about the exposure camps! :)

Question
QUESTION: Hey,

Don't worry about being busy I don't mind and am very understanding.  I'm
glad you got back to me when you returned.  About the camps, since you are
a hockey expert and have been to at least one of these exposure camps
before, what are the top 5 things the scouts and coaches look for?  For
example: great stride? heart and determination? smart decisions with and
without the puck? ..I know the most common answer would be all of the
above but what do you think they look for first?  Also, when you attended
that camp in Indianapolis I think it was, did you make it or get
noticed\signed? if not, why???  It seems you would be good enough or at
least in the top half of the players there.  Thanks!!! :)

Tim

ANSWER: Hi Tim

Coaches first would look for smarts with and especially without the puck (ie. knowing where to be in certain situations), coachability, heart and determination, willing to sacrifice body via hits and blocking shots, toughness and ability to score or help set up goals. The skills part such as stride and puckhandling can all be improved on through practice, but the heart, smarts and coachability can't or is much harder to obtain if you don't have. So most good coaches will look for these character traits.

In Indianapolis I didn't get signed right away but was invited to a main camp of a Jr A team where I signed and played with their affiliate in the Jr B league and was called up at end of season for some games.

Let me know if anything else I can answer for you!! :)

Guy

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

QUESTION: Thank you again for all the advice-it really helps!  If you don't mind I have
some more questions and they are a bit random but all about hockey
obviously. :)  First, I got a real treat at drop in the other day because 3 junior
A players from ohio showed up and played with us.  On the topic of Junior
teams and players, do some junior B and A players get drafted to the NHL?  I
know in this years entry draft a couple got signed straight from high school.  
Not to sound arrogant at all but I know I had more on ice awareness and
overall skill then those 3 guys.  At the camps, what is the level of play like?
(ie. juniors? club college? NCAA college? etc.)  What is the spectrum as in the
lowest level and highest level at the camps?  Sorry, I know this paragraph isn't
put together well but I have so much going through my mind and probably
will until tryouts\camps b\c I want to do well so bad! :)  Thanks again as
always and hope to hear from you soon.

Tim

ANSWER: Hi there Tim,

To this date, I don't believe any Junior B players have been drafted to the NHL right out of Jr. B. Now some players started in Jr. B, worked their way up to A and then go on and get drafted. In regard to Junior A players being drafted, yes it does happen, and the main and almost only league they come out of in the U.S. is the USHL. There were a few 18 year olds who played in the USHL last year that got drafted in the 1st round this year.

In regards to skill level at camps, the one I went to was specific for Junior aged players, so it was good Junior level hockey. Now the ones you'll be attending are for pro-exposure camps, so players coming out of this camp will be semi-pro caliber, so the skill level and speed of the camp and game will be very high, more then likely (although hard to say as I don't know them) much better and quicker and stronger and faster (get my drift? :) ) then the junior players you played with. So it would be hard to say how to compare these camps but remembering that the top players that will get picked at these camps will be playing/trying out for the IHL, CHL, etc. leagues.

Whenever you get more questions or thoughts feel free to e-mail, I'm more then happy to answer all that you have.

Guy

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

QUESTION: Thanks again for the answers and info in the last response!  On the topic of the camps I will be attending, what levels are semi pro like you were saying?  In between junior and ihl etc?  Also, I didn't play for them but went to Hope College for 3 years.  They are division 3 in the ACHA and I was wondering if that is a higher level then juniors (specifically A).  I talked with some one from the Hope team and they said a lot of players were junior players before.  I was just wondering because it's such a low level being ACHA instead of NCAA and also Div 3 :)  One more question if you don't mind.  I've been analyzing video tapes of NHL games to improve my on ice awareness, decisions without the puck, and overall hockey smarts.  Do you think this method is productive when you aren't on the ice but want to improve that part of your game?  If you have better ideas or tips on the topic please let me know! :)  Thanks again as always!

Answer
Semi-Pro (IHL, ECHL, SPHL, UHL) will be like the All-Star team of the USHL Jr. A league. Junior A players mostly can play NCAA Div 3 or higher. I play ACHA Div 1 right now and we have a couple Junior A players on our team that I don't think can play NCAA, so it would depends. so the Div 3 ACHA team at Hope would consist mostly of Jr. B players or players right out of high school/midget hockey. Now some teams like that can get a superstar or 2 where they did not want to pursue hockey, went to Hope for the education and just played hockey since there was a team.

Watching game film and analyzing it is one of the best ways to increase on-ice smartness. Wayne Gretzky, as a kid would draw a rink on a piece of paper, and when watch a game on TV would hold a pen to the paper, and just let his hand wander on the paper where the puck was on the game he was watching. Ideally, this would show where the puck is at throughout a game. And he was/is one of the smartest to ever play, knowing where to be without the puck cause he knew where the player with puck would tend to go. this shows how analyzing game film can be very beneficial.