The age of college hockey players

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

From what I know, the last year you can enter a college as a freshman year is 22. After 22 you can't. The older a Senior can be is 25

thats a lie cuz if you come in at 22, you leave at 26

You start the year at 25 but you might turn 26 during the year.

[Gongshow11 1]

also a lie because a team this year had a 28 year old

[Jason Harris 31]

also a lie because a team this year had a 28 year old

Well, that kinda goes in hand with what I was saying.

Hockey, football, baseball, whatever, I've never heard of any age limit to a player as long as they have eligibility remaining and the program accepts them. I could see some programs not wanting to bring in a 32-year-old, although there's nothing "legal" that would prevent them if the player is eligible.

[Gongshow11 1]

you dont see older guys liek that becuase where are they going to play at that age that is competitve but still considers them amateur. In CIS, completely different story

[Sassmasta 0]

Just think about this....as unfair as the current recruiting policies are....if you do put an age cap on these kids. Most of the 18 year olds playing juniors to let their bodies develop will instead be taking steroids to do the same. Do we realy want more juiced up kids out there than there already are? It would be like opening pandoras box.

[QandA 0]

CIS players are usually players who thought they could make it through the Junior route(CHL) and realized at 19 or 20 that they should get an education and go to University and than they play hockey there.

[hocckey77 0]

what's "CIS"?

[gavin 0]

Canadian Interuniversity (I think) Sports. The highest level, includes teams like Western, Calgary, Lethbridge, UBC etc. Americans could think of it as the Canadian NCAA, if that helps you any.

[gavin 0]

To get back to the original question, I think it's OK to have kids coming out of Juniors and starting NCAA/CIS at the age of 20-22. Much better for the person.

Option 1) Go leave home and go to big scary University in Big City or America, which is a big change from my small town in Western Canada, and get pushed around by pervs in the dorms that are bigger than me etc etc drugs sex booze the whole thing. Yes I'm playing hockey but it's a REALLY big jump and not just academically.

Option 2) Take life a little less seriously, I stay at home or move to a town/city with Junior hockey and live in a home arranged by the Junior team. Either way I'm in a family environment. I could take like 1 class a semester at a local college, like English or something to keep that fresh. Then 2 years later I hit Big University and I'm already a stud and I'm bigger and I don't get pushed around and I'm less likely to bomb out with girls/partying etc because I have that background that I got in Juniors.

Just my 2 cents. Go Juniors all the way! Even if it's just bush league, that would be the best time of your life.

[Nelly 0]

I think its hard for some people to understand this, especially if they are outside the world of hockey. My girlfriend is 21 and will graduate with her bachelors in December and be ready to begin her career. I still do not know if she fully understands my choice to take advantage of my last year of eligibility of Juniors, but she supports me nonetheless.

Like several people have mentioned before, other sports don't have the intermediary between HS and Collegiate hockey, thus you have younger players entering and playing in those programs instead of playing in something a Junior hockey program to gain experience and maturity.

Its also not like I didn't take school seriously when I was there either, I was on track to graduate with a 4.0 and a DOUBLE major in just a total of 3 years, but my passion is hockey and had a walked on to the hockey team, I would be stuck at 3rd string and playing behind two goalies that had played juniors. The choice is easy, I want to play hockey and will do whatever it takes to stay competitive as long as possible. If that means that I enter my career in my late 20s rather than in a year and a half, then so be it.

Also, the transition to college life on an academic level is, in itself, a difficult enough adjustment without throwing the politically and physically demanding aspects of college sports into the mix. With a little bit more maturity from age and somewhat independence that a person would gain through a junior program, they will also be more likely to succeed once they get into college than your typical high school graduate.

[hocckey77 0]

Canadian Interuniversity (I think) Sports. The highest level, includes teams like Western, Calgary, Lethbridge, UBC etc. Americans could think of it as the Canadian NCAA, if that helps you any.

thanks, that make sense now