2011/2012 Roster

[Tamal_SC]

Well it begins...Broncos released Bruce and Aasman....

http://www.scbroncos.com/article/bro...uce-and-aasman

[FIVE FOR FIGHTING]

No surprises there.

[Broncs in RD]

Here is what I think the roster may look like.

Lowry-Black-Richardson(if he commits) (Size, playmaking, speed, skill)
Cameron-Vause-Magnus (Solid line)
Howorko-Zentner-Derko(gives you a bit of size, great work ethic)
Hopkins-MacKay-Gordon (could be a top line when we become contenders)
Bloom-Cave
If Richardson does not commit then we trade a dman, hoban, or wagner for a good 17-19 y/o.
Could also see a few of cameron/Hoban/Peddle/Vause/Evans/Craig/Ruem/Verdino traded

Scarlett-Heathrington
Muth-Ruem
Craig-Nedomel
Clark/Evans
Euro Goalie
(?)

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

Richardson has been to like 6/7 universities and rejected an offer from Boston College. I don't think he's heading to Swift Current unfortunately.

NCAA regulations stipulate that you are only allowed a maximum of 5 expense paid visits to prospective schools.

[Brandon]

NCAA regulations stipulate that you are only allowed a maximum of 5 expense paid visits to prospective schools.

In a lot of cases you would only have to get a kid to one to show him that may be the choice he wants to make. If a kid grew up dreaming of playing in the WHL maybe you have the upper hand. But the truth is you are talking about athletes who fly to games in some cases first class. Stay at high end beautiful hotels. Get tons of development time. Get to play in front of huge crowds. Not to mention the lifestyle of college is very appealing to some, and lets face it a coed environment at the school isn't going to hurt.

The truth is the NCAA offers a ton to young athletes. I love the WHL but if I was a 15/16 year old kid I would seriously be weighing my options. If I am a great student maybe the NCAA really has the perks I want. The truth is the WHL is all business of hockey. Yes the education program is just as good as the NCAA offers but do I want to play 72 games a season and take long bus rides? Not to mention that if I choose school I can always leave after a year and finish in the WHL. Can't start in the WHL and go to an NCAA school.

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

In a lot of cases you would only have to get a kid to one to show him that may be the choice he wants to make. If a kid grew up dreaming of playing in the WHL maybe you have the upper hand. But the truth is you are talking about athletes who fly to games in some cases first class. Stay at high end beautiful hotels. Get tons of development time. Get to play in front of huge crowds. Not to mention the lifestyle of college is very appealing to some, and lets face it a coed environment at the school isn't going to hurt.

This statement applies to only about 10-15 of the 58 Div1 NCAA teams. The majority of arenas wouldn't even be at the JrA level. The NCAA is equally as overhyped as the WHL. If you are not on one of those top 10-15 NCAA Div1 teams you won't be living and travelling in luxury.

[YourHonor]

There are other things to consider when deciding between the WHL and NCAA: for example, with the exceptions of a business or education degree, playing hockey while getting a university degree is not an easy task - it takes a student willing to work very hard. Juggling workouts, classes, labs, daily practices, homework, and games of course, is very demanding for most players. This is not football - you actually have to make decent grades. Then, you are also assuming that the player actually GETS TO PLAY GAMES. Except for the very elite (or drafted) players, most others see very limited time as a freshman. I know of one player who played his very first NCAA game as a sophmore (2nd year student). Not much fun there.
There are very solid reasons to choose NCAA over major Junior, but you have to be realistic about your abilities and your goals.

[Brandon]

There are other things to consider when deciding between the WHL and NCAA: for example, with the exceptions of a business or education degree, playing hockey while getting a university degree is not an easy task - it takes a student willing to work very hard. Juggling workouts, classes, labs, daily practices, homework, and games of course, is very demanding for most players. This is not football - you actually have to make decent grades. Then, you are also assuming that the player actually GETS TO PLAY GAMES. Except for the very elite (or drafted) players, most others see very limited time as a freshman. I know of one player who played his very first NCAA game as a sophmore (2nd year student). Not much fun there.
There are very solid reasons to choose NCAA over major Junior, but you have to be realistic about your abilities and your goals.

Playing time is just as much an issue for the WHL. Look at a kid as a 16 year old playing 36 games, he is missing just as many as the kid watching the entire NCAA season (this also seems anecdotal and probably is rare), I would suspect many freshman play a very small amount but so do most rookie WHLers. Even in the 36 games that rookie gets into a large percentage of them he is going to spend in the middle of the bench playing odds and evens with the other rookie in the lineup.

As for Arthur's top 10-15 schools only having good facilities, I think probably a good number of the facilities are at the very least competitive with most Jr A rinks and some are much better. Come on Moose Jaw's arena is outdoing any NCAA facility? I don't think so. There are pits in every league but from the people I have talked to who played NCAA hockey (for the most part definitely not at a top 10 or 15 school) they loved the facilities and life and felt it was a huge upgrade on their WHL lives.

The biggest problem with the NCAA is Paul Kelly's group and the poor way they have handled it. The fighting and insulting is terrible from that side and they need to learn to sell their league. The NCAA is a great league and probably is the best route for a large percentage of young players. Yes it takes hard work to study and play, but the truth is many of the CHL players who could have played NCAA will do the same when they leave the CHL for CIS schools.

The WHL wins in pro prep, visibility and prospect pool right now. The WHL is the perfect place for a player who is going to be a high end prospect with good pro potential or a player who may not want to go to university and would prefer a technical school, college or other training institution. The WHL's versatile education program trumps the NCAA be a mile. It all depends on what type of player you are and where you see yourself in the future.

[ol' skool]

The NCAA is a fine place to go if you have no hope of going pro or one of the few with elite talent that will make the show regardless. There is no experience like game experience.

[Brandon]

The NCAA is a fine place to go if you have no hope of going pro or one of the few with elite talent that will make the show regardless. There is no experience like game experience.

Myth....... Lots of players from the NCAA turn pro and it has proven of late to be a great proving ground. I would think most people are happy with Ryan Kesler of late? It is no different if you want to be an NHLer you have to be an elite CHLer or NCAA player. Turning pro on the other hand, there are tons of league to become a pro and both leagues offer a route to that life if you choose it.

If you want to be an elite player on the fast track to the NHL without a question the CHL is the way to go. But if you are that good you will get there regardless of your decision.