Scouts get their information from a variety of sources including online stats, tournament rosters, team websites, news articles and showcases. Each team sorts through copious amount of information as they try to find and attract the top players that they believe will be the best fit for their team. It is possible that they may have seen you play and not just relied on secondary sources. They may even think you have a chance to make their team and want to bring you in to their camp to see how you stack up against their veterans and other recruits. But also recognize that you are now on an easy mailing list that can be used to simply fill a camp with paid participants. After you have paid the $40 USA Hockey registration you can participate in as many camps as you desire. And each camp/tryout costs money. They vary in cost – both with direct fees paid to the team and indirect fees like travel, food, hotel, time not spent working etc. The fees paid to the team cover the actual cost of the tryout camp but it also can serve as a big budget boost to a team if they bring in lots of prospective players.
Tryouts are a good and necessary method which allow staff to narrow down the field and select a team. If you were not drafted or tendered, you may still be the Cinderella kid who makes it through open and final camps and earns a starting spot on a team because some drafted/tendered players will not make the team they thought was a lock. So consider some camps/options at different levels after doing some research to find out what positions they are looking to fill and how many spots are open. Some teams disclose more information than others but many families simply do not ask questions. After deciding a strategy for next steps, accept invitations to tryout by completing the appropriate paperwork and submitting fees. It is human nature to hear what you want to hear and to be swayed by a good sales pitch. Work through the process more like selecting a car or making a major purchase.
A WORD ABOUT YOUR CURRENT TEAMMATES...
Although it can be fun to go to tryouts together with your buddies from your high school and regional teams, with so few spots open at the next level, it is unrealistic that both you and your friend will move up. It is even more unlikely that you would make the exact same junior hockey team. It's fun to plan for next year with sharing a car, being roommates, coming home for break together, your families road-tripping to come see you both play, etc. With that being said, be sure to tryout for a team that is YOUR best fit, not your friend's best fit. Even if you do both earn a starting spot on a roster together, depending on how the billet family situation is organized, you may not have the option to live together. One of you might be traded, injured or released altogether. The numbers don't lie - many players do not end the season on the same team they started on, regardless if it's Tier I, Tier II or Tier III. It's fun to plan and it's great when things work out like we think, but the "numbers game" explained below doesn't always fit a family's expectations or hopes.
Again, we share all of this information not to discourage you but to educate you about the terms and process. Some families have expectations and the reality that hits in late summer can be unexpected and even painful if they don't have a backup plan. Even if you believe that you have everything worked out, we strongly encourage you to apply to colleges and think about the "what if" scenarios.
