Just to add. My son has been offered a tender for an NCDC team. It means something and nothing all at once. i only assume it is a good sales point when reaching out to schools. It atleast is an objective measure before they even start seeing him play.
Based on timing, it would seem that it is going to become increasingly difficult to pull off something for the 23-24 school year, so pursuing those interim option makes sense. Arenât most D3 recruits expected to apply ED in November?
I think that depends a on the school, and the recruit of course. I believe some of the D3 schools, such as some D3 state colleges that are not too difficult to get into, may not have an ED option.
This is somewhat related to what I have seen with some kids/families that do a PG + Jr. and end up at a local state college, in which they may or may not play at. I think these are fine schools, and I am a proponent of state schools, though I am not sure it is worth all the time (+1-3 years), effort and cost to attend a school as a 19-21 yr old freshmen which they could have gone to when they were 18 right out of HS.
1 Like
Thanks, @recruitparent . After looking at the list and reading about the preference for strong academics, l got locked into NESCAC type schools. Youâre right â not necessarily the only option!
What will happen (hopefully) is that the school will be interested enough to sign a commitment letter with the student but, then send the kid off to junior for one year.
Some of my sonâs peer group, signed D1 commitments before even playing junior. The school kind of decides when they need them.
And nothing against state colleges either. THere is a cost/benefit equation that does not make sense however.
D3 schools donât do âcommitment lettersâ (assume you are talking about LOIs). Some D3s might allow an accepted recruit to defer, some might notâŚ.itâs a school by school situation (and a year by year situation).
The NCAA NLI D1 commitment is a promise to play and a scholarship for the next academic year. Only a senior can sign an official LOI. Younger kids canât sign (hs juniors or even younger) but many have oral agreements, that mean nothing if either the school or the student decides on another player or another school (or pros).
Iâm not sure what those playing Juniors sign to commit to a school or how binding it is. The NCAA NLI is pretty specific on who can sign and when.
This is from 2018-19 year (so signing dates are off) but has the info
FAQ on the National Letter of Intent - College Hockey, Inc..
Here is 2022-23 rules
1 Like
What we have also noticed is once you get out of the NESCAC schools the academics drop precipitously and it has been frustrating finding âthatâ best fit school. Going through this on the womenâs side with my DD and it is different, but very similar at the same time to the menâs hockey recruiting process. The women tend to toward D1, NESCAC and then best fit for schools for order of preference. The women donât have to go down the juniors path, but we are seeing a trend towards more and more PGâs. Not sure if that is longer term trend/lining up with the menâs model or just a result of COVID/5th year seniors impact to the recruiting landscape. I can say that it feels like the 2024âs will have much better recruiting opportunities than the 2023âs.
1 Like
My son will likely play NCDC next year and then go to college. The challenge is that outside of NESCAC there is an academic drop and it is not a small drop. Since my son will want to go into a masterâs program/med school after undergrad, academics will be very important in undergrad.
On the boysâ side there is a huge demand building for 2004.s The 5 year thing has created a gap which is widening once the older boys max out.
It makes a lot of sense to focus on the academics, and then find a good hockey program.
In terms of premed, moderately ranked public universities in the US such as the University of Vermont or the University of Massachusetts are really quite good. UVM (the normal abbreviation for U.Vermont, the abbreviation comes from the Latin for âuniversity of the green mountainsâ) also has a very good pre-vet program, and so the strong pre-vet students are in the same classes as the premed students. I think this may also be true of UNH.
I looked at the list of NESCAC schools and there are many very good universities and colleges on the list. However, if you look at the students who make it into very good medical schools or very good masterâs degree programs they come from a wide range of undergraduate schools. Many of them will come from universities on the UVM/U.Mass/UNH level, and all of UVM, U.Mass, and UNH have good hockey programs. Premed classes at these schools will be full of strong students and will be academically demanding.
With a 3.9+ GPA your son would be quite likely to get into schools at the UVM/UNH level just on academics alone. U.Mass Lowell the same would be true. U.Mass Amherst I think would also be very likely based only on academics and with hockey as an additional plus his chances would be even better.
I grew up and went through high school in Montreal. At least back when I was in high school the overlap between the strongest students academically and the strongest hockey players, at least in my school, was pretty much zero. Since your son is quite strong both academically and in hockey, this would seem to be quite an attractive combination at some of the good schools in the US that are both academically strong and have good hockey teams. However, relative to Concordia or McGill (or Bishopâs), the cost of university in the US only seems to make any sense at all to me if your son gets a very good hockey scholarship to come to the US.
I can see how finding the best fit could be challenging.
1 Like
And Wisconsin, Minn, Mich⌠If the OP wants more of an LAC experience, then look at Colorado College (a D1 program) or even U of Denver (bigger than CC but not as big as the big flagships) and at DU, hockey is king.
Which means OP would be looking at a D1 school, or one of the D3 schools that play hockey at the D1 level and can award hockey scholarships like Colo College.
2 Likes
You may want to take a look at Union College, Schenectady, NY. It is D1 in hockey with good academics. Also has merit aid. A good number of alums go onto medical school, due in part to its 6 year med program
2 Likes
I second Union, and they received NCAA approval early this year to give hockey scholarships: https://www.union.edu/news/stories/202201/ncaa-votes-allow-union-offer-athletic-scholarships-its-division-i-hockey-programs
Regardless where OP ends up being recruited, itâs important to have a discussion with the coach about what majors do and donât work in the context of the team. As many know, some coaches strongly prefer to have no lab science majors on their teams, to take one example. It is critical to learn this information relatively early in the recruiting discussions.
2 Likes
I know virtually nothing about hockey and not much more about athletic recruiting. But these are some of the schools that your son might be interested in reaching out to about their interest in him joining their team. I think they have the academics youâd want (some even more than others) and at least a decent chance of meeting your budget once they give you the final financial package.
⢠Clarkson (NY): D3
⢠College of the Holy Cross (MA): D1
⢠Hamline (MN): D3
⢠Hobart William Smith (NY): D3
⢠Lake Forest (IL): D3
⢠Lawrence (WI): D3
⢠Providence (RI): D1
⢠Quinnipiac (CT): D1
⢠Sacred Heart (CT): D1
⢠Skidmore (NY): D3
⢠St. Lawrence (NY): D3
⢠Suffolk (MA): D3
Clarkson and St. Lawrence both play D1 in menâs hockey.
2 Likes
Thanks! As I said, Iâm no hockey expert. I just was looking through College Navigator at schools with varsity ice hockey programs and they didnât distinguish about whether a school was a different division for a sport. I appreciate the correction!
I should probably also clarify that all the schools I listed in my previous post have varsity ice hockey teams and seemed to have the academics that OP would like for his son to have.
The talent level amongst the teams listed here is wildly different. Providence, for example, was the 2015 National champions. Nine players on their current roster have already been drafted by the NHL. With very few exceptions, most North Americans played tier 1 juniors (ushl or in Canada) while 4 played for the US National Development Team. And thatâs before listing the Europeans on the team.
The point being is you cannot simply reach out and demonstrate interest and expect a âdecent chance of meeting your budgetâ. Hockey is one of the most recruited sports in division 1 athletics.
If hockey is a priority, then juniors is the path. Top Tier 2 players (NAHL, BCHL) can play their way to D1 and find success. Most at this level focus on D3.
In my experience, few if any go Tier 2 knowing what college theyâll attend. Players certainly establish a network, know coaches, etc. but the point is the coaches want to see how they play against tougher competition.
2 Likes
Thank you for making me realize that I forgot a key sentence earlier, which perhaps I assumed as understood. I was trying to indicate that if the son ended up being recruited and given a likely letter, that the price would likely be affordable, not that sending a letter of interest would equate to being accepted with a spot on the team and a generous financial aid package. My sense in reading through the thread was that OP was starting the process of reaching out to coaches to gauge their degree of interest, and that was the spirit in which my suggestions were offered, as possible schools with the types of academics he seemed interested in that offered varsity hockey.
Learned something new today; thanks for sharing.
I appreciate all the discussion and feedback.
Reaching out to college coaches has been a good first step for us. 1) They appreciate the academic side because it means my son can get in and handle the academics. 2) Also, it just gets the name on the radar.
The high school coach plays a huge role to.
Playing Junior hockey for a year is likely what my son will do. It is a snake pit however. There are kids there who have no college ambitions and some who do. The junior teams can be unscrupulous in how they treat players and just want cash and donât care about next steps after.
D1 schools are also separated between those all about winning/profile and will tag the NHL prospects versus those more balanced with academics.
We are finding that his year is in high demand (2004). Lots of kids left hockey due to covid and the extra year eligibility only covered the shortfall temporarily.
Canadian college hockey is a tough option. Because Canadian major junior players cannot play NCAA, they hog all the roster spots on Canadian schools and are older than a typical NCAA player.
1 Like
Yes. For us the âcostâ would be a showstopper for the US. However, Division 3s have good financial aid and merit scholarships for academics.
What we found in going to prep schools is if you will represent the school as a role model, they will bend over backwards to try to slot you in financially.
The academics does open that extra door to schools some hockey players canât get into. Unless you are an NHL prospect, academics do matter because for the school it is a 3-4 year investment in the student.
1 Like