2018 whl bantam draft

[NMayne]

Thoughts on Eric Alarie?

Haven't specifically scouted him in a game yet, but having watched RHA he is definitely noticeable out there. Well rounded game from what I can tell, skates well for having the size he does at his age. But like Lambos, a January birthday - so Svenson and Thornton have impressed me more in comparison thus far - that 11 months of extra development is huge at 13-14 years old.

 

[GoHawksGo]

Who are the standouts on each CSSHL team right now?

 

[Hotwheels]

you are so correct on this, The first other ranking sites at this point just look at points( first)

Look at there ranking system: ( example)

Just from this you will be able to tell how good a player is on these 7 points. This is house or Rec hockey evaluations. And they NEVER look at +/-

Skating 5
Puck Skills 4
Scoring/Skill 4
Work Ethic 5
Physical Play 4
Character/Intangible 4
Game Rating 4.333333333
Draft Projection TBD


Those players you mentioned will be seen by the WHL/ CJHL Scouts and depending USHL. Not so much NAHL. Then when certain players get drafted high who were not on their list they consider it a shock. The WHL Scouts watch a team for 9 or 10 times to see players.

How is the def player in his zone ?
How does he play in the Neutral zone ?
How is he is the off zone ?

Below are a few questions just in the def zone for a def player.

1 - Poor, 2 – Fair, 3 – Good, 4 – Very Good, 5 – Excellent
Defensive Zone Assessment –Defense Only
Explanation of Tactic: Can / Do you:	Ranking
1	Angle opponents into corner in one on one situations?	1	2	3	X	5
2	Keep stick on ice at all times to deflect passes (unless tying up man)?	1	2	X	4	5
3	Position yourself so as to see puck and man in front of net (when 3rd forward in slot)?	1	2	3	X	5
4	Control opponent's stick?	1	2	3	X	5
5	Play Strong in front of net?	1	X	3	4	5
6	On breakout, move puck up quickly to forwards?	1	2	3	4	X
7	Get open and make yourself available as an outlet option?	1	2	X	4	5
8	Finish all checks down low (Corners, below goal-line)?	1	2	X	4	5
9	Win corner and back wall battles?	1	2	3	X	5
10	Take whistle when in trouble?	1	2	X	4	5
11	Keep on defensive side of check (between puck and net)?	1	2	3	X	5
12	Keep puck on defensive side of body when under pressure and clearing/breaking out?	1	2	X	4	5

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The 2 ranking websites try, but they fall short on many levels. Yes we could all pick the top 5-10.
But they have players from 10-20 which are not even on the top 60, when you do a full report and when you do your home work.
I dont think they pay alot for the services that the scouts provide so you get what you get. A s a example: Its very hard to judge St Georges players when they play against teams in their division.
Only at tournaments is where you can see them play apples to apples.

This player here received a 274 out of 395. No one gets all 5's and if it was all 3 's it would be 197.
If fact not many 5's are given at this age, and you have to watch a game where the team is expected to lose. Watching teams win 11-0 is a waste of time for all parties.

So do not worry kids on teams that are not as strong as others will be seen and noticed if they play in widely publicized to tournaments.

Sorry this is long, but as stated before WEHP and Draft Geek are just opinions. BTW if you see a scout talk with them they dont bite, But not during a game.

Nice post. I remember seeing a chart like the one you posted above somewhere else before but can't remember where.

 

[Maddox]

Who are the standouts on each CSSHL team right now?

this would take some time to list from all 13 teams, but a start would be:

Alberta teams;

Nax- Savoie, Hyland, Guenther, ostapchuk, Ciona, Lajoie, Gordon
OHA Edm- Tschergil, Medernach, Laventure,Cuelemons, Dach, hancock
Edge- Coleman

 

[Deif]

Haven't specifically scouted him in a game yet, but having watched RHA he is definitely noticeable out there. Well rounded game from what I can tell, skates well for having the size he does at his age. But like Lambos, a January birthday - so Svenson and Thornton have impressed me more in comparison thus far - that 11 months of extra development is huge at 13-14 years old.

Much appreciated insight!

 

[sasha barkov]

What are your thoughts on any Americans or tier one elite players? Any standouts?

 

[Capitals03]

What are your thoughts on any Americans or tier one elite players? Any standouts?

West Coast -2003

I am not going to change anything yet, still too early. But as you see on WEHP some kids who were high on their list 1 month ago have moved down the list.
Which means they were ranked too high to begin with.
The players below have either been invited to USHL Camps or USA Hockey Development camps or both.
Am I missing a few, most likely but these are the ones who did well last year and have not dropped off.
I have not seen Dalles Stars play.

Chaz Lucius F Minnesota Gentry Galaxy
Christopher Alexander F SSM
Aidan Hreschuk D LA Jr. Kings
Spencer Shugrue D LA Jr Kings ( Now with DHA Green)
Carter Puente G Minnesota Gentry Galaxy
Lucas Massie G Anaheim Jr. Ducks
Alex Bonrouhi G LA Jr Kings

 

[Maddox]

Any intel on La Jr Kings that will be playing the Rocky Mountain Invitational next week? Their website is confusing and doesnt seem to show up to date info.

 

[Firecracker]

Any intel on La Jr Kings that will be playing the Rocky Mountain Invitational next week? Their website is confusing and doesnt seem to show up to date info.

They are a good team. Hustle all the time and have a well rounded line up. This is probably a bit outdated since I only watched them last year but the kids that impressed me were Noah Alvares and Hreschuk.

 

[Maddox]

They are a good team. Hustle all the time and have a well rounded line up. This is probably a bit outdated since I only watched them last year but the kids that impressed me were Noah Alvares and Hreschuk.

Woul dyou happen to have roster? I cant seem to find one? Thanks for the info...

 

[Capitals03]

Woul dyou happen to have roster? I cant seem to find one? Thanks for the info...

#	Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PPG	SHG	PEN	PIM	SUSP
1	ARVEGA HOVSEPYAN #97	Jr. Kings	6	7	4	11	2	0	1	2	0
2	PAUL MINNEHAN #3	Jr. Kings	6	3	7	10	0	0	2	4	0
3	TY MURCHISON #76	Jr. Kings	6	1	7	8	0	0	0	0	0
4	NOAH ALVAREZ #88	Jr. Kings	6	3	4	7	0	0	5	10	0
5	AIDAN HRESCHUK #17	Jr. Kings	5	3	4	7	2	0	4	16	0
6	PARKER MURRAY #27	Jr. Kings	6	3	4	7	0	0	1	2	0
7	EAN SOMOZA #98	Jr. Kings	6	4	1	5	1	0	3	6	0
8	ANDRE GASSEAU #91	Jr. Kings	6	2	1	3	0	0	8	24	0
9	BLAKE SIMONS #93	Jr. Kings	6	2	1	3	0	0	2	4	0
10	KENNETH BAEK #65	Jr. Kings	6	0	3	3	0	0	1	2	0
11	BRANDON PLAGA #21	Jr. Kings	6	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
12	RILEY RUH #9	Jr. Kings	6	1	0	1	0	0	4	16	0
13	KYLE BAEK #5	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
14	JORDAN BRISSON #48	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	1	2	0
15	NIKOLAS PANAMENO #77	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	2	4	0
16	ALEXANDER BONROUHI #34	Jr. K

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Maddox]

#	Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PPG	SHG	PEN	PIM	SUSP
1	ARVEGA HOVSEPYAN #97	Jr. Kings	6	7	4	11	2	0	1	2	0
2	PAUL MINNEHAN #3	Jr. Kings	6	3	7	10	0	0	2	4	0
3	TY MURCHISON #76	Jr. Kings	6	1	7	8	0	0	0	0	0
4	NOAH ALVAREZ #88	Jr. Kings	6	3	4	7	0	0	5	10	0
5	AIDAN HRESCHUK #17	Jr. Kings	5	3	4	7	2	0	4	16	0
6	PARKER MURRAY #27	Jr. Kings	6	3	4	7	0	0	1	2	0
7	EAN SOMOZA #98	Jr. Kings	6	4	1	5	1	0	3	6	0
8	ANDRE GASSEAU #91	Jr. Kings	6	2	1	3	0	0	8	24	0
9	BLAKE SIMONS #93	Jr. Kings	6	2	1	3	0	0	2	4	0
10	KENNETH BAEK #65	Jr. Kings	6	0	3	3	0	0	1	2	0
11	BRANDON PLAGA #21	Jr. Kings	6	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0
12	RILEY RUH #9	Jr. Kings	6	1	0	1	0	0	4	16	0
13	KYLE BAEK #5	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
14	JORDAN BRISSON #48	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	1	2	0
15	NIKOLAS PANAMENO #77	Jr. Kings	6	0	1	1	0	0	2	4	0
16	ALEXANDER BONROUHI #34	Jr. K

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Thanks!

 

[Capitals03]

I was at the Rocky Mountain Tournament , for too long. I watched almost every team play.
were their standout outs yes.

Could I write 12 pages of info. yes

From a team perspective here is who did well.

LA Kings ( most will go USHL - College way)
Airdrie( did well- They will have at least 7 in WHL draft.
Delta ( Even thou lost to Airdrie) in Bronze
OHA Edmonton
NAX

Who left with ( what happened !!!! )
Yale
Rink lost last 2 games outscored 5-10

* one little note all games were on standard ice but finals and 3 others these were on Olympic ice.
The Olympic ice looked huge. I think this helped the kings based on the speed and Hockey style.

* Alot of players had goals and points against weaker teams. I tried the watch the top 8 as much as possible. Also I noted when players took bad penalties for no reason. Some cost teams games.


Forwards who stood out.

Hovsepyan
Hoekstra
Guenther
Savoie
Funk
Tschigerl

Defense

Hreschuk (One of 3 on west coast whom I mentioned before)
Lambos ( Could play midget AAA now ) very smart
Thorton ( All around good player) knows where to shoot the puck
Shugrue ( No fear,(gets under the skin)
Lajoie ( Smart, and controls puck , very confident )

Goalies

Alot of goalies stood on their heads and won games, and kept teams in.
I dont think they got the kudos they deserved.
Some of the weaker teams , the goalies were getting peppered left and right and very gave up.


KINGS Bonrouhi ( was their only goalie) no back up. played every min.
NAX both goalies played great.
ND Guignard -played great
POE Hamming stopping 88 of 97


What I also saw was players who were ranked high on other web sites exposed.
No I will not name names, but it was a dear in headlights, and wanted to either just hit or get rid of the puck as fast as possible.
I did see one player take his stick and tomahawk another player in the head, in front of 75 scouts,agents, organizations. BTW the kid that got hit, was ok. and finshed the game.


Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey ( yes that agent) His son plays with Kings.
I saw him talk with 3 players at this tournament.
Which is a golden ticket IMO
Lots of agents from at least 7 different organizations.

Next will be Med Hat, but I do not think the Scout turnout will be as high.
If you are going to St Georges ( 40k) per year odds are your going to College.

 

[cneely]

Connor Roulette (2003, Winnipeg Hawks AAA Bantam) is a buddy's son. I pulled up something interesting from Elite Prospects today about his first 14 games in the league (49 points). In the history of the league, 2 guys have scored at a higher PPG clip, Jonathon Toews and Nolan Patrick.

 

[Hotwheels]

I was at the Rocky Mountain Tournament , for too long. I watched almost every team play.
were their standout outs yes.

Could I write 12 pages of info. yes

From a team perspective here is who did well.

LA Kings ( most will go USHL - College way)
Airdrie( did well- They will have at least 7 in WHL draft.
Delta ( Even thou lost to Airdrie) in Bronze
OHA Edmonton
NAX

Who left with ( what happened !!!! )
Yale
Rink lost last 2 games outscored 5-10

* one little note all games were on standard ice but finals and 3 others these were on Olympic ice.
The Olympic ice looked huge. I think this helped the kings based on the speed and Hockey style.

* Alot of players had goals and points against weaker teams. I tried the watch the top 8 as much as possible. Also I noted when players took bad penalties for no reason. Some cost teams games.


Forwards who stood out.

Hovsepyan
Hoekstra
Guenther
Savoie
Funk
Tschigerl

Defense

Hreschuk (One of 3 on west coast whom I mentioned before)
Lambos ( Could play midget AAA now ) very smart
Thorton ( All around good player) knows where to shoot the puck
Shugrue ( No fear,(gets under the skin)
Lajoie ( Smart, and controls puck , very confident )

Goalies

Alot of goalies stood on their heads and won games, and kept teams in.
I dont think they got the kudos they deserved.
Some of the weaker teams , the goalies were getting peppered left and right and very gave up.


KINGS Bonrouhi ( was their only goalie) no back up. played every min.
NAX both goalies played great.
ND Guignard -played great
POE Hamming stopping 88 of 97


What I also saw was players who were ranked high on other web sites exposed.
No I will not name names, but it was a dear in headlights, and wanted to either just hit or get rid of the puck as fast as possible.
I did see one player take his stick and tomahawk another player in the head, in front of 75 scouts,agents, organizations. BTW the kid that got hit, was ok. and finshed the game.


Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey ( yes that agent) His son plays with Kings.
I saw him talk with 3 players at this tournament.
Which is a golden ticket IMO
Lots of agents from at least 7 different organizations.

Next will be Med Hat, but I do not think the Scout turnout will be as high.
If you are going to St Georges ( 40k) per year odds are your going to College.

Love reading your post's. Any thoughts on Noah Dorey or Isaac Thomas from OHA Penticton?

 

[Hotwheels]

Connor Roulette (2003, Winnipeg Hawks AAA Bantam) is a buddy's son. I pulled up something interesting from Elite Prospects today about his first 14 games in the league (49 points). In the history of the league, 2 guys have scored at a higher PPG clip, Jonathon Toews and Nolan Patrick.

The kid is really lighting it up!!! I like how his goals and assists are even, 25 goals and 24 assists seems pretty well rounded.

 

[Capitals03]

Love reading your post's. Any thoughts on Noah Dorey or Isaac Thomas from OHA Penticton?

Dorey first ( only seen a few times maybe 4 ) a good all around Def player ( WHL direction)
He uses his body whenever he can. He does have a hard shot( just the placement needs work )
Example on PP went high instead of low 2x that I saw. so what happens puck flies( since the short is a rocket around the boards and out. instead of trying to keep low. No deal breaker here. I would put in 4th or 5th round. Depends on what teams need Def players. He has size and skating is good. Will not back down hits well. Just needs to go after puck first then player. ( this happens alot at this age( trying to get a good hit on a player and the puck goes by.
If I were his PA. I would find a NHL player( like his style) and have him watch him on TV. DVR is great. Watch scenarios, I like him better , he does put up assists which for a Def player is high marks.

Thomas ( I have not watched him enough, to make a fair comment)

 

[Hotwheels]

Dorey first ( only seen a few times maybe 4 ) a good all around Def player ( WHL direction)
He uses his body whenever he can. He does have a hard shot( just the placement needs work )
Example on PP went high instead of low 2x that I saw. so what happens puck flies( since the short is a rocket around the boards and out. instead of trying to keep low. No deal breaker here. I would put in 4th or 5th round. Depends on what teams need Def players. He has size and skating is good. Will not back down hits well. Just needs to go after puck first then player. ( this happens alot at this age( trying to get a good hit on a player and the puck goes by.
If I were his PA. I would find a NHL player( like his style) and have him watch him on TV. DVR is great. Watch scenarios, I like him better , he does put up assists which for a Def player is high marks.

Thomas ( I have not watched him enough, to make a fair comment)

Great analysis considering you have only watched Dorey a few times. The few times I have watched him play over the last few years he sure has come a long way with controlling his emotions when he gets frustrated or pissed at someone and retaliating. His skating also continues to improve from year to year. As for his high shots I think he either needs to change his curve or be conscious about where on his blade he is shooting the puck from. On another note he has scored some beauty goals top corner from the point on two occasions that I saw so while it may not be the right play, it may very well be the reason he is shooting high?

 

[Maddox]

What I also saw was players who were ranked high on other web sites exposed.
No I will not name names, but it was a dear in headlights, and wanted to either just hit or get rid of the puck as fast as possible.
I did see one player take his stick and tomahawk another player in the head, in front of 75 scouts,agents, organizations. BTW the kid that got hit, was ok. and finshed the game.

Although I enjoyed your whole write up, this part to me is what strikes the most. I was there all weekend as well and it is amazing how far off some kids are ranked compared to reality!

 

[Hotwheels]

Although I enjoyed your whole write up, this part to me is what strikes the most. I was there all weekend as well and it is amazing how far off some kids are ranked compared to reality!

Well it just goes to show you that if you tomahawk the right people you can get moved to the top!!! LOL (sorry couldn't resist. Not funny for the player that made that impression in front of all those scouts and agents or the player the received it.)
On another note I did notice a goalie from your area, Lochlan Gordon has a write up on thescoutingnews.com. I am unsure of what the write up says because you have to subscribe to the site which of course I wouldn't do unless they had a piece about how great I am of course!!
Has there been any consensus as to which website does the most, truthful, in depth and best ranking of 03's for the draft?

 

[Maddox]

Well it just goes to show you that if you tomahawk the right people you can get moved to the top!!! LOL (sorry couldn't resist. Not funny for the player that made that impression in front of all those scouts and agents or the player the received it.)
On another note I did notice a goalie from your area, Lochlan Gordon has a write up on thescoutingnews.com. I am unsure of what the write up says because you have to subscribe to the site which of course I wouldn't do unless they had a piece about how great I am of course!!
Has there been any consensus as to which website does the most, truthful, in depth and best ranking of 03's for the draft?

You do have to pay for most of them, but in my opinion the Draftgeek (part of dubnetwork) has the most accurate rankings and doesn't seem to be influenced by a few contributing factors as others are. Sully is a scout that is at tons of games and tourneys and seems to evaluate and rank fairly.

 

[Maddox]

Well it just goes to show you that if you tomahawk the right people you can get moved to the top!!! LOL (sorry couldn't resist. Not funny for the player that made that impression in front of all those scouts and agents or the player the received it.)
On another note I did notice a goalie from your area, Lochlan Gordon has a write up on thescoutingnews.com. I am unsure of what the write up says because you have to subscribe to the site which of course I wouldn't do unless they had a piece about how great I am of course!!
Has there been any consensus as to which website does the most, truthful, in depth and best ranking of 03's for the draft?

As for the write up on Gordon, I have seen the one article that had" 64 reasons why Gordon is a legit first round pick....." It was a good point form read on a kid that is holding his own in net. There was another 1500 word article on him as well by the scouting news, but i haven't seen that one yet.
Loch Gordon had a hell of a weekend in Calgary, playing five of the six games including the final. Shots were 26/26 going into the third and NAX had a 4-1 lead. Sadly, NAX came out a little too confident and LA was able to feed off of that. A tie by the end of the third 4-4. A 12 min OT period where Loch Gordon saw 17 shots and NAX only had 3. He owned the third. A loss in a shootout for NAX, a tough lesson to learn. NAX has some great (young) coaches and LA was coached by Turcotte. I think the NAX staff and team will develop from this in my opinion. LA is a great team, they fought hard and deserved the win. But I will say that NAX played two awesome periods and showed that they are a force, now they just have to play a full 60 and not give games away!

 

[Capitals03]

You do have to pay for most of them, but in my opinion the Draftgeek (part of dubnetwork) has the most accurate rankings and doesn't seem to be influenced by a few contributing factors as others are. Sully is a scout that is at tons of games and tourneys and seems to evaluate and rank fairly.

You really can not go by the rankings, of these sites. I can explain .

Every team needs different players for different draft years,
after they ( scouts for each team) attend many games and many tournaments. (They are looked at by different scouts by the same organization. ) Royals may have 3 scouts at one tournament, to get a overall look see.
So now its March 2018 and all the teams start meeting about the draft.

They rank all the forwards in one excel sheet, rank all the def in on excel, and same with goalies. So you have ( the Giants for example) and they picked 8F, 4D & 1Goalie ( in the 2017 draft. this year they might want a few more Def players and Goalies. Then once one is picked they cross the names off, and go to the next one.

So if the top ranked WEHP,Draft geek, Scouting, North America, etc has 8 forwards then the 9 th is a Def.
They have 5th pick (for example) they would take the 5th ( but top Def player) over 3 or 4 other Forwards.

It really depends on each teams needs and where they get to draft. ( I dont have the stats ( not sure if a Goalie has ever gone # 1 or # 2 )

They will also consider if the player is NCAA bound or if he will go to that cities team. A player may be picked higher then the ranking based on that player will go to that team. No team wants to waste a Top 1st or 2nd round , if they will not sign.

Kalen Szeto ( 2017 draft) was going to NCAA, he was drafted in the 6th round. If he would have committed to a team, he would have gone 1st,2nd or 3rd. So that also plays a factor.
Trevor Wong will get drafted, but not as high as he would have ,if he did not commit to U of Denver.

If a player ranked 18 says he will go to Swift Current, and Swift Current has the 9th pick. They will take a sure thing over who is a better player , but since he has expressed he will not go to SC.

I hope that makes sense. So just because the ranking sites have certain players ranked high does not mean anything.

Around December players will start getting emails ( questionnaires) about 15 questions, phone calls, and meetings. The teams will ask, "Hello John if our team drafts you will you sign ?"

BTW Both NAX goalies are very good.

 

[Hotwheels]

As for the write up on Gordon, I have seen the one article that had" 64 reasons why Gordon is a legit first round pick....." It was a good point form read on a kid that is holding his own in net. There was another 1500 word article on him as well by the scouting news, but i haven't seen that one yet.
Loch Gordon had a hell of a weekend in Calgary, playing five of the six games including the final. Shots were 26/26 going into the third and NAX had a 4-1 lead. Sadly, NAX came out a little too confident and LA was able to feed off of that. A tie by the end of the third 4-4. A 12 min OT period where Loch Gordon saw 17 shots and NAX only had 3. He owned the third. A loss in a shootout for NAX, a tough lesson to learn. NAX has some great (young) coaches and LA was coached by Turcotte. I think the NAX staff and team will develop from this in my opinion. LA is a great team, they fought hard and deserved the win. But I will say that NAX played two awesome periods and showed that they are a force, now they just have to play a full 60 and not give games away!

Pretty exciting stuff, some real "feel good" stuff going on for Gordon and his family needless to say it is also well deserved. By the sounds of it he couldn't have done anymore than he did and he also couldn't have had a better audience with all the scouts and agents there.
Do you know if Gordon is leaning towards the WHL or NCAA path?

 

[Hotwheels]

You really can not go by the rankings, of these sites. I can explain .

Every team needs different players for different draft years,
after they ( scouts for each team) attend many games and many tournaments. (They are looked at by different scouts by the same organization. ) Royals may have 3 scouts at one tournament, to get a overall look see.
So now its March 2018 and all the teams start meeting about the draft.

They rank all the forwards in one excel sheet, rank all the def in on excel, and same with goalies. So you have ( the Giants for example) and they picked 8F, 4D & 1Goalie ( in the 2017 draft. this year they might want a few more Def players and Goalies. Then once one is picked they cross the names off, and go to the next one.

So if the top ranked WEHP,Draft geek, Scouting, North America, etc has 8 forwards then the 9 th is a Def.
They have 5th pick (for example) they would take the 5th ( but top Def player) over 3 or 4 other Forwards.

It really depends on each teams needs and where they get to draft. ( I dont have the stats ( not sure if a Goalie has ever gone # 1 or # 2 )

They will also consider if the player is NCAA bound or if he will go to that cities team. A player may be picked higher then the ranking based on that player will go to that team. No team wants to waste a Top 1st or 2nd round , if they will not sign.

Kalen Szeto ( 2017 draft) was going to NCAA, he was drafted in the 6th round. If he would have committed to a team, he would have gone 1st,2nd or 3rd. So that also plays a factor.
Trevor Wong will get drafted, but not as high as he would have ,if he did not commit to U of Denver.

If a player ranked 18 says he will go to Swift Current, and Swift Current has the 9th pick. They will take a sure thing over who is a better player , but since he has expressed he will not go to SC.

I hope that makes sense. So just because the ranking sites have certain players ranked high does not mean anything.

Around December players will start getting emails ( questionnaires) about 15 questions, phone calls, and meetings. The teams will ask, "Hello John if our team drafts you will you sign ?"

BTW Both NAX goalies are very good.

Yes I have heard this before. From your older post - Pat Brisson talking to players is definitely something special!!
I do hear of players going to the BCHL as young players and then going to the WHL within a year or two. If a player signs with a WHL team can they play in the BCHL for a year or two? Or did they make verbal agreements to go NCAA and then play in the BCHL until they were 17yrs. old and then the WHL came calling or they approached the WHL? How does all that work? Or if you sign with a WHL team do they just play Major Midget until they are ready to make the jump? Again how does all that work?
I have heard a few parents say that once player's go to NCAA they quite often never really come back except to visit. They meet a girl, business & work connections, offered jobs in the US etc. Not a bad thing for the player that's for sure if you can secure a good job etc. but it seemed to me the parent's weren't to fond of the idea. LOL My friends son who played NCAA Div.1 at U of Northern Michigan is back in his hometown of Port Alberni.