Agency for MinorPro?

[Rocket 0]

Hi,

I´d like to know if anyone know any good agency which works mainly together with teams of ECHL, UHL or CHL,

I´d like to tryout those teams for the upcoming 07-08 season, but I think it is only possible to get in contact with those teams by agents??!!

[Gongshow11 1]

no you can go on their websites and call either the GM or front office. You wont walk onto an ECHL team, but I'd say CHL and SPHL are likely

[WSjo22 1]

Some teams you might need an agent to contact the team and some you dont. I know our local ECHL teams have a try outs every summer and if you make it you get to go to their camp

[jptwofive 0]

Rocket,

You have a few options for trying to get into a minor league camp.

Bottom of the barrel is the SPHL. If you have a decent resume you can piece together, you should be able to get in touch with a coach from one of these teams and discuss what they might be able to do for you. Also, any guys in your area who played for one of tehse teams can probably direct you in the right direction

Next up, the UHL and CHL, you are probably going to need someone to get you into a camp. Similar to the SPHL, maybe there is someone in your area who plays in one of these leagues and can direct you to an agent or coach who can get you a spot in a camp. Also, you might look into a "free agent" camp over the summer. Normally these things have a few cocktail league coaches around looking for a guy or two to give a look at.

ECHL, you need an agent to find you a spot, or have one of your college/junior coaches make a call.

I will forgoe my thoughts on geting into an A or N camp.

I tried an agent my first year out of college. He was useless. I ended up going against his advice and we split ways one week into the ECHL season. I ended up using an "agent" again in year 3 of my minor career and it was OK. For those leagues under the Coast, there really is nothing an agent needs to do once you get to a camp. Not to sound rude, but if you are looking to find a way into a camp even, I assume you are not going to try to negotiate 50-75 more a week if a team wants to keep you on, so what do you need an agent for at that point.

One more thought on this, you might want to take a look at the SPHL, UHL and CHL rosters on hockeydb.com and see which teams had the highest turnover of players. A team that went through a ton of players can indicate a coach/GM who is willing to always give a new kid a shot at a spot. The downside to that is, the last 3 guys on a roster are never safe. Want to see a long list of players for one season? Take a look at the Asheville Smoke roster from 98-99. Dan Wilhelm (GM) had no problem trying to continually find guys to play for minimum $. If he coud save paying a guy for 3 days by releasing someone and waiting the 3 days for someone new to come into town, then he would.

[chippa13 1844]

Not for nothing, but if you're good enough they'll find you.

[jptwofive 0]

Not for nothing, but if you're good enough they'll find you.

No "they" won't, not at the level we are talking about. Actually there was a good article on NHL.com in the ECHL section about Jay Hiebert and his struggles in the coast and ending up back in the CHL. Anyways, the Vegas coach talks briefly about how they have no "scouting" force in the minors.

[Jason Harris 31]

IAMG specializes in placing minor league hockey players.

[biff44 0]

Agents can do a couple of good things for you.

Yeah, maybe they can only get you a little more salary, but little things like medical plans, no-trade clauses, scholarship money, etc go to the player who is savy enough to negotiate for them. No agent often equals a poor contract.

But the really big thing the agent does it totally behind the scenes. Promoting you, getting scouts to come watch, giving advice about both your game and about making career decisions.

The business of Hockey is pretty rough! I would want at least one guy that knows the ropes pulling for me!

[jptwofive 0]

Agents can do a couple of good things for you.

Yeah, maybe they can only get you a little more salary, but little things like medical plans, no-trade clauses, scholarship money, etc go to the player who is savy enough to negotiate for them. No agent often equals a poor contract.

But the really big thing the agent does it totally behind the scenes. Promoting you, getting scouts to come watch, giving advice about both your game and about making career decisions.

The business of Hockey is pretty rough! I would want at least one guy that knows the ropes pulling for me!

I think you guys are getting confused on the difference bewteen normal professional athletic contracts and those of the majority of minor league hockey. If someone is trying to break into the AA level of the minors, salary is going to range somewhere between $400 and $500 a week for most rookies (it may be higher in teh coast and lower in the SPHL, but I have not looked at what each leagues cap is in years). There is not mcuh an agent can do here. These leagues all have hard caps. Again, someone trying to break in is going to seriously hurt their chances of even getting in the door somewhere if they insist on a no-trade. Hell, if a team did not want them at the AA level, then they could just waive them and find another rookie somewhere to take their place. Ditto for scholarship money. I am pretty sure that stuff like that counts as compensation, thus it counts against their cap, but I could be wrong. I thought there were issues in the UHL when some teams were trying to pay guys mortgages and the league found that to be unacceptable. Their position was that each player receives the same housing "allowance" that does not count towards their salary cap, but anything over that is a violation of cap rules. I am pretty confident that if you polled rookies from all the leagues (CHL, UHL, SPHL, ECHL) you would find a VAST majority of the contracts are very similar. All are binding for 24 hours at a time, except for possibly a guy who is on a 2 way or even a 3 way with an A or N team.

As for medical plans, if you are good enough to play (and there is enough hockey out there that it is fun to try) and you end up wishing that you had "negotiated" medical coverage, because the team has none, then you are... well I don't even know of a league that does not insist that teams provide medical coverage for their players.

Biff, what it sounds like you are describing is a junior player who gets an agent. Then yes, posibly they can get some of these things from particular major junior teams, or they can push scouts to come check out the kids and see where they can get them in CSB or into an A camp after they are too old for juniors and have gone undrafted and/or unheralded.

Again, let's keep in mind what teh question was. One member wants to know if they need an agent to try to play next season. I think my opinion is known by now. Bottom line is 4 years at the AA level and an agent never really did me much. Make some calls, put together a resume and ask for a spot in camp. FInd some local teams if possible and tell them they only have to reimburse your travel if you make the team.

[Rocket 0]

Thanks a lot for your help,

but what I want to find out if there is a chance to showcase one´s skills to

them in a tryout.

I only found "open tryouts" for SPHL but are there such tryouts for UHL and CHL, too???

[jptwofive 0]

Do the SPHL camps cost $ to enter? That can often be a way for a team to generate revenue for their "real" camp per diem and what not. Especially down in the SPHL, those guys are nowhere close to making money with any team I am pretty sure.

There are a lot of factors that decide on how much of a look you will get at a camp. Some minor league teams will have 15 guys on contracts going into camp, so the coach is looking for 3 guys out of the other 30. Some teams do not have that many guys "signed" (which at the AA level means double dick as I mentioned earlier) but the coach has a pretty good idea what they want and who they plan on keeping. Really, what is going to give you the best shot at playing somewhere is to find a way to get a coach to be counting on you to be one of their rostered players. Of course, there are a few ways to do that which I think have all been mentioned here. One, get in touch with a coach somehow and convince them you could be the 7th defenseman or 12th forward. Two, attend a free agent camp and have a coach approach you about going to Port Huron or Jacksonville or wherever. Three, you could have an agent call coaches they know and drum up support for you. And the "agent" i am referring to could ba an actual agent, or your last coach or a player from one of those leagues you might know...

I still think the ebst thing you could do is try a free agent camp if there is a reputable one in your area. If you do get tot alk with any coaches from the leasgues, ask them if they are going to be at any specific camps or maybe recommend one to you.

[Wayne 0]

Agents can do a couple of good things for you.

Yeah, maybe they can only get you a little more salary, but little things like medical plans, no-trade clauses, scholarship money, etc go to the player who is savy enough to negotiate for them. No agent often equals a poor contract.

The UHL is referred to as the U-Haul league for a reason. You won't have a no trade clause in a UHL contract....

[biff44 0]

You are right, I only speak from juniors experience.

[Gongshow11 1]

Do the SPHL camps cost $ to enter? That can often be a way for a team to generate revenue for their "real" camp per diem and what not. Especially down in the SPHL, those guys are nowhere close to making money with any team I am pretty sure.

There are a lot of factors that decide on how much of a look you will get at a camp. Some minor league teams will have 15 guys on contracts going into camp, so the coach is looking for 3 guys out of the other 30. Some teams do not have that many guys "signed" (which at the AA level means double dick as I mentioned earlier) but the coach has a pretty good idea what they want and who they plan on keeping. Really, what is going to give you the best shot at playing somewhere is to find a way to get a coach to be counting on you to be one of their rostered players. Of course, there are a few ways to do that which I think have all been mentioned here. One, get in touch with a coach somehow and convince them you could be the 7th defenseman or 12th forward. Two, attend a free agent camp and have a coach approach you about going to Port Huron or Jacksonville or wherever. Three, you could have an agent call coaches they know and drum up support for you. And the "agent" i am referring to could ba an actual agent, or your last coach or a player from one of those leagues you might know...

I still think the ebst thing you could do is try a free agent camp if there is a reputable one in your area. If you do get tot alk with any coaches from the leasgues, ask them if they are going to be at any specific camps or maybe recommend one to you.

IN the SPHL, there is no 7th dman or 12 forward, as they can only field 16 man rosters, league rule, and there are no helthy scratches in that league as they cant afford them....smae thing in the CHL. UHL and ECHL have healthy sscratches

[jptwofive 0]

Sorry gongshow, I did not realize what the roster rules where for each league, just stating an example. I never played in the SPHL so I was not aware they limited the rosters that much.