Why do some prospects choose the NCAA?

Meichel Kane

My Name Is
Jun 6, 2006
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I think you underestimate the ties to college and college sports most American athletes have.Fast-tracking to the NHL isn't the only consideration.

Yeah, if I'm a 15-year-old kid from New York I'm not thinking about moving to Canada to get to the NHL as fast as possible.
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
Going the NCAA route does NOT mean giving up on being a professional hockey player.

Ooh, isn't this fun?

If the average NHLer plays 5 seasons, why throw away 2 or 3 of them by being in school. You can do the school AFTER you are done your NHL career.

Is that too difficult for you to get?
 

wedge

Registered User
Oct 4, 2004
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the ones going to the NCAA are probably the bright ones. "If it's not working, then at least I'll already have a few years of school in a good university". Plus, going to university at 25 BEFORE a failed hockey career is a lot easier than going there AFTER a failed career. No family, no regrets...

If my 5-years old son ever gets the opportunity to choose, I hope he's going to take the NCAA (I don't think it's going to happen as he's not good at all).
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
Most of the responses make "some sense". There's more to life than hockey, and if kids want to play in the NCAA, what's it to you?

I don't mind if a kid wants to play in the NCAA, that is fine. The point is, if the kid wants to be in the NHL, going the NCAA route seems to be the wrong way to do it.
 

zjh

@ZenonHerasymiuk
Jan 24, 2011
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The CHL has a scholarship program. Any player that is serious about becoming a pro hockey play will play in the CHL. Some players have the opportunity to play Major Junior but play junior A instead in search of a scholarship to the NCAA. If I am a young kid I go to the CHL to play against the best players, have a pro like schedule, have the best coaches and give myself the best chance to go pro. If it doesn't pan out I have tuition and books paid for to any Canadian University for every year I play. What benefits does the NCAA give? Well you don't really need an education to be a hockey player. You get a headstart at your education while at the sametime hindering your potential chances to get the best exposure and competition needed for you to go pro. To me the decision is easy.
 

Bear of Bad News

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Sep 27, 2005
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I don't mind if a kid wants to play in the NCAA, that is fine. The point is, if the kid wants to be in the NHL, going the NCAA route seems to be the wrong way to do it.

And yet, a lot of NHL players come from the NCAA, so it seems like a "right way" to do it.
 

LWnumber09

Registered User
Jun 28, 2010
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If the average NHLer plays 5 seasons, why throw away 2 or 3 of them by being in school. You can do the school AFTER you are done your NHL career.

Is that too difficult for you to get?

See, here's the thing, if they want to do that...let them...why the hell do you care? It really bothers you that much? :laugh:
 

Bear of Bad News

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Sep 27, 2005
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If the average NHLer plays 5 seasons, why throw away 2 or 3 of them by being in school. You can do the school AFTER you are done your NHL career.

Is that too difficult for you to get?

And who's to say that the NCAA player doesn't make it up on the back end? Unless you've got a study that shows that the average NCAA player has an NHL career 2-3 years shorter than average, then you're just making this up.

Is that too difficult for you to get?
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
And yet, a lot of NHL players come from the NCAA, so it seems like a "right way" to do it.

Not sure you're getting it.

You are American, so I understand Americans have strong ties to the NCAA. Fine. That is different from the Canadian perspective.

But, the point is, going to school at age 20 and 21 - when you could be playing in the NHL - is blowing two years of your NHL career. You can ALWAYS go to school after the pro career. You will never get those early 20s years back to play more pro hockey.
 

saillias

Registered User
Sep 6, 2004
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Big (irrational) pressure in USA that you basically have to go to college to be anything. Plus the big hype around the whole "college experience". These kids feel they have to do it. Even though they, like most college students are just wasting their time.
 

Bear of Bad News

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Sep 27, 2005
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Not sure you're getting it.

You are American, so I understand Americans have strong ties to the NCAA. Fine. That is different from the Canadian perspective.

But, the point is, going to school at age 20 and 21 - when you could be playing in the NHL - is blowing two years of your NHL career. You can ALWAYS go to school after the pro career. You will never get those early 20s years back to play more pro hockey.

Again, you asked why some players go to the NCAA. Do you want honest answers, or to be placated?

You certainly don't have to make that choice yourself, but people are telling you why some players "waste their time" (as you try to lead the conversation in that direction).

I most certainly "get it". And until you present your study that shows that NCAA players blow two years of their NHL career, you're just making **** up.
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
And who's to say that the NCAA player doesn't make it up on the back end? Unless you've got a study that shows that the average NCAA player has an NHL career 2-3 years shorter than average, then you're just making this up.

Is that too difficult for you to get?

On the back end? You mean in their 40s? You can't recapture lost youth - once your playing career is over, it is over - there is no making up a couple of years of your youth that you could have played in the NHL but didn't.

But, the American desire to be part of the NCAA is the answer. That is the only reason I can see to play NCAA hockey.
 

Tavaresmagicalplay*

Guest
The thing is, you are losing two, three or four years of your pro career to go the NCAA route. Your pro hockey window is very limited, you can always get your education once you are done.

It is like backwards priorities. Are kids getting bad advice? Sounds like it to me.
I think you're arguing that players are making the choice between NCAA and the NHL. Most of the time that's not the case. Most of the time it's a choice between junior or the AHL and NCAA. In the case of guys like JVR or Blake Wheeler it's just a case of not needing the money and liking it in college.
 

Bear of Bad News

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On the back end? You mean in their 40s? You can't recapture lost youth - once your playing career is over, it is over - there is no making up a couple of years of your youth that you could have played in the NHL but didn't.

No, I don't mean in their 40s.

You said that the average NHL career is five years long. Taking you at your word, at what point are you expecting players to be graduating for them to be playing (on average) into their 40s? Who's playing NCAA hockey until they're 38?

Are you just having fun with us?
 

Danish Pastry

this is dream!
Jan 3, 2009
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also many of those players are getting EXPENSIVE educations on scholarship so its essentially free... also the percentage of players who actually make it to the pros is small most players are going to get into the nhl as 3rd 4th liners and most of those guys really dont start in the league i would guess would be when they are around 22-24...

also if you are a great player teams will ask you to give up your college years to go pro so if they are good enough some will still go...

got no problem with players going the college route nothing says the chl is the only way to make it...
 

Ogopogo*

Guest
No, I don't mean in their 40s.

You said that the average NHL career is five years long. Taking you at your word, at what point are you expecting players to be graduating for them to be playing (on average) into their 40s? Who's playing NCAA hockey until they're 38?

Are you just having fun with us?

Seriously, when you're done, you're done. You can't just magically make up two lost years. Who cares if that is age 27, 29 or 46.

Spending two years of your physical prime outside of the NHL doesn't make sense to me. To an American - based on this thread - being part of the NCAA in your early 20s is an important thing so, I understand that. But, if the NHL is your goal, going the NCAA route instead of the CHL makes no sense to me.

Pretty simple stuff, not sure why it is so tough for people to get it.
 

Vagrant

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It seems like nobody has broached the obvious issue being that the NCAA, while different, serves to develop a player just as completely as does the CHL. For the best of the best, both the CHL and NCAA are just stop overs for NHL careers and it becomes a matter of comfort and of formality. Players that are locks to be 1st round picks usually only stay in school for a year or two, which is comparable to how long a player stays in the CHL. The difference being that after your 20 year old season in the CHL, you're forced out to either give up your hockey dream or you turn professional. In the NCAA, you still have a year or two of eligibility to burn depending upon when you started. AND when you finish, since you are doing your university studies concurrently with your hockey, you'll have a degree from a highly prestigious university in most cases to show for it. Ivy league schools make the most sense, obviously. When most CHL players flame out, they're usually going to attend inferior universities in Canada due to proximity to them and the chance to continue playing hockey. That is nowhere NEAR the quality of an education that NCAA players leave with and plus they're YEARS behind the NCAA players in their educational pursuits.

And again, I can't belabor this point enough, I think the NCAA does a far better job in rounding out a player than the CHL does. In the CHL, offensive games flourish. In the NCAA, systematic hockey and defensive play rule the day. I think that is why the US is producing more of your conventional defensive first prospects and players. The hard nosed style of playing with 22-23 year old guys as a 17-18 year old player is a huge test.
 

Congo

Registered User
Sep 22, 2007
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But, the point is, going to school at age 20 and 21 - when you could be playing in the NHL - is blowing two years of your NHL career. You can ALWAYS go to school after the pro career. You will never get those early 20s years back to play more pro hockey.

And if hockey doesn't work out then you have to do 4 years where you don't have a job. And if you get drafted and sign a contract and still don't make it then the CHL doesn't pay for your education. So that means you then have 4 years where you don't have a job, never really had a well paying job, and need to pay for 4 years of school.

There's pros and cons to both routes.
 

AfroThunder396

[citation needed]
Jan 8, 2006
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I don't mind if a kid wants to play in the NCAA, that is fine. The point is, if the kid wants to be in the NHL, going the NCAA route seems to be the wrong way to do it.

You're implying that all prospects are completely developed and able to contribute at the NHL level when they're 21 years old.
 

Powdered Toast Man

Is he a ham?
Nov 22, 2005
13,852
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Prospects go the NCAA route so they can educate themselves and hopefully avoid becoming the guy who makes a ridiculously ignorant argument such as this one.
 

Bear of Bad News

Your Third or Fourth Favorite HFBoards Admin
Sep 27, 2005
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Seriously, when you're done, you're done. You can't just magically make up two lost years. Who cares if that is age 27, 29 or 46.

Spending two years of your physical prime outside of the NHL doesn't make sense to me. To an American - based on this thread - being part of the NCAA in your early 20s is an important thing so, I understand that. But, if the NHL is your goal, going the NCAA route instead of the CHL makes no sense.

Pretty simple stuff, not sure why it is so tough for people to get it.

Okay, enjoy your thread.

It's obvious to me that you're here to prosthelytize (maybe I just don't "get it"), but if you're generally here to get answers, I hope that you get them.
 

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