For many hockey prospects around New England, the United States and the world, Aug. 1 is a day circled on the calendar.
It's the first day Division 1 men's college hockey programs can verbally offer scholarships to rising juniors in high school. Various high-end players will be faced with tough choices on Aug. 1 and in the days and weeks after. It's a tough time — where does a 16-year-old want to play college hockey when they're 19 and 20? What will they want? What kind of person will they be?
But it's also a stressful day for those who don't get calls. They're seeing other players' commitment posts on Instagram and X, wondering when their phone will finally ring.
We talked with various Division 1 college hockey coaches who offered advice for both situations. They opened up about what players with offers should do and the road ahead for those who don't get any calls.
James Marcou, Harvard assistant coach
"It's just a date that a lot of kids are probably hoping that maybe they get an opportunity at a school that they would want to go to. But I also believe it's just the beginning and it's not really the end for a lot of kids. It's just a long road. Use it how you want. Each person probably uses it differently depending on where they're at in their hockey career."
Castan Sommer, Holy Cross associate head coach
"Most (hockey players) aren't getting to college until they're 19, 20, 21 years old. I don't think there's a huge rush for it for most kids. For us and a lot of other schools, we're not even doing anything on Aug. 1. Every now and then there will be a late birthday prep kid who's a repeat or something that makes sense. But it's pretty rare for schools like us to go after kids on Aug. 1. But there are the exceptions. There are the kids who are studs at 16 years old who are going to be going to college when they're 18. Yeah, maybe it makes sense for them [committing on or around Aug. 1]. I think it's a little bit blown out of proportion. I'm sure kids get nervous seeing all these kids flying off the board on Aug. 1."
Jimmy Mullin, Merrimack assistant coach
"I believe loyalty is an attribute that is going to be looked upon as a rare trait. Have a goal in mind and where you want to go and where you want to be and don't be in a rush to get there. Don't put a timeline on your goals and Aug. 1 doesn't mean you need to be committed. Everybody seems to be in a rush to get to college and in a rush to get a commitment. But in reality, don't settle but also chase down a dream at the same time. Aug. 1 is just the starting point."
Jason Guerriero, Northeastern assistant coach
"I think a lot of kids have it as a date like it's a big test coming up or their testing day for when we do height, weight and strength. It's so built up with the anxiety and stress of that day, right? When that day comes and someone doesn't get the call or the offer, naturally everybody starts to feel that they're not good enough. Sometimes, some individuals can be frustrated and that's fine. But it's how they deal with it. There's more kids that aren't getting calls than are getting calls. I haven't called a kid on Aug. 1 before and then on Aug. 30 I called them and offered. What's the difference of me committing on Aug. 1 or Aug. 30? There's no difference. It's important for kids to understand that just because you don't get that offer on that day, it doesn't mean that you're not going to get an offer in the end."
Eric Sorenson, UMass Lowell assistant coach
"People say it's a marathon not a sprint. I understand people want to make a decision on the first day because it's the cool thing to do and you can post on Instagram that you're committed somewhere. But sometimes, it's better to take multiple visits if you haven't and see different places and try and figure out what you like. At the end of the day, for a lot of those kids, yeah, some of them go to school immediately. But for some, it's going to be a couple of years and things change in that timeframe like different interests. You just have to figure out what works best for you. It doesn't necessarily have to happen on the first day."
COMMITS TRACKER:Â Stay updated on all the recruitment news over the first week of August
Rob O'Gara, Yale assistant coach
"It's more valuable for a kid to wait even if they are getting a bunch of offers to really make sure that 'Hey, this is what I want,' or 'Hey, this is what I want down the road.' It's a tough time to make a decision like that. Some guys are in a rush. There's two pools. One is 'Hey, I'm in. I want this,' and then there's a group that doesn't get the calls on Aug. 1 and it's discouraging. If it's a moment of, like, 'I'm discouraged because I didn't get the calls I was expecting,' use that as fuel. It might take a little while, but that's what really matters. How am I going to show these guys in the fall that they messed up? We've been in that boat in just my three years [at Yale]. We passed on this guy and all of a sudden, fall hits and he's the best player in New England U16 split-season. It's not just one date — it's so much more than one date. There is that understanding but there's also that instant gratification of, 'I earned this moment the moment I could,' and that's a great feeling. But it's just a small fraction of guys who are going to do that and that's OK — good for them. But you want to make sure that you're positioning yourself for the long term."
