Connecticut Chiefs

With fall approaching, thousands of student-athletes are weighing the advantages of attending a college preparatory school – many with hopes of using a prep school as a stepping stone to college hockey. There’s no shortage of options here in New England. Sixty-two schools are members of the New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association, and the differences among them go far beyond the level of play on the ice. Choosing the right prep school is no simple task, and requires both research and observation. There are day schools and boarding schools, plus one – Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Mass. – that offers weekday boarding. There are schools for boys only, schools for girls only and co-ed schools. There are ones that follow a religious program of studies and ones that are secular. Some offer postgraduate years and some do not. Some are very selective academically; others less so. Many students will narrow their list down to five or six before making visits to the schools, usually in the fall or early winter. “You have to go to the school and get a feel for the school,” said John Gardner, the longtime hockey coach and assistant headmaster at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. “I encourage kids to come for an overnight visit, to walk the walk and see what’s going on. When you’re on campus, you can see if the kids are happy.” Of the 62 schools in the NEPSIHA, 25 are in Massachusetts. The other states represented are Connecticut (15), New Hampshire (eight), New York (six), Maine (five), Rhode Island (2) and Vermont (1). The NEPSIHA is divided into two divisions: Division I and Division II. The Division I programs are often stronger and play stronger schedules, but this is not universally true. Division II programs like South Kent (Conn.) and Worcester Academy (Mass.), to name two, also produce their share of college players. Attending a boarding prep school for a year typically costs between $30,000 and $40,000. Scholarships for hockey and other sports are not awarded. Schools use a financial aid formula to determine how much assistance is given. Students should be prepared to do research on the prep schools they’re considering before lining up visits. Academic standards vary, and they should be sure they’ve included one or two applications to “safety” schools. “The admissions process is not just hockey-driven,” said Cushing Academy coach Rob Gagnon, who also serves as assistant admissions director. “It’s education-driven. If these kids aren’t candidates for the school, it’s a moot point.”

The Right Fit

UNH has high hopes for the coming season, and one of the returning players it’s banking on is senior defenseman Kevin Kapstad. But Kapstad wasn’t even sure Division 1 hockey was in his future when he opted to attend Governor’s Academy (formerly Governor Dummer Academy) in Byfield, Mass., and repeat his sophomore year. “I didn’t know how good a hockey player I was going to be or if I wanted to play college hockey,” he recalled. “I had people telling me I should be going to a Division II prep school.” Kapstad, a native of Boxboro, Mass., chose Governor’s over Cushing, Avon Old Farms, Tabor and Lawrence Academy. He hadn’t considered it seriously until he took a visit and met the coach. From then on it was at the top of his list. From the start, he felt the decision proved to be the right one. He was comfortable with the academics and also played on the school’s soccer and lacrosse teams. He’d end up playing three years of lacrosse and two of soccer, his senior autumn getting wiped out by a wrist injury. “Everything just went my way from the start,” he said. UNH began looking at Kapstad after seeing him during a holiday tournament at Phillips Exeter Academy his sophomore year. Boston College, which was recruiting his Governor’s teammate, Benn Ferreiro (Essex, Mass.), showed some interest, but not to that extent, making Kapstad’s college choice, looking back, easier than his prep school one. Because students can enter prep schools as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors or postgraduates, it’s important to know the philosophy of the hockey program. Some programs like to let their young players work their way up, even if they start off playing JV or “thirds.” Others will add upper-class players and post-grads to the mix every year, which can make it harder for a younger player to earn spots on top lines or defensive pairings. “I try to make sure there’s a good succession,” said Gardner, who guided Avon to its second straight New England Division I prep title this past winter. “My ideal model has seven or eight seniors and six or seven juniors, then maybe four or five sophomores.” Students should plan on visiting schools in the fall and finding the time to meet with the hockey coach while on campus. Gardner encourages them to send him a tape or a DVD of them playing to get a feel for what their game is like. They should be prepared to have their materials to the admissions office in early January. Different schools will have different deadlines, and students should be aware of what they are before beginning the application process. Most prep school coaches don’t recruit players – at least not in the way we associate recruiting with colleges. Some will make time to get out to the rinks and observe players, but more than that won’t do it. “I could be on the road every day or every weekend going to check out kids whose parents call or who people are saying are good,” said Gardner. “But that’s not our job. Our job is to focus on the kids that are here.” What’s attractive to college programs about prep school players isn’t just what they see on the ice. A student who’s shown he can balance hockey with academics and a social life will often be regarded as a more mature candidate than a player coming out of high school or a junior hockey program. “Don’t play too much hockey,” said Kapstad. “The season’s too long. That’s one thing I think prep school’s good for. You can play three sports. It’s not like taking time off from hockey is going to make you a bad hockey player.”

The Next Step

Last year, the 10 schools that make up Hockey East boasted 48 players that came out from NEPSIHA schools. The ECACHL, the other renowned NCAA Division 1 conference in the East, had 51 players on its 12 teams. But while prep school is a popular route to college hockey for boys, it’s far from a guaranteed one. Just one-quarter of 1 percent of all hockey players will end up earning a Div. 1 scholarship, according to a study by the Prep School Hockey Guide. With girls’ hockey growing and more colleges adding programs, the odds probably aren’t that steep. But because many schools don’t offer a full complement of scholarships, it’s difficult just the same. Compared to players in most public high schools, prep school players will be seen by many more college scouts. A single prep school game could have more than two dozen potential college players on the ice, while a high school team rarely has more than one or two. Statistically, the Guide notes, the chances of playing college hockey are 20 times better if you graduate from a prep school rather than a public high school. The emergence of junior hockey has added another variable to the mix. Top junior leagues like the USHL offer 60-game schedules – twice what most preps play. Many players arrive at Div. 1 colleges as 19- or 20-year-old freshmen after a year or two of juniors. “When I went to Avon Old Farms (in the early 1990s), you’d have a lot of repeat 10th-graders or repeat 11th-graders, and those guys would head right to college after graduating, be it Division 1 or Division 3,” said Gagnon, who also serves as Cushing’s assistant admissions director. What junior hockey can’t provide, coaches stress, is the educational background and budding network of relationships that a prep graduate will be armed with when he hangs up his skates. “For me, personally, the fact is that I have a degree from Avon Old Farms and a network, and it’s a network for life,” said Gagnon. “I probably wouldn’t have gotten this Cushing job without that network.” In other words, every hockey career ends sometime. “Even Ray Bourque owns a restaurant now,” said Gagnon.