Pam writes: >I'm not sure I like this trend of high schoolers choosing to play in the >USHL. I suppose it's a higher level of experience for them, but those >of us who became college hockey fans by first being high school hockey >fans (I think I can speak for Lisa, Dan, and maybe Erik) have to hope >this isn't a coming thing that siphons off the top Twin Cities high school >players into the Juniors. Or maybe I'm worrying too much about it! Well, out here, it isn't uncommon for the top players in Mass, Connecticut, etc. to leave their HS at some point in their careers and head to prep school where they'll get more exposure and be seen by more college/pro scouts. The level of play in prep is probably about equal to the USHL, from what I have heard. And occasionally an Eastern player will head out to the USHL to gain more experience and a better shot at playing college - that's what former Northeastern defenseman Mike Roberts did. It helped him go from a college JV player to captain of the Huskies in his senior year. There are two forces at work here, and it's hard to determine from the article Pam quoted which one is involved with respect to Hendrickson. 1) Sometimes a college coach will encourage a player to go to prep (or maybe in the West, USHL) to get bigger, work on grades to have a better chance to be accepted, get more experience, etc. and thus increase his chances of getting a scholarship. 2) Sometimes players will go these routes on their own, hoping to attract attention and land a scholarship. One or both of these may have played in Hendrickson's decision - i.e. "go to the USHL and your chances of getting a scholarship to Minnesota will be very good". (I've heard of coaches supposedly guaranteeing deals if players went prep and then the player being stuck out in the cold when the school decided it wanted someone else, but I can't verify any of those. Players may read the above sentence in quotes as "go to prep/USHL and I *WILL* get a scholar- ship".) Either way, this all has to do with a player doing what it takes or what he believes it will take to make himself more marketable, and I can't fault a player for doing that. In the end, it is the player's decision. It is probably true that without the prep schools, Mass. HS hockey would be even better than it already is. But there are also all of the cutbacks that are taking place in Mass., both in public schools (public hockey is nowhere near what it was) and the Catholic schools. More and more, it is becoming evident that only the schools that are completely committed to hockey can ice the best teams, and this includes the Catholics, privates/preps, and some of the best publics. Likewise, USHL teams are clearly committed to hockey and can probably provide an excellent environment for a player to improve. Does anyone else see a similarity between the Eastern prep schools and the USHL/Western juniors? - mike