Latecomer with some more help. A lot of the advice here might come from conflicting areas or sources, but we would need to know more about your son in order to have a clear path of advice.
What's his birth year? What are his grades like? All of those play a factor in whether NCAA Division I teams will be interested in him.
Before anything else, make sure he's registered and has his grades uploaded on the official NCAA Eligibility Center portal. It'll put your son in the database for all NCAA schools to see, and it will help you in figuring out what schools he's eligible for and what he might need to upgrade, if anything. Make sure he's prepared to study too, he will need to take the SATs at least once in the next 2 years. If your son gets to a point where schools are interested in him, having a NCAA Clearing House ID and being in good standing grades wise makes a lot of difference. It might be the difference between being eligible for 8 schools vs. being eligible for 28, and the NCAA has strict GPA guidelines for athletes and teams that they have to make in order to ensure they're eligible to play.
The better his grades, the more options he leaves open for himself.
If your son is born in the 2003 age group,
playing Major Midget AAA in the BC league is fine, especially if he's going to get a lot of minutes in the top 6. The
BCHL and AJHL pull the best players from the VIJHL, KIJHL and BCMML on a regular basis. Unlike Ontario, where most elite players move up to Jr. A/B or the OHL after playing Minor Midget (which dilutes the caliber of the Major Midget league), the Minor Midget leagues in BC and Alberta are where the players who aren't quite ready for the Major Midget leagues play. The best players in the 2003-2005 age group will be playing in the Major Midget leagues out here (if they haven't gone to the CSSHL route), guys who will go onto the WHL or Jr. A eventually. There's a decent amount of kids who play Jr. B first, such as
@Jgroves above, but as long as you are playing at a level that's still tough enough to push your son and which still has a ton of scouts, you will be fine. If the team is high in the standings they might even get invited to elite Midget showcases like the Mac's Midget Tournament, which are chock full of junior, college and pro scouts.
Do not go WSHL unless you can 100% eat the cost without batting an eye, and even then only use it as a stepping stone to better leagues. The caliber of the league isn't good enough to justify the cost. Once in a blue moon they'll commit a player to the NCAA Div I level and then that player will be a role player on a poor team. That's what the best players in the league do. The odds are not good for any player either way, but you're paying more for even less in the WSHL as compared to the AJHL or BCHL, which do not have costs besides whatever your son wants to eat outside of his home/billet family, personal items and other entertainment and gas expenditures he might have.
If your son's goal is to play high-level college hockey, he will
need to likely work his way to the BCHL, AJHL or OJHL eventually.
The length of time it takes him to get there and his play when he does dictates the odds of him getting a good look at ANY college level, US or Canada. Within that,
expect growing pains as most rookies experience jumping up leagues, as Jgroves said there's a huge difference even going to Jr. B because of the age gap and systems. Unless he immediately is able to show star potential, he will likely have to earn top 6 minutes by playing hard and creating offense in a 4th, maybe 3rd, line role whenever he ends up in the Jr. A level. But as a late bloomer he might also be more intriguing for schools and junior teams who will believe they can refine him more due to his "fresh" outlook on hockey. Either way, once he reaches junior levels he will have to first show that he can produce without good linemates before he will get a look in the top 6 or on the power play.
At 5'8" your son will face an uphill battle even in today's world (
big players have to prove they can't play, small players have to prove they can). He might move around a lot as Juniors are a tough go, and you can be traded for any reason at any time. It might be his fault, it might just be that a better player was available and he was one of the best assets the team was wiling to part with, either way he should know that the only thing he can control is his own attitude and work ethic. Even if he does everything right from here on out, he might not get a good scholarship offer down south (
NCAA Div I teams have a limited number of scholarships, and only a select few will get full rides. The rest may only get half, or even none if they're walk-ons). Even if you aren't quite good enough for that level or
USports (which is heavily populated with the best of the rest of the CHL) the
ACAC (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference) and
NCAA Div III offer some high end play (think mid-high end Jr. A and the occasional WHL player for the ACAC, similar players except for the lack of CHL players for Div III) and the very best in those leagues will find lower level pro deals in Europe or North America.
To sum up, your son's development pathway should look similar to the following if he's a 2003-born turning 18 this year:
20-21: Major Midget/Jr. B -> 21-22: Jr. B/Jr. A -> 22-23: Jr. A/elite Jr. B star -> 23-24: Jr. A -> 24-25: College
He should make it a priority to develop himself enough to maintain this pathway at least, and if he overachieves then you can expedite the process a bit in certain areas. The
harsh reality is that if he wants to go to the NCAA, he cannot really afford to miss a step here.
Even for the 2nd tier leagues such as the ACAC, which still produce lower-level pro players, the best programs and teams in those leagues will largely recruit mid-high end junior players for the most scholarship dollars, and there's no guarantees for even elite Jr. B players to crack the elite squads in the ACAC.
If your son wants to eventually step into the meat grinder that is junior hockey,
you as a father have 2 responsibilities:
number 1 is to always be there for him emotionally. Cheer him on when he does well. Give him space if he's frustrated, and there's going to be a lot of that. If he needs to vent, or you notice that he might be looking for outlets, you need to just listen and let him get it out instead of passing judgment. And if he needs a kick in the ass or the hard truth, you have to be prepared to give it to him respectfully as well.
Number 2 is to always have a backup plan quietly in your back pocket because your son might be focused on the things he can control right then and there, not doubting for a second (which is fine, if kids want to dream there's nothing wrong with that). You're already off to a good start by looking for help but be prepared if the plan changes, whether for good or bad. Good junior players out in BC or the AJ will always get looks from colleges, it's just that some of them might not be your top-top choice. You can start doing all of this while your son is still playing Midget or Jr. B, so might as well get a plan of action going (such as moving fees, RESPs and other things he might need for school).
Good luck, looking forward to hearing the exploits from a proud dad on this website every so often. And you are welcome to private message me at any time if you wanna know more!
