Actually Oilers Chick the number of Canadians in the NCAA is decreasing and is a far cry from what it was 10 to 15 years ago. This year only 34 % of all incoming recruits are from Canada. There are two reasons for this. One I will explain further down, the other is simply that there are more Americans playing the game today and it is much easier to recruit from one's own backyard so to speak. Most every coach will take an American over an equally as good Canadian, simply because it is easier to do so (no visa issues to worry about, grade transfers, out of sate tuition ect ect). For a Canadian player to land a scholy, he must be better than his American counterpart that the school may also be looking at.
According to the NCAA, 40 percent of all student athletes fail to graduate (within a four year period)
Link
http://www.ncaa.org/grad_rates/2003...gregate/DI.html
I am not sure what the hockey graduation rate is because it is not listed as a separate category. This is certainly nowhere near "most" as the other poster stated but what I think he may of meant was that many NCAA alums in the NHL never did finish their degrees within four years (which is as long as a scholarship can be active). Taking a look at many former college players in the NHL, I would have to agree with this statement.
I hate to post messages here without being able to give firm evidence but sometimes you just cannot release names so if you don't believe me, I understand. I have talked to a few assistant coaches of NCAA programs (who are the primary recruiters of their respective teams) and they have told me that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit in Canada, particularly Ontario and Quebec. Quebec of course is understandable with the language barrier and all but Ontario use to be fertile ground. The Ontario pipeline is being chocked off, however. One of the recruiters told me that he doesn't waste his time in scouting 16 and 17 year old players because once those players make contact, they want more than the team is willing to give. The reason is because of the OHL.
Most Ontario prospects are drafted by the OHL ( a fifteen round draft scoops up about just every decent player out there) and they freely make their draft status known to prospective recruiters. They are always sure to tell them that the OHL will at the minimum pay for their full tuition and books and of course they or their agents (you would be surprised by just how many 16 and 17 year olds are affiliated with agents today, its actually kind of sad) will say that they can of course negotiate a better deal since their OHL club is very high on him. As a result they demand a full or almost full ride to even consider the NCAA. Most college teams are very reluctant to give what in essence are 2nd tier players who have the chance to become decent college players when they are upperclassman but are in no way worth full scholarships right off the bat. Once the recruiter offers the standard 50 or 60% package, the lights go out and the door is shut (usually with the cry of don't let it hit you in the ass on your way out!) As this happens time after time, the recruiter gets a little jaded and sour. One of the recruiters has told me that he has drastically cut back his recruiting in Ontario because of this.
To be sure, kids are still recruited out of Ontario and the odd high end prospect is taken such as a Cogliano (though Michigan will be hold its breath until he actually arrives on campus) but for the most part the numbers coming from Ontario are at best stagnant (surprising since the number of new NCAA schools) or in most cases falling. Recruiters are getting tired of playing the games associated with recruiting kids from Ontario.
Recently Michigan State made a full court press for a young 16 year old player named Myles Applebaum, considered by many, including the NHL CSB, to be one of the top 16 year old player in Ontario. Applebaum told any OHL team that was listening that he was really impressed with the college game, loved the college atmosphere and planned on playing in the NCAA. Music to the ears of the big schools like Michigan and Michigan State. State offered him a full scholy and he gave his verbal commitment. The Kitchener Rangers took what everybody thought was a flier on the player with one of their two fifth round picks. He signed with Kitchener last week! The only good thing for Michigan State is that at least now they can bring that scholarship into play for someone else but this is just one example of what recruiting in Ontario is like today. Most of those players want big ticket rides and use the OHL as a bargaining chip in their favor.
As a result some (and I believe it is a growing number) have indeed backed off recruiting in that area and will only scout the 19 and 20 year olds who no longer have the OHL ploy in their favor.
