So what every one of the players recieved a full D1 educatin pac. 4 years covered at state college,and they are playing in the best junior league in the world.So whats the other alternative bum around the NAHL or the USHL and hope to get a 1/2 ride or 3/4 ride.these players allready have their educatin taken care of and can concentrate on playing hockey.Its a win win

First and foremost once these kids sign any pro level contract, there education that is earned by playing major juniors is thrown right out the window. There is only a very small percentage of these kids that get to keep there education package after signing a pro level contract, and I am talking about any pro level. Last the percentage of kids going back to college once there done playing there minor league professional career is also very low. The longer you stay away from school, the harder it is to get back into it. Oh, and one last thing buddy, the chance of a kid playing in the NHL is 1%. These kids have better odds winning the powerball then making it to the NHL… Go get an education, period!

Not true,the only way you lose your money is if you sign a NHL contract,not a AHL or ECHL,the money is guarnteed and on most tems you are required to take college courses while on the team.And you have 18 months in most cases after grad. from ohl till you lose any ed. money.So you should know where your at by 23 on where your hockey career is going,so you can go back to school or play hockey

All you college people keep brainwashing players about the OHL and it s all bull shiat.now the players are catching on to all your negative BS and lies about the OHL and are playing real hockey.have you guys watched college hockey its real lame.

Concerning the education packages, OHL players have a full 18 months to decide, after graduating from the league, whether or not to use the scholarship package offered by the OHL. Within that time they are able to sign contracts in any league with the exception of the NHL (or two way NHL/AHL contracts but can sign ATO AHL contracts).

Compare that to the NCAA. A player is offered ZERO opportunities to sign any contract what so ever with any type of pro or semi pro league.

The number of ex CHL players in the CIS continues to rise year after year and the comment that only 1 in 3 use their scholarship money is absolutely false! Many go on to vocational and community colleges where they receive the technical education needed for many types of employment opportunities today.

This debate will soon become moot anyway. The NCAA is losing the war against the CHL and they know it. Plans are already underway to allow CHL players to retain their NCAA eligibility.

The NCAA is tired and can no longer continue the fight against an increasenly wealthy and agressive CHL.

CHL players should have the ability to keep their opitions open and play in college if it doesn’t work. A kid from college can decide he wants to move but once he does, that’s it, he’s stuck. It’s a stupid system to do that and it hurts the NCAA to do that. Having these kids be able to make choices and then change it if it doesn’t work will help the NCAA, not hurt it.
But yeah, the NCAA is really hurting and can’t possibly churn out good players……

THANK YOU…. ironflex and wchblog do your homework before you run that trap……

The bigger question is how many college players are drafted,not near as many as the chl thats for shore.matter of fact not even close.

Yeah because being drafted is a sure way to the NHL.
Many players get drafted before they even enter college.

brilliant analysis. Well, let’s look at some other issues. Take this year’s draft, first round, for example. Palmieri (ND), Kreider (BC), and LeBlanc (Harvard) all got into elite schools which they may not have gotten into had they simply been applying as non-athletes (Yeah, I know – the Ivies don’t give scholarships – but rest assured that if you’re an elite hockey player you get a break at Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Yale…) If hockey for some reason doesn’t work out, those kids are in schools that 99% of your CHL non-signers can only read about. For example, I think only one kid last year was able to use his OHL money for a place like McGill. And bet your backside that a degree from Notre Dame, Harvard, BC, BU, Michigan, Miami Ohio, Cornell,.Princeton, DU, or Colorado College beats the stuffing out of Dalhousie or PEI. If the kid leaves early and later wants the degree, he’s already been admitted and can get it. Meanwhile, you’re getting coached by the likes of Jeff Jackson, Jack Parker, Rico Blasi, Jerry York, etc. And you’re in a top strength and conditioning program. Now tell me where all of those Michigan kids who bought into the OHL spin are going to get their degrees.

Why wont they use their money to get their degrees belfour enlightin us,you seem to know more about the players than the players why wont they use the their ed money which is 4 years at michigan state covered,if they dont make it.i dont understand why you are so bitter about the OHL

just responding to the argument that the OHL is some sort of no-brainer choice over college for a U.S. kid. First, the stats aren’t that skewed in favor of the CHL on being drafted. The bigger issue is that a kid might not be able to get into these elite schools (where the degree is worth more) but for the fact that he’s a good enough hockey player. The OHL “scholarship” money is nice but it doesn’t get the kid admitted to these schools unless he meets the requirements regular students do. Take a look at the median SAT scores for the Ivies, Notre Dame, BC, BU, etc. Ain’t happening in most cases. Why wouldn’t a kid choose these schools, get coached by some highly-regarded coaches (I have personal knowledge about how NHL GM’s view guys like Jackson and Parker), get the benefit of a top S&C program, and have a great fallback in case the NHL doesn’t pan out? Talk about a no-brainer….

Belfoured,

Yes a degree from Harvard and some of the other Ivies are indeed prestigeous in Canada and around the world. You, however, vastly underestimate the value of a degree from some very fine Canadian schools such as York, U,T, Alberta and McGill. They carry the same weight (at least in Canada) as a degree from Michigan, BU and certainly as much and probably more than C.C.

Furthermore, are you one who really believes a player like LeBlanc will actually graduate from Harvard? PLEASE!!!! He will spend one year, two at the most and then sign a pro contract. Why even bother going there in the first place???

Do you really believe that someone with low SAT’s and mediocre academics can really get into Harvard or Princeton??? Give your poor head a shake. There is a reason that few top rated players end up there, its because you truely do have to be a solid student.

Yes, the Michigans and B.U.’s (and lately even Notre Dame) will certainly lower the bar in terms of academics for pro prospects but then you have to ask yourself what a generic degree like Liberal Arts or Exercise Science is really worth, even if you do happen to get it from Michigan? Not a whole heck of a lot!

The OHL scholarship package, to a Canadian at least, is everybit as good and more often than not better than what he can receive from the U.S. For an American, OHL clubs will often pay a good portion of his cost even at a so called elite school like Michigan.

In terms of Hockey development, as well as an educational fallback, you are right, it is a no brainer and that is perhaps why the CHL is winning the majority of the recruiting wars.

Thanks again ktf that is what i was trying to say,not only that but college hockey to me is lame and quite boring,but thats my observation

yes, the Ivies, as well as Notre Dame, BU, BC, and other elite schools, cut athletes a break on admissions. True, at any of those schools the kid still has to be able to do the work but if you think that they’re only getting in with a 1400 (old scale) on the SAT you’re out of the loop. And financially, while the Ivies don’t give out “scholarships”, no elite athlete going to, say, Harvard will have to turn down an offer for financial reasons – especially with the new, more flexible financial aid standards. An American kid can’t use the CHL money to attend Michigan or any other elite school unless he gets admitted under the standards applicable to everybody. If you think that a degree from one of those schools isn’t an advantage for the kid who can’t go pro, you’re not living in the real world. Now – what’s the big disadvantage for a kid to attend one of those schools and also play hockey under a Jackson, a Parker, et al? Here’s a prediction – it’s really going to kill Ian Cole when he finally joins the Blues.

ok so if the kid who goes to the ohl can meet the requirement to go to UOF M OR MSUhe is ok then,so what your saying is they will let some kid with lower scores into these colleges if he plays hockey for them……..i dont get it.if the chl player has the smarts to use his college money they have to pay for it,thats it,and if they dont trust me they probably wouldnt have got into any college anyway.

Belfoured,

Ivies are loathed to bend their academic standards for athletes. Did you ever stop to wonder why, for the most part, few elite schools are competitive in sports? When was the last time an Ivy league school won a NCAA hockey title???

If the Harvard’s truly did lower the grade for admissions, don’t you think more of the elite players would flock there?

As for the Michigans et al, yes they are good schools but they are not at the level, in terms of prestige or academics, as the Ivies and while they do lower their standards for athletes, you fail to realize that most tend to gravitate towards the easier and not so well regarded programs.

Have you ever stopped to consider how many players on Michigan are on full rides? It may be a shock to you, but on any given year only 10 to 12 players are on full ride scholarships. Out of those 10 players, how many do you think graduate on time. On average 6-8, meaning that the vast majority of players on those elite teams are paying through their nose (or their parents nose most likely) to play!

Would it shock you to know that last year, the Plymouth Whalers had a couple of students taking classes at Michigan???

Yeah, so please tell me again why the NCAA is the better option?

DIspelling myths…
1. The education or hockey myth- If a kid wants an education, they can earn a degree in either the CHL of NCAA route. There are lots of kids who knock out a couple of years of college while in the CHL.
2. The US colleges provide an education that is far superior to the Canadian schools- If that is not a shining example of ethnocentrism, I do not know what is!
3. The CHL is the best path for everyone who has NHL aspirations- The CHL is the best path for a player who will be drafted in the first 4 rounds of the NHL draft, but not for the few late bloomers. There are a few guys who develop late, like Gilroy, who will be marginal NHL players, and these kids are better off going the NCAA route.
4. Wait, Wait, Wait- “Be patient!” This is what the NCAA guys say to kids all the time. WHy wait? The idea of a 21 year old freshman in college has always baffled me. If a kid wants to pursue an NHL dream, do it, and chase it will all you’ve got! Then, if you do not make it, get on with life! Pursue your education. CHL kids, take that education package and run!

said perfect wicked and ktf

LeBlanc (and his colleagues in a very good incoming class) were not required to meet the usual Harvard numbers for SAT or GPA. Not even close. Anders Lee (who chose between Harvard and Notre Dame) didn’t have to meet the usual numbers at either school. Obviously, these kids still have to be able to do the work at those schools, but that’s the easy part. Getting in is the big challenge. Assume that I have personal knowledge about Harvard.. Same with Cornell, which I can speak to personally. And as for financial aid, the new standards adopted by Harvard and other Ivies make it easier for kids from a qualifying background who can skate and stickhandle to get help. Take that to the bank, as well. One other thing you can put in the deposit box. A degree from the several schools I listed runs laps around a degree from the schools which most CHL victims can get into as non-scholarship athletes. Those are facts.

Sorry belfoured but I’m going to have to bust your bank

Leblanc (who I’ve followed for years and have talked to on occasion) is a solid student who would have been admitted to Harvard regardless of his athletic background. NO and I repeat NO special accomodations were made for him and Harvard rarely, if ever, makes accomadations for any of their athletes……you either pass the mustard or don’t even bother applying.

As for the rest of your little rant….do you even know what schools CHL grads apply to??

What are you saying about the vast majority of NCAA D-1 schools, such as the St Clouds, the Northern Michigans, the U-Mass Lowels? Do you admit that those players should have opted for the CHL instead since they are at inferior colleges???

Please stop trying to pass off Notre Dame and Michigan as elite schools because they are not. How many pro NHL players has Notre Dame produced…..the number pales in comparison to say what the London Knights have sent on to the NHL. For those former Knight players that did not, they could have, and many did, attend the University of Western Ontario….whose programs in the Pyschs rival any other schools including the Ivies….so please take off your little red, blue and white tinted glasses and realize that there is a very big world out there…..one that is becoming increasingly less reliant of the U.S.