Mike Machnike writes:
 
>What I see is that besides fewer superb players choosing the college
>route,
 
I think that may be rather a large part of it. We are seeing many more
American players going north (or west) to play in the CHL. DivI schools
are facing competition for players in their own backyards.
 
The best evidence of this is that the last US World Junior team was split
evenly between Collegians and Juniors. Now, all 11 players weren't quite
of the sort I'm talking about. One was in the USHL, two are from the
Northwest, so playing in the WHL would be expected, and Richard Park lived
in Toronto from age 14. That still leaves us with 7 of the top 20 US
under-20s playing in the CHL. That would have been unthinkable even a few
years ago. A guy like Deron Quint is a prime example. He played with the
Springfield Olympics, but went to Seattle of the WHL.
 
There are some solutions to this, I think in an ideal world (where the NC$$
cared about hockey). First would be to eliminate the cuts that were made a
few years ago. Increasing the schedule is something I would consider. The
scholarship limits would be the first thing to be done, though.
 
The second main thing would be to allow coaches to talk to players at an
earlier age. Right now, CHL coaches can talk to a player at 15-years-old.
A NC$$ coach has to wait until the second year of high school, right? That
means he's a 16-year-old, or a 17-year-old in Ontario. By the time an
elite player is a 16-year-old, he has likely already been faced with the
choice of whether to play in a Major Junior exhibition game (and toast
their NC$$ eligibility) or not. The NC$$'s problem is that the Major Junior
offer is there, the NC$$ is not (yet). The player does not fully know his
options.
 
The final thing would be to somehow lighten the penalties for someone
who plays in Major Junior. Playing one exhibition game as a 16-year-old
should not, IMHO, essentially force the player to go Major Junior. 16 is
too young to make that vital a choice, for most people.
 
I'm not saying that the rule should be eliminated. The Jr. A booster in me
knows that it would be a disaster for that level of hockey. I just think it
should be relaxed a bit.
 
See you later,
John
 
--
John C.K. Edwards        Stats Geek, Ottawa Jr Senators (21-21-3 47pts) (CJHL)
Carleton U., Law IV                   I don't give a damn about being liked,
[log in to unmask]           but I sure as hell intend to be respected.
All Canadian [Tier II] Junior A standings: http://chat.carleton.ca/~jedwards