The International Junior Hockey League(IJHL) may have "hockey" in its name but "it's really about helping (our young players) get a better education," the League commissioner says. "That's the first thing, not getting into the National Hockey League(NHL). If they can make it to the NHL, well, that's all gravy," says Charlie Nielsen.
Nielsen is determined to make the League "stronger and better" and to do so, he says, "we opened up the international end of it. We have quite a few players now who are Russians, Finns, Swedes, and Czechs, and a lot of them are going to school" (as a result of an unlimited import rule.) Most of them are stand-out competitors and, Nielsen says, he's delighted to have them because, "If you don't play against the best, you won't be the best."
Nielsen was interviewed by Professor Diane Sullivan of the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover for the broadcast "Educational Forum" to be aired at 11 A.M. Eastern Time Sunday, October 31 on Comcast Sports Network and seen nationally. Asked how many players go through juniors hockey and continue on into the pros, Nielsen replied, "I can tell you my own personal experience is that in 35 years of doing this with my own program there have only been seven or eight players that made it. I have been in leagues that sent a lot of people to the pros. I got a lot of people who played in the American Hockey League or the East Coast Hockey League. But the education is our focus, (otherwise) when you're all done playing hockey all you got left is a beer league or something like that."At one junior team, the Boston Blackhawks, Nielsen said 22 of the 25 players on its roster are going on to college.
Asked if he was concerned about his young players getting injured on the ice, Nielsen replied, "It's a tough, fast sport and they hit hard and you're going to have injuries. Is it a concern? Yes. We make all our teams have an emergency trainer on hand at every game just in case there is an injury, so you've got a first responder who's got some medical experience." Additionally, some teams have an EMT and a doctor standing by. Players, he says, "get hurt, but no more than any other sport." Asked about his league's position on fighting, Nielsen replied, "It's a no-fight league. The first fight a player gets into results in a game suspension; the second fight he get suspended for three games; and if you have a third fight you've got to come see me and that's not very pleasant."
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of amateur ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age, Wikipedia says. The IJHL was launched in 2005 after eight years of prior evolution as the Interstate Junior Hockey League. Its Super Elite Division has swelled to 12 member teams, half in the New England division and half in the Mid Atlantic division. One advantage of its structure is that IJHL can conduct its Nationals without the monumental costs of having to travel to far-off venues, according to its website. The proximity of the competitors also enables players to get more rest. Besides the Boston Junior Blackhawks, IJHL teams in the Super Elite division are the Cape Cod Cubs, Eastern Kodiaks, Massachusetts Maple Leafs, and Mariners. Teams in the Mid Atlantic division are the Trenton Habs, South Jersey Raptors, Philadelphia Jackals, Long Island Wolfpack, East Coast Generals, and New Jersey Storm.
High school hockey has become a feeder into Junior Hockey and Junior Hockey into Division One or club hockey, so it's become very competitive that way, one hockey dad interviewed for the broadcast observed. He notes that Division One hockey needs only about 400 kids every year to replenish and, of these, only 150 to 200 of those kids will make it into Division One, where teams have rosters of 28 or 29 players. "So it's a very narrow pyramid at the top and a lot of good hockey plays don't make Division One. As Division One feeds pro hockey, it's very competitive."
Derek Nutter, a full-time student at Fitchburg State College, Massachusetts, who plays for the New England Stars, says "I think most people's goal for junior hockey is to move on to college, and play at a higher level. And that's obviously my goal." Asked if his coach pushes him hard, Nutter replied, "He works us pretty tough. I'm usually wiped (after) a long day." Their coach has a sign that says "Will Beats Skill." Nutter says, "I've been playing hockey all my life, and I've been skating since I was three in backyard rinks and I can't really see my life without hockey. Just to be able to come play at this high level is a great opportunity for me to get better and hopefully to move on."
The youths who get into Junior Hockey are screened as intensively as major league scouts screen baseball prospects, if not more so. Dan Fontas, head coach of the New England Stars hockey team, says, "One of the first things that jumps out is skating ability. If you can't really skate at a good level, it's hard to compete. But it all depends what you're looking for as a team. If you lose two of your leading scorers, you're looking for more of a finesse player." He says he also looks for what he terms "ice presence" as well as attitude. "When I make recruiting calls to the high school and junior league coaches, the first question I always ask is, 'What kind of person is he?' 'What kind of kid is he?' Because there are so many players out there and if he's got a bad attitude, if he shows up late once a week, we're just not going to waste our time on him because there's another kid out there who's got a great attitude and is very coachable who would love to be in his position. And every other college coach I know is the same way because they don't want their team to be disrupted by something negative."
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