WHERE IS NCAA DIVISION I ON HOCKEY’S NEW LADDER OF DEVELOPMENT?

After getting home from Mass Sunday morning and thinking about what we were going to say today, I caught a reel from Spittin Chiclets that provided the inspiration for today’s article. University of Michigan Head Coach Brandon Naurato was talking about where NCAA Division I hockey now sits on hockey’s Ladder of Development.

“We are not competing with the Canadian Hockey League, not even close. It’s two different age groups. The USHL (United States Hockey League) and CHL, they compete for players. We (NCAA and Michigan) are the next level.

We are the level before the American (Hockey) League and NHL (National Hockey League).

We are competing with the American Hockey League, in my opinion. Michigan is such a special place socially, academically, athletically that we believe we are above the American Hockey League.

I don’t know that there is an American Hockey League team, that over three years, that has had 15-17 guys go up to even their affiliated club and play NHL games.

So, we’re proud of that. It was the coaching staff before me, it’s us, it’s the players that were here, the development, it’s the style of play, it’s the winning, it’s everybody. It’s not just me or our coaches. It’s everyone’s program.

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Why would the nineteen-year-old stay in the CHL and beat up on sixteen-year-olds? Anyone seeing this, either the Top Prospects or NHL Fourth Round pick, come to Michigan. Because we are going to develop you. We are going to get you ready for the NHL. You will walk in and play in the NHL.

The American Hockey League is an outstanding hockey league, and it’s hard. Even our first-round guys are realizing how hard it is in that league. Because there’s men with families, so why not be over ripe here and have the best experience of your life?

Without even getting into the social stuff at college, it’s the best time of your life, if you’re an athlete or not. Enjoy it.” – Brandon Naurato

Ok, not every NCAA Division I player is going to graduate directly into the NHL. With that said, most players that do take that route are going to graduate with an entirely different perspective on life and with a toolshed of life skills, experience, and friends to last them a lifetime.

I think it’s fair now to say that players that are not finishing their junior careers at the CHL, USHL, or even BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League) levels are going to have a difficult time competing for NCAA Division I stalls. Factor the transfer portal into that deep pool of talent and the goal becomes even dimmer to see.

The reality is that players from the second tier should be focusing their efforts on NCAA Division III schools that offer the best academic opportunities that match the player’s vocational pursuits. For those that can dominate the play at the Division III level, the transfer portal is still there to elevate to Division I. Also of note, there could be very good club hockey at schools that offer better academics that will lead to vocational goals.

What about the third tier of junior hockey? I feel that the pay-to-play levels are going to be forced to adjust their developmental model to remain relevant. This means more of a focus on younger prospects while even eliminating twenty-year-olds from the level of play entirely and restricting the number of nineteens.

Let’s be realistic, parents will be less reluctant to send their sixteen-year-olds to junior hockey if there are not any twenty-year-olds on the rosters. Coaches with the proven ability to develop sixteen and seventeen-year-old junior players in to Tier II level talents will become the most valuable coaches in the business.

There will be pay2play players, parents, operators, and coaches that will disagree. They disagree because the reality of the situation escapes them. Where is the logic in pumping $15,000 to $25,000 into a twenty-year-old Tier III season when that money could go towards school instead?

There is not any.

WHERE IS NCAA DIVISION I ON HOCKEY’S NEW LADDER OF DEVELOPMENT? We are the level before the American (Hockey) League and NHL (National Hockey League).

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