I'll start this off by re-quoting something that Ralph noted in the RPI thead:
Not to pick on any one incoming 20 year-old frosh, because there are exceptions who have very legitimate cause for coming in "late", but I really hope the women don't go the same way as the men have, with an emphasis on filling their rosters with older players. For example, the Minnesota State Mankato men's team does not have a single player on their 27 man roster who is under the age of 21! An extreme example maybe, but that does seem to be the trend for the men.
One thing I love about the women's game is that you get to see the very best talent in the land, and perhaps the world, at each incoming college class after the players finish high school, prep school or a club team. They become freshmen varsity players without having to spend a couple of years in a junior league. With the men, many of the players you pay to see have spent a couple of years in Juniors, but are still not talented or mature enough to go pro. It's a process that's re-evaluated each year: is he ready? Which players are we going to lose? This leads to the situation where you only get to see the very top talent play for just a year or two, and then they're gone. The end result is that junior hockey (like the USHL) has become a necessary stepping stone to get to the college D1 level, while the college D1 level has become a stepping stone for the NHL...or minor league pro hockey for most.
It all makes me wonder if someday we'll see some of the top sophomore and junior women leave college early for whichever professional league becomes successful...and pays enough to be too good for some of the very best players to resist. In the short term, I don't see this happening, but who's to say someday? In the meantime, I'll cherish the women's college game and be able to see the very best on the planet compete against one another while they're still playing for their school.
Not to pick on any one incoming 20 year-old frosh, because there are exceptions who have very legitimate cause for coming in "late", but I really hope the women don't go the same way as the men have, with an emphasis on filling their rosters with older players. For example, the Minnesota State Mankato men's team does not have a single player on their 27 man roster who is under the age of 21! An extreme example maybe, but that does seem to be the trend for the men.
One thing I love about the women's game is that you get to see the very best talent in the land, and perhaps the world, at each incoming college class after the players finish high school, prep school or a club team. They become freshmen varsity players without having to spend a couple of years in a junior league. With the men, many of the players you pay to see have spent a couple of years in Juniors, but are still not talented or mature enough to go pro. It's a process that's re-evaluated each year: is he ready? Which players are we going to lose? This leads to the situation where you only get to see the very top talent play for just a year or two, and then they're gone. The end result is that junior hockey (like the USHL) has become a necessary stepping stone to get to the college D1 level, while the college D1 level has become a stepping stone for the NHL...or minor league pro hockey for most.
It all makes me wonder if someday we'll see some of the top sophomore and junior women leave college early for whichever professional league becomes successful...and pays enough to be too good for some of the very best players to resist. In the short term, I don't see this happening, but who's to say someday? In the meantime, I'll cherish the women's college game and be able to see the very best on the planet compete against one another while they're still playing for their school.
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