Dear TJHN Readers,
Within minutes of the conclusion of Tuesdays North American Hockey League Draft, we began receiving emails from players and parents expressing their disappointment in the Draft results. Unfortunately when we get so many emails on a topic, I am obligated to read each one of them.
For those who may not know, I am a full time Family Adviser, and TJHN is my company’s way of giving back to the game. I work with players from Bantam age through USHL, NAHL, Canadian Junior A, Major Junior and NCAA hockey. Every year, I am fortunate to have players drafted in many leagues, and I also experience the unfortunate feelings when a player goes undrafted.
I have an experience and knowledge base derived from working with hundreds of players successes and failures over the course of many years. Fortunately I have watched them experience success much more often than have a failure. That experience has taught me many things, most of which most of you will never have to learn out of necessity but have the ability to take advantage of out of desire to understand the processes involved in getting to the next level.
The advice and commentary I offer herein is simple, and realistic. While it is very general in nature, I hope it causes the reader to examine things differently from the way they do now. Being able identify opportunity that others may not see is critical to the success of any player. Success does not happen by accident, it involves timing, knowledge, and accurate information. It also involves being willing to take risk that others will not. Chances make Champions.
The NAHL draft has become a very big deal in the eyes of players and parents. Mostly in the United States, but in some pockets of Canada and Europe as well. It is one of the top leagues in North America, and the draft should be important to the league and players who aspire to play in the league.
It is an honor to be drafted. But in no way is it an indication of who will or will not make a team. Many leagues have drafts, and every year drafted players get cut and released. Things just didn’t work out, and that’s just the harsh reality of life.
Many leagues have drafts. The NAHL is only one of them. The USHL, Major Junior and other junior leagues have drafts. Some players are selected in multiple leagues at multiple levels. Some are never selected and go on to be All Stars.
In short, being drafted is nothing more than summer bragging rights. Imagine how you would feel to be a drafted player who is later cut?! What then would you tell everyone? Blame it on the coaches, yes I know. Blame it on politics, of course. Blame it on anything other than the fact that you were not what the team was looking for, that would just be called being honest.
There are many other Tier II or Junior A teams in Canada that are every bit as good as NAHL teams. While my NAHL friends wont like that, it is true. The NAHL is a great league, but in the end, a player is not made by the league he plays in, the league is made by the teams within it, and the players on those rosters.
Every team makes mistakes when tendering, drafting or signing players. Every coach in the world will admit to making mistakes with players. Any coach who doesn’t had better have a half dozen Stanley Cup rings, and even then it is likely they would say they made mistakes on players.
The bottom line is easy to find. If you want to prove a team wrong, then go somewhere and do it. Stop the whining, and the oh poor me attitude. Go north to Canada. Sorry to my friends at USA Hockey.
In the end the set of initials on any league makes no difference. The top players in every league will get the attention of scouts. It is then up to the scouts to project where a player will fit in at higher levels. Let them do their jobs, and make their job hard for them by tearing up what ever league you may be in.
There are good teams and bad teams in every league. Would you rather get drafted by a bad team just to be in what you think is a good league or would you rather be on a good team?
Four to six years from now, no one will remember 99% of the players in the NAHL or Junior A in Canada. That’s right, in four years or so, you will either be playing beer league or finishing up some level of college hockey. Only one percent of you will ever collect even a small paycheck at the pro level.
If you want to play college hockey, does it really matter how you get there? The goal is to simply get there and see what happens. If you get there will anyone care how you got there? No.
There are many paths to the NAHL, some are more obvious than others, some are harder, and some are easier. No two players will ever take the same exact path. No two players are exactly the same.
There are many paths to College hockey and not all of them got through the NAHL or the USHL. Most of you will not earn an NCAA D-1 scholarship, most of you will not earn an NCAA D-3 scholarship. Many will go on to great ACHA programs, and some who are in the know will choose the Canadian College options available. Yes, United States born players can choose Canadian schools.
There is a place for most players to have some level of a college hockey experience. Every players path will be different.
While being chosen for any draft is an honor, in the end every player must earn every roster spot and they must continue to earn the opportunity to play at each of the higher levels. Do not allow yourself to be sold on any one league over another. Life is about opportunity and taking advantage of opportunity when it arrives.
Focusing on what may not be there for you will likely leave you unable to see what is available for you. When you miss opportunity, it is likely to be gone when you realize you need it the most.
To those that were drafted, congratulations, you now have higher expectations to perform up to the honor of being selected. To those that were not, now is your opportunity to prove them wrong.
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
