Ever had the chance to?

[Angler16]

Just wondering has anyone here every had the chance to make it to the nhl ?How close were you, and why didnt it work out?

 

Its always been any kids dream to make the NHL, and of course its mine. I tell people thats what i want and they laugh, i think it pushes me more. Im 14 playing select hockey for a Brampton team. How would someone go about this, through university?,through a tryout?, or just being scouted, i know i dont have the best chance probably 1 in a 1000000000000000 chance,just curiouse.

 

L.A

[Fishnwire]

Don't give up on your dreams. That said, have a back-up plan, dude. Planning on being a pro hockey player is a little like planning on winning the lotto.

[Angler16]

For sure!

[fatherof3]

good advice right there.Follow your dream but have a backup.Worked with one guy who got drafted by Detroit,got a nice signing bonus but never made the NHL.Blew his money with no backup and now works bad jobs.Have a distant cousin drafted by San Jose but didnt work out.He went on to become a lawyer.Follow your dream but keep reality in sight as well.

[motv8tr]

ok, I may not be the best one to answer this as I can barely skate I would say the best way to reach your goal, is first and foremost, practice, practice practice, work on the fundamentals, listen to your coaches and mentors. After all that, if you're good enough, you can try to get drafted I imagine, definitely go to school, so hockey scholorship would be great if you can get one, I imagine the OHL teams have walk on tryouts if you don't get drafted through regular channels. Lots of ways I imagine, but first things first, be really good at the basics and most of all, have fun!

 

Maureen

[Stoty]

I have multiple friends/family who have made it to the NHL.

 

I myself was on the right track to making it there, I was invited to play over in Finland when I was 16 (which I did), and was scouted by multiple OHL teams back here, but then I blew out my shoulder really bad. Now my doctor says I'm not allowed to play any contact sports. lol

[Rattletrap2]

Little Angler,

I don't have any first hand experience in this area, but I had a student here a couple of months back that had made it to playing for the Carolina Hurricanes for about 10 years. He was now 34 years old and going through with his Refrigeration apprenticeship. This fellow had been smart with his money and has a nice home, nice cottage, and all the boats and other toys that go along with it. He is now learning a trade and should be able to sustain his lifestyle through that.

 

The advice given already is sound. Follow your dreams, but have a back-up plan if it does not work out, or to fall back on when you get older.

 

Good luck and keep at it!

[Harrison]

What is life without dreams.. chase them for sure.

 

As for NHL, at 14 you should be going to every power skating camp you can. Trying out for Rep AA/AAA. Get on a fitness plan. Seek advice of an agent (for guidance only if you can find one nice enough).

 

Things have changed a bit since my days, but it is like any business. Get your name known, it is more what you do OFF the ice, then really what you do on it(you still have to have the fundamentals, Skating #1).

 

Most importantly, think of a career/schooling you are interested in. If NHL does not pan out, working hard and receiving offers of scholarships to US schools is a close 2nd to playing in the show.

 

Good Luck

[JohnF]

It's really tough to know what to advise any more. There were guys who played minor hockey with me who went on to the NHL but the route then was fairly predictable - play minor through Midget and even Juvenile, go to Junior ? then jump to Major Junior if your were really good. From there you were drafted and sent to the minors for reconstruction and seasoning before finally getting called up to the bigs. The guys who didn't attract pro attention either went on to get a job (and perhaps play Senior) or some were lucky enough to be offered American college scholarships to play. They got an education at least. The rest just got on with their lives.

 

Nowadays (and I really really hate the new system) if a kid isn't already on the scouts' radar by your age or a little older there's not much likelihood of making it big. The problem is that the guys who are identified young get the invitations to the high profile national teams training camps and the winningest Jr clubs, so the rich get richer while lots of late bloomers fly under the radar. I would argue that the players you see in the NHL today are not necessarily the creme de la creme, just the best of the ones who got flagged early on. We hear a few stories of late bloomers who make it as walkons to Junior teams etc and now the US college route is a good track to the NHL as well, but generally the Canadian guys who make it today have been in the spotlight since they were 14, sometimes even younger.

 

The other problem is that despite the expanded league today, the drawing area has been expanded to include the USA and Europe where the hockey powers have long since gleaned all the best ideas from our Canadian system and streamlined it into a slick system. Here in Canada we seem to finally have figured out that hours on the pond with no structure just doesn't cut it when compared to hours of very focused coaching, conditioning and skills training. I remember being amazed at the 10 year old teams from Detroit and Chicago who'd come to play against our kids. They'd bring 3 lines, 4 d's and one goalie and even the goalie would be a power skating phenom. They passed and skated rings around our kids. We'd barely hold our own in those days.

 

I don't say any of this to discourage you. Heaven knows we all wanted to be hockey players. For some, like me, the work ethic and commitment just wasn't there. I had too many other interests in life to drop everything to concentrate on hockey, and probably a large part of that was that I knew I wasn't going anywhere anyway.

 

The trick for you guys today is, in my not so humble opinion, to keep things in perspective. Follow the dream for sure, but don't lose track of where your life is going on the very real chance that hockey isn't in your future. We used to have guys who lived for hockey at the expense of everything else. Someone even made a movie about it called Paperback Hero starring Keir Dullea (sp?). They blew their chance at an education and a career for small town stardom in local hockey and then discovered that hockey is a very fickle lover. One day they just realized that hockey had dumped them by the wayside and was dating some new young stud. Try to be really objective about your future chances in hockey. If there's absolutely no doubt you're one of the elite few who can be noticed for national U-17's etc, position yourself for that by placing yourself on the teams that will give you the best combination of coaching, ice time and exposure. There's no point in playing underage on a high achieving team if you're going to ride the pine all winter. Nobody sees you as a player that way and you don't get the ice time you need to grow. On the other hand there's no point in being a big frog in a little pond. Nobody notices the star player on a team that goes out before playoffs even start. Ask a few older folks about how hard Wayne Gretzky's dad worked to get him out of Brantford into the big urban system. That was all about exposure and growth. Today's regional AAA organizations and the so-called outlaw leagues all come out of the same mindset. They're filled with players who either weren't quite good enough to make the local elite team or were the stars on the local team but didn't feel they were getting enough exposure. That's the part of the new hockey that I really don't like - making kids commit to hockey at the expense of all other pleasures, placing huge practise & travel time obligations on players and parents, and imposing often unbearable expense burdens on families. That's why I say a lot of deserving players never get the attention of the NHL scouts. They couldn't afford the price in so many different ways.

 

So, my advice is to do regular self-assessments. Ask yourself a series of questions.

• Have I the potential to be an upper elite level player?
  
• Am I playing at the right level to accomplish my goals?
  
• What do I do if hockey doesn't pan out for me?
  
• Am I willing to sacrifice a lot of other pleasures in life to concentrate on hockey?
  

 

Those are just for starters. You can probably think of lots more.

 

Hockey is supposed to be fun, and there's nothing wrong with a young Canadian dreaming of making it big in hockey. In fact, there's everything right about it, but keep it in perspective. It's only a game after all.

 

YMMV

JF

[trapshooter]

Two of my high school friends currently play in the NHL. One went the OHL->NHL route via scouting and drafting and the other took a full scholarship to a big collage in the USA. He never was drafted but got invited to a training camp and made the team. He's got a stanley cup now too (Anaheim, 2007). Good luck with your dream of playing in the NHL.

[Angler16]

It's really tough to know what to advise any more. There were guys who played minor hockey with me who went on to the NHL but the route then was fairly predictable - play minor through Midget and even Juvenile, go to Junior ? then jump to Major Junior if your were really good. From there you were drafted and sent to the minors for reconstruction and seasoning before finally getting called up to the bigs. The guys who didn't attract pro attention either went on to get a job (and perhaps play Senior) or some were lucky enough to be offered American college scholarships to play. They got an education at least. The rest just got on with their lives.

 

Nowadays (and I really really hate the new system) if a kid isn't already on the scouts' radar by your age or a little older there's not much likelihood of making it big. The problem is that the guys who are identified young get the invitations to the high profile national teams training camps and the winningest Jr clubs, so the rich get richer while lots of late bloomers fly under the radar. I would argue that the players you see in the NHL today are not necessarily the creme de la creme, just the best of the ones who got flagged early on. We hear a few stories of late bloomers who make it as walkons to Junior teams etc and now the US college route is a good track to the NHL as well, but generally the Canadian guys who make it today have been in the spotlight since they were 14, sometimes even younger.

 

The other problem is that despite the expanded league today, the drawing area has been expanded to include the USA and Europe where the hockey powers have long since gleaned all the best ideas from our Canadian system and streamlined it into a slick system. Here in Canada we seem to finally have figured out that hours on the pond with no structure just doesn't cut it when compared to hours of very focused coaching, conditioning and skills training. I remember being amazed at the 10 year old teams from Detroit and Chicago who'd come to play against our kids. They'd bring 3 lines, 4 d's and one goalie and even the goalie would be a power skating phenom. They passed and skated rings around our kids. We'd barely hold our own in those days.

 

I don't say any of this to discourage you. Heaven knows we all wanted to be hockey players. For some, like me, the work ethic and commitment just wasn't there. I had too many other interests in life to drop everything to concentrate on hockey, and probably a large part of that was that I knew I wasn't going anywhere anyway.

 

The trick for you guys today is, in my not so humble opinion, to keep things in perspective. Follow the dream for sure, but don't lose track of where your life is going on the very real chance that hockey isn't in your future. We used to have guys who lived for hockey at the expense of everything else. Someone even made a movie about it called Paperback Hero starring Keir Dullea (sp?). They blew their chance at an education and a career for small town stardom in local hockey and then discovered that hockey is a very fickle lover. One day they just realized that hockey had dumped them by the wayside and was dating some new young stud. Try to be really objective about your future chances in hockey. If there's absolutely no doubt you're one of the elite few who can be noticed for national U-17's etc, position yourself for that by placing yourself on the teams that will give you the best combination of coaching, ice time and exposure. There's no point in playing underage on a high achieving team if you're going to ride the pine all winter. Nobody sees you as a player that way and you don't get the ice time you need to grow. On the other hand there's no point in being a big frog in a little pond. Nobody notices the star player on a team that goes out before playoffs even start. Ask a few older folks about how hard Wayne Gretzky's dad worked to get him out of Brantford into the big urban system. That was all about exposure and growth. Today's regional AAA organizations and the so-called outlaw leagues all come out of the same mindset. They're filled with players who either weren't quite good enough to make the local elite team or were the stars on the local team but didn't feel they were getting enough exposure. That's the part of the new hockey that I really don't like - making kids commit to hockey at the expense of all other pleasures, placing huge practise & travel time obligations on players and parents, and imposing often unbearable expense burdens on families. That's why I say a lot of deserving players never get the attention of the NHL scouts. They couldn't afford the price in so many different ways.

 

So, my advice is to do regular self-assessments. Ask yourself a series of questions.

• Have I the potential to be an upper elite level player?
  
• Am I playing at the right level to accomplish my goals?
  
• What do I do if hockey doesn't pan out for me?
  
• Am I willing to sacrifice a lot of other pleasures in life to concentrate on hockey?
  

 

Those are just for starters. You can probably think of lots more.

 

Hockey is supposed to be fun, and there's nothing wrong with a young Canadian dreaming of making it big in hockey. In fact, there's everything right about it, but keep it in perspective. It's only a game after all.

 

YMMV

JF

I play between housleauge and ae i think i could be the A or AE team but i dont want to try out my dad coaches and i have way too much fun. I dont want to move up its too much the tavelling thats why i want to wait and devolop more skills where i am and then make the jump. OR get the scholarship.

[Stoty]

I play between housleauge and ae i think i could be the A or AE team but i dont want to try out my dad coaches and i have way too much fun. I dont want to move up its too much the tavelling thats why i want to wait and devolop more skills where i am and then make the jump. OR get the scholarship.

 

Speaking from someone who's been through this before...I dont want to come off being rude, but your draft year is when your 16 yrs old, and you HAVE to be playing at a top notch level. You WONT be looked at if your not playing at least Rep A hockey. AAA is HIGHLY recommended.

 

Yes, its a lot of travel and money, but in order to make it you have to sacrifice A LOT in order to have a shot at being looked at.

 

Hope this helps.

[johnnyb]

Wow...I know nothing on the topic, but this is some excellent feedback. NEVER give up on your dreams...and definitely have a backup plan

[anders]

Speaking from someone who's been through this before...I dont want to come off being rude, but your draft year is when your 16 yrs old, and you HAVE to be playing at a top notch level. You WONT be looked at if your not playing at least Rep A hockey. AAA is HIGHLY recommended.

 

Yes, its a lot of travel and money, but in order to make it you have to sacrifice A LOT in order to have a shot at being looked at.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I hate to admit this...but he's right (lol...just yankin ya cause your a wings fan). If you want to go far in hockey you need to put in the time...not only practice, but travelling...thats how you get noticed. And im sorry...but scouts are lookin at houseleague games. They are looking at the AA, and AAA games and tournaments. However, that is not to say that it wont happen, its jsut that is very unlikely. Go and tryout and for those teams against kids your own age...you might be pleasantly surprised, or you will now how much you have to work at your game to get to the next level.

 

Hockey unfortunalty is not a cheap sport...for the most part to succeed you need to spend the money on travelling and practice...above and beyond the others who are just playing for fun. Hockey schools, power skating, etc.

 

You did mention one thing that is extremely important. You said that you were havin fun....that is the most important thing when it comes to hockey...have fun.

[lunkerbasshunter]

yeah your best chance at making it is to be playing aaa so you can get drafted by the O, the back up plan should be to play junior a tier 11 somewhere, you can get scouted by us schools and get an education paid for or partly paid for.

 

Remember though, when it comes to hockey, you only have one chance! With school you can always go back!

 

To be the best at hockey you have to play with the best!

 

Cheers!

[Harrison]

Though not impossible, it is really tough if you do not get "mixed" with high calibre players/coaches(multiple).....(no offense to your pops).

 

I just mean the jump from select to AAA is huge. The tempo, skill and plays are that much more intense.

 

I was amazed after going through the ranks, watching my 8 yr old nephews AAA practice running the drills and plays I did in AAA when I was 12/13.

 

I have played with guys who made it, some that should have, some that shouldn't have, some still trying.

 

Of them all, IMO, the ones who are "better off" are those who went south to school. There are different definitions of "better off", for me it means Family, Career & stability. Especially in your 30's and up.

 

Practice hard, get to rep level, go to camps- meet people. Hunt for the scholarship, hone your skills there - see where it goes.

 

Why don't you become a professional fisherman, its a heck of alot easier, all you have to do is pay an enterance fee.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Harrison

[Angler16]

Ive made the decision on what i want to do. I think im going to try to have a solid season big hits, lots of goals, nice passing. Then im going to try out for AE A AA AAA and see where i get picked and if i dont get picked i know where i sit and what i need to do.

[JohnF]

Ive made the decision on what i want to do. I think im going to try to have a solid season big hits, lots of goals, nice passing. Then im going to try out for AE A AA AAA and see where i get picked and if i dont get picked i know where i sit and what i need to do.

 

One suggestion. All this talk here is just that - talk. None of us have seen you play so what we're saying is pretty much meaningless. When you go to the tryouts ask the highest level coach who cuts you whether he thinks you have a shot down the road, and what do you need to do to get there.

 

If none of them cut you, then yer playing AAA and the sky's the limit.

 

Have fun.

 

JF

[Angler16]

Thanks John F.And yes talk is talk, when people say i have NO SHOT IN HELL like many have just gives me more motivation to prove em wrong. OH and ill be going to a hockey camp called Chris King hockey school. He brings a couple of pros form the leafs with him and i get to meet them all, ill definitely ask for some pointers. Thanks again

L.A

Edited June 2, 2009 by -Little Angler

[holdfast]

Thanks John F.And yes talk is talk, when people say i have NO SHOT IN HELL like many have just gives me more motivation to prove em wrong. OH and ill be going to a hockey camp called Chris King hockey school. He brings a couple of pros form the leafs with him and i get to meet them all, ill definitely ask for some pointers. Thanks again

L.A

[/quot

 

Ill give you a few pointers little Fella, Not NHL but Life.

 

1. First off all get your fingers off the Keyboards all the time and go out and try to make your dreams happen.

Too many social misfits that think life is nothing but a computer. Play and interact with kids your age.

 

2. Get some early bed time, seems as a kid less than 16 years old your up late, Again on the computers.

 

3. Practice makes perfect, even if your dreams don't come true, you will be successful and grateful in Life

Because You worked hard for it.

 

4. Get an education, otherwise you will end up like me that depends on a spell check.

 

Sorry to be blunt, but if I was your Dad, Id take you out fishing more often but also put a lock and key on your computer 22 hours out of 24.

 

Get my drift!

[Angler16]

Thanks was just looking for advice about the topic not what time you think i should be in bed :]

 

1)Its off season, i was just outside playing ball hockey as well :]

 

2)Im 14 years old i dont have a "Bed time" because ive been taught its me who has to get up early at 6:30 .

 

i was ok with three

 

4) Getting my education thats why im on honor roll.

 

I got your "drift" hope you got mine

 

and your not my dad, and my life doesnt revolve ALL around fishing i get out enough :]

Have a good night

L.A

Edited June 2, 2009 by -Little Angler

[JohnF]

Thanks was just looking for advice about the topic not what time you think i should be in bed :]

 

1)Its off season, i was just outside playing ball hockey as well :]

 

2)Im 14 years old i dont have a "Bed time" because ive been taught its me who has to get up early at 6:30 .

 

i was ok with three

 

4) Getting my education thats why im on honor roll.

 

I got your "drift" hope you got mine

 

and your not my dad, and my life doesnt revolve ALL around fishing i get out enough :]

Have a good night

L.A

 

*****

 

JF

[Terry]

it's nice to have a dream

 

one correction ...Practice makes perfect is wrong

perfect practice makes perfect.....if you are doing it wrong ,practice will not help that much

 

and ask yourself are you the best on your team

second best.....

 

if you are not the go to guy

the top scorer

if you are not on every power play line

it is too late for you to be a NHL player

 

I played in the keswick area and they produced a lot of NHL players at one time

 

we knew the kids that had a chance of making it by the age of 12.......

if people who coach you and watch you aren't telling you you have a good chance

I would say you don't.....

dreams are nice and no reason to still not go after it..but have a darn good back up plan

[Angler16]

I was second top scorer on team finished with 18 goals and about 7 assits. Highlight of season was scoring 2 goals a game for 3 games straight in a tourney then scoring one in the last game. But i totally agree with your perfect practice makes perfect theory.

[John Bacon]

You should be playing summer hockey too. The more playing time you can get the better. It will also increase your chances of making it onto to a higher level team such as triple A where you can get better coaching and play at a higher caliber.