Scouting for College Hockey?

Question

I have been playing hockey since i was three years old i was playing AA bantam hockey in chisago lakes mn. I have now moved and i am 14 years old, i live in a small town (new York mills) in northern minnesota and now play Single A hockey...We have a very small town and can barely manage to get enough people to play on our teams...we are a good team but can never manage to make state because not just one person can carry us that far( not necissarily me).....My dream was always to play college hockey since i was young......i know the amazing skill it takes to make D1 and i dont plan on making it that high.....i would die for a chance to play college but i live in such a small town that the chances of getting scouted are "slim to none"...i would be in lifelong debt to anyone who can find me a reasonable answer to this.....i would give blood sweat and soul to play college hockey at least at a d2 level (mankato, concordia,....etc..) specail and lifelong thanks to all that answer!!!!!

P.S. i know that they have open tryouts but that isnt my question i am just wondering any other way to get scouted in such a small town :D

Answer 1

If this is your dream(a D-1 scholly) and you REALLY want to go after it, your best bet is to work towards it is setting your sights on making the USHL (in my opinion).  

You are young enough to groom yourself accordingly and many, many D-1 players are coming out of the USHL these days.  

My advice for now is to work as hard as you can and take in any and all extra ice time that is available. Get a job at your local rink if you can, chances are they will help you out and let you skate at a discount or even free.

If the local talent isn't where you think it needs to be, do your best to go try out for select tournaments such as the Chicago Showcase, there are tons of scouts from everywhere at tournaments like that.

Because of your remote location, you may need your parents help to afford the travel to give yourself the opportunity to be exposed, but this is a small sacrifice for your dreams if you truly mean it.  If they don't have it, work at the rink and earn it yourself, it is your dream after all.

Just remember, if you do make it to the USHL, that is only your first step. You will more than likely be living with a billet family FAR from home and attending a completely different high school with total strangers.  As long as you are prepared to give up girls, any social life, money for a car, etc. there isn't any reason big enough to stop you from getting there.  I only tell you this so that you are aware of the type of sacrifice that it takes to get just to that level alone.  If you love the game that much, it should all be worth it.

Scouts aren't going to find you unless you are a phenom, and if you were, you wouldn't need to ask this question.  Get into the right select tournaments and EARN their attention with your hard work and skill.

I went through the grind myself, I wish you the best of luck.