Capitals College Hockey Fair a Great Success

By: Justin Creech

The Washington Capitals Fourth Annual College Hockey Fair took place this past Sunday at Verizon Center and once again saw a positive turnout. Nearly 350 people attended the fair and were treated to the most thorough informational session of the Fair to date.
The two hour session which was emceed by Capitals play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati and Color Commentator Craig Laughlin, and held in the lower bowl of the Verizon Center, touched on a number of topics from how many collegiate hockey programs are in the United States; how many are Division 1, 2, and Division 3, the combined GPA and SAT scores needed to qualify for Division 1, 2 and 3 schools, and the percentage of NCAA hockey players that earn a college degree compared to the percentage of junior hockey players
Among the presenters were Al Bloomer, National Coach in Chief of USA Hockey, and Paul Kelly, Executive Director of College Hockey Inc.
Kelly, who is also the former Executive Director of the NHL Players Association and a first time attendee of the Fair; said he was impressed with how much information the Fair covered.
“I think it was good,” said Kelly, who played club hockey at Boston College University. “You had an opportunity to hear a little bit about Division 1, Divison 3 and club hockey. You had the chance to hear about the women’s programs as well, and a little bit from the professional level. George McPhee provided some great information and some good insight, and you can’t throw too much information at these people. It’s got to be enough to where they can take it in and digest it, so I think it was a good balance.”
The informational presentations were followed by a Question and Answer period where the panel of coaches addressed questions presented by Laughlin and Beninati that were selected from questionnaires sent to those who registered for the fair.
Among the questions asked were how much do recruiters look at size when recruiting a player, how to get noticed by a college, whether or not an athlete can play more than one sport, how competitive women’s college hockey has become, and how competitiveness level of the club teams.
“I thought the responses from the coaches were pretty well done in terms of having to be a certain size to play, I thought they gave a good answer to that,” said Kelly. “Questions about how you get noticed and some factors that go in to this process. So, I thought the coaches did a good job, and from what I can tell from talking to the families, I think they felt the answers were what they needed to hear.”
Megan Maloney was one attendee who was particularly satisfied with the informational session. Maloney, a freshman at St. Stephenson Innes High School and plays both hockey and lacrosse; was especially interested in whether or not she could be a multiple sport athlete while in college.
“Division-3 schools let you play two sports, so that’s one of the things I was looking at,” said Maloney. “I’ve always wanted to go to a big school, but if I want to play two sports I think I’d be leaning more towards Division-3.”
The academic requirements were also a topic Maloney was interested in. Excelling in math and science, Maloney wanted to know how much emphasis is put on academics when it comes to selecting a recruit.
“Yea, it was good to hear as far as the academics and how important that is,” said Maloney. “So, that was enlightening because a lot of times you think it’s just all about sports.”
Evan Johnson, a junior at Randolph High School in Randolph, New Jersey, was in town to visit the University of Maryland as well as George Washington University. Johnson said Maryland Head Coach Andrew DeVore suggested he attend the fair. Johnson said learning about the academic requirements was beneficial to him as well
“I haven’t taken my SAT yet,” said Johnson. “So, I’m probably going to work a lot harder now to score better on the SAT.”
A new addition to this year’s Fair was the breakout session, which gave attendees a chance to talk to former college hockey players about their college experience. Clayton Adams, a graduate of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, was one of the speakers and said the common questions were what are the expectations for recruiting coming out of the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC area and what are the best ways to get noticed by college coaches.
“You’ve got to play in a situation where you are going to see the most coaches, whether that’s in Boston or Toronto,” said Adams. “You’ve got to go to the hockey hot beds of the U.S. and Canada, and once you are in those positions it’s up to you to play to the best of your ability in order to get seen.”
Adams spoke of the expected daily routine for a college hockey player saying it is tough to give a solid answer since players daily routines depend on which school he or she chooses to attend. Adams also stressed to the attendees what he got out of college from an academic standpoint.
“The main thing I got out of college was the ability to read, write and communicate, and for a lot of people that is a huge asset when you are getting in to the working world,” said Adams. You have to allow yourself to be showcased, whether it’s as a player, a coach or a student. You’ve got to find a way to showcase that you’re the best option for whatever school or job you are looking for.”
Financial aid and NCAA compliance questions were addressed by David Francis, who works for a Student Athlete Consulting Group, and had a table set up in the hallway of the Verizon Center.
Francis said the most commonly asked questions are what is the minimum GPA a student-athlete needs to qualify for college, and when should parents reach out to the NCAA about their child’s grades.
“The most important process to understand is the difference between GPA for Division 1 and Division 2,” said Francis. “It’s important to understand the difference because the classes you take in high school are going to be based on what school you are shooting for.”
Paul Kelly felt one decision that could add a new dimension to the fair is bringing in an ex-NHL player to talk to the attendees about his experience playing college hockey. Al Bloomer felt the Fair should make attendees better aware of recruiting websites that ask prospective college athletes to pay them to help put their names out.
Craig Laughlin felt one topic that should be discussed is the differences between financial aid and scholarships.
“If a school is giving you financial aid that has hockey money, that should send a message to you that you are probably not high on their list as far as players coming in,” said Laughlin. “So, if I could’ve explained that, that would be one area to help out the players and parents.”