COMMENTARY
Gleason: Hockey trend worsening by degrees
Lindy Ruff didn't have too many choices while growing up in tiny Warburg, Alberta. He once pitched for a Triple-A baseball scout when he was 16 years old and was told he might have a future on the mound. He ditched that idea when it became evident it meant giving up hockey.
Ruff was set on playing major junior hockey, a goal still ingrained in many Canadian kids looking for a ticket out of small towns en route to a greater life. You might say it worked out for Ruff. He played in the Western Hockey League, was drafted by the Sabres, had a good career and became a coach.
Give him the opportunities that top American players are getting these days, and it's a no- brainer. Ruff takes an entirely different route. He accepts a Division I scholarship and the free education. If hockey doesn't work out, he has plenty of options.
"In my job, I see more guys not make it than make it," Ruff said by telephone Tuesday from South Florida. "You can troll in the minors and make a pretty good living now, but it's hard. If you're a good player, you can get an education. If you're in that middle class and can play Division I, you have a chance for an education and a chance to play hockey. You're doubling your chances [for success] in my eyes."
Translation: Take the scholarship. If you're good enough, the NHL will find you. If not, you have a degree.
A recent study making the rounds of the American College Hockey Coaches Association shows there are 111 U.S.-born players who have forgone the college route and are playing in one of three major junior leagues in Canada. It includes a 14 percent jump over last year in the Ontario Hockey League alone.
NCAA rules prohibit major junior players from getting college scholarships because they're paid to play. Most make peanuts, but technically they're pros. It means they're ineligible at the college level, and there's no turning back.
Apparently, major junior programs in Canada have grown more aggressive in recruiting kids, selling the dream and offering loose promises of money on the side for education, while the United States has lagged behind. The result is too many good U.S. players aren't making it to the NHL or getting a college education. How does that make sense?
Sorry, but when 200 players are selected in the NHL draft every year and only about 40 on average ever play a shift at that level, players need to understand the long odds against them. I'm not suggesting kids should quit on their dreams, not by any means, but they'd better have a backup plan.
Yes, there are exceptions to every rule and reasons for choosing major junior. Some kids can't meet NCAA academic requirements. Some want to play more than the 34 games, plus playoffs, allowed at the Division I level. Some are overlooked as teens and jump on an opportunity to play against the best 20-under players and advance their careers.
Patrick Kane took the major junior route and was the first pick overall. Tim Connolly left home for the Erie Otters and was taken fifth. Patrick Kaleta signed with Peterborough partly because he thought his hard-hitting style was better suited for the OHL than the NCAA. Sanborn native Thomas McCollum, barely on the radar in local youth-hockey circles, evolved into a first-round pick after a tryout with Guelph.
For them, it was a risk worth taking. For many others, it's an opportunity lost.
"I've been on both sides," said Niagara coach Dave Burkholder, previously with the Niagara Falls Thunder. "There are millionaires who are fast-tracked [to the NHL]. It doesn't matter which way they go. And there's a lot of other guys hoping for the lottery. Looking at the long haul in life, there's no question that school is the right way to go."
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