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What are the best prep schools in Canada?

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NativeHockey77*

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I know of Pursuit of Excellence and Okanagan Hockey Academy in BC which are (from what I hear) about 20 grand for 1 season. Any others? Is Pursuit of Excellence better than the OHA? Thanks
 
Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is another one. They've had a solid number of NHLers through that program like Tyler Myers, Sean Couturier, and Jaden Schwartz to name a few.
 
Perhaps someone would be willing to explain what a Prep school does?

Does it teach normal school and have a hockey program? Perhaps they do other sports too?
What Grades and ages are the kids?

Who do prep schools play? do they have a season or do they just tour?
 
Lacaar said:
Perhaps someone would be willing to explain what a Prep school does?

Does it teach normal school and have a hockey program? Perhaps they do other sports too?
What Grades and ages are the kids?

Who do prep schools play? do they have a season or do they just tour?
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From what I know a prep school has the kids doing their school stuff mixed in with hockey throughout the day. The prep schools I know of are Bantam - Midget. I know the costs are about 20k a year. I can just imagine the costs of St Mary's prep school costs
 
Though not officially a prep school, St Micheal's College School in Toronto has a pretty illustrious history of developing hockey players.
 
Edge School (Calgary)
Banff Hockey Academy
Yale Hockey Academy (Vancouver)
Compete Hockey Academy (Idaho)
Delta Hockey Academy

Edit: ND is by far the best, followed by POE and OHA, then Edge, then the rest IMO. (For Western Canada)
 
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Notre Dame by far-Even Quebec Vincent Lecavier went there-been in business for decadesand very well respected
 
crazyh0rse said:
From what I know a prep school has the kids doing their school stuff mixed in with hockey throughout the day. The prep schools I know of are Bantam - Midget. I know the costs are about 20k a year. I can just imagine the costs of St Mary's prep school costs
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50-65k US per year depending on program and where you are from ( ie international vs US )
 
Id like to throw Rothsay Netherwood School in the mix - a bot of a homer pick since its in NB but they have had kids commit to Harvard, etc out of there and they always are able to compete in the Major Midget leagues of Quebec /Atlantic canada
 
How do these prep schools work? Do you have to try out - make team - then pay up? I know one guy in POE and his parents fund raise before the start of the season to put him through the program
 
crazyh0rse said:
How do these prep schools work? Do you have to try out - make team - then pay up? I know one guy in POE and his parents fund raise before the start of the season to put him through the program
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Most of the good programs will let you know if you fit in. There are always some spots for the kids who will pay the full amount. .
They do spaghetti suppers or simlar things to fundraise ? Or do they go hat in hand looking for sponsors? I would never give money in that situation. You want the cadillac service you pay for it because there are plenty of hockey development options around -find one in your budget. I'm not against helping a younger player who needs funds to play locally or even some younger rep teams.v
Have given money for figure skater in training because it costs a fortune and there are really no other options except to leave to get coaching.
I think ND is class of the bunch. Really need to checkout the academic side. A true prep school doesn't let kids do class by correspondence
 
6yekcoh said:
Most of the good programs will let you know if you fit in. There are always some spots for the kids who will pay the full amount. .
They do spaghetti suppers or simlar things to fundraise ? Or do they go hat in hand looking for sponsors? I would never give money in that situation. You want the cadillac service you pay for it because there are plenty of hockey development options around -find one in your budget. I'm not against helping a younger player who needs funds to play locally or even some younger rep teams.v
Have given money for figure skater in training because it costs a fortune and there are really no other options except to leave to get coaching.
I think ND is class of the bunch. Really need to checkout the academic side. A true prep school doesn't let kids do class by correspondence
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They raffle off different items to raise money
 
OHA was better than Pursuit for a while when I played them a few years ago, but that was a team that had Lazar so they were good. Pursuit was legit as well tho
 
Okanagan had 12 kids drafted
Pursuit had 9

Okanagan 5 1st round picks
Pursuit 4 2cnd round picks

Pretty impressive if you ask me. Basically half of OHA's elite bantam team got picked.
 
The classic prep school model offers kids a balance of education and extra curricular activities/sports. These schools prepare the student for college. Although the student may excel in one sport, he is required to play others as well.
Beginning mid term grade 11 year the school and student work together to identify colleges which enable the student to further their education and play/participate in the sport/activity they may excel in.
Most of the schools mentioned in this link are hockey prep schools, which are not quite the same.
Although Notre Dame has their kids play other sports/activities besides hockey, they would admit they are slowly becoming predominantly a "hockey school", which is not their intent or first choice. They want to attract kids of various sporting and extra curricular talents.
As for finances to your classic prep school (including Notre Dame), financial aid is available. An application is done through a 3rd party and the results are given to the school. The school and family will normal negotiate a number($) from there.
Always visit several schools, it really is a great learning experience for parents and kids, much to learn during the process.
Another important note about sending your son or daughter away to prep school is to not prioritize your kids sport of choice....but place an emphasis on the total package that a prep school offers (social, accountability, independence, superior education, new activities, meeting other students from around the world).
We've been through this process and have learned that when you give your kid the opportunity to be surrounded by teachers and students that want to excel, your kid will feed off of that. As for hockey, good grades and hard work will pave the way for a further hockey opportunity beyond prep school.
 
Do you guys think a Prep School offers much of an advantage in terms of developing a player over just a regular Tier II or Tier I Rep Team?
 
sabresEH said:
Absolutely. The coaching is usually better but the amount of time they get on the ice is a huge difference.
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I've actually heard a lot of scouts disagree with this. Many (myself included - to an extent) that many kids in the up and coming Prep School programs aren't facing enough adversity early in their careers. Like look at BWC and NSWC who always walk through their league play and almost always represent BC at Westerns. Sure they play in lots of high quality tournaments, but a lot of these teams go through the year without losing many games in the regular season. Of course you could make a counter argument that a team like Lloyminster who plays in the AMBHL never lost this year.

I don't think this effect is as bad as it used to be, but I think it still lingers for a few teams/players. I think if you've got the money, and want to spend it, then sure it's a good option.
 
crazyh0rse said:
I know of Pursuit of Excellence and Okanagan Hockey Academy in BC which are (from what I hear) about 20 grand for 1 season. Any others? Is Pursuit of Excellence better than the OHA? Thanks
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its actually about 25,000-30,000 for kids in BC and 35,000-40,000 for kids outside of BC per season. Although to attract highly touted kids, they usually figure out roughly how much the family would pay in their home town and charge them roughly that amount from what I heard
 
I often hear people say Rep Leagues are expensive. Are the expensive in terms of Hotel Rooms, Meals, Gas ect? Like do you pay a tournament fee every week? I know the Atom Development team in my area, you have to pay $500 once your kid gets 'intived' onto the team.
 
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