Let's talk about the End Game.

As the kids get to high school age, things get...squirrelly.

I think that's the best word to describe it.

If you're not aware of the coming chaos a year or two in advance, it's best to prepare yourself.

I've seen a lot of families just coasting along under the impression that the core of the team will stick together, seemingly, forever.

And then, thud, American Thanksgiving comes around and half the team disappears to high school hockey.

Seven skaters and no goalie.

Uh-oh.

Blindsides happen all the time in youth hockey when it comes to rosters and tryouts but this is one you should be able to see coming.

High school hockey is a strange thing -- and it varies so much depending on what part of the country you live in.

Some places permit a player to play for a club team and a high school team concurrently.

Some forbid it.

Other places, it's a wink and a nod type of situation.

Those are all technicalities, though, and there are way too many variables to even try to write something that makes sense here...so I'm going to back it up a few years -- peewee years -- and ask...what is the end game for your player?

Don't say NHL. Don't say NHL. Please don't say NHL.

No, but seriously... My children have been playing at an elevated level since they were 8 years old.

Call it AAA, Tier 1, Elite...pick your adjective, I don't care.

People poke fun of this site all the time -- call my kids AA players, at best, and total benders, at worst -- and that's fine.

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Perception is an odd thing. (Remember this part.)

But one thing I've always found perplexing is how many kids we've skated with -- really talented players -- peel off when they're 14 or 15 years old to play high school hockey.

There's nothing wrong with high school hockey...but unless you're in Minnesota, it's a pathway to nowhere.

Like, around my neck of the woods -- New England -- for youth hockey, there's town hockey (A, B, and C type teams) and club hockey (AA, AAA, and the Elite teams).

The costs involved do not align -- club hockey tends to cost substantially more and many of the reasons for that are justified.

As such, though, it would make sense that families pumping more money into their players are seeking a different end game, right?

But then high school comes.

When you've been conditioned to genuinely believe you're elite (wrong, on so many levels, I might add) for nearly a decade, how on earth does it seem worth it when you jump back into the general pool again and play their level?

High school hockey, in nearly all cases, is just a continuation of town level hockey.

I mean, sure, most of the kids that played club hockey turn out to be studs on their high school teams -- having already played at higher levels...but was that the end game?

High school?

For some, I think it was.

And that's cool.

Hey, man, I get it. Train your whole life to ensure you're a superstar athlete in high school.

Athleticism and popularity in high school, absolutely, holds value. I can attest to that. It does.

But I also think a large number of these same families still think college hockey is the end game...and that they're still on that path.

I'm here to tell you now...the moment you suited up for your high school, you turned left when you should have turned right...

The true path to college hockey is to stick with club hockey, play juniors, and maybe sprinkle in a stint at a prep school known for hockey...but only if you're good enough to play on the varsity team with a bunch of 19-year-olds.

The path to professional hockey is the same.

Now, a couple weeks ago, my kids' social media feeds were overflowing with photos of their friends and former teammates taking part in their first high school practices or scrimmages.

New threads this, new squad that.

Over the last few nights -- the high school season just started -- my oldest has been very interested in seeing the pace of play, the size of the players, and the style of play.

Big crowd, loud crowd, and two or three familiar faces on every single team.

It's fast paced -- there's energy in the building before the games even start.

I understand the attraction. The allure is real.

Some serious FOMO for my older boys as they see that and then travel 4 hours to play in a rink with 15 people watching -- all parents.

Now, back to that perception thing...

I say that it's an odd thing because I know that as these high school kids step off the ice and see my kid there just watching, their assumption is that he can't hang, or that he wasn't good enough, or that he just doesn't play anymore.

But it's actually the opposite on all accounts...and that's a tough position to find yourself in as a teenager.

Think about it -- he's quite likely the most skilled hockey player in his high school, certainly playing at the highest level, but because he doesn't play for the high school, literally no one outside his inner circle even knows he plays hockey...at any level.

But he's the one going to junior hockey combines.

We haven't encountered a single high school player at one of those. Ever.

Frankly, they're not good enough.

It's a weird paradox.

Now I know the parents of high school players think otherwise -- I chatted with a number of them over the weekend -- from their perspective, my kid is still playing youth hockey, "that's cute", while their kids are playing something different...

And it is different, for sure.

One of my pro hockey contacts, a guy whose path is what my kids would like to follow, said it best in regard to high school hockey.

"If you know what you're watching... you know it's not good."

And this circles back to an article I wrote years ago about the hockey "expert" parents out there.

They don't know what they're watching.

They really don't.

And then it's further solidified when a kid we played with in peewees that put up maybe 6 goals over 100 games...has 5 goals and 14 points in his first few weeks of high school hockey.

Kid's a decent hockey player, always has been.

Not one of those "late bloomer" outliers, by any stretch...but a scoring leader for his team?

That's not his role.

He knows it too.

I'd bet by next week, the newspaper tags him among the "top players in the state to watch".

Reality check -- he was a quality second line guy on his U14 bantam team.

I think that says more about the level of play in high school than it does him as a player.

- - - - - - -

It kind of takes me back to my own youth hockey experience where players "disappeared" from the scene kinda like my kids are in the process of doing.

Top player on my youth hockey team was a kid named Robbie Mara. He was awesome.

Only lasted a couple seasons though and then seemingly disappeared. His younger brother was nasty too.

Robbie was drafted by the Blackhawks in 1994. His younger brother Paul...played a dozen seasons in the NHL.

Turns out -- they just got off the train to high school hockey in 1986 and went to a higher level.

And we'd thought they'd just quit as squirts?! Ha!

- - - - - - -

So what's our end game?

Am I just a stuck-up hockey snob?

I mean, we're realistic enough in this house to know the end game is ALWAYS men's league.

And, ideally, it'll be three brothers playing for the same team...potentially carrying their dad along as a package deal so I can experience some on-ice glory too.

I feel like I've, at least, earned that! Ha!

No, but really, shorter term, it's to play junior hockey and rise to the highest level they can, whether that's Major Junior in Canada, college hockey in the States, or even minor pro abroad.

On their current path, there are a lot of options.

But the truth is, my goal for them is to love the game and stay involved.

Like, I was a terrible hockey player.

I'm still a terrible hockey player.

At the same time, all those jerks at the pro level that came at me with the "Yeah, but did you play?" insult...eventually grew up, err, came around when they realized they were OUT of the game with limited desirable job skills while I was in the midst of being on an NHL payroll for 2 decades.

Stay involved in the capacities that you can.

That's why the kids are doing the reffing seminars each year and getting involved in coaching at the "learn to play" level.

Ref Duncan Rutsch and Coach Duncan Rutsch

Social media too -- those influencer guys were invited to participate at the NHL Allstar game?!

You think Coach Chippy or Nasher are amazing hockey players? Coach Jeremy?

Nope -- they just worked their way in using their other talents that revolve around the on-ice piece.

Teaching my kids to be content producers rather than just scrolling through content, like their classmates do, will open doors and opportunities in any field.

That "non-player" stuff lasts far longer than any playing career...but it certainly comes in handy to be a solid player too!

Just ask Peter Lenes or Rob Lalonde. (Swaggy P and the ButtEndz guy)

That's the piece I was always missing that my kids won't be.

High school hockey, when they’re teenagers, is just a safety net. It's not the goal.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know -- I love the feedback from all angles!

Chris Rutsch

Hockey Dad

Year round, I spend a significant amount of time and money transporting my three boys to and from freezing cold ice rinks. Not because I expect them to make it to the NHL but because I know the rigorous youth hockey experience will serve them well in the future.