Your Dreams Don't Die on June 1
By Scott Lowe - DMVProspects.comMay 26 has come and gone.
That was signing day, or should I say “re-signing day” for Tier 1 teams in our affiliate district, the PVAHA; the day when Tier 1 teams were permitted to offer contracts to players who played in their organizations last season.
Next up is the actual signing day, June 1. That’s when contracts can be offered by Tier 1 teams to new players from other programs, and you can cut the tension with a knife.
The panic in the air is palpable. It grows daily among local players and parents.
And while that is understandable, no matter what happens it’s literally not life and death and not the end of any player’s career if he or she doesn’t earn a spot on the team of his or her choice at age 15, 16 or 17.
First, consider this.
There are two Tier 1 programs in the PVAHA – the Washington Little Caps and Team Maryland. A third team that is close by, the Skipjacks in York, Pa., is actually in the Atlantic District, which has a similar signing policy going into effect starting June 1.
My son played for Team Maryland 18U four years ago. At no point during that season did we have a full roster, and I know for a fact that our coach would have added players at any point before January 1 – not just any players, mind you, but players he was sure were capable of playing at that level.
In the years since I know that even under normal circumstances when WLC and TM have held actual tryouts in April, they traditionally do not fill their rosters completely immediately after tryouts. They usually have some bubble kids who are allowed to continue skating with their teams to see how they develop while they continue to look for players who they can add to their rosters and help them be successful.
If these teams aren’t filling their rosters this early in a normal year, do you really think they are going to fill them this year in the midst of all the COVID craziness?
Tier 1 coaches don’t take building their rosters lightly, so unless they absolutely are convinced a player can help their team, they are going to wait and see if they can get the potential players they aren’t sure about on the ice in a true tryout situation.
To back that up, all you have to do is jump on TM’s website and read this: “We do not anticipate any of our rosters being filled during these two windows and are committed to having supplemental on-ice tryouts to fill out our teams with the best players in the region.”
So if you don’t get a contract on June 1, it’s hardly time to panic.
Give it a day or two and then reach out to let the coaches of the teams you hope to play for know that you are still very much interested and ask them to keep you in mind. If a particular team is your No. 1 choice, make that clear to them while also telling them that you will continue to explore other potential options. Make them aware that you will be continuing to train off the ice and look forward to being able to show them what you can do during on-ice tryouts soon.
Of course, at that point it is on you to uphold your end of the bargain. Maintain your off-ice strength training regimen, keep up your cardio and work on your shooting and skills. If you need help with any of this you can find more than 30 helpful articles and video lessons – as well as a ton of other information and resources – in the Hockey Prospect Help Desk members area of our website.
Second, understand that no matter what happens today, tomorrow, June 1 or July 25 as far as where you ultimately end up playing, it will not guarantee you anything as far as achieving your long-term hockey goals.
If you don’t make the local Tier 1 team, it’s not by any means the end of the road for you. And if you do make the cut, you still have to be willing to make the commitment to the sport on and off the ice necessary to continue moving up the developmental ladder and progressing toward junior and college hockey. Playing AAA hockey doesn’t guarantee you anything other than perhaps a little ego boost.
No matter the level at which you play, the burden is on the player to dedicate the time and effort necessary – while being coachable and hungry to improve on a daily basis – to prove that he or she is ready to advance to whatever the next level may be.
There are so many different pathways to that lead to junior and NCAA-level hockey – and still others that lead to great academic and hockey opportunities at the ACHA or CHF level – that it isn’t worth looking back or stressing out over what might have been. If you make the most of whatever situation and opportunity is presented to you and do everything in your power to prove that you are capable, ultimately you will be a better person and player with plenty of great opportunities from which to choose.
When my son was going into his second year of 16U, both local Tier 1 teams made him offers. One of the local coaches, who is no longer coaching in our area, told my son if he stayed with his AA team at Howard and didn’t play for his team, that his hockey career essentially would be over. Oh, and he gave him 24 hours to make up his mind.
To my son’s credit, he walked out of that meeting and said that while he liked the coach – with whom he had trained quite a bit during the previous year – he didn’t appreciate what the coach said or how he was treated in that meeting. My son went back to tryouts the next day and kept playing hard, but told the coach he needed more time to make his decision.
Despite the pressure to make an immediate decision, the offer was not pulled. Ultimately Devin chose to stay with a Howard AA team that he knew he would captain and that would be playing in a high-level showcase league against a bunch of AAA teams in New England. The team he turned down was playing at the AAA “American” level.
“My team is going to be better. I’m going to be captain, and we will probably go to Nationals again. We are playing as good of a schedule as they are, and it will be a lot cheaper.”
While in my heart I may have thought it was time for him to move up to Tier 1, he made the decision and backed it up with solid reasoning. I knew he loved his teammates and coaches and would make the most of his situation.
Fast forward and he played one more year of AA then captained Team Maryland’s 18U AAA team in his age-out year, led the AYHL in scoring, was an ECEL All-Star and got drafted in the NCDC and NAHL. After two years playing in the NCDC he just finished up his freshman year playing NCAA Division III hockey for Suffolk University in Boston.
Another local player who I have worked closely with NEVER made the jump to Tier 1. He played AA for Montgomery through his first year of 18U then made the leap to juniors. After two years playing in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL), where he was an all-star and all-academic selection, he recently was accepted to a NESCAC school and told that he would have a spot on their highly ranked hockey team’s roster with a chance to work his way up.
All he wanted was a chance at that type of high-ranking academic institution. Mission accomplished.
Another Howard AA product made his commitment to play at the NCAA Division III level for one of the SUNY schools this year. He played his entire career with the Huskies before playing two seasons at the USPHL Premier level for a team in Massachusetts and recently making his college commitment.
He was a teammate of my son’s on that 16U Howard team along with another player who played his 15- and 16U seasons for the Huskies AFTER playing at the Tier 1 level for a program that just wasn’t as strong and didn’t provide the same exposure opportunities. That player went to prep school for two years after leaving Howard’s program, spent time in the NAHL and EHL and recently made his college commitment.
That’s three players from the same local 16U AA hockey team that will be playing NCAA hockey this coming season and a fourth from another area AA club.
Another local kid played with Howard and the Tomorrow’s Ice program through 15U AA, after which he was invited to USA Hockey National Camp before moving up to the AAA level this past year, earning a trip to the AYHL All-Star Game, and signing to play Tier 1 hockey in Boston for the upcoming season as a first-year 18U.
And on the other side of the river, a player who played through 16U with Ashburn’s nationally ranked AA program was drafted in the NCDC the same year as my son. He played two years in that league, got a few games in the USHL and then scored 31 points in the BCHL, one of the top junior leagues in North America, this past season. He is scheduled to matriculate at RPI, where he will play NCAA Division I hockey, this coming fall.
The pathways to NCAA hockey are almost endless and dependent upon each individual’s situation. If you have what it takes inside of you to make the most of whatever opportunity you are presented, you have a chance. If you make sure to align yourself with good coaches who have a track record of moving players on to higher levels and a team that plays a rigorous schedule with strong and like-minded players to practice against, you will continue to get opportunities to advance.
NCAA-hockey television commentator Dave Starman is one of my favorite people in the sport. Very few people see more amateur hockey or do more to help grow the sport than he does. He also happens to be a Tier 1 youth hockey coach.
"There is no question that players at this age group are certainly responsible for their own careers," Starman wrote in a recent article discussing players moving into their mid-teenage hockey years. "Their coaches see them maybe three hours a week in practice, so what they do with the other hours in terms of stretching, rest, studying, training, etc. is up to them. Some run with the responsibility, some expect to have it handed to them. That being said, they need to be coached, taught, trained and developed."
Many times these types of situations, even though at a slightly “lower” level, can help a player develop his or her game more than playing at a higher level but in a much-reduced role. There are ways to get exposure to higher-level competition and scouts through summer training programs, our SEHL summer league and spring/summer showcase opportunities – as well as by attending select legitimate junior camps and tryouts and college prospect camps.
Be a leader on your team. Continue to put in the time and effort on the ice, off the ice and in the classroom. Be coachable and take advantage of every opportunity. Get into a great off-ice training program with a certified strength and conditioning coach. Go play against some higher-level competition in the spring and summer so you can get feedback from your play and other coaches about what you need to do to continue progressing and reach your goals.
Don’t get angry if you struggle or get feedback that you need to improve. You can’t get better without leaving your comfort zone. Instead, come back home and grind it out – be ready to get on the ice and start working on the details of your game that can carry you to that next level. And keep working off the ice to get stronger while improving your understanding of the game.
Make the most of every single opportunity that comes your way, and whatever happens on June 1 or at any later date this summer won’t matter. It will just make an even better story when you achieve your goals.