A common question we receive is “when should a player move on from the CHL dream in order to fully focus on the Junior A-College route?”
The standard tends to be most CHL players are signed by their respective teams prior to their 17-year-old season. The high draft picks typically receive a contract offer shortly after their respective draft. Meanwhile, mid-round, late-round and listed prospects tend to receive a contract offer during their 15-year-old or 16-year-old seasons.
If an undrafted player is not listed by the end of their 16-year-old season, that’s usually a good indication that the CHL route won’t pan out. The vast majority of listed players who sign with CHL teams were listed by their respective club in their first two seasons of midget hockey.
Nonetheless, there are always exceptions to the rule. There are notable examples of prolific players who weren’t signed by a CHL team until their 17-year-old or 18-year-old seasons. It’s often because the player was a late-bloomer or held off on signing due to other opportunities (USHL, NCAA etc.).
CHL camps
The tough decisions come when a CHL draft pick or listed prospect is heading into his 17-year-old season. We have had numerous players in the predicament of having to choose between a CHL or Junior A camp.
The risk is that if the player doesn’t attend his CHL camp, there’s a good chance the CHL team will drop him or at the very least lower him on their pecking order. But at the other end of the spectrum, if the player goes to the CHL camp and isn’t signed or kept for the season, there’s a good chance he just blew an opportunity to make a Junior A team.
We tell our players to weigh the pros and cons of both situations while working with our contacts to find out where they stand on the depth chart. If the player is content with returning to midget as a 17-year-old, it makes sense for him to pursue the CHL camp as ultimately a last kick at the can. But if the player is focused on playing junior at 17 and feels he is on the outside looking in with his CHL team, it makes sense for him to pursue his Junior A opportunity.
There are circumstances where some Junior A programs will sign a player and still allow him to pursue a CHL opportunity. Not every Junior A program is this flexible, though.
Conclusion
Junior hockey isn’t always black and white, as there’s always some exceptions to the rule. But if a player hasn’t signed a contract with a CHL team by the end of their 17-year-old season, that’s a pretty good indication that the CHL dream is over. It’s time to focus on pursuing opportunities at the Junior A level.