Re: 2016-2017 WCHA Season Thread
I think the point many of you miss is that a real scout isn't going to be fooled by an inflated stat line. If you have talent and you play in a league that bogs you down, a true talent scout is going to see that player has the skills to play at the same level. By the same token a player to puts up 40 pts in a wide-open league without basic skills isn't going to the next level regardless of what their stats say. That same scout will take one look at their game and notice they are not facing any tough opposition and understand that once the competition gets tough they are not going to be racking up the points any more.
Hey if a kid just wants to rack up stats, go play D-III or club hockey. They can take even a minimal amount of D-I level skill and be the next Great One. If you really want to get to the next level, things like who coached you, how much you improved year-to-year, and physical skills have way more to do with you getting pro attention than your stat line.
Only fans are impressed by great stats.
Ryan J
And, honestly, I think scouts are irrelevant to this discussion.
In my mind, the only things that matter are the players and the fans....or more accurately, the perceptions of the players and the perceptions of the fans. Look at it from a player's perspective. Assume this player is a talented/skilled player. They are being recruited by teams from the NCHC (say UMD in this case), the ECAC (assume Quinnipiac) and the WCHA (assume MSU). All things being equal, the player likes all the schools the same. Their main goal is to go to college, work on their game and get an education in the process. Now, all other things being equal, they like the education at all schools, they like the coaches at all 3 schools, they like the facilities at all 3 schools, the success is somewhat equal between all 3 schools (I know MSU hasn't proven anything in the postseason), the location doesn't matter. The biggest thing that's different for this player is that they are different conferences and the style of play in the conferences. If they want to show off their skills, their perception is that a wide open style is going to be best for them. It doesn't matter how many times you tell a 17,18, or 19 differently, they are going to go for that style every time. If that happens repeatedly, the league as a whole suffers and each individual team suffers.
Now, look at it from a fan's perspective. All of us here are hard core fans, we're likely not going to go away no matter what. For those fans that only go to 3 or 4 games a year though, dropping that isn't a big deal. If they aren't entertained, they are going to go away. Which gets back to my point, clutch-and-grab hockey is not fun to watch for the casual fan. Slow and plodding is not fun to watch for the casual fan. It's not hard to put the cash back into my pocket and use it to pay for something that is entertaining.
So, while I agree, a kid CAN and WILL get recognized regardless of where they are at, that's not the perception. If it really mattered, kids wouldn't care about going to the Big Ten schools because of the name recognition (ie Blue Chip recruits wouldn't have been signing up to go to Wisconsin and Michigan State the last few years with the way the results on the ice were going). The fact of the matter is that it does matter to kids. Perceptions become reality in this instance. Calling the games in the way that the rules are written (not changing by the way, just enforcing) is a good way to do that. Giving skilled players the ability to showcase their skill is a good thing. That's not to say you can't still play a hard-nosed checking style of hockey, just do it within the rules.
