With the profile analytics has taken on do you see it being a viable way for a wave of kid to break into the pro sports world? How viable a career path is it?
I'll tell you my experience - the supply of people who want to do this are far greater than the number of opportunities, so the pay likely isn't very good. With that said, someone who could demonstrate a good return on investment (somehow) could make a living, and it'd be a fun profession where you'd meet a lot of neat people.
If it's something that you had passion for, I wouldn't ever tell you not to pursue it; life's too short to be doing uninteresting work.
I'd read this thread before doing anything too seriously:
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=570990
And there are a lot of good folks to emulate. The Hockey Prospectus (and alumni) folks are good. Michael Schuckers (who posts here) is good. There are a lot of great bloggers out there. There are others posting here who do interesting (and compelling) research.
I will say this as well - there are so many more opportunities to network and meet people now (as compared to when I was looking at this in the mid-1990s). If you have good ideas, you'll get a following. It won't be easy, for sure. I'd recommend hedging your bets.
I can share more via PM if you're interested in talking further.