The way to juniors+...

[jon93 0]

What do you guys who have experience with choosing to move on to juniors or stick another year of 16u AAA. The junior league that is an option for myself is the CHA. I understand this is possibly one of the weakest junior league in the nation but as a 15 year old (16 during 08-09 season) would this be a good start towards making better leagues or getting looks from higher competition. Or would another year of midget be the best choice? with midget i would be getting a regular shift every game but im not so sure with juniors. I would appreciate all opinions.

[LkptTiger 1]

Take size and development into consideration...I played an extra year of AAA so I could fill-out a bit more before making the jump.

[BigDipper 0]

Good question. When I was in 10th grade...15 years old I made the jump to playing Tier II junior 'A'. I'm from Canada by the way. I had a successful junior career after that before having to quit due to a serious injury when I was almost 19. Look here's the way I see it and I tell this to a lot of players now. Although I am not sure which league the CHA is. Moving away from home is big step and a big change. You have to be prepared. As a young player unless youre a prodigy, you will sit...you will not even dress most games, and chances are a lot of the Vets will give you a cold shoulder. It's hard on the mind mentally and you have to prepare yourself for it. Honestly, another year of AAA where you can stand out is a solid option, and a damn good one too. In one year you are going to be just as good now if not better so it's not as if you will not get noticed. Moving on to junior as a more mature, experienced player is ALWAYS the better move. In AAA you can afford to work on different aspects of your game..and yourself, without having to worry about sacrificing ice time due to bad play. Unofortunately, in Junior you cant. Oh...and if you go junior, have some teach you know hot to properly handle yourself in a fight. Trust me..when youre 15 and fighting a 21 year old...it goes a looooong way.

[jon93 0]

Yeah size is a pretty big problem, 5'5" 140. Weight and muscle is fine but that damn height and I think my speed can make up for that.

and protecting myself could hurt me in the long run. I've gotten tips from the local junior kids but i dont see myself being a fighter anytime soon.

[biff44 0]

1st thing, I don't know much about the CHA, but it appears to have Jr B, Jr C "major", and Jr C "minor". You would not want to consider ANYTHING but the Jr B league! Go watch their games. Can you play at that level next season? And be careful of the old bait and switch: "we want you for the Jr B team, but we are going to have you start off skating on the Jr C and then bring you up blah blah blah ..."

Maybe you can attend a few practice session of the Jr B team this season and see how you fit in.

It might end up being a good experience. You would have to really prepare for it though. You do not say if you are a forward or defense. It will be easier if you are a speedy forward to transition in. As a Dman, you simply are too small right now. In any event, you need to start hitting the weight room. You need to improve your muscle mass. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that you need to be at least 155 lbs to play Jrs without getting creamed, and then ONLY if you are fast enough and smart enough (keep your head up, know when the check is coming, etc).

You need more overall muscle mass. But you do not want to train like a body builder. Instead you want to train like a sprinter, which will accentuate your speed (which as a small guy should be your chief advantage). Get a good trainer, or have your HS coach show you how to do olympic lifting. Get a video and learn how to do some plyometrics (only after you have added some muscle mass, especially in the legs, though). Learn all about flexibility exercises, especially dyanmic ones. You need to be flexible so you can absorb without damage the couple of hard checks you are not quick enough to avoid.

How is your skating speed? To make the move to Jrs make sense, you do not want to only "survive" out there, you want to stand out as a very young player who can score. You will need lightning fast speed to do that. And there is simply no way to do that without good skating speed. If you are not pretty much the fastest kid your age you know, then get some skating lessons this spring/summer. Also, now is a good time to start practicing the stickhandling and shooting. Set up a target in the garage and whale at least 100 pucks a day at it. Get a stickhandling ball (or even a golf ball) and practice stickhandling (without looking! You do not want to be staring at the puck and get creamed by a 220 lb opponent) at least 15 minutes a day.

If it were me, I would make a plan to explode onto the ice in the CHA, and then move up the next year to the EJHL, Golden Horshoe, some Canadian Jr A league, etc. Unfortunately that will probably entail billeting away from home, so involve mom and dad in your plans!

[biff44 0]

Plan on going to a couple exhibition/tournaments this summer too. They give you a good idea of what the competition level is. Remember, there are a lot of players out there that live, eat, breath hockey 24/7. They are really working at it. It is sometimes a good wakeup call to attend some of these things. There are some good OHL prospects scouting events, like Toronto prospects, and some USHL scouting events that are looking for young talent. If you feel ready, you should try to go to those--magic can happen there.

[BigDipper 0]

Long story short buds..play another year of triple A.

[oggy_3 0]

Good question. When I was in 10th grade...15 years old I made the jump to playing Tier II junior 'A'. I'm from Canada by the way. I had a successful junior career after that before having to quit due to a serious injury when I was almost 19. Look here's the way I see it and I tell this to a lot of players now. Although I am not sure which league the CHA is. Moving away from home is big step and a big change. You have to be prepared. As a young player unless youre a prodigy, you will sit...you will not even dress most games, and chances are a lot of the Vets will give you a cold shoulder. It's hard on the mind mentally and you have to prepare yourself for it. Honestly, another year of AAA where you can stand out is a solid option, and a damn good one too. In one year you are going to be just as good now if not better so it's not as if you will not get noticed. Moving on to junior as a more mature, experienced player is ALWAYS the better move. In AAA you can afford to work on different aspects of your game..and yourself, without having to worry about sacrificing ice time due to bad play. Unofortunately, in Junior you cant. Oh...and if you go junior, have some teach you know hot to properly handle yourself in a fight. Trust me..when youre 15 and fighting a 21 year old...it goes a looooong way.

Junior in Canada is alot different, in the states tier 2 junior A is comparable to Junior B if that, and Tier 2 Junior A is a big step for a 15 year old, i have only seen 1 player do it where i am from and he is now playing Q and the only reason he was left on the team because he was 6'2 190, by the way he never even lasted a season they sent him back down to midget AAA at christmas time.

[LkptTiger 1]

I don't know if you can make a generalization like that. There are a lot of weaker Junior leagues in the States, but it's been my experience that the level of play in the EJ (American northeast) is quite comparable (and perhaps superior to) to that of the OP (southern Ontario) - two Tier II leagues that, on the whole, I would consider to be among the best in North America. That being said, I've also seen some Canadian Junior teams that I would consider to be "Junior" in name only - a couple of them looked an awful lot like some of the "Juvenile" leagues we have around here for kids who have aged out of minors and don't want to quit "competitive" hockey even though they can't make an NCAA, Junior or even college club roster.

[Jim A 4]

What are your realistic goals for playing at the next level? There are tons of people going to NCAA now as 20/21 yr old freshman, even @ D1....

If you think you could max out playing D2/D3, where do you want to play, continue skating midgets and then look at teams near there or see who provides their pipeline...

Thinking about going to school in the MA region, then you should be looking at the EJ where you can be visible to quite a few schools long-term..

go to prep school, repeat your current year and get a fabulous education while at it an option as well,

[Ti-girl 0]

Not every great player does the "normal" route.

Darren Helm, Team Canada WJ last year and now with the GR Griffins played Jr B and then made the jump to the Dub...

[biff44 0]

That is common. Skating Jr. B and then doing QMJHL hockey is actually a normal progression in the northeast US. The Q scouts are looking for the very young players who are standing out in Jr. B, and wanting to bring them to their teams, give them superiour coaching, and maybe have the next Crosby! They tend to scout the tier II A leagues less because they have mostly older players in them. They want a hot prospect on their team when he is 16, not 18. The Q scouts are at a lot of Empire league Jr B games.

I assume the same holds out west, but out there you have valid high-level midget leagues to get scouted in.

[BigDipper 0]

Long story short...I think you should play another year of AAA hockey before making the jump. You can mature more as a person and player..and still possibly garner interest in you then. Trust me....if you're good enough...they'll find you.

[biff44 0]

Boy, I wish I had a buck for everytime I heard that sorry line of B.S.!

The truth is, if you are very well know and scouted, then every scout will find you! There could be another player on the very same team out there skating circles around the "marquis" player, and nobody notices! Why? Couldn't tell you--some quirk of human nature. Laziness, not wanting to miss a hot prospect, etc, but scouts are not really out there looking for any diamonds in the rough.

So what do you do? If you can put up 70 points in your midget season, then yeah, someone will find you and bring you up next year. But what if you are doing well, but you are stuck with lousy line mates that keep screwing up or never pass you the puck? What if your coach makes Machievelli envious? What if your coach simply does not like you and gives you poor ice time. The result: you look bad in front of the scouts through no fault of your own. The only way to fix that is get the heck out of Dodge!

Being the youngest player in a decent junior league WILL get you noticed. Being an exceptionally big player will get you noticed. Playing with 110% energy all the time might get you noticed. Politics (a behind the scenes tie with USA Hockey, or some well known scout) is a guarantee to get you noticed. Making it to a USA-wide playoff AND playing very well will also get you noticed. Making it to the USA regional festivals might get you noticed.

[jon93 0]

I think im going to stick with midgets, I'm not one of those 70 point all stars just a good playmaker and help my team mates on the ice, I'm also not a finisher so i doubt that will look good. I'm also not positive that I will be able to make the junior team.

I train just as hard as anyone, Monday Wensday Friday im in the weightroom. Tuesday wednesday Thursday friday saturday(2 times) and sunday (2 times) im on the ice. I have a good diet. Stick handle and pass when im not on the ice. If theres anything else i should be doing please tell me.

I just felt that a head start on juniors could really help. Even if i dont play to much I can prove to the coach and manager that im patient and willing to do whatever it takes to improve.

Thanks for all the help so far.

[BigDipper 0]

You got the right idea kid...keep it up..it will pay off. I wish you all the best.

[Cannon12 0]

It also depends on what you want AFTER junior. Even if you play 1 exibition game in the WHL, OHL or the QMJHL, you lose one full year of college eligibility.

[jon93 0]

I plan on staying eligible for NCAA so hopefully the EJ, USHL or NAHL. My main goal would be D-3 NCAA. But for now i want to stay focused on making it through juniors.

[LkptTiger 1]

Plan on attending Junior try-outs/camps next spring/summer. Even if you've already decided that you're going to stick-it-out for another year playing Midgets, the exposure (both of yourself to the level of play as well as that of you to coaches and players already at that level) wouldn't be a bad thing.

[-brady2 0]

Plan on attending Junior try-outs/camps next spring/summer. Even if you've already decided that you're going to stick-it-out for another year playing Midgets, the exposure (both of yourself to the level of play as well as that of you to coaches and players already at that level) wouldn't be a bad thing.

Yeah, especially if they have an open conditioning camp and that's a good way to see how things would be run, and a good way to get lots of skating and see how you match up to them.

[oggy_3 0]

Plan on attending Junior try-outs/camps next spring/summer. Even if you've already decided that you're going to stick-it-out for another year playing Midgets, the exposure (both of yourself to the level of play as well as that of you to coaches and players already at that level) wouldn't be a bad thing.

That is what happen to me last August, I went to a Maritime Junior A team tryout to see what I had to do to get to the next level. After i was let go, i talked to the coach and he told me that he wanted me to become quicker, and make sure the little things were always done, chip the puck, quicker passes etc.. Also told me that he liked how i finished every check, and never backed down. Also because i went to the tryout he invited me to 3 showcases during the off season. I would say go to the tryout and show that you can be there and you never know what will happen.

Also with playing junior compared to midget is the ice time you will get out of practice, playing junior i know here you practice everday, light skates on game days and you might be in the line up every 3 or 4 games. But in midget it is only 2 practices and 2 games a week.

Another solution that will help you with Junior and NCAA is get some prep school coachs to come see you. But with that you need to be a good hockey player but also have to be strong academic wise.

[jon93 0]

looking at the USHL draft list today theres a handful of kids play junior B and even Junior C and they really aren't stand outs on there team. Makes me think a little more.

[Hipster 5]

Long story short...I think you should play another year of AAA hockey before making the jump. You can mature more as a person and player..and still possibly garner interest in you then. Trust me....if you're good enough...they'll find you.

This is the right advice. I would add that you look for the best development coach available to you, even if it means a longer drive or switching teams.

Given your size, maxing out your career will be about knowing what you are and are not and fitting your strengths into a role that is needed on the teams you want to play on. You can go a long way being a great penalty killer and forechecker/backchecker. Disrupting the other teams flow is as important as big power or awesome scoring skills.

[shooter27 116]

I plan on staying eligible for NCAA so hopefully the EJ, USHL or NAHL. My main goal would be D-3 NCAA. But for now i want to stay focused on making it through juniors.

If that's your goal I would definitely look at the new england prep schools. I did the NE prep route, got a phenomenal education and got into one of the top ranked colleges in the U.S. to play D3, which furthered my education even more. I also had several good D1 looks, but they all wanted me to play 2 years in the USHL and come in as a 20 year old freshman, my dad nixed that idea. Looking back, prep school was a better experience than even college for me. I matured so much, learned so much and even had better coaching than I did in college.