College

The changing face of Division III hockey

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Last Updated on Monday, 09 July 2012 01:03

By Joe McQuillan

For years, NCAA Division III hockey has been known as a safe haven for aspiring young hockey players who had exceptional high school hockey careers. The MIAC used to be home to some of the most talented hockey athletes who never got the Division I attention that they so often dreamed of.

In recent years, this safe haven no longer offers the comfort that it once did, especially in the MIAC. But who is to blame for this offense?  It’s quite simple, the ever-present junior hockey leagues. Leagues like the USHL, NAHL and MJHL are all thriving with popularity at the moment.

These leagues are not at all new, however, their effect on the MIAC is now starting to be felt strongly. This year, 181 of the 261 hockey players in the MIAC alone have played at least one year of junior hockey before attending college. This means that 70 percent of the players in this league have experience in junior hockey. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me, these statistics seem a bit odd for a Division III sport.

These numbers are no doubt much worse when analyzing D-I hockey, where the competition level as well as the opportunity for advancement beyond college hockey are much higher. D-I players often intend to play hockey after college and in some cases leave college early to participate in pro hockey.

However, it is much different in D-III. Despite the obvious lack of national attention and void of athletic scholarships, D-III players hardly ever play professionally after college. A rare few may choose to play overseas professionally for a short while, but most of the time they come back a year or two later disappointed.

Only couple of players from D-III hockey have ever been able to play routinely on an NHL roster. One of them was a goalie named Guy Hebert, who maintained a steady career as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks goaltender from 1994 to 2001. With the exception of Hebert, D-III hockey is a route that does not eventually lead to “The Show.” So, why would someone set aside two to three years of their life to pursue Division III hockey?

I am in no way trying to diminish the role of junior hockey in player development. Junior hockey has a great reputation of developing talent that would not have otherwise developed through high school hockey. There are plenty of talented young players out there who were able to refine and improve their skills in juniors and go on to have successful college hockey careers, whether that’s Division I or III.

However, there are also plenty of horror stories out there about players going to juniors and burning out very quickly. You may go into juniors as a blue-chip prospect with big dreams and come out a bust. On the other hand, you may also go into juniors as an average player and come out a Division I athlete. The point being, juniors can be a high-risk, high-reward venture. Although it is a very tempting possibility for a young high schooler with dreams of a Division I scholarship, it may not always work out so well.

This proliferation of junior hockey has resulted in a very competitive D-III climate. This should be no surprise to anyone, though. Of course it’s going to be more competitive when the average age of a senior player is 25-26 years old.

However, this also results in a disadvantage for true freshman players coming right out of high school. For example, an 18-year-old freshman coming off a 30-game high school season will have a very tough time competing for a spot with a 21-year-old who just came off an 80-game season against bigger, tougher competition.

The result of this? Well, college coaches are no longer scouting high school players anymore. Junior hockey offers a simple, easier and more logical way of recruiting. Why spend three years waiting for a true freshman to mature into a solid player when you can get an older kid who is already mature?

The basic point is that Division III hockey is not what it once was. What used to be a promising plan B option for a player no longer is guaranteed. If you want to play college hockey nowadays, you may be forced to go to juniors.

The way the current trend is going right now, in a few years, all D-III hockey players may be made up of Junior hockey players. The question is, is this what we want Division III hockey to become? What used to be a competitive way for high school players to continue their careers has now become a cluster of older players with a load of experience. Has high school hockey now become irrelevant in the pursuit of college hockey?