If all that matters is to prepare Kevin Roy for a hockey career, it makes sense for him to go to BU or BC, or another school with a big time hockey program. In terms of hockey alone, Brown cannot compete with BU or BC.
I think it'd be easier to understand what the Roy family is going through if we imagined a scenario in which Kevin was one of the smartest and best prepared high school students in the United States who, somehow, had been accepted early decision by BU or BC, before he was recognized with a plethora of academic awards. Brown, Princeton, and Dartmouth came calling on his parents and tried to convince them that their son's academic talents would be wasted if the kid went to a second tier university when he could be sitting next to the brightest students in the country and taught by an internationally recognized faculty -- not to mention his future income potential as an Ivy League graduate.
The primary mission of the athletic programs at Brown is not to prepare young people to become professional athletes. The goal is for young people to receive a world class education while participating in athletic competition at the highest level. When the opportunity arises to play professionally, they should definitely pursue it, but knowing fully well that most don't make it and professional careers in general last only a few years. Let's not forget, for example, that Yann Danis was not only a two-time All America goaltender, but also an Academic All-America. Tim Bothwell graduated "magna cum laude." Etc. Kevin Roy should only come to Brown if he's interested in combining an unparalleled education with participation in a hockey program on the cusp of becoming a contender for the ECAC title and beyond. If the only goal is to play hockey, then BU or BC, or North Dakota, for that matter, will do. And I'd wish him the best.
