Is this possible?

[HockeyIsLife 0]

If someone were 18 and played their last year in midget AA and they put $25000 into 1 on 1 training on and off ice training and also paying to rent ice for themselves would they have a chance to play major junior in a year or two. I was curious because if playing pro in either north america or europe is something I want to do for a living then I could work full time becuase Im out of school and use that to pay for the training. I would play jr b for the first year and hopefully light it up. Would this plan work or no?

[sickwilly 37]

Hard to say without seeing you play. I would guess (this is just an opinion based on what you wrote) that it may be a long shot. I'd have to guess that by 18, that chances are, you might have already been contacted by a Major Junior club if you had a really good shot. No harm in going out for Junior B, like you plan on doing. 25k is a lot to gamble, though. In your situation, I'd probably try out for the best junior club I thought I had a shot at making, train like hell and give it a year or two to see what happens. Personally, I'd save the 25k, as it's a good start in paying for a college education. Hell, with a year of two of junior A or B, you might get a chance to play some solid college hockey.

That being said, if it's your dream, nothing says you can't take your best shot at it.

[danno25nh 3]

You can't buy skill or talent. Sure your 25k will get you some good instruction and added ice time will bring up your skills to a point, but nothing can substitute game play.

That same 25k can buy you a good bit of education which will go a long way towards a good future.

If you're concerned about even making a Jr or NCAA team it's unlikely that the NHL is in your future. Suppose your investment does however land you a CHL or ECHL job, how long will it take you to recoup your money?

If you have the inherent skills to make a pro team at any level then go for it, but I'd hink twice about mortgaging your future to do so.

[interpathway 9]

The likely answer is no, but that's what Columbus was told too.

Here's some food for thought.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/can-a-complete-novice-become-a-golf-pro-with-10000-hours-of-practice/1159357

http://thedanplan.com/

[Jason Harris 31]

When it comes to investments, the question isn't whether something is a good investment. It's whether it appears to be the best possible investment once all factors are considered. Only you can gauge the "all factors considered part," but I think you'd be better off researching what schools have a level a hockey that you could realistically have a shot at playing, then apply to those schools and attend tryouts. Coaches will be able to extrapolate potential. If they see your skating needs improvement, but your hands and hockey sense are outstanding, that's something they can work with, meaning there's a chance you could make the team as a walk-on. If they don't see potential, then it's likely that even $25K of private lessons wouldn't be enough.

The other thought is to go to colleges that have club hockey. My understanding is the players have to pay their own expenses, so I would assume it's easier to make a team where not everyone can pony up the cash versus one where the coach gets to pick the best available.

The bottom line is a college degrees have been proven to be worth around 45% more earnings over a lifetime, so they almost always are the better investment.

[shooter27 116]

Remember that the age limit for major junior is 20, so if you're already 18 its a tight time window. A more realistic option might be to put all the work in while playing Junior B or Tier 2 Junior A and try to grab a scholarship to a US college. A lot of schools have Freshman that are 20-21, the hockey is just as good as major junior and quite a few of the D1 players end up playing pro somewhere (North America or Europe). Canadian Universities are also an option, although its not as heavily scouted as US college, there are definitely a few guys every year that come out of the Canadian system and play some level of pro. I was watching a game not that long ago and they were talking about one of the players who got cut from a Midget AAA team in his last year of eligibility and still found a way to a high level (can't remember if it was a college game or a pro game) can't remember who they were talking about though. In any case, you're getting close to the Junior age limit so I would suggest trying to keep as many options open and give yourself as many chances as possible.