Behind the Bench Addendum: The Deceptive Pay-to-Play Advisor Trap

As if there weren’t already enough Jokers in junior hockey, here’s another classic scam making the rounds: advisors pretending to identify a player as a “prospect for representation” while requiring them to pay hundreds of dollars to attend their camp before they can be “evaluated.”

Let’s break this down:

The advisor claims to be interested in representing the player. But before they can “confirm” their interest, the player must attend a showcase event—which just so happens to be run by the advisor’s own company. That showcase costs $600.00 USD—money that goes straight into the advisor’s pocket. Regardless of whether they watch the player or not, they will likely offer representation anyway—because the real goal was never to “evaluate” the player, but to squeeze extra money out of them first.

This is nothing more than pay-to-play deception—a blatant double-dip designed to profit off a player's ambition before they’ve even signed on as a client.

Let’s be clear: if an advisor is willing to trick you into paying for a tryout before they even consider representing you, you can bet they’re using every other trick in the book to take more of your money once they do. They are likely taking kickbacks from teams, prioritizing who pays them most over what’s best for the player, and operating with zero real interest in long-term development.

Players and families need to recognize these tactics and avoid them at all costs. A legitimate advisor doesn’t need to charge you an entry fee just to determine if you’re worth working with.

The Jokers of junior hockey are everywhere. Don’t fall for their games.

—Mike