BEHIND THE BENCH: The Cost of Waiting

Hey Hockey Fams,

Last week I had a very honest conversation with a promising 2009 prospect and his father. They had agreed to speak with us about helping their son navigate the end of his youth hockey career and the beginning of his junior hockey path. The player is 17 years old, talented, and standing at a point where the decisions in front of him carry weight well beyond next season, shaping the several years that follow.

As we talked, it became clear the family had settled into what used to be a very normal plan. He would return to high school, finish his senior year, play for his club's 18U program, graduate, and only then start taking junior hockey seriously. For a long time that plan made sense, and plenty of families followed it because they were told it was the right way to do things: finish school, play 18U, enjoy senior year, then go chase junior hockey.

The problem is the landscape has changed, and families cannot afford to pretend otherwise, especially if they are serious about NCAA Division I men's hockey. Under the new NCAA Division I age-based model, the timeline is tighter. A player generally has five academic years to play five seasons, and that window begins with full-time college enrollment or the age-based trigger tied to his 19th birthday. Waiting until high school is over to start the junior process may no longer leave enough runway for a player who wants to play at that level.

That is why the 2009 birth year matters so much right now. If you have a 2009 who is 17 and still planning to play 18U this season, it is worth stopping to look at the math. If NCAA Division I is the goal, he is going to need real junior hockey experience, at an advanced level, before a Division I program seriously considers him, and for many players that means more than one quick stop in juniors. It means proving over time that he can handle the pace, strength, travel, pressure, and maturity the junior level demands. Spend another full year in 18U and he is not just spending another year in youth hockey. He is spending time he may not have, and that is the part I do not think enough families are taking seriously yet.

The cost of another 18U season is not only financial, though the money is real. Families in many parts of the country are spending fifteen to twenty thousand dollars or more for high-end youth hockey, and nobody should pretend that does not matter. But the more expensive cost now is time. A family can recover money. A player cannot recover a lost development year, and he cannot get back a junior opportunity he passed on because staying home felt safer. He also cannot assume the same team, coach, opening, or level of interest will still be there a year later.

That is one of the hardest things for families to accept. They want to believe that if their son is good enough now, he will still be good enough next year and the same opportunities will be waiting for him. It rarely works that way. If a team is willing to look at a 2009 today, there is no guarantee they will be looking for that same player next year. By then they will be evaluating a 2010. They may have filled the role, found a player they like better, changed coaches, or simply seen their roster situation change entirely. Opportunity in junior hockey is not permanent, and it is not held in reserve because a family wants one more year of comfort.

That is why the 18U decision has to be looked at differently now. At that level, the very best players have already been pulled into junior hockey, whether drafted, tendered, affiliated, or moved up mid-season, and once those players start leaving, the quality of the environment changes with them. 18U can no longer be treated as the safe default for a serious NCAA Division I prospect. There is a real difference between a familiar environment and the right one, between being comfortable and being challenged, between being one of the better players on an 18U team and being tested inside a true junior hockey room, and that difference is what families are actually deciding on.

In the conversation I mentioned earlier, the player had legitimate junior interest, and there was a real path in front of him where a training camp could become the first step toward building the resume he needs. Training camp matters because it is where a player earns his way onto a junior roster, and for a 2009 with NCAA Division I goals, that kind of opportunity cannot be treated casually. The family's other option was 18U, which is the fork in the road. One path feels familiar and keeps the senior year plan mostly intact. The other feels uncomfortable and forces everyone to ask whether the hockey goal is serious enough to change the plan, including how school gets handled.

Families may need to start thinking differently about what finishing school looks like. For some players that means graduating early. For others it means switching to an online program. I know that is uncomfortable. A lot of players want the normal senior year, with their friends, prom, graduation, the experience they always pictured, and parents want that for them too, because for seventeen years they have been trying to give their son every chance to be a normal kid while also helping him chase a very abnormal hockey dream. I understand that completely. But if the goal is NCAA Division I men's hockey, families have to be honest about whether the traditional high school plan still gives the player enough time to get where he needs to go, and in many cases it may not.

Parents have carried this burden for years. They have been the scheduler, the driver, the planner, the bill payer, the trainer, the medic, the nutritionist, the emotional support system, and half the time the unpaid agent, trying to make the right decisions with incomplete information in a sport that keeps changing around them. That is exactly why this conversation matters. This is not about scaring families. It is about being honest with them. The old path may have made sense when your son was younger, playing 14U or 16U, when everyone around you was saying just finish high school, play 18U, and worry about juniors later. But later is not what it used to be.

If your son is a 2009, this needs to be addressed now. If he is a 2010, you need to be thinking about it now. If he is a 2008 still trying to figure out where meaningful junior hockey fits into the plan, the urgency is already here. That does not mean every player has the same answer, or that every player should take the first junior opportunity that appears, or that families should panic and make reckless decisions. It means standing still is no longer neutral.

I got into this work because I lived through the process without the kind of guidance I wish I had. I know what it feels like to chase a path without really knowing where it is going, and to burn time, money, and energy trying to figure it out from the outside. That is why I cannot tell families the old plan is still safe when I do not believe it is. The path has changed, the rules have changed, and families can either adjust to that reality now or wait until the decision has already been made for them.

If NCAA Division I men's hockey is truly the goal, your plan has to match it.

Stay focused,

Mike

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USA Hockey has invited 36 players—20 forwards, 12 defensemen and four goaltenders—to the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup Selection Camp, scheduled for July 23-27 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minnesota. The group will compete for 23 roster spots on the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team, which will defend its 2025 title in Edmonton from August 3-8. Head coach Reid Cashman leads the staff, supported by experienced assistants, goaltending personnel and USA Hockey management.

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Ryan Oulahen will lead Canada’s National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team at the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Edmonton, supported by assistant coaches Ryan McDonald, Brad MacKenzie and Kyle Chipchura. The CHL coaching group brings extensive WHL, OHL, QMJHL and international hockey experience. Canada will hold training camp July 27-30, play pre-tournament games against Sweden and Czechia, and open preliminary-round action against Switzerland on August 3 while pursuing its 26th summer U18 gold medal.

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USA Hockey has named 20 players to the 2026 U.S. Under-17 Men’s Select Team for the Under-17 Four Nations Tournament, scheduled August 15-19 in Chomutov, Czechia. The roster features 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders representing 10 states. Guy Gosselin will serve as head coach, supported by assistants Ryan Hayes and Leon Hayward. Team USA will face Czechia, Slovakia and Switzerland while pursuing its 10th tournament championship since 2010.

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Hockey Canada has invited 80 elite prospects to its national under-17 development camp, running July 17-21 in Oakville, Ontario. The roster includes eight goaltenders, 24 defencemen and 48 forwards, all selected by Canadian Hockey League teams. Players will be divided into four squads for practices and six games. Evaluations will continue into the 2026-27 season before Canada Red and Canada White rosters are chosen for the 2026 U17 World Challenge in Oakville.

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The Moncton Wildcats and Québec Remparts have been named finalists to host the 2028 Memorial Cup presented by Kubota. Both QMJHL organizations will submit formal bids, deliver presentations and host site visits before the CHL selection committee evaluates operations, community engagement, logistics and hockey readiness. Moncton previously hosted in 2006, while Québec City has staged the championship four times and owns deep Memorial Cup history. The winning host city is expected to be announced by the end of October 2026.

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The 2026 NAHL Showcase will run September 23-26 in Blaine, Minnesota, featuring every NAHL team in three out-of-division games alongside the USNTDP. Known as the “Greatest Show on Ice,” the event attracts NCAA coaches and NHL scouts seeking top junior hockey prospects. All 55 games will stream live on NAHLTV, while more than 100 Tier I programs will also compete. The showcase strengthens the NAHL’s reputation as a leading pathway to NCAA hockey and professional opportunities.

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The 2026-27 EHL and EHLP season will feature 14 must-watch matchups packed with debuts, championship rematches, heated rivalries and playoff implications. Highlights include the Hershey Cubs and Elite Golden Knights making their EHL debuts, the Seahawks facing Philadelphia and New Jersey, and an EHLP championship rematch between New Jersey and New Hampshire. Late-season clashes involving the Bears, 87’s, Avalanche, Express and H.C. Rhode Island could significantly shape conference standings and postseason seeding.

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NCAA Division III men’s hockey rosters featured 769 CJHL alumni across nearly 100 programs during the 2025-26 season. Fourteen helped Hamilton College capture the national championship, while five played for runner-up Hobart. Adrian College’s Ian Amsbaugh led Division III scoring with 49 points, and Keenan Ingram topped all players with 26 goals. Hobart goaltender Damon Beaver posted a 0.99 goals-against average and .951 save percentage, highlighting the CJHL’s growing influence on NCAA hockey.

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The Western International Junior Hockey League will launch its inaugural 2026-27 season on September 18, 2026, with all 10 clubs in action. Each team will play 44 games, including 28 divisional and 16 inter-divisional contests, before the regular season ends February 27, 2027. The WIJHL scheduled 92 percent of its 220 games on weekends to support student-athletes’ academic commitments. Playoffs begin March 5, while the preseason schedule will be released August 3.

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Longtime Alberni Valley Bulldogs play-by-play voice Evan Hammond has been named the 2025-26 Jim Hughson Award winner for BCHL Broadcaster of the Year. Selected unanimously by the league’s 20 broadcasters, Hammond receives the honour posthumously after passing away in January. Known as “Hammer,” he called Bulldogs games for more than two decades and became a defining voice in the Alberni Valley community. The award marks his fourth Broadcaster of the Year recognition, following victories in 2009, 2013 and 2022.

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Players and families, we want to hear from you. If there are any questions, concerns, or if you just want to have a conversation, please feel free to contact us directly. We want to hear from you. Good Luck and Great Hockey!

 

Thank you,

Team VHC

 

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