the debate over whether a hockey player should play
major junior or pursue the college route is of great
interest and a fun topic for me.
in the past few years, i think it is obvious that most
young players are leaning towards playing in the CHL.
And this is hurting the college game since there are
fewer high quality players to choose from, and the same
top college teams attract the best talent.
you have to consider all of the expansion in
professional hockey (from the NHL, IHL ...) and the
immediate need for pro teams to fill their rosters.
the junior route is the quickest way to reach the nhl,
and even if a highly touted player does attend college,
it is doubtful he will stay for the entire four years
because of the pressures from nhl management to sign.
a few months ago, The Hockey News ran a column on the
demise of the college game, and i have to agree with
it. (In the past few years, only the 1992-93 (Maine)
and 1990-91 (NMU) seasons have really fired me up.)
Lately, we have had four or five top college teams, and
then the rest.
the THN article said that colleges were getting
outworked and the CHL was becoming more attractive. on
the first point, i believe there were a few 94-95
recruits who left programs before school started and
played in the CHL (ie. colin forbes, NODAK, WHL, and an
ECAC recruit or two (from SLU???) left as well
there are several massachusetts and michigan players
whose first consideration is playing in the CHL, not
the NC$$. for US born hockey players, the CHL is
becoming very fashionable. College hockey is just
losing too many top US born players, consider...
The 1994-95 United States World Jr team had nearly one
half of its players from the CHL. In the past, this
team has been college dominated.
Bryan Berard (Massachusetts native) is a stud rookie
defenseman for the Detroit Jr. Wings of the OHL, and is
being touted as the #1 pick for this years NHL entry
draft. I know BU or BC would have loved it if he had
stayed home, but i dont think there was much of a
chance.
Another high rated prospect, Jason Bonsignore (NY
native) was drafted #4 overall by Edmonton last year
and i dont think he had any thoughts about playing
college.
Two years ago, the Minnesota schools lost a tremendous
player when Jamie Langenbrunner signed with
Peterborough. (He was clearly salivating over
receiveing NHL bucks and his signing bonus right away.)
It is pretty much unheard of for a Minnesota kid to
leave home and not play college.
(other recent highly rated players to leave for the CHL
include Deron Quint, Sean Haggerty, Richard Park, Jim
Campbell, and Brian Boucher.)
Since the OHL began in Detroit, they have signed
several top local players including Pat Peake and Bill
McCauley. If they OHL or QMJHL were to expand into
more Eastern US states like Mass, or NY, college hockey
will be severely hurt.
At Bowling Green, Sean Pronger played from 1990-94 and
had a few good years. His younger brother, millionaire
Chris Pronger of the Hartford Whalers basically laughed
at the thought of playing college hockey and never
really considered it. Didn't BGSU only recruit Sean to
have an inside shot at potentially signing Chris?
In the past few nhl entry drafts, you just dont see too
many first round Canadian kids who plan on attending
college. The BCJHL would usually produce a few top
players, but perhaps they are now deciding on juniors.
But as Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a changin'".
It may be a while before college hockey sees another
senasational recruit like Paul Kariya.
i strongly follow both the ncaa and chl. If you have
additional comments, i would appreciate private e-mail.
jeff jodzis
michigan 93, minnesota 95
For instance,
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