Not all Connecticut high school players however have the abilities to play at a prep school such as Avon Old Farms, shown here after their 2008 New England Prep Hockey Championship victory. Photo courtesy of hockeybarn.com
In Connecticut, there is one main junior hockey team, the Connecticut Jr Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack Jr A- team has sent players to area Division 1 college hockey programs such as UConn, Quinnipiac and UMass Amherst. However, the competition to get on the Wolf Pack is high with players coming in from all parts of the country (their current roster features players from as far as Ohio, Indiana and Missouri).
Milford goalie and CHSCA Division II MVP from this past year, Marcus Demchak, is hoping to take the junior route by trying out for the Laconia Leafs. The Leafs are located in New Hampshire and Marcus has already noted an increase in level of competition.
“The tryouts are hard, and they’re a lot different than high school hockey,” Marcus said. “It was very challenging.”
For a more in-depth look at Marcus’ hopes of making it onto a junior team this Spring, take a look at the photo/audio slideshow below of Marcus’ story.
On the other side, players can go the prep hockey route where they can continue their education while repeating a grade. Due to eligibility rules, player’s can repeat one year at a prep school. Connecticut is abundant in prep schools, with 14 located around the state with hockey programs, shown in the map below.
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Goalie Anthony Avitable, the 2009 CHSCA Divison 1 MVP, played four years at Hamden high school before repeating a post-grad senior year at Hebron Academy in Maine. Avitable also noted that despite his success at the high school level, the transition to prep school was difficult.
“As a goaltender, the jump to prep school hockey from public high school hockey was as drastic as I thought it would be,” Avitable said in an e-mail. “The game itself is faster, the shots I faced were faster. Taking nothing away from public high school hockey, the teams in prep school hockey are just deeper, the kids are just more developed.”
Avitable’s high school head coach at Hamden, Bill Verneris, has had ample experience in sending players to both the prep and junior hockey levels. Here is an audio podcast of Verneris talking about his experiences on this topic throughout the years with players such as current Los Angeles Kings goaltender, Jonathan Quick.
So what could be the reason why certain kids accel at the next level, while others falter? Tom Neagle, Chair of the CASCIAC hockey committee, says a lot can do with a player’s personal assessment.
“If a high school player genuinely has the skills and, more importantly, the game savvy and motivation, it may be a good decision to play at a prep school or for a junior program,” Neagle said in an e-mail. “But, frankly, many players do not possess those talents and traits. While some do, I’m not sure that many of those that make the move to prep school and the juniors possess a realistic assessment of their abilities and/or potential.”
Neagle also went on to say that it is not the CIAC’s job to prepare high school players to play at the next level, but simply to promote competitive play as an added bonus to their academic endeavors.
“It is not the CIAC’s mission to prepare hockey players (or players in any sport) for ‘the next level’,” Neagle said via e-mail. “Athletic competition is a complementary component to the player’s academic program, both are geared to teach student-athletes lessons that are useful and necessary for success in life.”
So while there may be the success stories of some Connecticut high school hockey players throughout the years playing at a high-level of competition (Chris Drury, Jonathan Quick), there will always be those that fall through the cracks. Time will only tell where the road will take the current players. Some will succeed, some are just not cut out for ‘the next level’.
