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Q: Our son is first year Bantam and from what we can gather from outside information expected to go in the bantam draft this spring. We live in a small AA town. Next year there will not be a competitive team here for him to play on. We are thinking we may try to play Junior B in a town 2 or 3 hours from home or else send him to Notre Dame College in Saskatchewan. What is your opinion of these choices. A junior B club is showing alot of interest in our son coming and playing with them next season and I have to wonder why they would want to pursue a 15 year old. Someone mentioned that if this boy goes on to the WHL they get some money. Is this true? This team says they are pursueing 4 15 year olds for next season. Again I wonder why. We also heard that even the Junior B coaches cannot directly contact our son, is this true?

A: It sounds as though you are entering an exciting time for your son (and family) as more and more playing options are presented to him. Unfortunately, it can also be stressful for everyone involved. We'll do our best to answer your questions and touch on areas that will be affecting your son.
      You mentioned in your submission that you were essentially trying to decide between Junior B and Notre Dame College for your son. However, there is one question that your son and you, as parents, need to answer first. What route does he want to pursue? NCAA or Major Junior? Currently, your decisions should revolve around where he desires to play. It is important to be familiar with the eligibility rules of the NCAA before your son goes to tryout for certain teams.
      With the above decision made, we'll comment on the current options available to you. Firstly, if your son is selected in this spring's Bantam Draft, he will be invited to the camp of the Major Junior team that has selected him. Being selected can be a big boost to players, but it by no means is a determinant of the future. Many teams will continually reevaluate their protected list (50 players including those who currently play on the team) - adding, dropping, and re-adding players as they continue to develop. Teams can and do invite non-protected (drafted) players to their camp. So, if you decide to pursue the Major Junior route and your son secures an invitation to tryout, you need to be aware of what may happen. Many options can present themselves to a prospect like your son.
      Firstly, given the fact that your son has been drafted, the Major Junior team that selected him has a vested interest in his development. He will be invited to camp, and given the team's player needs and your son's play, he may make the team. In this case, he will be billeted in the town with this expense being paid for by the team. If the team is impressed with your son but wants him to develop a little more before making the jump to their team, they may want him to go play for one of their affiliate teams - a Junior A or Junior B team. Both Major Junior and Junior A teams may have affiliate teams. This affiliation would allow for players to easily move between the teams, but would not include financial payment by the WHL team for players. In some cases, a WHL team may give old equipment to their affiliates but this is usually the limit to their involvement. So, if your son does tryout, you need to be aware that other options may be presented to him at that time.
      Now, if your son doesn't garner that much attention at camp, he may simply be set free by the team. Being cut can be hard....especially considering your son's hopes and the fact that he may never have been cut before in his life. However, it is not a big deal. Most players do not get the chance to move to the Junior ranks after their first year of Bantam. At this point, we are back to your dilemma of Junior B versus Notre Dame. To be honest, our first inclination for your son would be to have him return to playing AAA/AA. At this age, playing at home and with familiar teammates can be as beneficial as playing at a higher level. As you stated, however, this option is not available to your son next year. Now, given the options you stated, we aren't in the position to tell you which is the best decision, but we'll do our best to point out the pros and cons of both.

Junior B

Making the jump to Junior B can be a great move for some players....although it often depends upon the league and more often the team. There are varying levels of Junior B leagues across Canada......for instance, Junior B in Saskatchewan often fields some of the best teams in the country and gets significant fan support. However, given the fact that you have interest from one team in particular, it is important to find out more about that team. First, and foremost, it is important to ask questions (and this is true regardless of what team or level your son is trying out for). How many players have moved on to play Junior A/Major Junior? Where do you see my son fitting in with the team? How much playing time do you foresee him getting? There are many questions that you need to ask, so be bold. The key to deciding on a team is to ask yourself whether it will improve his game. Go to a game with your son and watch. Are there older/better players that he can learn from? Is he ready to play with older and stronger players? Is he prepared to handle a rougher level of play? At the Junior B level, there are many players trying to prove themselves.
      With your commuting situation, the benefits of playing for that team have to be high. It will be hard for your son making these commutes to games and practices. There will be stress with school and friends because of his busy schedule. We are also assuming that the team has no billeting program. If they do, you may want to consider having your son move to this new town while he is playing. This too will be difficult, but it will put less strain on his hockey and school. It is also important to find out the team's practice schedule. Given the fact that most players live in town and may even be done school, you need to find out how it will affect other aspects of your son's life. Is he ready to make the sacrifice? As well, is the team practicing regularly? It is important that your son gets plenty of practice time at this age. He will need the time to improve his skills.

Notre Dame

Going to "Dame" has often been alluring to young players hoping to make a step in the right direction. Notre Dame has also produced many great players. However, making the transition to Notre Dame life can often be hard for players. Moving away from home is hard regardless of where you end up......whether it being billeted by a family or living at a school. Notre Dame is a far cry from home life. The school is isolated so young players need to be prepared to make hockey their life. There isn't much to do beyond school life and hockey. There are far fewer girls than guys. And, it is very cold. As well, most students live in rooms of four. There is also a strong old-boy/new-boy mentality. New students can find it a little hard to fit in initially.
      With all this said, we know several players who went to Dame and all stayed for the duration of their high school years. They made many great friends and played some great hockey. Going to Notre Dame should also fit with your son's desired career path - NCAA or Major Junior? Most players going to the school play out their minor hockey years or at some point move up to Junior A. However, traditionally, most players are looking to make the jump to college. If your son goes to Notre Dame, he will play hockey for Notre Dame. It is also important to realize that everyone at Dame plays hockey. Therefore, the level of competition for spots is quite high. With that said though, it takes great players to make a great player. You can learn more about ND on their web site at www.notredame.sk.ca.

With the general outlines of the two options above, we tried not to skew you in favor of one over the other, but rather give you a little more insight into them. As for answers to some of your more specific questions, here goes:

Why would they want to pursue a 15 year old? Every junior team, whether it be Major Junior or Junior B, is always looking to the future. It takes a lot of time and effort to scout out new talent so many teams will begin to pursue players after their first year of Bantam. Teams want the best players possible, so they do their best to predict which players will grow into great players. Picking up a few 15 year olds is quite typical. These players give coaches the chance to work with them over a number of years. It is best for the player's and the team's development. It is for this reason that coaches quite often move through the age brackets with their minor hockey players as well. As an example, there were two 16 year olds on the National Junior Team this Christmas, and the team hopes to have these players over the next few years.

As for the coach not being able to have direct contact, we can't say for certain. However, it is regularly the rule that you become eligible to play junior at the age of 16. As well, scouting usually only begins in the first year of Bantam. In this case, the coach would not contact you. As well, in some cases, coaches aren't always directly involved in scouting. Given the team' resources, coaches/teams may use a whole network of contacts that extent outside of their formal scouting ring. So, I wouldn't worry about a direct contact with the coach just yet. Try to feel out your sources. Speak to your son's coach to get an idea of who is looking at him and how seriously.

With everything said and done, however, it is important to know what your son's goals are. These goals need to be broken down into steps. The NHL is your son's dream, not his goal at the moment. Set out a number of specific goals to reach his dream. For instance: Junior A - NCAA - AHL - NHL. For now, it is important to take the proper steps. Take a look at the Education section of our site. As well, there is an article on our Articles & News page that discusses possible changes to the status of Major Junior players in the NCAA. It is called "Clubs Face Prospect of U.S. Invasion".