getting to the pros or semi pros

Question
QUESTION: hi, I played midget aa and high school as well as a little junior b hockey in so cal. a lot of people always told me i had the skills to go all the way if i work hard. well when 911 happened i dropped the skates and joined the marines, i am now 26 and want to pursue my dream no matter how many hurdles there are, what is the best route for me, ahl chl echl open tryouts?

ANSWER: Jason,

First, let me say thank you for taking time off from your dreams to help the country...Semper Fi!
If you are truly interested in getting to the next level, I do recommend that you try-out for those leagues that you mentioned.  However, in order for you to make it, you will have to stand out from the rest.  How do you do that?  Skating!

Now, here are some steps that you will have to take in order for you to get what you want.
First, go down to your local Barnes and Noble and invest in this book...."Think and Grow Rich"

Second, I want you to follow the book to the letter and then I need you to follow these instructions.

A) You need to sup up your resume. Send me a personal email and I will send you a sample. You can find my email address on my web site.

B) Get a video clip(s)of yourself.

C) Send it to all the coaches in the AHL, CHL, ECHL and IHL.

D) Then follow up with calls to these teams.

Here is the biggy!!!!!!!!!

E) Do your homework on the teams you wants.  Here's the reason why. A team gets resumes all the time.  They are looking for surefire winners. (it is called being lazy).  They don抰 want to take a chance.  If you makes it hard for them to say no, you will has a chance.  Look at where the team is having shortfall! Then say to the coach...揑 can help you with...?br>
F) Get a list of references that these coaches can call. The more NHL or high profile the better.

That is about what it takes. You has to be willing to do the work.  If not, you won't have a chance.  However, you probably have a better chance then most.  If I were a head coach of one of these teams in the league's you mentioned, I would give you a look just for going over there and standing a post.  Most people don't really understand the commitment and dedication it take to be a Marine.

I wish you luck!
Head Coach
http:www.passthepuck.net




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey i had a couple more questions for you if you don't mind, at 26 am I to old to play college hockey? And I have heard a lot about echl open tryouts being just a way to make money if that not the case if im a power forward should i focus on going out there and hitting everything that moves? Would college hockey be the better route to go and if so how do they do tryouts is it an open type of thing? In the mean time would playing d1 adult league be a good thing to play to bring my skill level back up? And last would i have a better chance of getting to the semis and nhl level if i moved to Canada or Minnesota? Thanks so much for you help was on the ice this morning loved it but man am i sore.

Answer
Well, I have a pretty good buddy that head coaches an NCAA DivI school.  He tells me that you have to be in the national NCAA Data base for them to even look at you.  Then, in order for them to even consider you, you have to be playing Junior A Tier I.  If you are not playing at this level now, they will not look at you.

So this means that you would have only one choice and that's AHL, CHL, ECHL, SHL...etc.
Now you can go play College, but it will only have to be Club Hockey.  But Semi-Pro's don't draft from Club Hockey.

You best bet would probably be to go play in Canada or in Minnesota.  Now, I do have a connection where you would go play hockey in Turkey in their pro league.  But the pay is not every good.  But once you are in the league, you can make connections with other teams in Europe.

If you are able to move to a team inside Finland, Norway, Germany or teams in that region from Turkey, then you have a better chance of getting scouted by the NHL.  If you want for me to hook you up with that team in Turkey, let me know and I can send you some specifics.

Head Coach