Categories
Development Camp Youth Hockey

The Early Birth-Month Advantage in Hockey

This week, the USA Hockey NTDP released the names of the 45 2007’s invited to their evaluation camp. Over 50% of the players were born in the first 3 months of 2007.  Malcolm Gladwell talked about this hockey phenomenon in his book Outliers, where the earlier you are born in the calendar year, the more likely you are to be get selected to elite teams. This is due to the size and age advantage over players born later in the year. It is a self-reinforcing cycle from atom/squirt ages – despite hockey being a late-development sport. 15 years later, this bias still exists.

Categories
College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Girls Hockey

2023 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

2023 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

Here is a list of 2023 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps.

This is a partial list. Feel free to submit a new event using our Feedback Form

OrganizationEventDatesLocationCityAges
College Hockey ShowcasesSpring Break ShowcaseApril 10-16, 2023Fort Meyers, FL2005-2011 Birth Years
College Hockey ShowcasesSt. Louis ShowcaseAugust 4-6, 2023Centene Community Ice ArenaSt Louis, MO2004-2010 Birth Years
College Hockey ShowcasesRocky Mountain ShowcaseJune 16th-18th, 2023South Suburban Recreation ComplexDenver, CO2005-2011 Birth Years
College Hockey ShowcasesSweden Girls High Performance CampJuly 17-28, 2023Nyköpings Arenor RosvallaNyköping, Sweden2003-2010 Birth Years
College Hockey ShowcasesBoise Breakaway ShowcaseDecember 15th-17th, 2023Boise, Idaho2006-2010 Birth Years
NAHANAHA COLLEGE SHOWCASEAugust 4-6, 2023Boston Sports InstituteWellesley, MA2024, '25, '26, '27 Grad Years
NCD CampsGIRLS NCDC COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT CAMPJuly 31 - August 2, 2023New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2024, '25, '26, '27 Grad Years
Premier Ice ProspectsHockey Hall of Fame Future LegendsApril 27 - 30, 2023Toronto, ON2011 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPIPs American DreamMay 5-7, 2023American DreamEast Rutherford, NJ2009 - 2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPremier Prep ProspectsMay 11-14, 2023The Edge Sports CenterBoston, MA2008-2011 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPremier Prospects BostonMay 12-14, 2023The Edge Sports CenterBoston, MA2008-2009 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsTop ProspectsMay 19 - 21, 2023Hertz ArenaFort Meyers, FL2009 - 2013 Birth Year
Premier Ice ProspectsWestern Prospects CampJune 2-4, 2023Kraken Community IceplexSeattle, WA2006-2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects585 PIP ShowcaseJune 16-19, 2023IceplexRochester, NY2006-2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPIPs TournamentJune 23 - 25, 2023IceplexRochester, NY2009 - 2012 Birth Years Tier I (AAA)
Premier Ice ProspectsGIRLS ELITE PROSPECTS CAMPJune 25-29, 2023IceplexRochester, NY2010 - 2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects14U PROSPECTS CAMPJune 25-29, 2023IceplexRochester, NY2008 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPROSPECTS GOALIE CAMPJune 25-29, 2023IceplexRochester, NY2007 - 2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPREMIER PROSPECTS COMBINEJuly 6-9, 2023UPMC Sports ComplexCranberry, PA2009 - 2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsSOUTHERN PROSPECTS CAMPJuly 20-23, 2023Carolina Ice PalaceNorth Charleston, SC2011 - 2014 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects617 PIP SHOWCASE - BOSTON HARBOR STYLEJuly 26-27, 2023The Edge Sports CenterBedford, MA2024, '25, '26 Grad Years
Premier Ice Prospects480 SHOWCASE - DESERT STYLEAugust 3-6, 2023Mullett ArenaTempe, AZ2006 - 2008 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsSOUTHWEST PROSPECTSAugust 4-6, 2023Mullett ArenaTempe, AZ2009 - 2012 Birth Year
Premier Ice Prospects615 PIP SHOWCASE - MUSIC CITY STYLEAugust 10-13, 2023Predators' Ford Ice CenterBellevue, TN2009 - 2010 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsNIAGARA FALLS PROPSPECTS CAMPAugust 2023Gale Centre ArenaNiagara Falls, ON2006 - 2010 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsMrs. Hockey® InviteJanuary 12 - 15, 2024Ft Lauderdale, FL12U Girls - Tier 1 & Tier 2
Premier Ice ProspectsFort Laudy Daudy ShowcaseJanuary 12 - 14, 2024Ft Lauderdale, FL19U through 14U Tier 1
Premier Ice ProspectsGreat Lakes Girls FestFebruary 2-4, 2024Detroit, MI19U through 10U Tier II
Premier Ice ProspectsMotor City Girls FestFebruary 2-4, 2024Detroit, MI19U through 10U Tier I
Premier Ice ProspectsPIPs RochesterJune 23-25 2023Rochester, NY2009 thru 2012 Birth Years Tier I (AAA)
Premier Ice ProspectsLabor Day Girls FestSeptember 1-3 2023Pittsburgh, PA14U, 16U/17U and 19U Tier I (AAA)/Canadian AA
Premier Ice ProspectsFrieda Falcon Girls FestSeptember 8 - 10, 2023Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, OH12U USA Tier I / CAN A
Premier Ice ProspectsCapital Cup Girls FestOctober 7-9, 2023Northern VA19U through 10U Tier II
Premier Ice ProspectsRoc City Girls FestOctober 27-29, 2023Rochester, NY19U through 10U
Premier Ice ProspectsRoc City Girls FestNovember 3-5, 2023Rochester, NY19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsBurgh Thanksgiving Girls FestNovember 24-26, 2023Pittsburgh, PA19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsSmashville Girls FestNovember 24-26, 2023Nashville, TN19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsErie White Out WeekendDecember 8-10, 2023Erie, PA12U and 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA)
RUSH HockeyFlorida RUSHJanuary 13-16, 2023Palm Beach Skate ZoneWest Palm Beach, FLGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RUSH HockeyRush Spring Showcase (Florida)April 21-23, 2023Palm Beach Skate ZoneWest Palm Beach, FL2024, '25, '26, '27, '28 Grad Years
RUSH HockeyConnecticut RushJune 9-11, 2023Northford Ice PavilionNorthford, CT2009 - 2011 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRush College ShowcaseJune 22-25, 2023CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2006 - 2009 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRUSH RISING STARS PRE-COLLEGE SHOWCASEJune 15-18, 2023CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2010 and 2011 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRUSH ATOMIC CHALLENGEJune 15-18, 2023CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2012 and 2013 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRUSH Hockey High PerformanceAugust 4-6, 2023CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ONU11 - U22 AA
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSICJuly 21-23, 2023New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2009 - 2013 Birth Years, College / Super Series
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSICJuly 28-30, 2023New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MAU19, 2008
RUSH HockeyBUFFALO RUSH HOCKEY INFERNOTBDBuffalo, NYGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RUSH HockeyPHILADELPHIA RUSHTBDPhiladelphia, PAGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RUSH HockeyNEW ENGLAND RUSHTBDBoston, NAGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RUSH HockeyNORTH HALTON RUSHTBDNorth Halton, ONU11-U18 AA/A/BB/B
RUSH HockeyTWO NATIONS COLLEGE PREP SERIESTBDBrampton, ON & Detroit, MI19U through 12U Tier 1; U13-U21 AA
Showcase Hockey2023 Minnesota Meltdown AAA TournamentApril 21-23, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 Independent ClassicMay 19-21, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 AAA Summer ShowdownJune 09-11, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 International CupAugust 4-6, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 Easton AAA Cup TournamentAugust 18-20, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 Summer FinaleAugust 25-27, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2023 Warrior Cup AAASeptember 8-10, 2023MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
200x85 TournamentsCCM MLK GirlsJan 14-16, 2023Massachusetts12U - 19U AAA/AA
200x85 TournamentsCCM CHI-TOWN SHUFFLEApril 21-23, 2023Chicago, ILGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
200x85 TournamentsCCM GIRLS WORLD INVITE DETROITNovember 10-12, 2023Detroit, MITier 1 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
200x85 TournamentsCCM GIRLS WINDY CITY ELITE – CHICAGODecember 1-3, 2023Chicago, ILTier 1 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
200x85 TournamentsCCM Girls 68 (14U)August 10-13, 2023Chicago, IL2009 Birthyear
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Exposure Camp in York, PAMay 19-21, 2023York, PA2004 - 2010 Birth Years
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Exposure Camp in Newington, CTJune 10-11, 2023Newington, CT2004 - 2010 Birth Years
The National Girls Hockey LeagueDawg Days of Summer - RedAugust 25-27, 2023Northford, CT12U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueDawg Days of Summer - FuturesAugust 25-27, 2023Newington, CT12U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueLabor Day Challenge - BlueSeptember 2-4, 2023Cromwell, CT12U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueLabor Day Challenge - FuturesSeptember 2-4, 2023Cromwell, CT12U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic - RedOctober 7-9, 2023Syracuse, NY14U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic - FuturesOctober 7-9, 2023Buffalo, NY10U & 12U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL MichiganNovember 17-19, 2023Ann Arbor, MI14U - 19U Tier 1
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMile High Invitational - BlueNovember 26-29, 2023Denver, CO12U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter Classic - BlueJanuary 13-15, 2024 Haverhill, MA12U, 14U, 16U, and 19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter Classic - RedJanuary 13-15, 2024 Philadelphia, PA14-19U Tier 1
The National Girls Hockey LeagueRed Division ChampsionshipFebruary 2-4, 2024Rockland, MA14-19U Tier 1
North American Premier Women's ShowcaseNorth American Premier Women's Showcase College DivisionJune 23-25th, 2023Merrimack College Athletics ComplexNorth Andover, MABirth Years 2005-2009 (PG's also Allowed)
JWHLChallenge Cup 2023February 17-20, 2023Rockville/Arlington, VA14U, 16U, 19U
North American Female Elite ShowcaseThe Orion Top ProspectsJune 15-18, 2023Blaine, MN2006 - 2011 Birth Years
Pony Tail Tournament Pony Tail Tournament March 17-19, 2023Baltimore, MDU10, U12A, U12B, U14A, U14B, U16A, U16B, U19
The Rose SeriesCowgirl ShootoutApril 20-23 2023Nashville, TN2011 Birth Years
The Rose SeriesLow Country ClassicMay 11-14, 2023Charleston, SC2010 Birth Year
The Rose SeriesThe Battle at the BeachJuly 6-9, 2023Fort Meyers, FL2009 Birth Year
The Rose SeriesQueens of VegasJuly 11-14, 2023Las Vegas, NV2012 Birth Years
The Rose SeriesOC Freeze OutJuly 13-16, 2023Anaheim, CA2013 Birth Year
The Rose SeriesWar for the RosesJuly 10-15, 2023Edmonton, Alberta2010 Birth Year
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls 15's Player Development CampJuly 10-15, 2023Miami University Oxford, Ohio2008 Birth Year
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls 16/17's Player Development CampJune 24-30, 2023Miami University Oxford, Ohio2006 & 2007 Birth Year
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls Under 18 Player Development CampJuly 16-22, 2023Miami University Oxford, Ohio2006, 2007, 2008 Birth Year
USA Hockey2023 Women's National FestivalAugust 7-12, 2023TBD
Colgate UniversityCOLGATE EXPOSURE CAMPS Session 1July 17-19, 2023Colgate UniversityHamilton, NY2004-2009 Birth Years
Colgate UniversityCOLGATE EXPOSURE CAMPS Session 2July 19-21, 2023Colgate UniversityHamilton, NY2004-2009 Birth Years
OS HockeyPROSPECTS/FUTURES WEEKEND 1 CampJune 2-4, 2023Bloomington Ice GardensMinneapolis, MN
OS HockeyPROSPECTS/FUTURES WEEKEND 2 CampJuly 21-23, 2023Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MN
OS Hockey2023 OS SPRING FESTIVALMarch 16th-19th, 2023Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MN
OS Hockey2023 WHITECAPS CUP (HS)MInneapolis, MNHigh School
OS Hockey2023 TRADITION CUPAugust 4th-6th, 2023Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MNCollege Level
OS Hockey2023 OS SHOOTOUTAugust 10th-13th, 2023Bloomington Ice Garden and Braemar Ice ArenaMInneapolis, MNU8-U19
Girls Elite Hockey2023 TRADITION NITOctober 20-22, 2023Blaine, MNU16 and U19
University of Wisconsin13 and Under CampJune 26-30, 2023LaBahn ArenaMadison, WI13 and under
University of WisconsinHigh School Elite CampAugust 7-10, 2023LaBahn ArenaMadison, WIHigh School
Princeton UniversityGIRLS ICE HOCKEY ELITE CAMPJuly 7-9, 2023Baker RinkPrinceton, NJEntering grades 10-12
Princeton UniversityGIRLS ICE HOCKEY EXPOSURE ID CAMPJuly 10-12, 2023Baker RinkPrinceton, NJEntering grades 7-9
Merrimack CollegeMerrimack Womens Ice Hockey ClinicsAugust 18, 2023Lawler ArenaNorth Andover, MAEntering grades 9-12
RinkSportRinkSport College Development Camp June 17-22, 2023 Babson CollegeBoston, MA2027 High School graduates or earlier
Pre-Prep ShowcasePre-Prep ShowcaseAugust 3rd-6th, 2023New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MABirth Years: 2008, 2009 & 2010
Ohio State UniversityYOUTH CAMPJUNE 19-22, 2023OSU Ice RinkColumbus, OHU8/U10 and U12 age level
Ohio State UniversityELITE DAY CAMPJuly 15, 2023OSU Ice RinkColumbus, OHGrad Years: 2025-2027
Ohio State UniversityHIGH SCHOOL ELITE CAMPSJUNE 22-23 AND JULY 8-9OSU Ice RinkColumbus, OHGrad Years: 2025-2027
University of Maine U16/19 High School Girls' Hockey CampJuly 25-28, 2023University of MaineOrono, MEGrades 8-12
University of Maine U8/U10/U12 Girls' Hockey Day CampJuly 25-28, 2023University of MaineOrono, MEU8/U10/U12 Skaters
University of Maine Women's Prospect ClinicMonday, July 31 - Tuesday, August 1, 2023University of MaineOrono, MEGrades 8-12
Brown UniversityBROWN WOMEN’S HOCKEY ELITE SUMMER CAMPJuly 31 - Aug 2, 2023Brown UniversityProvidence, RIHigh school students entering grades 9-12. Therefore, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 high school graduates.
Mercyhurst UniversityDIVISION I WOMEN'S HOCKEY ELITE CAMPJuly 31, 2023Mercyhurst UniversityErie, PA2005 to 2008 birth year
Colgate University2023 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | PRE-CAMP GOALIE'S ONLYJuly 14-16, 2023Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYGoalies Only. All Female players born between 2004-2009
Colgate University2023 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | SESSION 1July 17-19, 2023Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYAll Female players born between 2004-2009
Colgate University2023 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | SESSION 2July 19-21, 2023Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYAll Female players born between 2004-2009
College of the Holy CrossHoly Cross Women's Ice Hockey ClinicsAug 29-30, 2023Hart CenterWorcester, MA14-19 Years Old
St Anselm CollegeJuly 17-19, 2023Sullivan ArenaBedford, NH
Clarkson UniversityClarkson Golden Knight Women's Hockey Prospect Camp 2023Jul 21-22, 2023Cheel Campus Center and ArenaPotsdam, NY2006-2009 Birth Years
St Cloud State UniversitySt. Cloud State Women's Hockey CampsAugust 14th - 17thHerb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, MinnesotaAges 6-16
Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Girls Camp July 10th-14th, 2023M&T Bank ArenaHamden, ConnAges: 6-13
Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Girls Elite ClinicJuly 27th, 2023M&T Bank ArenaHamden, ConnAges: rising 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPSJune 12-14, 2023Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MN10U &12U Camp
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPSJune 15-16, 2023Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MNExposure Camp (ages 13,14)
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPSJune 19-21 and 21-23, 2023Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MN​​High School/ Varsity Camp #1 & #2
University of Minnesota DuluthMinnesota Duluth High School Elite CampJuly 26-28, 2023Amsoil ArenaDuluth, MNAny and all high school girls (grad years 2025-2028) are invited
College Development ShowcaseGirls CampJune 25-27, 2023Ice DenHooksett, NHPlayers with birth years 2003-2008
Boston CollegeMaroon and Gold Women’s CombineAugust 14-16, 2023Conte ForumChestnut Hill, MA2009-2010-2011 players
National Sports CenterAll American Girls Hockey TournamentNovember 9-12, 2023NSC-Super Rink (Blaine)Blaine, MNGirls U10A,B U12A,B U15A
Youth Hockey Hub2023 DANGLEFESTDecember 28 - 31, 2023NSC-Super Rink (Blaine)Blaine, MNGirls U10A, U10B, U12A, U12B, U15A, & U15B
Categories
Coaching Development Camp Girls Hockey Minor Hockey Women's Hockey Youth Hockey

Hockey Player Feedback

One of my biggest frustrations over the last 18 months or so has been about providing feedback to players. Across many different playing environments I have been consistently disappointed in the lack of sophistication and priority on giving insightful, actionable feedback to players. This post discusses the good and bad of hockey coach feedback to players.

Here is what I’ve seen what most coaches are good at:

1. In-game feedback

For the most part, coaches have no problem talking to players after a shift and have a conversation about what just happened. Some coaches are more positive and constructive than others (e.g. “What did you see?” rather than “Here is what you did wrong…”).  I doubt there are many coaches who last a reasonable amount of time without providing this basic level of constructive player feedback.

2. Overall team style of play / team concepts

I won’t say systems – because some youth coaches do play systems and others have a type of hockey they want to play which focuses more on skills rather than set plays and rules.  In general, coaches know how to set theses expectations and work on the in practice. Thus it can be pretty easy to give this kind of feedback either on the bench or in the locker room.

However, here’s what coaches generally aren’t good at:

A. Having position-specific, age and level appropriate development  framework

What are the prioritized skills and attributes a player should be competent in? What are their biggest strengths that they can leverage? What areas do they need to level up so that they can minimize those attributes being exposed. For example, skating, puck handling, shot strength and accuracy.   From what I’ve seen, it is usually one-off feedback with the player having to work on it with by themselves or with their own skills development coach.

Having a coach show personalized clips to an individual player is very rare.  Many coaches do not have the time or resources to provide player-specific reviews.  However, it can be a shared responsibility between player, coach and parent to clip together game footage and to discuss together.

B. In-season feedback

Providing individual report cards or interim check-ins throughout the season on what strengths and development opportunities like skills and/or concepts for a player. For example, Darryl Belfry likes to look at players over a 3 or 4 game segment and track with video and basic stats (e.g. how many puck touches turn into a positive or negative play) and then discuss them with a player.  Some coaches give mid-year reviews for their players and in my experience it looks like a bullet list of 3 or items for the player to work on.  However, the onus is then on the player to figure out how to get better at those items on their own. 

C. Holistic, high level feedback

This is a tough one.

Being candid with a player about where they are with their game at the moment can be a very tough conversation regardless of the players abilities.  All players are an unfinished product. And in youth hockey they are still a long way from their peak potential – so providing the appropriate context and perspective is not always easy.

Why don’t all coaches provide holistic feedback? Some…

  • Just aren’t good coaches (or at least not as good as they think they are)
  • Don’t have a long-term development framework for players at each level
  • Don’t know how to provide feedback effectively
  • Don’t invest the time in the process (don’t have time)
  • It is not a priority for them
  • Don’t have an  incentive to put in the time
  • Don’t have a framework
  • Fear of parent/player reaction
  • Politics

Unfortunately, I have seen the above at almost every level, but most disappointing has been seeing it at the highest levels of hockey.  For example, in a rare instance of this being done well…one player who was in consideration for a national team, received lots of feedback and what the coaches wanted to them do this season.  However, what was more common are the many examples where other players attending national camps received little to no meaningful feedback, even when requested. It seems that unless a coach or organization has a vested, long-term interest in a player or team, they will not put in the time or effort that most players need.

As a parent or a youth player, it is important to be realistic on the types of feedback to expect from your team coach based on the level of play and the club/program you signed up for.  In most situations, you will likely have to go beyond the basic feedback practices of your coach and find ways to supplement them with other experts you trust.

(Note to my kids current coaches: I am not referring to you – this post was mostly written over the past summer and incorporates conversations I’ve had with parents from all over the country).

Categories
Development Camp Girls Hockey

A few notes from the 2022 USA Hockey Pacific District Camp

This past weekend I was in Las Vegas to watch my second USA Hockey Pacific Districts Camp.  The general format was pretty much the same as last year, with 3 practices and 3 games. However, there were a few subtle differences from the previous year that I wanted to share. Here are my notes:

Camp Structure

This year, my daughter was participating in the 16/17’s group (made up of 2005 and 2006 birth years).  There was also a 15’s group (2007 players) just like last year, but in addition there was a 14’s group (2008 birth year).  Each group was made up of 4 teams – typically 9 or 10 forwards, 6 D and 2 goalies.

Last year,  16 players from the 15’s groups were sent to national camp (8F, 5D, 3G); 8 players were selects for the 16/17s camp (5F, 3D, 0G) and 4 players picks to go straight to the U18s camp (2F, 2D, 0G).  There are no exact numbers provided for this year other than the guidance in the USA Hockey Guidebook.

Unlike last year, the games were two 30-minute run-time periods. Last year it was only 24 minutes per period, and it really made a difference in ice time. Last year, a player would typically only get 10 or 11 shifts per game, this year it felt like it was between 15 and 20. 

Quality of Play

In addition, I noticed a significantly higher level of play at the 16/17s level than last year at the 15’s age groups. This was likely due to a combination of factors.  Since at this age group is a combined-age tryout, only the top half of players from each age group made the camp, therefore raising the bar on the quality of player to be selected to the camp.  Also, with the players being a year or two older than the 15’s, the difference in development was pretty easy to see.  I should note that several alternates from the regional tryouts were added to rosters as some of the original selections did not come – so you could see a range in talent on just about every team. Finally, unlike what I saw with the 15’s, the shift length for players at the higher level was much more reasonable.  Rarely did I see 2 or 2.5 minute shifts. My general impression was that the overall level was pretty good with a few elite players, hockey in the Pacific District still has a long way to go to match the skill level I saw the previous weekend at a 3-on-3 Minnesota High School tournament.

Refs-In-Training

An interesting twist in this year’s event, is that in parallel to the players camp, it was also some kind of camp/evaluation for referees. Not sure if it was USA Hockey-specific or IIHF.  The good news, is that the refs took their job very seriously – and didn’t let many things go that you normally see in a summer showcase (e.g. offsides, icings etc.). Alternatively, there were several awkward moments, such as refs being out of position and running into players in the middle of plays, and being a little over-zealous with not permitting teams to make line changes before face-offs. There was one top player who got called for a penalty when the out-of-position ref caused her to lose the puck – and the player let the ref know she wasn’t pleased . I am all for better training of refs and helping them improve and certainly don’t expect perfection, but at this type of event, ref training shouldn’t be at the expense of the players who were there to try out.

Selection Process

I estimated there were between 20 and 25 coaches representing USA Hockey at the event – whether on-ice with the players or evaluating from their private viewing area. It seemed to be a similar mix to last year of DIII coaches, current NCAA players, Pacific district coaches and other USA Hockey representatives. From a parents perspective, it would be nice to know what some of the evaluation criteria are for each position. However, from all the experienced eyes on the players over the course of the four days, I am trusting that their selection process is reasonably objective and can truly figure out who the top players were to move on to the national camps.

A nice improvement from last year, was the fact that USA Hockey clearly declared the dates in which the results would be published, May 25th.  So there was no ambiguity and confusion about what the expectations are for the outcome of the selection camp. Even better, it is less than 2 weeks from the event, unlike last year when it was almost a month delay.

Categories
College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Girls Hockey

2022 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

2022 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

Here is a list of 2022 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps.

This is a partial list. Feel free to submit a new event using our Feedback Form.

OrganizationEventDatesLocationCityAges
College Hockey ShowcasesSt. Louis ShowcaseAugust 5-7, 2022Centene Community Ice ArenaSt Louis, MO2003-2009 Birth Years
College Hockey ShowcasesSweden Girls High Performance CampJuly 18-29, 2022Nyköpings Arenor RosvallaNyköping, Sweden2002-2009 Birth Years
NCD CampsGIRLS NCD DEVELOPEMNT CAMPJuly 25-27, 2022New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2023, '24, '25, '26 Grad Years
Premier Ice ProspectsSOUTHERN PROSPECTS CAMPJuly 21-24, 2022Carolina Ice PalaceNorth Charleston, SC2010 - 2013 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects617 PIP SHOWCASE - BOSTON HARBOR STYLEJuly 27-28, 2022The Edge Sports CenterBedford, MA2023, '24, '25 Grad Years
Premier Ice Prospects702 PIP SHOWCASE - VEGAS STYLEAugust 4-7, 2022City National ArenaLas Vegas, NV2005 - 2007 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects615 PIP SHOWCASE - MUSIC CITY STYLEAugust 11-14, 2022Predators' Ford Ice CenterBellevue, TN2008 - 2009 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsMrs. Hockey® InviteJanuary 13 - 16, 2023Ft Lauderdale, FL12U Girls - Tier 1 & Tier 2
Premier Ice ProspectsLabor Day Girls FestSeptember 2-4, 2022TBD14U, 16U/17U and 19U Tier I (AAA)/Canadian AA
Premier Ice ProspectsRoc City Girls FestNovember 4-6, 2022Rochester, NY19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsBurgh Thanksgiving Girls FestNovember 25-27, 2022Pittsburgh, PA19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsSmashville Girls FestNovember 25-27, 2022Nashville, TN19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsErie White Out WeekendDecember, 2022Erie, PA12U and 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA)
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSICJuly 22-24, 2022New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2007 - 2012 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSICJuly 29-31, 2022New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MAU19, College Elite
Showcase Hockey2022 International CupAugust 5-7, 2022MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2022 Easton Cup AAA TournamentAugust 19-21, 2022MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2022 Summer FinaleAugust 26-28, 2022MinnesotaGirls AAA (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Showcase Hockey2022 Warrior Cup AAASeptember 9-11, 2022MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
200x85 TournamentsCCM WORLD INVITE BOYS/GIRLS DALLASOctober 8-10, 2022Dallas, TXTier 1 & 2 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
200x85 TournamentsCCM GIRLS WORLD INVITE DETROITNovember 11-13, 2022Detroit, MITier 1 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
200x85 TournamentsCCM GIRLS WINDY CITY ELITE – CHICAGODecember 2-4, 2022Chicago, ILTier 1 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
200x85 TournamentsCCM Girls 68 (14U)August 11-14, 2022Chicago, IL2008 Birthyear
200x85 TournamentsCCM MLK Boston InviteJanuary 14-16, 2023 Boston, MATier 1 & 2 – G12U, G14U, G16U, G19U
North American Female Elite ShowcaseThe Orion Top ProspectsJune 16-19, 2022Blaine, MN2005 - 2010 Birth Years
North American Female Elite ShowcaseThe Orion Young StarsAugust 4-7, 2022Boston, MA2011 & 2012
National Girls Hockey LeagueDawg Daze of SummerAugust 26-28, 2022Northford, CTTier I 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueLabor Day ChallengeSeptember 3-5, 2022Cromwell, CTTier II - 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueColumbus Day ShowcaseOctober 8-10, 2022Pittsburgh, PATier II - 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic, Futures WestOctober 8-10, 2022Omaha, NE 10U, 12U
National Girls Hockey LeagueFall ClassicOctober 14-16, 2022 Rochester, NYTier I 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic, FuturesNovember 11-13, 2022Tewksbury, MA10U/12U
National Girls Hockey LeagueMile High InvitationalNovember 25-27, 2022Denver, COTier II - 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL Jamboree December 2-3, 2022Delmont, PA8U/10U
National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL Winter ClassicDec 30-Jan 2, 2023Seattle, WA 10U, 12U
National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL Winter ClassicJanuary 6-8, 2023Monmouth Jctn, NJ10U/12U
National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter ClassicJanuary 14-16, 2023Hingham, MassTier I 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter ClassicJanuary 14-16, 2023Haverhill & Tewksbury, MassTier II - 14U, 16U, 19U
National Girls Hockey LeagueRed CupFebruary 3-5, 2023 Denver, COTier I 14U, 16U, 19U Members only event
National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL Futures ChampionshipsFebruary 11-12, 2023Raleigh, North Carolina10U/12U
National Girls Hockey LeagueBlue CupFebruary 18-20, 2023St. Louis, MOTier II - 14U, 16U, 19U
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College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girls Hockey Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

What I learned attending the USA Hockey 15s Girls Development Camp

Part III – College Recruiting

This is the third and final post focusing on the college recruiting process based my experience as a parent at the USA Hockey Girls Camp that took place in St Cloud Minnesota from July 10-15, 2021.

You can read the previous posts about the Schedule & Operational Details and USA Hockey Player Development

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what to write for this post.  I wanted to specifically discuss what happened at the USA Hockey 15’s camp in St. Cloud.  However, I have come to realize that it would be incomplete without providing additional context about the entire women’s college recruiting process.  As a result, for this post I am mostly just going to stick to the facts and data I collected.  Separately, I will soon publish a detailed post about what I have figured out so far about the end-to-end recruiting process to give the perspective needed for any individual event.

What became obvious quite quickly, is that coaches from all over the country were flocking to St Cloud to see the top 216 15-year old female players.  Kristin Wright stated at the opening parents meeting that 90% of schools would be at the Development Camp at some point during the week.  Based on all the logos I saw that number must have been pretty close.

Here are the schools I saw first-hand, but I am sure this is not a complete list:

• Bemidji State
Boston College
• Boston University
• Brown
• Clarkson
• Cornell
• Franklin Pierce
• Harvard
Holy Cross
Lindenwood
• Mercyhurst
• Minnesota
• Minnesota State
Northeastern
• Ohio State
Princeton
• Providence
Quinnipiac
• Rice
RPI
• Sacred heart
St Cloud
St Lawrence
• St Thomas
• Vermont
• Union
Wisconsin

At a basic level coaches had two objectives for attending the event:

  • Watching players already on their list and track their performance/development
  • Identify new players to add to their follow list

Since I was sitting in the stands with most of the coaches I had a few observations. Some coaches were very social and others kept to themselves.  Some showed up just the first couple of days, others just for the last 2 or 3 days. Unlike 16/17s camp which took place a couple of weeks earlier, coaches can’t talk to the 15’s parents – so there was almost engagement between coaches and parents. Schools that I did not see their logos seemed to have on-ice coaches represented at either the 16/17s camp or the U18 camp. Many coaches had printed rosters or iPads to identify players and take notes. But quite a few did not appear to have a method to take notes or remember players.  Each school seem to have a different scouting strategy/plan. Some schools had multiple coaches, while other only had one representative. As well, some scouts only watched games, while other watched all the public practices and scrimmages.

A couple of schools really stood out to me during the week

Brian Durocher Boston University

The first was Boston University head coach Brian Durocher who spent the first three days watching almost every practice and game. He would just stand on his own down along the glass quietly taking notes on a little piece of paper. And when there was a break on one rink he go watch players on the other rink.  He was very unassuming, but clearly using his many years of experience to evaluate players and take copious notes.

The other school that impressed, was the team of Ohio State coaches (at least four in total both on-ice and off-ice) who were making sure they watched all the girls on both rinks throughout the week. They typically sat in a group around head coach Nadine Muzerall and watched a lot of hockey together. As a Michigan grad it isn’t easy for me to say nice things about OSU, but clearly they have prioritized scouting and their recruiting process as a key to their success.

In my next post I will discuss what I have learned about different stages of the women’s college recruiting process. This will help answer many of the questions I have received about how much should a player be seen in the spring and summer at showcases and events compared to their regular season team.

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Coaching Development Camp Girl's Showcase Girls Hockey Women's Hockey

What I learned attending the USA Hockey 15s Girls Development Camp

Part II

USA Hockey Player Development

This post is the second in a series about the USA Hockey Girls 15’s Camp I attended from July 10-15, 2021.

At the start of camp, Kristen Wright helped provide perspective on how to think about the bigger picture for what the week was about. The 15’s Camp is really just the first step in a USA Hockey player’s journey at the national level. For many it can be a multi-year process including their college years as the they try to be included in the conversation to make the National Women’s Team.

Realistically, in the short term, for most girls, the ultimate goal of attending any of the girls camps (15,16/18 or U18), is to be invited to the Women’s National Festival which includes players from all age groups (National Team, U23 and U18) being considered for a national roster.

However, for the week of camp, unless something truly exceptional occurred, this Covid year, there would be no decision on advancing or further outcome beyond the camp for any of the players in attendance. Everyone would just head back home richer from the experience and will go though a similar process next year to make the 2022 16/17s camp or if they we one of the top players, potentially go directly to the U18’s camp.

USA-Hockey

Given the above, what did I think were the objectives for the camp from a USA Hockey perspective?

  1. Learn about the USA Hockey national program for girls/women and understand what it takes to compete and potentially make a national team (U18, U23, Women’s National Team)
  2. Get seen & scouted by USA Hockey Coaches (to help get on the radar for the U18 Camp for 2022)
  3. Get feedback on strengths and development opportunities
  4. Get a benchmark of how good a player is relative to their peer group

1. Learn about the USA Hockey National Program

During the parent meeting, Kristen Wright shared the three core values of the USA Hockey program:

  • Relentless
  • Pride
  • Together

And from what I could sense as an outside observer, all the activities for the week centered around these principles. In addition, the theme of the week focused more on helping players be the best they can be rather than solely focus on what it would take to make any of the different age-specific national teams.  Given the size of the camp, on balance, that seemed like a more realistic focus. Better to focus on the values that players would need to consistently demonstrate to make a team rather than hockey-specific attributes that may not resonate at this time for most of the girls.

2. Get seen & scouted by USA Hockey Coaches

As mentioned in my previous post, the on-ice coach to player ratio was about 1:3 with somewhere in the range of 70-100 USA Hockey representatives participating in the camp.  I am assuming that USA Hockey leadership had some type of scouting information collection capability from both on-ice and off-ice observers at both games and practices. In addition, team coaches, team leaders and interns all got to observe their players both at the rink and outside of the rink during the week of camp.  Given all these points of data, I would expect that there is some type of player tracking tool with a summary of the information that was collected on each player. There must be some type of report card (beyond the testing results) that was being kept on each player. Ideally, this database would be used to benchmark players if they return to another USA Hockey camp.

As Kristen Wright alluded to the parents on the first afternoon, roughly speaking players are group into A’s (Top 25 or Top 50), B’s (the next ~100) and C’s (the lowest ~75 players). However, the messaging was clear, it really shouldn’t matter right now for players to hear what level they were evaluated. The girls were there to learn about what it took to make it to the next level in USA Hockey and they need to take those learnings and go back and work hard and get better for next year. This year’s evaluations would primarily be used as a way to track development and improvement in a year from now.

3. Get feedback on strengths and development opportunities

Each player received some type of feedback from one of their coaches during the week. Depending on the team and coach, the feedback session occurred during the second half of camp and was a 1-on-1 meeting with one of the two team coaches. Since I was not a player, I could only gather information indirect accounts from players or parents, so my sample size may not be big enough. Evaluation was almost entirely qualitative than quantitative. However, the one consistent theme I heard was that the feedback session wasn’t that great. Comments ranged from advice being too generic (e.g. “go back home work hard, get better and come back and show us what you can do next year”) to not offering any real thoughtful insights to putting the onus on the player to self-evaluate and then mostly agreeing with the player’s evaluation. The consistent theme that I heard was that not enough effort was put into preparing for the feedback session.

In my opinion, this was an area that is an area that the camp could have had a bigger impact.

My personal thoughts are there should be some type of formal feedback process. Ideally with a standardize report card by position (goalie, defense, winger, center). Each player should have received written, detailed feedback on their strengths and key development opportunities (e.g. 3 for each) to help take their game to the next level (which would be personalized to the appropriate for that individual player). I realize this is a tremendous amount of work, requires a lot of coordination between all the coaches and has some pretty significant risks if not properly implemented. And I agree 100% with Kristen Wright the goal is build and maintain player confidence is key. However, given how much players and parents are invested (in every sense of the word) in their hockey development, having some type of tangible, standardized evaluation would be invaluable for these players. To be clear, I thought the week was exceptionally well-run and a great experience for all involved, but this was my one disappointment as a parent.

Since we didn’t get that feedback, I ended up doing it myself using footage from the games available via HockeyTV.  I’ve started break down the video and comparing them to the top players from the U18 camp who made the National Festival. Most parents probably won’t do this level of video analysis, so there will be a gap in direction for many of the players. It’s disappointing that not all the girls will get a deep dive on their performance.

4. Get a benchmark of how good a player is relative to their peer group

My impression was that while the standard deviation at the 15’s Camp was much smaller than at Pacific District camp (where the gap from top to bottom was pretty significant) you could still see big differences from the elite players to some of the marginal players. Depending on the cohesiveness of the team, it was apparent where some players focused more on showcasing their individual talents rather than trusting their teammates and playing as a team.  It was great to see multiple passes between teammates being well-executed to create scoring chances.  However, in many games missed passes and turnover-after-turnover was occurring on a frequent basis, especially for the first couple of games.

One thing that really stood out to me quite frequently after I saw a player make a great play and I would then look-up where they were from, was how often they were a Minnesota High School player from a school I had never heard of. It was the first time I saw first-hand the high level of players produced by Minnesota hockey on the girls side of things.

In terms of benchmarking, if a player was observant of their teammates, they could pretty easily see which ones were more effective than others (and why). And they could also see the ones who either struggled on the skills side of things (e.g. skating, passing, positional play) or playing a team game.  This was on the skater side of things. Since I am no expert on goalies, I am not sure how puck-stoppers would self-evaluate relative to their peers, but hopefully they could see the wide range of styles and abilities that different goalies demonstrated during the goalie-specific sessions.

These were my observations from the USA Hockey U15s girls camp and how I thought it met the objectives for the week from a USA Hockey perspective.  While I wished there was a little more direction on the path to USA Hockey success, I fully understand why this is still the top of player funnel from a national team point-of-view.

In the final post about the 15s Girls camp, I will discuss the camp from a college recruiting perspective.

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College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Women's College Hockey

What I learned attending the 2021 USA Hockey 15’s Girl’s Development Camp

Part I

This is the first in a three-part series on my experience as a parent at the 2021 USA Hockey 15’s Girls Select hockey camp. In this series, I will first cover the schedule and operational details about the event. In part two, I will discuss the USA Hockey player development perspective and finally, in part three, I will discuss how the camp related to the college recruiting process.

Please keep in mind that this these posts are about my experience at the event and the information I collected. I wasn’t a participant and did not track every activity my daughter or the other girls had scheduled during the week. This is just my perspective as a parent who talked to a handful players and several parents during and after the week and what I took away from the experience – your mileage may vary.

On the first day of the camp, I really appreciated Kristen Wright, the USA Hockey Female ADM Manager, answering a bunch of my questions and providing additional perspective on the camp and helping me understand the “how” and “why” on a bunch of topics related to the Player Development Camp process. I really hope to get Kristen on the Champs App Podcast after all the USA Hockey camps are done. 

When?

The USA Hockey Girls 15’s Camp was held from July 10-15, 2021 

Where?

The camp took place at the St. Cloud University campus with the hockey events taking place primarily at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. The facility has two Olympic sized rinks. Rink 2 is a practice rink with limited stands for parents and scouts and no above-ice seating or views. Rink 1 is the main rink for the varsity hockey teams and is where a full sized arena with seating of ~6000 seats and a few club boxes at one of the rink behind the net (where many USA Hockey organizers/coaches observed practices and games).

While many coaches and scouts easily moved back and forth between the two rinks, it was clearly easier to watch players anywhere on the ice on Rink 1 compared to Rink 2. In addition, for a handful or observers (USA Hockey representatives or scouts), Rink 1 was the primary rink from which they watched players. For example, from what I saw (and I didn’t watch every game or practice), Katie Lachapelle, the USA Hockey U18 coach, seemed to only watch activity on Rink 1 (note: she may have had a screen to watch a Rink 2 feed). Thus, it seemed that there might have been a slight advantage to having more ice time on Rink 1 vs Rink 2 throughout the week, especially for games.

Who?

There were approximately 216 2006 birth-year girls in attendance at the camp. You can find a complete list of the players here. The girls were selected from the 12 USA Hockey district camps with the number of players directly in proportion to the percentage of registered females for this age group for each district. Therefore, if a district had ~10% of the female 2006 players registered in all of USA Hockey, there should have been 21 or 22 players from that district.

Players were split up into 12 teams designated by color and divided into three division of four teams each. Each team had a Head Coach, typically from a DI school or Prep School, an Intern Coach and a Team Leader. Players did all their activities with their team and typically shared events with another team from their division.

In addition, there was anywhere between 70 and 100 USA Hockey representatives on and off the ice throughout the week. During many of the on-ice practices it was typical to see a 3:1 player-to-coach ratio with 3-5 coaches running each station – this was awesome for the players. Also, there were many (a little hard for me to estimate) USA Hockey representatives in the stands or along the glass watching practices and games – many with computers or notebooks – likely scouting and evaluating players.

What?

Testing:

Upon arrival at the camp players there was some on-ice and off-ice testing. About a week prior to the start of the camp, players were sent a list of 8 metrics that each player would be tested on. They included off-ice strength (push-ups and pull-ups, vertical jump) and on-ice speed (20 yards sprint, blue line-to-blue line). While the attributes being measured were pretty similar to those in the past, there were a couple of changes to previous years. As discussed on the Champs App Podcast, at this age these measurements aren’t of significant importance, it is really to track improvement over the coming years. However, it probably makes sense next time to publish what will be tested when the original invitation to players were sent out (about a month beforehand) to allow the girls time to properly train for the testing.

During the week there was a lot of on-ice and off-ice activities for each team. Here is a list of some of those activities and what was published with regards to the daily schedule:

Off-ice:

The schedule included a wide range of activities including”

  • Team building
  • Nutrition
  • Stickhandling and shooting
  • Mental skills
  • Feedback session

On-Ice:

The on-ice program included 3 practices (60 or 90 minutes),  3 games (2 x 25 minutes stop-time periods), and two 1-period (25 minute) playoff games on the final day. In addition, Goalies had an addition two practice times with coaches.

Practices:

For the most-part practices were really well-done. Every practice was run like a typical USA Hockey practice with a variety of stations and small areas games. During regular practices there were typically 12 or 13 coaches on the ice which was awesome to see. It is my understanding that for the two goalie sessions it was even better – with more coaches than goalies on the ice. Even better was how awesome it was that ~90% of the on-ice coaches were female.

Games:

Games were just okay, there were moments of beauty surrounded by long periods of sloppy play (especially the first day of games). Given these were the top 2006 players in the country, the lack of team practice time was pretty noticeable – even for an amateur like myself. Most teams improved their chemistry as the games went on and players learned to trust their teammates instead trying to do everything themselves. And while I don’t want to complain about the refs, it was clear there was a bias to minimize the number of whistles for icings/offsides and calling infractions unless they were pretty blatant. It was definitely not the same standard as the USA Hockey National playoffs. There was a two-game singe-period playoff on the final day based on the round-robin standings. With the finals on Rink 1 for each division while the consolation game was played concurrently on Rink 2.

Why?

On the first day Kristen Wright held a session for the parents to explain the objectives of the camp. While I am sure I am not capturing all the goals of the week, from what I saw here is what USA Hockey’s intent was:

  • Introduce the girls to USA Hockey national team program and educate the players on the values and skills required to play at the highest level with USA Hockey
  • Give USA Hockey scouts a first look at the 2006 birth year and begin benchmarking their level to track their progress as they continue to develop
  • Allow players to see, compete and benchmark themselves with their peer group and begin to form relationships from players from across the country
  • As explained to me by Kristen Wright, due to Covid and a compact summer schedule, unlike previous years, none of the 15’s camp participants would have the opportunity to be invited to the U18 camp (which was different from the 16/17’s camp from a couple of weeks earlier which sent 13 players to the U18 camp). So the camp would be the final USA Hockey event for the participants before the start of the fall season.

All the games were broadcast live on HockeyTV and available on demand. While the camera angles were challenging…very high on Rink 1 and for Rink 2 the only reasonable position for a live feed that follows the play with a cameraman being in one of the corners – it was certainly better than no feed at all – especially for parents and family who could not attend in person – but was hard on the eyes.

 One final note…surprisingly, the cost per player was less than $200 for the camp – the only major cost was the transportation to get to Minnesota. So, from an out-of-pocket perspective, this camp was great value for the buck – even though this was secondary to all the other benefits from the week.

In the next post I will go into detail on my thought how the camp relates to the USA Hockey National Player Development program from a player perspective.

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College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Parents Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

What I learned attending my first DI Girls College Hockey Showcase

This past weekend my 2006 daughter and I attended our first showcase with Division I coaches participating and scouting at the event.  The 585 PIP Showcase – Roc City Style took place in Rochester, New York at the Bill Gray Iceplex from June 18-20, 2021. Here is what I learned…

Who participated in the 585 PIP College Hockey Showcase?

In attendance were 180 players with birth years 2004, 2005 and 2006. Their break down by birth year and high school graduation year were as follows:

Included in these players, were many girls invited to the different 2021 USA Hockey Camps next month in Minnesota. Of particular interest to us, were the three players at the 585 Showcase who were the only 2006’s invited directly to the U18 Camp – thus, at least by USA Hockey’s assessment, considered the top three 15’s in the country.

From the recruiting side, there were 28 DI and 6 DIII schools represented (note: 13 schools were previous guests on the Champs App Podcast):

Boston CollegeMercyhurstQuinnipiacYale
BrownMerrimackRITConnecticut College
Boston UniversityMinnesotaRPIElmira College
ClarksonMinnesota DuluthSt. LawrenceNazareth
ColgateNortheasternSyracusePlattsburgh
CornellOhio StateUConnSUNY Oswego
HarvardPenn StateUnionUniversity of Buffalo
Holy CrossPrincetonVermont 
LindenwoodProvidenceWisconsin 

20 of the DI coaches participated in on-ice events which for each player included a skills sessions, a practice and 4 games.

Starting the women’s college hockey recruiting process

Unlike the first showcase in Rochester that we attended last October, 2020 during Covid, our goals for this past weekend were very different. Back then, since my daughter hadn’t played with girls before, we were just trying to calibrate how good a hockey player she was compared to other female players.

This 585 event was the first step in the long journey of my daughter’s recruiting process with the intent of being seen by some of the schools she currently has an interest in. Something which makes her situation unique, is that she has only played on boys tier hockey teams and will once again play boys tier 1 hockey next season. While this is great from a hockey development perspective, this puts her at a disadvantage because she does not get seen at in-season girls tournaments or the USA Hockey Girls National playoffs. This is why spring/summer girls showcases are so important for her specific college recruiting journey.

What were our goals for attending a girls college hockey showcase?

One of the challenges I struggled with leading up to the weekend, was defining the objectives for the showcase and how would we measure success?  Unlike the USA Hockey district camp we attended last month, where it was clear that the goal for my daughter was to be invited to the 15’s national camp and thus easily measurable (even though it took almost a month to learn the results). For Rochester, this is what we came up with:

  • Initiate scouting coverage by a handful of schools that my daughter has an interest in
  • Ideally, create the beginnings of a relationship with those schools via the on-ice coaching opportunities
  • Get on the radar of other schools. This is a long process and who knows where the best fit(s) may be for my daughter when she gets closer to being able to talk directly with colleges.
  • See what makes the Top 3 2006’s special

Being Proactive – Planning for a Girls College Showcase Weekend

To help with the first goal for the showcase, during the week prior to the event, my daughter sent a handful of emails to coaches who would be in attendance. She let them know why she was interested in their school and invited them to watch her during the weekend. Per NCAA recruiting rules, since my daughter cannot be contacted prior to June 15th, 2022 (at the end of her sophomore year), coaches could not email her back.

As a parent, it is unclear to me how college coaches scout at these events

My first takeaway from the showcase is that I really don’t understand how coaches scout at large showcases and tournaments – from my uninitiated perspective, there are just too many players and games to watch. During my podcast interviews, coaches have told me that while showcases are good to get to know players, they really prefer watching them play real games with their regular season teams. I did see most coaches carrying around the color-coded player lists for each team, many taking notes while coaching from behind the bench and when scouting games.  However, given there were 180 players, I have many questions on how they decide which games to watch, which players to focus on and what they are evaluating. In my upcoming podcasts, I will be sure to dive deep on how coaches collect their information at these types of events with so much going on.

Showcase teams with more “top-program” players had more coaches watching them

Another takeaway from the weekend, is that luck played a role in which team you were on – which then translated into how likely you were to be seen by as many coaches as possible. It is unclear how teams were formed for the event, but it was obvious that some teams had many more players from well-known teams (e.g. Shattuck-St Mary’s, Little Caesars, BK Selects, East Coast Wizards, Chicago Mission) than others. The more “brand-name-team” players on a team’s roster, the more coaches were likely to watch that team play and how often. Some games had what appeared to be a couple of dozen coaches watching from above or along the glass, while for other games I could count the number of non-bench coaches scouting the action on one hand.

For example, there was a game with 20+ players on the ice from those “top programs” playing each other with a full-house of DI coaches, while simultaneously, on a separate rink, there weren’t many coaches watching a game with only 3 “top-program” players.

It’s hard to immediately measure the success for a summer showcase weekend

One of the challenges of the weekend was quantifying some key metrics. Based on discussions with my daughter and from what I was able to observe from the stands, at least half of the six coaches she emailed had watched her play in a game – plus she was able to talk with another targeted coach during one of the skills sessions. In addition, she had direct interactions/conversations with about 8 additional DI coaches during the on-ice practices and games. Of course, it is impossible to know which coaches and how many actually scouted her from off-ice positions, this is something we may only discover sometime in the future. So in the end, measuring success of the weekend is a little opaque and one can only hope that sometime after June 15, 2022 we can see the benefits.

USA Hockey’s Top 2006 Players for 2021

It was great to watch the three 2006’s who were invited directly to the USA Hockey U18 Girls Camp play.  All three were big, strong players and very noticeable when they were on the ice. One of them scored a wonderful goal by powering their way to the net and popping the puck top-shelf over the goalie’s shoulder. It was the prettiest play I saw all weekend.

First Steps in a Long Journey

Overall, for a first DI showcase event, it seemed to be a pretty good start. Clearly, several schools now know who my daughter is and the process has begun. We have three more opportunities for her to be scouted this summer (2021 USA National Development Camp, 2021 NAHA College Showcase and the PIP 702 Vegas) before she returns to her boys team in the fall.

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College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Girls Hockey Parents Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

What I learned attending my first USA Hockey Girls District Camp

This past weekend I attended my first USA Hockey Girls District Camp in Las Vegas for the Pacific District with my daughter (2006 birth year). As someone who is new to this whole process, I wanted to share what I learned attending my first USA Hockey Girls District Camp. There were many things I didn’t know or understand until we went through the experience and I had conversations with the organizers & coaches in attendance. Since the Pacific District Camp was one of the first ones to be held in 2021, hopefully there are other players and parents who can take some of this information to help them with their own preparation.

Which players were invited?

Like all USA Hockey girls district camps, there were two age groups. One for 15 year-olds (2006 birth year) and one for 16- and 17 year-olds (2005, 2004 birth years). The players were selected by their state affiliates (e.g. California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska) with the numbers of players from each affiliate somewhat in proportion to the # of USA Hockey registration participation level. So, if a state had twice as many female players for an age group, they would be allocated twice as many sports at the district camp.

At each level players were placed on to one of 4 teams comprising of up to 9 Forward, 6 D and 2 Goalies.

What did the players do?

Over the course of the weekend there were 3 on-ice practices, 3 games and 2 off-ice zoom sessions. For goalies there was an additional goalie-specific on-ice sessions at the start of the weekend.

On-Ice practices were run by DIII coaches with assistance from affiliate coaches.  These practices were straight out of the USA Hockey ADM practice philosophy which included a 4-station rotation, half ice small area drills & games and of course some cross-ice games with different types of variations of 3-on-3. From my observation, while there was the occasional tip from a coach here and there, there was not a lot of heavy technical feedback, instead the tone was quite positive and focused on giving the girls a lot of reps.

For games, each team played the other 3 teams once.  Games consisted of three 22-minute periods of running time, with a break at the 11-minute mark for the 2 goalies on each team to switch and ensure equal playing time. For most games, the scores were not posted on the scoreboard and all penalties were enforced as penalty shots with players chasing down the shooter from behind.

The Zoom calls mainly focused on education players on the college recruiting process and the do’s & don’ts when communicating with college coaches. Many of the same topics that we have covered in the Champs App Podcast were covered in these calls.

PLAYER EVALUATION

Kathy McGarrigle

Before arriving at the PDC, there was not a lot of information shared about the evaluation process, however I did speak in-depth with Kathy McGarrigle, the Pacific District Girls Hockey Director, who was responsible for organizing the entire weekend (she is also the Founder, Program Director and Head Coach for the Anaheim Lady Ducks). She graciously answered all my questions.

Kathy explained to me that, historically, the Pacific District joined forces with the Rocky Mountain District to have a Multi-District Camp, but with the expected growth in girl’s hockey in Nevada and Washington thanks to the Golden Knights and Kraken, the Pacific District is focusing on having their own camp for the coming years.

Who:

Kathy McGarrigle made it clear to me that all of the evaluators were from outside of the Pacific district to ensure complete objectivity and that process was not political. No one affiliated with a club or program is involved in the decision making.  The evaluators consisted of DIII team coaches who were behind the bench and on the ice during games and practices, but several off-ice evaluators who stood in their own blocked-off section away from spectators. Beyond the evaluators for the Pacific District Camp, there were additional USA Hockey evaluators scouting the event for the national camps in July. They were there to see if any 15/16 year-old players were strong enough to be chosen directly for the U18 National camp as well as capture additional information on top players being considered for all the national camps.   

There were no DI coaches in attendance likely due to the recruiting blackout period which does not get lifted until June 1st combined with those coaches being more focused on the national camp players (who are most likely to be DI prospects).

What: 

While no specific or official guidelines were provided as to what was being evaluated, Kathy mentioned to me all the basics in terms of hockey skills like skating and passing, team play, character and effort. In addition, she emphasized that scoring the most goals didn’t guarantee anything, they were looking at the complete player over the entirety of the weekend.

When: 

Evaluators watched all games and practices for the specific age groups they were assigned to (either 2006 or 2004/05). The third and final games were where all the evaluators were together watching the players at the same time.  Kathy explained to me that at the end of each day the evaluators convened to discuss the top players and systemically put together a dynamic rank of players which does not get finalized until after the final games on Sunday.

Why:

For the players in attendance at the camp, the ultimate goal is to be selected for one of the three National Player Development Camps taking place this July in Minnesota (15s, 16s/17s and 18U).  Once again, the number of spots allotted to the Pacific District is based on the percent of registrants in USA Hockey, of which the Pacific District represents ~6% of the player population.  Since the 15s National camp has about 216 players in attendance, then the Pacific District should get ~13 spots (plus or minus) for that age group. For the 16s/17s, those numbers there are the same number of spots, but for both birth years since that camp is combined, thus the number of spots is allocated by birth year in proportion in registration percentage.

Kathy informed me that the final list of invites to the national camp would likely not be released until June 9th, 2021 since the Pacific Camp was one of the first in the country to be completed. As the players who will be invited to the U18 Camp are decided, there is a cascading effect on who will get invited to the 16s/17s camp and is dependent on other districts completing their camps. Thus, the delay of nearly a month until we will are informed on the Pacific selections.

My thoughts:

Overall, the weekend was a great opportunity for the girls to compete with the top players on the west coast and see how they compare. In reality, there was a big standard deviation in talent, but this is something I expected since the Pacific teams tend not to be as strong for girls hockey as other areas of the country. So, hopefully it was a good learning opportunity to benchmark and self-reflect on which part of their game each player needs to work on.

Unfortunately, due to the Covid protocols and the short weekend, no formal feedback was provided to the girls (only ad hoc on-ice or behind-the-bench guidance). As Kathy suggested to me during the weekend, if a player wanted feedback, they should proactively query their coach. That would be my recommendation to players who have upcoming camps in other districts, to ask their coach for their advice on their specific development needs towards the end of the camp.

P.S. A memorable part of the weekend was when a parent from Alaska recognized my Champs hat and asked “Are you the Champs App Podcast guy?” and thanked me for the podcasts.