Yup, definitely aware lots of Canadians that play in the ranks ;D It’s no secret that you guys supply a disproportionate amount of hockey talent relative to population size. It’s a weird choice that 16 year olds need to make, since going to play in high level Junior hockey means you lose your amateur status. It’s not real money those kids are making, but it’s a hell of a lot for that age and I guess you just get to play hockey all the time (GED? or some kind of “high school” in parallel?). I have a friend of a friend who played in the OHL, but then decided he wanted to go back to school and played at a D3 college.
Whereas you can go to top notch universities, grab a degree on the house (I guess you are referring to Ivy league schools that don’t have actual “athletic scholarships”, but I assume putting together “need based” financial aid is likely, especially after shit they’ve been getting for inflated endowments), enjoy the college experience, and even if you leave early you can probably come back to get your degree later on (Jack Johnson came back to Michigan during the offseason etc.) Also weird how the draft system works (as a bball/fb fan growing up), where some organizations are fine with players playing NCAA while others like to see players quickly sign contracts and play for NHL farm teams.
But as good as watching college hockey is, the minute I walk into Joe Louis to watch the wings…you see how much faster the game is and how much more skillful/coordinated the teams are. I wouldn’t say this about NCAA football vs the NFL. But sometimes there are some college players that are on another level, and that can be fun to watch (like NCAA basketball). Jack Johnson was apparently a monster in college…UM had a freshman this year Dylan Larkin (wings prospect) who reminds me of Datsyuk, but we’ll see, gonna be quite a leap in competition lol.
