Turning pro in hockey versus baseball

RJM -- good summary.  I can add a few salient things:

There are only 60 D1 hockey programs.  Many D3 and a lot of ACHA club teams, but baseball has about 300 D1 programs alone.  You can say well there are more HS baseball players than HS hockey players, but this gap has been narrowing over the past 2 decades with the explosive growth of junior hockey (and hockey in general, and HS hockey, and hockey in places like Florida, CA, AZ, GA, TX and so on).  

Hockey also has a tremendous number of imports -- yes Canada but also Russia, Finland, Sweden, and more.  You can look at a college roster and see this, but more prevalent at the top level junior programs and of course Americans are a minority in the NHL.  Yes baseball has "imported" players too, that come to US colleges, but most do not go to US colleges, most sign pro contracts.  I know this dynamic is changing, but the numbers are vastly different for hockey.  

Eichel and Matthews are outliers who were able to do what they wanted at 18.  Most hockey players go play juniors -- without a commitment - and then never make it and go play club at college or hang up the skates.  The overwhelming majority of the D1 college rosters are 20/21 year old freshman.  Not one year in juniors, but 2 and frequently 3.

Finally, the hockey recruiting path is insane.  Much much more quickly than baseball, with obviously a lot of guys who commit and then things change.  LOTS of 8th and 9th graders.  Yes baseball is trending this way too.  And some baseball kids do move for the summer to go play for certain travel showcase teams, but in hockey, many kids leave for prep schools or for "better" hockey in the NE or MW and go to online school while they billet with a family and age 14 and up.  It is not a life for everyone.

Twoboys posted:

RJM -- good summary.  I can add a few salient things:

There are only 60 D1 hockey programs.  Many D3 and a lot of ACHA club teams, but baseball has about 300 D1 programs alone.  You can say well there are more HS baseball players than HS hockey players, but this gap has been narrowing over the past 2 decades with the explosive growth of junior hockey (and hockey in general, and HS hockey, and hockey in places like Florida, CA, AZ, GA, TX and so on).  

Hockey also has a tremendous number of imports -- yes Canada but also Russia, Finland, Sweden, and more.  You can look at a college roster and see this, but more prevalent at the top level junior programs and of course Americans are a minority in the NHL.  Yes baseball has "imported" players too, that come to US colleges, but most do not go to US colleges, most sign pro contracts.  I know this dynamic is changing, but the numbers are vastly different for hockey.  

Eichel and Matthews are outliers who were able to do what they wanted at 18.  Most hockey players go play juniors -- without a commitment - and then never make it and go play club at college or hang up the skates.  The overwhelming majority of the D1 college rosters are 20/21 year old freshman.  Not one year in juniors, but 2 and frequently 3.

Finally, the hockey recruiting path is insane.  Much much more quickly than baseball, with obviously a lot of guys who commit and then things change.  LOTS of 8th and 9th graders.  Yes baseball is trending this way too.  And some baseball kids do move for the summer to go play for certain travel showcase teams, but in hockey, many kids leave for prep schools or for "better" hockey in the NE or MW and go to online school while they billet with a family and age 14 and up.  It is not a life for everyone.

 

 

 

A quick summary, up to the high school years, just short of the college or pro route. 

One of the earliest identifiers of talent is USAHockey district tryouts at the conclusion of the US National Championships. Selection advances you to bantam camp in district or regionals at the midget level and on to the National Festival, if selected, which is attended by many college and pro scouts.

There are a few in season tournaments that ALL top teams/talent gravitate to ( just to name a few);

Beantown Classic in Boston, Belle Tire in Detroit and the Bauer Classic in Chicago that pulls international competition. All of these pull a sea of college and pro scouts, as well as major junior scouts from Canada ( WHL, OHL,QmJHL).

Billeting from August thru March is the norm. As a Tier1AAA coach for many years, I hosted many players as well as my sons billeted with other families as they approached U14/U15/U16 in order to be on the ice as much as possible (daily).

U14 is the year that absolutely identifies the first wave of talent. As the first draft for kids west of the Mississippi is the WHL Bantam draft.

U16 is the next major milestone as the OHL and QMJHL drafts occur for kids east of the Mississippi. 

US kids in the WHL,OHL and QMJHL drafts are deemed as potential NHL draft picks after their HS career.  Participation in any of those leagues will grant the player pro status, thus giving up the opportunity to play college hockey in the US. Draft in those leagues is a big validation of talent and one can expect a lot of attention from college coaches and advisors.

There are multiple tiers of junior hockey that is U15 through U20 (tier1, tier 2 and tier 3).

Top talent is usually skimmed at the U16 level throughout the Midwest  and west coast as they are eligible for the USHL (tier 1) draft in May and the NAHL (tier2) draft in June. Most east coast kids rely more on prep schools for their exposure but can certainly be taken in either or both drafts. 

All other lower levels of junior hockey are really open tryout and are pay to play. Typically lead to D2 and D3 opportunities at the college level.

Junior hockey is used to hone their skills, gain in size and strength in order to compete at the college level where the average freshman is 20 years old and rosters average 23 yrs. 

Some US junior hockey players will elect to go pro in the (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) when drafted in the NHL in order to prepare for opportunities in the ECHL and AHL, the minor pro leagues feeding the NHL. 

*The speed of the game, individual skill, skating ability and  "hockey sense" are the separators at each level. It is very easy to evaluate in a game setting.

Baseball is not that clear cut, unless you're well above your peers, throwing 95plus and hit 500ft bombs!