Red Flags in Youth Hockey Players

So I'm going to take a lot of heat on this one, you know, ruffle some feathers because I've seen it so rampantly around me for over a decade...and every time it comes up, well, people get all defensive about it and then start calling my kids all kinds of disparaging things.

I've written on here many times how stats don't matter in youth hockey (but that you should keep track of them), how no one cares how many goals your kid scored as a squirt, and I've got at least 10 articles about how the kid you "think" is the best player on your team is actually among the worst...to the trained eye.

And the trained eye is who you should be looking to get noticed by if you're semi-serious about all of this.

So, veteran hockey parents, just stop reading here.

This one isn't for you.

Most of the content on here is for NEW hockey parents just kinda riding the wave but looking for a more definitive path or explanation on this outrageously complicated thing called youth hockey...without all of the BS or marketing speak.

Okay...

I can only think of maybe 2 seasons EVER across the nearly 30 youth hockey seasons my kids have participated in where there wasn't at least one player on the team getting PAID for their performance by either a parent or grandparent.

And look, I'll tell you straight, a bunch of those kids getting as much as $50 per goal were scoring machines.

MACHINES!

Proud parents on the corner glass absolutely BEAMING at their surefire NHL prospect.

But when I step back...not one of these kids was some sort of hockey prodigy. Not even the kid that just pulled off a between the legs shot through traffic.

The kid that scores 50+ goals in ANY season is never a prodigy.

The real prodigies put in over 100 goals, easily, but also showcase so many other traits that are beyond compare, like, even in warm-up laps, they skate different.

When your kid gets the opportunity to skate with or against one, you'll see it...but that's another story.

So the most common red flag, that is, if the parent or player isn't already openly bragging (suprisingly common, actually) about the financial incentives, is that the player NEVER passes while in the offensive zone. Never.

I mean, on a two-on-one it could be a tap-in for their partner on a pass...or another $50 added to your XBox account... What are young kids going to do?

They're gonna shoot it. Everyone knows that.

They're not even gonna look pass, no fake, no speed variation, the other kid may as well not even be there...

So, yeah, that kid that just shoots it from anywhere, you know, takes 10 shots per period...yeah, red flag.

Think about your kid's current roster.

Is there a kid that crosses the blue line and immediately puts it on net?

Is there a player that seems to run the opposing goalie every single game?

Someone that frequently skates to the corner and then takes a "no angle" shot?

Or, worse, skates the puck around behind the net, comes out the other side, goes all the way out to the blue line, curls back in, and then goes around behind the net again? No passes, head down all the way.

Any flags going up?

And this is where it gets a little sticky -- the kid that shoots the most is often the kid that has the most points. Seems like a good thing...but it's not.

Especially if they're under, get this, 14 years old.

That's MOST youth hockey players.

I'll say it forever...the mite or squirt with the most points on the team, nine times out of ten, is NOT a good hockey player.

The kids that pass...as mites and squirts...go a long way.

The two in this decade old video were "ahead" of the game as mites and squirts. Both still play today. Both set up their teammates for open nets still too.

Again...some folks just don't know what they're watching...it's not the goal that's impressive...it's the player that pulls the goalie all the way outside the crease to give the teammate a wide open net.

It's the old checkers vs. chess analogy and it really comes into focus when the kids are 15 or 16 years old.

I've mentioned a few times that, for my oldest, who used to score less than a handful of goals per season early on, now finds the game easier and easier.

Two reasons for that -- one is he's obviously been getting better year over year but, more importantly, the players around him are all of a similar ilk. They're gonna find the open player with the best opportunity to score. That's their mantra...not the actual act of scoring the goal themselves.

The players that last the longest are the ones who make the players around them better.

The kid still scoring hat tricks at 16 years old...is easily replaceable.

Every team needs one of those guys. ONE.

Teams with two or three of them...well...that's where it gets funny as all of them will complain about the other guy's lack of passing with an utterly shocking inability to look in a mirror.

Basically...they sink themselves.

What teams really seek, though, are 12-15 other players that make the players on the ice with them better.

Strive to steer your kid to be one of those.

Financial incentives can wait until they're choosing a career...AFTER hockey.

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.