Here's the story from today's Mercury on Eric Baldwin and Ryan Ostertag with the Northern Connecticut Wings.
The Estevan Bruins have been sending a handful of players to the Northern Connecticut Wings' summer hockey program over the last few years.
This time, it was forward Ryan Ostertag and defenceman Eric Baldwin suiting up for the Wings, based in Simsbury, Conn.
It's a four-week-long program aimed at getting NCAA Division I exposure for its players through nearly a month of practices and weekend tournaments.
Baldwin, who is entering his 19-year-old season, said the experience made him a better player.
"Absolutely. Not only did it get me into fairly good shape, it allowed me to network and meet different players and coaches," he said. "It made me a more well-rounded player. It gave me better chances offensively to jump up in the play."
Read the rest here
Its good that these kids get some kind of division 1 exposure because god knows they won't get it playing in this league.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Anonymous #1 has to say. I have had a governor (won't say what team) tell me that new prez Bill Chow talks a big game but that he feels its nothing but hot air because SJHL teams don't care about players getting educations after they leave, its about wins and losses with the exception of Notre Dame. More and more US players are getting Div 1 spots because that is where scouts are going. They are not going to places like La Ronge, Nipawin or Estevan to find them. Its why I think this league is taking a sharp downwards turn.
ReplyDeleteThe SJ isn't a real destination for scouts anymore, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhen I spoke to Bill, and from talking to a couple of coaches, it sounds like he's more committed to getting D1 schollys than Ryan was. But as you say, it's the teams that have to make a commitment to marketing their players.