Thursday, September 30, 2010

College Hockey Skates into Toronto

College Hockey Skates into Toronto

On September 18th, NCAA College Hockey skated into Toronto to conduct the inaugural NCAA Collegiate Hockey Summit for top 15 and 16 year-old players from Greater Toronto.

Over 20 Division 1 programs, headlined by Head Coaches Red Berenson (Michigan), Seth Appert (RPI), Dave Hakstol (North Dakota) and Dave Smith (Canisius), traveled to Toronto to scout, evaluate and meet with 70 of the top-rated players from the region.

College Hockey Inc. created the invitation-only program which included on-ice scrimmages coached by former NHL players, and off-ice presentations by Paul Kelly of College Hockey, Inc., current Maple Leafs Mike Komisarek and Christian Hansen, NHL Director of Central Scouting EJ McGuire, Maple Leafs Sr. VP Dave Poulin and Commissioner of the USHL Skip Prince. There was also an hour-long Q & A session with the coaches from the programs in attendance, including Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, North Dakota, Notre Dame, RPI, Bowling Green, Boston University, Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Princeton, Providence, Canisius, UMass, Clarkson, Niagara, Colgate, and RIT.

Paul Kelly stated “we were very pleased with the success of this Summit. The talent on the ice was tremendous and the players and parents were genuinely appreciative of the opportunity to be scouted by several top NCAA programs, and also to learn about career options and many benefits of the NCAA college hockey path.”

Parents were also pleased with the impact that college hockey had on the players. One parent stated “we were never fully aware of the opportunities that existed with the NCAA programs. Mr. Kelly’s presentation and the Q & A session with the coaches opened our eyes to the benefits both hockey-wise and educationally of the NCAA path. To this point all we had known was the OHL, but after the event my son did an extra hour of homework and we are planning to visit a few universities this fall to see the campuses and watch a few games.”

The coaches and veteran hockey observers reacted similarly. Pat Flatley, a 16-year NHL veteran, Canadian Olympian and a Wisconsin graduate who coached one of the teams said, “every one of those kids out there today will have the chance to play college hockey and receive a world-class education. The NCAA prepares these kids for the NHL but more importantly for life after hockey.”

Last week’s Collegiate Summit was only the first of a series of such programs that College Hockey, Inc. plans to do across Canada over the next 6-8 months. Kelly stated “our plan is to do similar invitation-only programs in at least three other provinces as well as to monitor the progress of every elite player in Canada. Our mission is to provide information to these elite players and their families about the choices and career options they will have to evaluate in the next couple of years. The NCAA coaches and the programs they represent are eager to increase college hockey’s presence in Canada and to attract the top players. These Summits provide a great setting for identifying and meeting these highly skilled young athletes.”