Ice Hockey

INTRO

Ice hockey has become more than a collegiate sport. It has become a college commodity in some places equaling in the popularity sports like basketball and baseball. Games in some of the top schools attract upwards of 10,000 fans. Even club hockey teams that don’t offer sport scholarships manage to build highly competitive teams and attract great spectator interest. In Division III, where no athletic scholarships are offered, men have 71 ice hockey programs and women have 44. Players eligible for D1 and D2 teams occasionally chose D3 teams due to very high level of ice hockey, a lot of hype and buzz around hockey in these schools, often very high academic standards and prestige. Most Ice Hockey schools are located in the Northeast and upper Midwest regions of USA.

There is also increasing presence of international hockey players in collegiate ice hockey. Over 25% of all collegiate players come from abroad. The US college system is the only place where young hockey players can continue their sports career and combine with a high-quality education. For some it is a pathway and springboard to professional leagues. Ice hockey is one of several college sports, where teams offer big scholarships to incoming recruits, some of them even covering up to the entirety of the costs.

Collegiate Ice hockey in USA evolved rapidly over the last years. Increased role of women’s ice hockey as well as sheer hockey level of men which has significantly increased. In fact, an athlete recruited as a D1 player a few years ago might be recruited as a D2 now.

According to http://collegehockeyinc.com:

Approximately 30% of all NCAA Division I men’s players are Canadian, while more than 100 came from Europe in 2018-19.  For European players, amateurism concerns can arise if players signed professional contracts or played with professional players in their native countries. Many – but not all – European players will play in North American junior leagues prior to playing NCAA Division I hockey.

Collegiate Ice Hockey is a breeding ground for NHL. It is a perfect developmental environment with the best coaching best facilities, support and infrastructure to facilitate progression to the next level. Whether a player needs to improve skating, skills, striking, puck handling, understanding formations and patterns, strength, or any other elements of the game, he / she can find it in college ice hockey.

College hockey is making a bigger impact in the NHL than ever before.  In the recent season, 325 former college players skated in the NHL  (33% of the league). That number was just 20% around 2000’s. College hockey, in short, is the fastest growing development path for the NHL. College hockey has become one of the biggest suppliers of talent to the NHL, surpassing all of Europe.

Number of players with college experience per NHL team in 2016: Pittsburgh 15, Minnesota 14, Anaheim 9, Detroit 9, NY Rangers 9, Tampa Bay 9

SOURCE: http://collegehockeyinc.com/

Unique to Ice Hockey, there is an organization (ACHA) of schools connecting over 450 schools. The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college athletics association like the NAIA and NCAA. Although these schools do not offer varsity ice hockey scholarships, there are vast opportunities of other funding and further opportunities to advance ice hockey experience past high school.

These non-varsity programs are known for being well organized and supported by the campus community. While these programs do not receive the same level of recognition as NCAA programs, ACHA programs offer another option for finding a roster spot to athletes that want to compete in collegiate hockey. Talent and competition at top ACHA programs are considered comparable to NCAA Division 3 programs.

More information on ACHA schools

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Collegiate_Hockey_Association#:~:text=The%20American%20Collegiate%20Hockey%20Association,quality%20in%20collegiate%20ice%20hockey.

Collegiate ice hockey is very selective.  Student-athletes with aspirations to play for an collegiate hockey program must be ready for quite intense transition from junior and high school hockey to college hockey. Increase in training hours, a busy schedule of home and away games and the added pressure of competing for a scholarship make this a challenging transistion. While adjusting to their changing athletic schedule, student-athletes must also manage their academics, especially those on academic scholarships.

COLLEGE ICE HOCKEY RECRUITING STANDARDS

College coaches across all three NCAA division levels recruit from top junior hockey players and international athletes first when building their list of prospective recruits. Frequently international hockey players aspiring to compete in college, engage in competitive junior leagues in USA.

More about junior ice hockey in USA and Canada: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_ice_hockey#:~:text=Currently%20all%20junior%20hockey%20leagues,II%20within%20the%20UHU%20hierarchy

According to www.ncsasports.org:
Two percent of junior players from the highest tier are scouted directly and signed to NHL programs. The other 98 percent of Tier 1 USHL players are recruited by NCAA Division 1 programs.

Tier 2 junior hockey players compete in one of two leagues: the NAHL and the NCDC. These athletes are recruited by mid- to lower-level Division 1 programs and top-level Division 2 and 3 programs.

Tier 3 athletes make up the majority of NCAA Division 3 commitments and some Division 2 commitments. These athletes compete across four different leagues: EHL, USPHL Premiere, NA3HL and WSHL. Of these four leagues, the EHL produces the most Divisions 2 recruits.