By Lisa Meyers
The NCAA recently unveiled a new website aimed primarily at young hockey players evaluating their collegiate options. College hockey for men is very different than most other NCAA sports, and many youth players lack the information they need to make educated decisions about their future. The new site, www.playcollegehockey.com, is full of educational content to make sure no questions go unanswered.
Two unique aspects of men’s college hockey are the small number of programs at the NCAA level and the importance that college coaches place on juniors experience. There are 145 men’s hockey programs at the NCAA level compared to 1,024 NCAA men’s basketball programs. Take into account that some of the best talent comes from Canada and European nations, and the competition for a roster spot, yet alone a scholarship, becomes fierce.
In the last few years more college coaches have started to require their prospects to have juniors experience. Most NCAA athletes enter college immediately following their senior year of high school, but many hockey players have already reached the legal drinking age by the time they enroll in a college or university. Even Division III rosters are comprised of juniors and prep school players. It is rare to find an NCAA hockey player who entered college without pausing their schooling to play juniors hockey or taking a post graduate year at a prep school.
With obstacles that are not typical of the average NCAA athlete, college bound hockey players can benefit from all the information they can receive. The new website, which was established by the commissioners of the six NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey conferences, will be a new source of online education. With so many rules and regulations to be learned, I hope that youth players are up for the challenge.
Source: http://www.ahcahockey.com/news/0708/0408pch.html
Source: http://playcollegehockey.com/landing/index
