By Donna Keene Rousseau / Sun Journal Staff
Simply put, major junior hockey is what is commonly referred to as semi-pro in the U.S. According to Matt McKnight, Vice President and Governor of the Lewiston MAINEiacs Hockey Club Inc., most players in the major junior league are between the ages of 17 and 19, but outstanding players can be as young as 16. The league also allows a maximum of three 20-year-olds per team.
“The key to success in playing hockey at this level,” explains McKnight, “is passion for the game. With seventy scheduled games and sixty days on the road and away from home, it’s a tough life. These players want to make it in the NHL.”
Consequently, it is more heart that defines the make-up of the major junior hockey player than the more obvious factors of skill or talent. A player giving 150% of himself can inspire his teammates and be just as much a valuable player as the one with a natural “nose for the net.” A common belief is size and talent are the only attributes necessary for the making of a successful major junior hockey player.
“In fact, a player may be smaller in stature or have less natural talent or skill than another and still have a positive impact on his team,” says McKnight. “Whether through speed, ability to motivate, or even agitate, a major junior player finds what works for the team then does it well.”
It’s not just any hockey player who can try out for a major junior league team. With only 72 slots, the first 55 training camp participants are selected through a draft that identifies prospects from all over New England, the Maritimes and Quebec. Each team is allowed a protection list of 55 drafted players. Any player selected through the draft who wants to play in the league must play for the team that drafted him if he makes the training camp cuts. Once the first 55 players have been drafted, each team fills the remaining slots by invitation, some of which are extended through scouts.
August’s “fast and furious,” three-day training camp for the Lewiston MAINEiacs helps the team’s general manager identify from among the 72 participants, those 26 or 27 players who will fill the team roster. During that time, every player has the opportunity to showcase his skills and talent.
“Whatever his game, during training camp, a player has to be on,” says McKnight.
General manager Norm Gosselin concurs. “In today’s hockey, it’s one-on-one all the time, so skill is very important. A player must prove himself consistently game after game. During training camp, I look for character, heart and integrity – someone I can count on to give me everything he has when he’s on the ice. I want players who will be proud to be members of this team and will carry themselves accordingly.”
Gosselin relies on the organization’s entire hockey department to participate in the selection process. Evaluators include head coach Mario Durocher; assistant coaches Ed Harding and Jeff Guay; goaltender coach Stephane Waite; and eight scouts, four from Quebec, three from the Maritimes and one from New England.
“The scouts are particularly important to the evaluation process,” indicates Gosselin. “They have been watching these players over the last year, and they have a good understanding of what each player can do. If someone has an off day during training camp, the scouts can vouch for his abilities with a reasonable degree of certainty.”
The actual evaluation of a player covers criteria ranging from attitude to physical fitness and skill and the evaluation toolbox packs everything from the naked eye and knowledge of past play to computerized rating systems and simple gut instinct.
In the end, just as with any competition, some win and some lose. As Gosselin explains, most of the players who make it to the major junior training camps have had their eyes and minds set on the NHL since they were very young.
“In Quebec, the [hockey] track is faster,” elaborates Gosselin. By 13, a player who wants to achieve this level of play begins a serious training program and, by age 15, many are looking to be drafted and have agents who help promote them to the major junior coaches. At 16, the major junior league serves as a stepping stone to the NHL and, by age 17, players have their sights on the NHL draft.”
What of those who don’t make the cut? They return home. Some, if age permits, are kept on the Lewiston MAINEiacs’ protection list and return to training camp next season. Some players may be invited by other teams to play an occasional game and find a regular spot. According to the Quebec Major Junior League Commissioner, Gilles Courteau, other players are sent to play Junior A’s, the level just below major juniors, to further develop their skills and may be called up to play throughout the year. At 18 or 19, those players have a greater likelihood of making major juniors. Fo 20-year-olds, college is an option for continuing play and getting an education.
Regardless of the training camp outcome, one thing is certain. Every player setting his blades to the ice for MAINEiac try-outs is an example of what results from hard work, perseverance and the willingness to chase a dream. For those who eventually make the jump to the NHL, surely all the years of training will have been worthwhile.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
