CHL can now play NCAA - change everything !

[Wieters]

Theoretically like only 1/8 kids can opt hockey in USA and it would pass Canada if the logistics were the same.

I think your point about rinks is a good one, but I would disagree that the US could theoretically catch up to Canada even if the same amount of kids played hockey in the US as play hockey in Canada (which would only take a fraction of the American population relative to Canada given the difference in populations).

There is a difference in the quality of athlete who chooses to play hockey in the US versus Canada. As I mentioned before, Lamar Jackson/Bobby Witt Jr./Anthony Edwards types--world-class athletes who would be able to turn pro at any number of sports--wouldn't be that one out of eight kid choosing to play hockey. Beyond the access/logistics and then popularity/culture, there is much more money in the big three American sports; not just in contract value, but also in sponsorships/endorsements/brand deals. So even in places where hockey is very much an option for a kid to play like in MN/MA, the types of American athletes with the best chance of making the NHL still aren't incentivized to choose hockey, although you do likely have more exceptions here since they might just love the sport due to its cultural roots in those regions.

 

[Oak]

There seems to be this recurrent expectation that USA Hockey should continue to increase the percentage of American-born NHL players beyond what it has already done, and that the recent draft classes indicate some failure for not having done that. I just don't think that's a realistic expectation given the realities I mentioned above about hockey's place in the pecking order of American sports. If anything, the more realistic goal is to improve the quality of the players that haven chosen to play hockey, which is what the NTDP endeavors to do.

The percentage will decrease going forward with the skyrocketing costs of hockey.

What cost 6-7k 10 years ago to play the highest level of travel AAA is now more than double that. Hotel prices are double what they were, and travel schedules are way crazier as well. Families are flying 3-5 times a year to play other teams.

It will be a game for the wealthy and hockey bloodlines people. Yes you will have some exceptions that make it through the cracks but you will not see many blue collar kids who are just great athletes making the NHL like you did 20 years ago. Maybe from the extreme cold climates where ice is easier to get but from the USA no way.

 

[Wieters]

The percentage will decrease going forward with the skyrocketing costs of hockey.

What cost 6-7k 10 years ago to play the highest level of travel AAA is now more than double that. Hotel prices are double what they were, and travel schedules are way crazier as well. Families are flying 3-5 times a year to play other teams.

It will be a game for the wealthy and hockey bloodlines people. Yes you will have some exceptions that make it through the cracks but you will not see many blue collar kids who are just great athletes making the NHL like you did 20 years ago. Maybe from the extreme cold climates where ice is easier to get but from the USA no way.

And amongst families who do have the means to do all of this, one of the typical motivations for getting their kids into youth sports is to give them a leg-up in college admissions. But there are plenty of sports out there that are much less of a grind and less competitive than youth hockey (eg lacrosse) that can still lead to a scholarship or relaxed admissions standards, so the appeal even to them is lessened.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Yeah I know this, thanks for the info… this is the result of there being growth in NHL expansion into untapped markets and the fact other European nations are pulling their weight more than in the past. Doesn’t negate anything I said though. I’m not shitting on USA hockey, it’s done a good job over the years to try and close the gap, but 20 years later and it’s still not closed. Demographic changes in Canada may help them even more, but USA hockey has also plateaud. Worst draft in recent memory last year and this years draft might be worse for them. This CHL-NCAA agreement may in the end benefit the middle to lower end ncaa programs, but for USA hockey, it’s not exactly a great thing. Already we’ve seen 30 or so Canadian kids commit to ncaa schools who otherwise wouldn’t have and likely would have gone to an American player. Now a lot of those spots will be given to 20 year old Canadians.

But if you grant that point about the percentage of Canadians compared to Americans in the NHL, and let’s not forget either how close the Four Nations Rosters are, maybe some of those USHL players are better than you credit them for being. Not all the American players in the NHL played at the NTDP. Take out NTDP players and the USHL is still putting out more picks each year in the NHL than the Q. And the gap to the OHL isn’t a 6-7 goal victory, as you suggest.