2014
“College Night”
The Road To Hockey After High School
October 13, 2014
Welcome
 Welcome to AHAI’s new format
 Welcome to our special guests
 Junior Tier I – Doug Christiansen – United States
Hockey League
 Junior Tier II and Tier III – Craig Barnett, North
American Hockey League (NA3HL), Director of Player
Development
 College Hockey, Inc. – Kyle Lawson
 Concussion & Safety – Dr. Elizabeth Pieroth
AGENDA
 Introduction to the evening
 Opening Remarks
 The “lay of the land” in Junior and College Hockey
 The Junior Hockey Option
 Tier II and Tier III Junior Hockey
 Tier I Junior Hockey – the United States Hockey League
 College Hockey
 NCAA and ACHA Hockey Opportunities
 Concussion Awareness
 AHAI College and Junior Hockey Open House
 Closing remarks
Mike Mullally
AHAI Board of Directors
• United States Hockey League
Tier I
• North American Hockey League
Tier II
Tier III
• North American 3 Hockey Lge.
• Pay to play
Lay of the Land
 Junior Hockey – 3 flavors
 Tier I
United States hockey League

Non – pay to play – Best of the best
 Tier II

North American Hockey League
Non-pay to play – where the game changes
 Tier III – “pay to Play” hockey –



many leagues and teams: East, West, North and South
Varied skill levels based on location
Maybe too many Junior teams?
Lay of the Land
 Tier III – Pay to Play Juniors
 North American 3 Hockey League
 Atlantic Junior Hockey League
 Eastern Junior Hockey League
 Minnesota Junior Hockey League
 Northern Pacific Hockey League
 Western States hockey League
 Continental Hockey Association
 Empire Junior Hockey League
 Southeast Junior hockey League
The Lay of the Land
College hockey
College Hockey
 College Hockey – 2 Flavors
 NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association
 the “big time”
 Division I and Division III
 Scholarship money? – not always…
 ACHA – American Collegiate Hockey Association
 Officially, college club hockey
 3 Levels – Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3
 414 Official ACHA hockey clubs
Doug Christiansen
Junior Tier I
The United State Hockey League
Craig Barnett
Junior Hockey Tier II
North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Junior Tier III
North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL)
Kyle Lawson
NCAA College Hockey
ACHA College Hockey
Elizabeth M. Pieroth, PsyD, ABPP
Board Certified Neuropsychologist
Associate Director, Sports Concussion Program
NorthShore University HealthSystem
AHAI College Night
Mike Mullally
AHAI Board of Directors
So… now what?
 If your objective is to go to College and play hockey…
 Education - College Degree
 Social Experience
 Stability of College Athletics
 Life long friendships…Network
 The Best Financial Deal in College Education
 Play some Junior Hockey and attend your Community College
 2 Years of Community College
 2 Years at the Illinois university of your choice
 = Full degree at the Illinois University of your choice.
 Is Junior Hockey for you?
 Advantages of playing….
 Older and more desirable to any college coach
 Continued hockey skill development
 Personal Growth and maturation
 Stay in Illinois – or “go away” to play Junior Hockey
So… now what?
 College……
 This year ACHA has expanded to 414 schools
 There is a school and a hockey program for almost
everyone
 NCAA Schools – if you are good enough to play at the
NCAA level – no one will lose you in the crowd.
 Academics….. Not much more to say!
…be SERIOUS about school
and have FUN with your
Hockey!
REFERENCES
www.nhl.com
www.ncaa.org
www.usahockey.com
www.achahockey.org
www.collegehockey.com
www.prephockey.org
Jim Johannson – USAH Assistant Executive Director Hockey Operations
Opportunities in Hockey Questions ?? www.AHAI.org
THANK YOU & GOOD LUCK!