The college hockey recruiting landscape perhaps never has been more intriguing.
The coronavirus has had far-reaching implications on all aspects of the sport, but recruiting has been impacted as greatly as anything.
What has happened to make recruiting such a soap opera at the moment? The NCAA enacted a one-time transfer rule and granted every current student-athlete a fifth year of eligibility. That will mean college programs across the country will look to get better with current college hockey players. It will push back players from entering school, meaning most 2002 and 2003 birth-year players won’t be going to school in the fall. Even some ’01s will get pushed back, and some currently committed ’00s might get gassed.
The top programs will look to poach good players from lesser programs. In turn, the lesser programs likely will pick up the leftovers from top programs who weren’t getting desirable ice time. At last check, there were more than 100 players already in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
This will have a long-lasting effect on prospective college hockey players. Even players who are a couple of years out from going into college likely will get pushed back a year or two because of the logjam that this fifth year of eligibility and one-time transfer rule will create.
Fifth year of eligibility
Back in October, the NCAA granted all Division 1 winter sport athletes an extra year of eligibility. In other words, the governing body of collegiate sports deemed this year a wash, regardless of how many games a program played or didn’t play.
Some players will choose to use that fifth year of eligibility, while others will opt to turn pro or graduate and move on with life.
“That extra year of eligibility essentially pushes everything back one year until this class of 2020 clears through. It backs everything up,” said New Hampshire head coach Mike Souza (Wakefield, Mass.).
Another interesting subtopic is that certain schools will be more welcoming to seniors coming back than others. Schools will have to choose which seniors they want to recruit back to campus.
“Depending on their situation, I think a lot of schools will try to retain their seniors, especially if kids were productive players for them. There is some uncertainty if kids want to come back for a fifth year or turn pro. Those waters are yet to be navigated by everyone. It’s a messy situation all around,” Souza explained.
Whether it’s stars or depth guys, college programs likely will rely on fifth-year guys who are proven rather than bringing in fringe players who might otherwise have gotten an opportunity as a walk-on. This whole year, including limited viewings of players in junior hockey, has been especially cruel to the 2000 birth year, also known as age-outs. A lot of late-bloomers or bubble guys will be passed over, due to colleges retaining their current players for a fifth year.
“I really feel for those kids who were in their last year of junior hockey. Having schools be able to bring back their senior class squeezes some of those kids,” Souza said.
One-time transfer exception
A few years ago, the NCAA began allowing players to grad transfer to another program. In other words, a player could graduate from his current school and transfer to another school without sitting out, as long as he had graduated from the original school.
Then, the NCAA threw another wrinkle into the fray for this season. In October, the NCAA allowed a one-time transfer exception. With already more than 100 players in the Transfer Portal, you can be assured there will be plenty of movement this offseason.
Schools will look to upgrade their rosters, whether that’s poaching from another team’s top players or finding leftovers from a superior program. Either way, programs taking on transfers who don’t have to sit out will muddy the waters for current and prospective recruits.
“The one-time transfer exception coming in and your own guys being able to stay another year adds another layer to the recruiting process. It’s very fluid. Communication is key throughout the entire process,” Souza said.
Logjam in junior hockey
Junior hockey was more competitive than ever in 2020-21, with players returning from school and some leagues in the United States taking on top players from Canadian major junior.
Fair or not, players returning from college or those from major junior took roster spots away from kids who might otherwise have been on the team. It meant the skill level of teams was greater than in previous years, but it also was a negative for aspiring younger players.
Leagues such as the USHL limits the amount of age-out players — ’00s this season — but other leagues such as the NAHL and NCDC are more accepting of older rosters. While several elite, 2021 NHL draft prospects from north of the border are playing in the USHL, even the NCDC benefited from major junior talent.
The fierce level of competition in the USHL forced some players to leave and head to lesser leagues. Several USHL players ended up back in the NCDC, which meant more college logos on the line chart for those local programs. However, it also meant kids who started the year on certain NCDC teams didn’t necessarily finish the year. They were bumped for better players coming back from the USHL or those who were slated to play in the BCHL before that league postponed its season.
Players in the USHL, NAHL and NCDC are lucky in that they got to play somewhat of a normal season. College coaches might not have been in the rinks and fans were barred or limited, but they at least got to play. Many of the Canadian junior leagues have yet to play or have seen games drastically cut. On top of the fifth year of eligibility and one-time transfer exception, that will factor into kids not being brought into school at their original projected start date.
“It depends on how much hockey that recruit has played the year before he goes to school,” said Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo (North Haven, Conn.). “If you’re not playing in the USHL, there hasn’t been a lot of hockey being played.
“You want to take a recruit when it’s the right time for him and the school. You never want to take a kid because he was supposed to come in a certain year. It’s an important discussion to have. Rushing a kid in is not putting him in the best position to have success. There is going to have to be a lot of dialogue.”
NCAA dead period
The NCAA recruiting dead period has been extended several times, since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It currently runs through May 31, 2021. During the dead period, coaches are prohibited from recruiting in person. That eliminates live viewings of games and prohibits prospective players from coming to campus on an official visit.
“We have had to adapt to the circumstances. We tried to get out ahead of it and do as good of a job virtually as possible. We’ve tried to present our campus and our program to recruits through Zoom. We’ve tried to get creative in how we display our program,” Souza explained.
A lot of the allure of college hockey stems from the atmosphere at games, the community feel on campus, and extracurricular activities for college students. Not being able to showcase that to players is a challenge for college programs.
“There is no substitute for having a kid and family on campus,” said Souza.
“It’s very hard. We’re not like BU or BC where people know about the school and the history of the program,” Marottolo said. “We’ve put together a recruiting video that touches on everything about the school from academics to social life and athletics. We’ve added renderings of the new rink. It’s a way to reach kids and give them a little feel about what the program is about, especially if they’re not familiar with your school,”
Coaches love to get on the road and see players live. When watching games in person, it’s easier to see play away from the puck, intangibles and other traits that can make or break a hockey player. Viewing games online makes that hard. It’s better for just focusing on a certain player, but it’s more challenging to see a kid pop.
“From a recruitment standpoint, there’s no substitute for live viewings,” Souza said. “We’ve put a huge premium on watching players through HockeyTV and InStat. Using those platforms is helpful in being able to focus on certain players.
“There’s no substitute for being in the rink and having a feel for the actual game. Everyone is on a level playing field. We’ve just tried to do the best we possibly can. I feel for these kids not having us in the rink.”
Marottolo concurred: “Not being able to see kids play in person is difficult. There’s something to be said about seeing a player in person. It’s hard to decipher how competitive someone is or the type of leadership qualities they might have when watching on video. You do the most homework you can on the young men you’re trying to recruit.”
Legendary Cushing Academy head coach Steve Jacobs (Hudson, Mass.) has a similar view. Cushing, and several other area prep schools, have done the best they can to livestream games and scrimmages. Still, the dead period has been difficult for Jacobs and his team.
“The dead period is especially hard. You can do video streaming. You get an idea of the skill-set, but you don’t really know until you put your eyes on someone. It’s hard to trust video. Exposure camps are being canceled, but the more kids get a chance to play in front of people, the more likely they are to get a commitment,” Jacobs said.
What does it all mean?
All of the current craziness in college hockey recruiting is making the process that much more difficult for prospective players. There is uncertainty in all aspects of life right now, but for young players and their families trying to navigate a path in the hockey world, it’s even more difficult.
“The seniors are obviously the ones most affected by it. They’re all expecting to play their senior year in front of college recruiters. Some schools played more than others. No one saw any of some prep school players,” said Marottolo, who has a son, Jack, who is a senior on the hockey team at Berkshire.
Perhaps more than many other college coaches, Marottolo knows the challenges from both sides at the moment. What advice would he give to families who are perplexed by all of the goings on with hockey recruiting during the coronavirus pandemic?
“You have to focus on what you can control,” he said. “Make sure you’re in the weight room to make yourself better. Try to be as proactive as you can with the schools you’re interested in. More likely than not, you’re going to have to play junior hockey somewhere, but they haven’t seen you, either. I hope that seniors can get into as many camps as they can.”
Marottolo hopes that prep school coaches will be diligent in getting the word out on their top players, especially the seniors.
“Prep school coaches are going to have to be proactive and be the voice for these kids. At least get them in the door, then it’s up to the kids to bust the door open,” said Marottolo.
With the logjam in college and junior hockey, the best course of action might be inaction. Don’t rush out of prep and Midget hockey for perceived greener pastures where roster spots and puck touches could be limited.
Jacobs has witnessed firsthand the trials and tribulations of these young hockey players over the past year.
“It’s been demoralizing for the players, especially the late-bloomers. The bubble Division 1 kids needed to be seen. It was a pivotal year for them, but they were faced with this challenge. It’s damaged these kids’ chances. Not just hockey, the college education and life after hockey,” said Jacobs.
One universal sentiment shared by every college, junior and prep hockey coach and player is the hope that the coronavirus and its ramifications are inching toward being a thing of the past.
