Amy answers “I'm confused about the whole concept of...”

Rachel asked this question about Beartown (Beartown, #1):

I'm confused about the whole concept of hockey clubs for adults. I get that high school age and younger kids play club sports but what's the deal with the A team with players 18 and over? Is it like farm teams for the NHL?

Amy Junior hockey in the US and Canada consist of high school and older, as someone noted below 15-21 years old. These are players who hope to gain experi…moreJunior hockey in the US and Canada consist of high school and older, as someone noted below 15-21 years old. These are players who hope to gain experience to make it to the NHL, or get recruited to the U.S. colleges and universities. Preferably division 1, which can offer scholarships and are feeders for the NHL. Some players spend a year or 2 in junior hockey following high school or prep school before playing college/university (collegiate) hockey so they can gain size, experience, and get exposure. Most collegiate hockey players are a couple years older than the average freshman, and don't come straight from their public high school teams. A player from high school who wants to play collegiate hockey attends a post year or 2 in a private boarding school with a strong hockey program, or plays juniors. After playing collegiate hockey some will go to Europe to play on their teams to gain additional experience and maybe get recruited to the NHL. Junior hockey in Canada is the premier junior hockey, and that is where the U.S. players try to go. And the ones who can afford it go to Europe after college/university if they don't make it to the NHL from college/university or juniors. Some do it because they want to keep playing, and they can get paid to do it. All the players I know that went to Europe went for the experience (not just hockey), but to live and work in Europe. Just another adventure. It doesn't pay a lot, and they usually have to pick up another job. Not sure how many make it from the European teams to the NHL. The best scenario for any player is to play prep school hockey on a scholarship, gain an excellent education, and either get recruited directly into a division 1 collegiate program, or play a year (no more) of junior hockey in Canada, and then go the collegiate route. Prep school gives them the academics they need to get into college/university, and be successful students while playing hockey (which is like having a full-time job in college), that way if they don't make it to the NHL they have a degree to fall back on.(less)

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