As an Adviser for the last thirty years, I have watched a lot of trends. From the Junior A, B, and C labeling to the Tier labeling system, and the mixture of those being used in Canada now. From the use of wood sticks to todays modern technoclogies.
Nothing has changed more though than the path to NCAA hockey. For decades, Canada ruled the NCAA development path. This was due to many factors including the number of Junior A teams in Canada. A large influencer years ago was also the number of Canadian coaches at the NCAA level. But now more coaches are American and played in leagues based in the United States.
Today though, the United States leads the way, and not by any small margin. The USHL, NAHL, NCDC, EHL and USPHL Premier dominate the NCAA commitment numbers. Canada is dwarfed by the American leagues, and that trend is not only going to continue, but will accelerate.
An example of why commitment numbers are trending down can be found in one very significant area. Scheduling.
Sheduling? Some of you are asking now, how scheduling would effect the overall picture of NCAA commitments. It is simple, and if my Canadian friends are offended by my pointing out this one particular item, then I guess sometimes the truth hurts.
Another reason Canadian NCAA commitments are falling over the years? Geography.
Why would any school pay for flights, hotels and meals to send scouts north to Canada when they can pay them gas money to drive a few hours away to watch junior hockey in the United States?
The AJHL recently announced its annual showcase dates. A showcase is great. The AJHL showcase is scheduled for September 25th to the 27th.
The NAHL showcase in Blaine Minnesota is scheduled for September 25th to 28th.
Let those dates sink in for a minute. Now ask yourself why on earth would the AJHL schedule its showcase on the same dates as the NAHL showcase?
Does anyone believe for one second that scouts are going to leave the NAHL showcase in Blaine where they can watch the top NCAA player producing Tier II league in North America, as well as hundreds of the best U18 AAA players in the country to travel to Alberta to watch the AJHL?
The BCHL showcase is October 13th through 17th. While this is a much better timed event that takes place on weekdays, it is also taking place right when the NCAA hockey season is beginning. Any NCAA programs playing games on Saturday the 12th or Sunday the 13th are not going to be going to this event, with Monday the 14th being a travel day, the best scouting will take place on one day being the 15th.
Then scouts will travel back again on the 16th to the NCDC shocase in Wayne NJ that runs the 17th to 21st. Or they wont travel to the BCHL at all because it is less expensive and less time consuming just to wait for the NCDC event in New Jersey.
Scouts for NCAA programs are the assistant coaches. Coaches cannot just take days off, at a time during the season, travel, stay in hotels, and cover all those expenses while actually doing their job of coaching.
The NCDC hit one out of the park by scheduling its Frozen Futures Showcase in Idaho Falls for October 2nd through the 4th. There are ZERO NCAA games taking place. It is all weekday games, and there are no competing events for Division One NCAA programs to attend.
The OJHL made a smart move by scheduling its showcase for September 23rd to 25th, but they wont be seeing scouts accept for on the 23rd and the morning of the 24th when everyone heads to Blaine. Had they kept the showcase in Buffalo, a lot more scouts would attend because they dont have to travel into canada this way.
It is simply baffling that people in Canadian leagues are not paying attention to what the American junior hockey leagues are doing and when they are doing it.
Some leagues still think they can schedule showcases on weekends to sell tickets. When ticket sales should be an afterthought to getting players exposure to NCAA and NHL scouts. Especially when nearly all of the Canadian teams are charging players to play. If your customer is paying, you have an obligation to provide the best product possible. Showcases are not about fans! They should be about the players!
Parents and players ask me why the EHL and USPHL Premier put so many players in NCAA hockey. These two leagues absolutely decimate all of Canadian Junior A when it comes to NCAA commitments. There are two big reasons for this.
Geography. If you want to play NCAA hockey, players need to be closer to schools so they can be scouted all year.
Showcases scheduling. The USPHL and EHL schedule showcases so NCAA scouts can attend. Morning and weekday games get the most attendance. And not one person at the league level cares if any significant number of tickets are sold.
The CCHL scheduled their event for September 14th and 15th. While its nice that it is scheduled before NCAA hockey season, it is scheduled on a Saturday and Sunday. Does the league actually believe that NCAA scouts from universities with NCAA football teams are coming on a Saturday? Do they think scouts want to spend a Sunday off in Ontario or with their family watching the NFL before their season begins?
When students are reporting to NCAA programs at the end of this month, coaches will be on campus as well. They will be busy all week until they can actually take the ice with their players.
There is a lot more that goes into NCAA scouting than parents and players would think about. There is obviously a lot more that some leagues need to think about as well.
When you want to find your path to NCAA hockey, I look forward to hearing from you.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
