 4 mil a year.
Goldy Gopher
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Location: Miami, FL

Post by Goldy Gopher »

ACTUALFORMERPLAYER wrote:Dustin Penner started out playing junior college at NDSU-Bottineau. He went to Maine from there. Signed with the Ducks as an undrafted free-agent. Playing for Edmonton now making over 4 mil a year.
So he never played D-III? Thanks for putting that in a D-III thread.
The U invented swagger.
GoGophersGuy
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 5:26 pm

Post by GoGophersGuy »

Keith Aucoin

1997-98 Norwich University NCAA 0 19 14 33 0
1998-99 Norwich University NCAA 31 33 39 72 0
1999-00 Norwich University NCAA 31 36 41 77 14
2000-01 Norwich University NCAA 28 26 30 56 26
2001-02 B.C. Icemen UHL 44 23 35 58 42 10 3 5 8 4
2001-02 Florida Everblades ECHL 1 0 2 2 0 -- -- -- -- --
2001-02 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 30 6 10 16 8 -- -- -- -- --
2002-03 Providence Bruins AHL 78 25 49 74 71 4 0 1 1 6
2003-04 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 80 18 30 48 64 9 0 3 3 4
2004-05 Memphis Riverkings CHL 5 4 5 9 10 -- -- -- -- --
2004-05 Providence Bruins AHL 72 21 45 66 49 17 4 14 18 18
2005-06 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 72 29 56 85 68 -- -- -- -- --
2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 7 0 1 1 4 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 Albany River Rats AHL 65 27 72 99 108 5 1 3 4 7
2006-07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 8 0 1 1 0 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Albany River Rats AHL 38 8 37 45 38
2007-08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 38 5 8 13 10
2008-09 Hershey Bears AHL 20 8 21 29 12
NHL Totals 53 5 10 15 14
Blue&Gold
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Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:37 am

Post by Blue&Gold »

You can find examples of some who make it out of DIII. It's tough, but it's possible. Perhaps that helps to answer the original question as to how good do you need to be to play DIII. Here's the answer that fits "most of the time": For most players on most teams, you will need to be a top line player to even have a chance to tryout. I know some very good players that tried out for, oh let's use St. John's for an example, (and were recruited to tryout) and didn't make even the JV program. And a few that are stuck on the JV program but will not ever make the varsity.

DIII is very good hockey, The guys who are playing there were, for the most part, about this close [ ] to playing D1. The club route is even a hard place to break into as there are a lot of good players in those programs.

Don't quit trying, chase the dream, and understand the level of competition when you go out there.
the bigbooya
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 3:15 pm

Post by the bigbooya »

Here's some DIII info from followthepuck.com for the 2007-2008 season that should help put things into perspective as far as who and what it takes to play DIII hockey. For more recent info you can just go directly to MIAC's website and check out this year's rosters for each team there.




MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference):

Minnesota Players (206)

Augsburg Auggies (17)
Bethel Royals (20)
Concordia College Cobbers (14)
Gustavus Gusties (27)
Hamline Pipers (2
St. John's Johnnies (25)
St. Mary's Cardinals (20)
St. Olaf Oles (26)
St. Thomas Tommies (29)

Adams, David (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Soph - D - St. Olaf
Adams, Eric (Litchfield HS) - Junior - F - Bethel
Aho, Jon (Breck HS) - Freshman - D - St. Olaf
Alexander, Todd (Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) - Junior - D - St. Thomas
Andres, Matthew (Benilde-St. Margaret's) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Andrew, Kent (Lakeville) - Junior - G - Augsburg
Antony, Tyler (Buffalo) - Soph - F - Augsburg
Arnason, Alex (Totino-Grace HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Babich, Carl (Eveleth-Gilbert HS) - Soph - D - Concordia College
Babich, Chris (Eveleth-Gilbert HS) - Soph - D - Concordia College
Balvin, Jeff (Maple Grove HS) - Senior - F - Bethel
Benson, Andy (Maple Grove HS) - Freshman - F- St. Olaf
Berenguer, Chris (Eden Prairie HS) - Freshman - D - Hamline
Bierman, Luke (Chaska HS) - Soph - F - Hamline
Bigham, Eric (Benilde-St. Margaret's) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Birkholz, Andrew (Breck HS) - Soph - F- Hamline
Bonne, Dan (White Bear Lake HS) - Senior - F - Bethel
Bostrom, Kent (Mounds View HS) - Junior - F - Bethel
Boyd, Brandon (Hastings HS) - Freshman - F - Gustavus
Briscoe, Colin (Rochester Century HS) - Freshman - F - Augsburg
Brodersen, Brent (Breck HS) - Freshman - D - St. John's
Bryant, Sean (Sartell-St. Stephen HS) - Junior - F - St. Thomas
Buchholz, Mark (Moorhead) - Senior - D - Concordia College
Buckley, Matt (Park Center HS) - Soph - F - Hamline
Budish, Jeff (Edina HS) - Senior - F - St. Olaf
Callister, Sean (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Freshman - F - St. Olaf
Campion, Spencer (Benilde-St. Margaret's) - Soph - D - Gustavus
Carlson, Dan (Roseville) - Senior - F - Augsburg
Carlson, Mitch (St. Louis Park HS) - Freshman - D - Gustavus
Carlson, Nick (Rosemount HS) - Soph - D - St. Mary's
Carr, Mike (Mahtomedi HS) - Junior - F - Gustavus
Carroll, Dave (Richfield) - Soph - F - Augsburg
Chamblee, Kellen (Roseville HS) - Junior - F - Augsburg
Chestnut, Tyler (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Soph - G - St. Thomas
Clafton, Tony (Grand Rapids HS) - Soph - D - St. Mary's
Clukey, Ryan (Moorhead HS) - Soph - C - Concordia College
Coles, Alex (Burnsville HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Connelly, Pat (White Bear Lake HS) - Junior - F - St. John's
Cosgriff, Matt (Breck HS) - Freshman - F - St. Olaf
Cox, Joe (Mounds View HS) - Soph - F - Bethel
Dahl, Eric (St. Cloud) - Soph - F - St. Mary's
Damjanovich, Aaron (Greenway HS) - Soph - G - Bethel
Davis, Adam (Lakeville HS) - Junior - D - St. Thomas
Decker, Dylan (Alexandria HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Dorr, Sam (Roseville HS) - Senior - D - St. John's
Dynan, Casey (Orono HS) - Junior - F - Gustavus
Dynan, Kyle (Orono HS) - Soph - D - Bethel
Dynan, Patrick (Orono HS) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Dynan, Rory (Orono HS) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Eagles, Pat (Roseville HS) - Senior - F - St. John's
Eastman, Steve (Edina HS) - Senior - D - Bethel
Eberwein, Brycen (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - G - St. Olaf
Eidsmo, Kevin (Chanhassen HS) - Senior - D - St. Mary's
Elledge, Josh (Champlin Park HS) - Freshman - F - Gustavus
Ellertson, Cory (Albert Lea) - Freshman - F - Augsburg
Erickson, Jim (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Junior - F - Hamline
Faust, Zachary (White Bear Lake HS) - Soph - G - Hamline
Festler, Steve (Little Falls HS) - Junior - F - Hamline
Fifield, Jay (Eden Prairie HS) - Freshman - D - Gustavus
Firl, Devin (Red Wing HS) - Senior - D - St. Mary's
Fogerty, Christian (Forest Lake HS) - Freshman - F - Bethel
Freeman, Tom (Eagan HS) - Senior - F - St. John's
Frischmann, Bryan (Rochester Century HS) - Freshman - D - Augsburg
Fulton, Dustin (Breck HS) - Junior - F - Hamline
Gamst, Blaine (Willow River) - Freshman - F - Concordia College
Gilbert, Karl (Hermantown HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Gill, Adam (Rochester) - Senior - F - St. Mary's
Giordano, Bryan (Chaska HS) - Freshman - F - St. Olaf
Gomez, Jason (Savage) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
Goos, Shawn (Fergus Falls) - Freshman - C - Concordia College
Green, Justin (Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) - Senior - F - St. Olaf
Gross, David (Pine City HS) - Senior - F - St. Mary's
Gruenke, Garrett (Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) - Senior - D - St. Thomas
Hall, Mat (St. Cloud) - Freshman - F - St. Mary's
Hall, Matt (Park Center HS) - Senior - F - Bethel
Hampson, Ryan (Minnetonka HS) - Junior - D - St. Olaf
Hanna, Justin (Roseville HS) - Junior - D - Hamline
Harren, Gabriel (Warroad HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Hause, Ben (Cretin-Derham Hall HS) - Freshman - G - St. John's
Hawkins, Tyler (Academy of Holy Angels HS) - Freshman - F - St. Thomas
Hendel, Adam (Red Wing HS) - Junior - G - Augsburg
Henkemeyer, Kyle (Sauk Rapids-Rice HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Herd, Drake (Breck HS) - Freshman - D - Hamline
Hipp, Jake (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Junior - F - St. John's
Hochbrunn, Don (Centennial HS) - Junior - D - Bethel
Hoehn, Ryan (Waseca HS) - Senior - F - St. Thomas
Hohendwald, Mike (Hill-Murray HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Holen, Alec (Thief River Falls HS) - Soph - C - Concordia College
Holt, Nikki (Hermantown) - Freshman - D - Augsburg
Hooker, Gerrit (Osseo HS) - Freshman - F - Augsburg
Howells, Brett (Mound) - Junior - F - Gustavus
Hummel, Jared (Academy of Holy Angels HS) - Freshman - D - Hamline
Hylle, Karl (Breck HS) - Soph - D - St. Olaf
Jacques, John (Duluth East HS) - Senior - D - St. Thomas
Jensen, Jim (Osseo HS) - Freshman - F - Augsburg
Jirovec, Wes (St. Thomas Academy HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Johnannes, Jason (Eagan HS) - Junior - F - St. John's
Johnson, Chris (Elk River HS) - Soph - D - Hamline
Johnson, Cory (Moorhead HS) - Soph - C - Concordia College
Johnson, Rob (Duluth East HS) - Freshman - F - St. Thomas
Joos, Lee (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Soph - F - Hamline
Jorgensen, Aaron (Little Falls HS) - Soph - G - Bethel
Jorgensen, Lukas (Little Falls HS) - Freshman - Bethel
Josefson, Thor (Bemidji HS) - Soph - F - St. Olaf
Kappers, Andrew (Lakeville HS) - Freshman - F - St. Thomas
Kellogg, Nick (Andover HS) - Freshman - G - Gustavus
Kettelkamp, Brent (Breck HS) - Junior - D - Bethel
Kleiman, Tim (Duluth Marshall HS) - Junior - D - St. Thomas
Knutson, Tom (Duluth East HS) - Junior - F - St. Thomas
Koehler, Jake (Elk River HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Kopelke, Chris (Mounds View HS) - Soph - D - Augsburg
Kovacs, John (White Bear Lake HS) - Junior - D - Bethel
Kranz, Kelly (Bloomington) - Freshman - D - St. Mary's
Kratz, Kevin (Farmington HS) - Soph - F - Concordia College
Krogen, Cory (Marshall HS) - Soph - D - Hamline
Kurr, Kyle (Elk River HS) - Soph - F - Hamline
Kurtz, Ryan (Cretin-Derham Hall HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Lair, Alex (Albert Lea HS) - Soph - D - Gustavus
LaBombard, Matt (Bloomington Jefferson HS) - Soph - F - St. Olaf
LaRock, Erik (Kasson) - Junior - F - St. Mary's
Leopold, Dan (Stillwater HS) - Senior - D - Augsburg
Leathers, James (Black School) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Leier, William (Hill-Murray HS) - Soph - D - Hamline
Letourneau, Matt (Duluth Marshall HS) - Soph - D - St. Thomas
Lofgren, Sean (Moorhead HS) - Soph - F - Concordia College
Long, Joe (Elk River HS) - Junior - D - Hamline
MacMillan, Mike (Buffalo HS) - Senior - F - St. Olaf
Mahoney, Kevin (Duluth Marshall HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Martinson, David (St. Louis Park HS) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Mattson, Kyle (Maple Grove HS) - Freshman - F - Hamline
McLean, Will (Duluth East HS) - Freshman - F - St. Olaf
McClure, Pat (Orono HS) - Freshman - D - St. John's
McCormick, Trevor (Mankato West HS) - Senior - F - Augsburg
McDonald, Matt (Lakeville HS) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
McDonald, Noel (Totino-Grace HS) - Freshman - D - Hamline
McEnaney, Dan (Hill-Murray HS) - Freshman - G - St. Thomas
McEnaney, Joe (Hill-Murray HS) - Soph - F - St. Thomas
Meinz, Nate (St. Cloud Tech HS) - Senior - D - St. John's
Menozzi, Bill (Lakeville HS) - Senior - D - Bethel
Menozzi, Tom (South St. Paul HS) - Freshman - F - Bethel
Meyers, Jonathan (Eden Prairie HS) - Freshman - F - St. Thomas
Moore, Greg (Woodbury HS) - Soph - G - St. Mary's
Morey, Corey (Buffalo HS) - Soph - D - Gustavus
Morrow, Erik (Afton) - Freshman - D - St. Olaf
Mueller, Dylan (Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
Murray, Andy (Staples) - Soph - F - Concordia College
Murray, Chris (Blake School) - Soph - F - St. John's
Nelson, Nick (Duluth East HS) - Freshman - F - St. Thomas
Neu, Tyler (Wadena-Deer Creek HS) - Junior - F - Concordia College
Nicholson, Robby (Minnehaha Academy) - Soph - F - Bethel
Nguyen, Lincoln (Owatonna) - Soph - G - St. Mary's
Ollila, Ben (Centennial HS) - Senior - F - Gustavus
Olmscheid, James (St. Cloud Cathedral HS) - Freshman - D - St. John's
Olson, Ben (Hastings HS) - Soph - D - St. Mary's
Ornell, Tim (Centennial HS) - Senior - F - Gustavus
Osmondson, Bryan (Princeton HS) - Soph - F - St. Olaf
Palma, Tony (Centennial HS) - Soph - D - Gustavus
Panchenko, Andrew (Eastview HS) - Senior - F - St. Thomas
Panchenko, A.J. (Eastview HS) - Junior - D - St. Thomas
Pauer, Josh (Spring Park) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Paulson, John (Benilde-St. Margaret's HS) - Senior - D - St. Olaf
Pernula, Jake (Osseo) - Freshman - F - Augsburg
Pernula, Nick (Osseo HS) - Senior - F - St. Thomas
Perry, Dan (Fergus Falls HS) - Senior - F - Concordia College
Peterson, Brad (Bloomington Jefferson HS) - Junior - F - Bethel
Polk, Jesse (Hastings) - Senior - F - St. Mary's
Postell, Dustin (Wadena-Deer Creek HS) - Soph - F - Hamline
Rehm, Clayton (Park Rapids) - Junior - D - St. John's
Reinke, Karl (Duluth) - Junior - F - St. Mary's
Ridley, T.J. (Edina) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Roberts, Andy (Rochester) - Junior - F - St. Mary's
Roberts, Ben (Bloomington Jefferson HS) - Freshman - Augsburg
Rohlfs, Kyle (Fergus Falls) - Senior - F - Gustavus
Ronning, Kyle (Park Center HS) - Junior - F - Bethel
Roth, Tony (White Bear Lake HS) - Freshman - F - Hamline
Ryan, Nate (Eastview HS) - Senior - F - St. Thomas
Scattarelli, Cole (Elk River HS) - Soph - D - Hamline
Schugel, Matt (Roseville HS) - Freshman - D - Gustavus
Shelafoe, Ryan (Forest Lake HS) - Freshman - F - Hamline
Shepherd, Morgan (Brainerd) - Soph - F - St. Mary's
Smith, Dan (Rochester) - Senior - G - St. Mary's
Smith, Jared (Grand Rapids HS) - Freshman - D - St. John's
Smith, Will (Orono HS) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
Solberg, Paul (Osseo HS) - Junior - D - St. Thomas
Stacklie, Joel (Blaine HS) - Junior - F - St. John's
Stalock, Nick (South St. Paul HS) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
Streit, Jeremy (Sauk Rapids-Rice HS) - Soph - F - St. John's
Swan, Jordan (Champlin Park HS) - Senior - F - St. John's
Swartout, Josh (St. Louis Park HS) - Freshman - G - Gustavus
Tavis, Austin (Grand Rapids HS) - Freshman - F - Hamline
Trousdale, Roger (Buffalo HS) - Junior - F - St. Olaf
Umhoefer, Ben (Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep) - Soph - F - St. Olaf
Van Asch, Jimmy (Blaine HS) - Soph - D - Hamline
Van House, Deven (Silver Bay) - Junior - F - St. Mary's
Voss, Cameron (St. Thomas Academy HS) - Junior - G - St. Thomas
Wanvig, Matt (Osseo HS) - Soph - G - Hamline
Wallgren, Mike (Oakdale) - Freshman - F - St. John's
Webber, Tony (Farmington HS) - Soph - F - Concordia College
Welch, Joe (Hastings HS) - Soph - F - Gustavus
Wheeler, Lance (St. Cloud Tech HS) - Junior - D - St. John's
Wheeler, Vince (St. Cloud Tech HS) - Junior - G - St. John's
Wieck, Brad (Roseville HS) - Freshman - F - Gustavus
Windsor, Sam (Plymouth) - Junior - D - St. Olaf
Zilka, Nick (Mound-Westonka HS) - Freshman - F - Hamline
Zilles, Matt (Stillwater HS) - Junior - F - Hamline

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