A Victory for College Hockey

Highly touted rookie Nic Kerdiles has decided to stay at the University of Wisconsin after a whirlwind couple of weeks.  If you aren’t familiar with his situation, Kerdiles was recently suspended a full season from the NCAA for violating unspecified amateur rules.  The University of Wisconsin instinctively appealed the situation as it seemed like a minor infraction and was almost impossible to prove.  After the appeal, the NCAA reduced Kerdiles’ suspension to 10 games (which included the two he already played in.)  Read that article here for more information. There was still speculation he could bolt to the Kelowna Rockets of WHL, but Kerdiles announced today that he will serve out the suspension and be ready to play as a Badger in November.

As a fan of a rival team, I can joke that I’m not thrilled at his return because Kerdiles is going to be a force to reckon with this season.  All joking aside though, this is a huge win across the board for college hockey and you never want to see a team lose a player or a player lose a season over a situation like this.  Kerdiles was a 2^nd round NHL draft pick and his rights are owned by Kelowna.  I have to believe they were pursuing him as he would be eligible to play there immediately and would be a huge pick up for them.  With how many college recruits have backed out on their college commitments to go the Major Junior route lately, this is a breath of fresh air seeing a kid stay loyal to the school he chose and not take the easy way out.  He will be eligible to play against Denver on November 9^th, and I’m willing to bet he will be coming out like a house of fire.

 

As a former player and current coach, players and parents are always asking me about the recruiting process.  Therefore, for this week’s post I’ve decided to have various players and parents submit their questions so they can have them answered by an expert.  Cary Eades agreed to do an interview with me.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Coach Eades, I could write a full post on his coaching and playing accomplishments, but I’ll stick to his major coaching accomplishments.  As you can see, he’s worth listening to.

Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)                     Head Coach/General Manager                                     Current

University of North Dakota                         Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator  2004-2012

·         5 Frozen Four appearances

·         4 WCHA Final Five Championships

·         2 Regular Season Championships

·         Coached 17 players from 2004-2012 that went on to play in the NHL

Warroad High School                                     Head Coach                                                               1994-2004

·         3 State Championships

·         7 Section 8 Championships

·         2012 inductee to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame

Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL)               Head Coach/General Manager                                1991-1993

·         1991-1992 National Championship

·         1991-1992 General Manager of the Year

·         Helped 18 players receive college scholarships in two season

University of North Dakota                         Assistant Coach                                                        1984- 1991

·         1997 WCHA Championship and NCAA National Championship

 

Player and Parent Questions

1)      If a player is interested in a certain school, should students contact the coaches themselves or wait until the coaches show interest?

Coach Eades:  It’s good for the players to contact the coaches of the school.  The best way is by email.  If possible, have a 1-2 minute highlight video on youtube that you can send to them.  The email should be no longer than 2 paragraphs.  Keep it concise and to the point.  It should state who you are, where you play, why you are interested. 

 

2)      Do college or Junior coaches like to hear from parents of the players or should it be from the player firsthand?

Coach Eades:   If the kid wants to play somewhere, they need to be the one to contact.  The parents aren’t the ones that will be playing for you so coaches like to hear from the player. 

 

3)       Can you lay out a timeline of when D1 coaches start watching kids, become interested in and recruit them?  

Coach Eades:  It’s getting younger and younger.  Some 9^th and 10^th graders are committing to schools.  I’m hoping that trend reverses for a number of reasons.  Committing at such a young age causes complications.  The player’s mind can change a lot in those years so it can result in some change of hearts and de-commitments.  Also, the coaches can’t always predict four years in advance so players might end up coming in later than they were expected to (Deferring a year).  Also, lots of kids need to play junior to get exposure and to prove themselves.  It’s hard to tell how the player is going to develop so it’s complicated for both the coaches and players.

 

4)      How do you promote or market yourself if you aren’t from a hockey hotbed?

Cary Eades:   Emails and highlight videos (previously mentioned), USA camps (regional and national camps).  When you are high school age you don’t want to put your skates away at the end of the season and not pick them up until next season.  Try to play some off-season hockey.

 

5)      When should a player make their first contact to a Junior team they are interested in?

Cary Eades:   Every player is different.  Some are ready to play in the league as a sophomore or junior, some aren’t.  It depends on when you feel you are ready to compete and what chance you have to make a team and get playing time.  If you get invited to a USHL tryout camp you can do that just to get into it a bit.

 

6)      Which tournaments and Junior leagues have the most exposure/get scouted the most? 

Coach Eades:  The USHL combines (different age groups in spring and summer) have great exposure.  The National and Regional camps for USA hockey are great.  Shattuck St. Mary’s has an exposure camp in the spring that lots of junior and college coaches attend.

7)      Are USHL tryouts open or do you have to be invited?  How do you get invited? 

Coach Eades:  Some teams have open tryouts, but most are invitation only.  If a player is interested they should email the coach with a video (same as for college).  If there is an open spot in the camp, a lot of coaches will look to fill it that way.

8)      Do players need to leave high school early to get looked at?  Do you recommend it?  In what situations should a player leave? 

Coach Eades:  Everybody’s life and progression is different; their maturity level is different.  A lot of things go into the equation besides hockey ability.  Having coached high school, I’m not a huge believer in kids leaving high school early but there are some exceptions.  You better be sure of the coaching staff and the ice time you have a chance of getting.  In the end, playing time is the most important factor in a player’s development.  There are a lot of good prep school and AAA teams.  You need to really do your homework on the programs and coaches.  In the end, it needs to be a joint decision between the player, the parents, and it should involve the high school coach as well.

9)      Should players get family advisors? If so, how early in their career?

Coach Eades:  Advisor recruiting is getting far too young as well.  Having said that, there are great people in that business that do a good job getting kids placed.  They know which colleges have openings at different times.  It can’t be a rushed decision, though.  You need to do your homework.  Some kids with no advisors still play college. I would guess around 50% of college players have them and most of the kids that will be drafted high do.

10)   Realistically, at what age/grade should a player assume he won’t be recruited to play D1 and start looking at D3 schools? 

Coach Eades:  Well you should look at Junior hockey first after your senior year.  If you want to start school, D3 is a good route.  But hockey’s a unique sport that has a unique development model after college.  If you’re not recruited before senior year, try to get on a Junior team and see where that takes you.

11)   Do you have any additional advice or questions you wish aspiring college hockey players would ask? 

Coach Eades:  Don’t get discouraged.  There are plenty of late bloomers.  Dustin Penner is a great example (former Dakota College at Bottineau player.) He kept knocking on doors and he kept getting better.  Also, remember there is a lot of club hockey being played at Universities all over the country.  It keeps you in the game and there are national tournaments.  Our area players just know about D1 and D3, but club level has gotten very big (3 different levels).  You want to stay in the game as long as you can.

 

A couple Questions from youth hockey players.

12)   What are some of the best exercises to do for hockey?

Coach Eades:  The big thing is don’t specialize too early.  Play as many sports as you can, become as athletic as you can.  Find a happy medium.  You should play some summer hockey, but playing full time as a young kid isn’t beneficial. 

 

13)   What are some of the best off-season sports to play? 

Coach Eades:  Soccer for sure.  Troy Murray and Dave Tippet were on the Canadian National team for soccer and were two of the best guys I’ve seen in hockey with their feet as well.  Tennis is also a great sport with the foot work and hand eye coordination.  Lacrosse is a great one because it’s similar.  Football teaches a lot about contact; teaches how to hit and how to take a hit.  Really, any sport will increase your athleticism.

 

I hope this answers some of our readers’ questions about the recruiting process.  I will have a post dealing with the women’s side in the future.  A huge thanks goes out to Coach Eades for his time and insightful answers!