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Hockey draft becomming like soccer in europe
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i read an article just now about a player wanting to enter the nhl draft at the age of 16. obviously he wouldnt go right to contribute on any nhl team but the team would stick him on their developmental squad (farm team) and give him a few years to develop. this would be very similar to the way soccer talent is grown in europe. players have been signed as young as 10 years old i believe and then put through the clubs developmental programs... and soccer is bigger than ever.
do you think this is the kind of direction hockey should be going? i dont see this working for any other sport
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I use to play competitive hockey (I was on a AAA team for a couple of years) and two of my friends who were drafted at the age of 18 and 19. one was drafted in the first round the other in the second. young yes, but they are both physically and mentally mature so they should be able to make the transition. a lot of the guys I played with are either on junior teams, prep school teams, the ohl, or uhl. both who were drafted were in the ohl since age 16. personally, I think everyone should pursue a high school diploma and then college degree or trade school if possible and then pro athletics if they are talented enough and have the desire. but if 10 years down the road they wreck their knee and were living large they are screwed. check out friday night lights the movie/book and the story of boobie miles. I think it's a shame how pro athletics are promoted over say being a teachers or doctors. just look at the gap in salaries. but when the percentages, they are stacked against you becoming an athlete. I have no problem with somebody pursuing the dream, I even give them props, but have a backup plan. I think it's really a part of american culture although I'm not as familiar with the soccer situation, we constantly hear stories of t-ball dads, using steroids in college and even high school etc. we need to get our priorities straight.
Sorry if I rambled a bit
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I know what you mean. Im at a prep school and there are some players here who live there lives trying to make a pro team. I always think about what will happen when they get out of the NHL after injury and are stuck with no college and shitty highschool grades.
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yeah I went to a prep school too. done now though.
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kid at my high school got drafted this year but he had already promised some college, i wanna say its BU that he would play for at least a year there. hes 17 i think.
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bu has a great d1 program where he'll develop a lot, i went to Umass and lived next to a kid who is now playing for the rangers, got drafted after his junior year, but he signed a contract allowing him to saty at umass for his last year so he could graduate with a deploma, but while he wasn't at school he had to be training with the rangers and while on winter break his senior year he was playing for them...pretty nuts
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a kid i know is playing some league, he said its like pro but you dont get paid? and then he said from there hopefully he will get recruited by a d1 school...he wasnt cocky enough to say then go pro, thank god.
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juniors is the league you're thinking of
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