These stories are all 100% True.
CASE #1- The Swastika
During the 2018-19 season we had a young player on our EHL Premier team who was performing very well. His advisor all season was calling our staff to have him elevated to the EHL roster, saying he was outperforming the league and if he wasn’t elevated, was going to quit.
We informed him that we did not believe he was outperforming the league, and that we would love to get him EHL games if he could just curtail his careless penalties (he was leading the league in penalties) and demonstrate greater maturity off the ice. Further down the season we started to hear rumors of racist and gender biased comments that he was making. A player on the EHL was dating an African American girl, and when he attempted to confront the EHLP player, I received a 3 way call from the parent and advisor steadfastly defending the EHLP player. I informed him of the rumors of the negative racial comments at which a reply of “I was taught when I was a kid that sticks and stones break bones, but names never hurt.”
We traded the player following the comment and won the EHL Premier championship later that year.
After leaving we learned that the player carved a swastika into his host families lamp shade. He now is playing ACHA hockey.
CASE #2 – The Tier II Tryout
We signed a nice young player for our roster for the 2023-24 EHL Premier season. We liked his size, skating ability, and quick release.
As a defenseman, we felt he would flourish with our playing style, and our weekly defenseman-specific skill sessions. Given that the player had yet to reach what we felt was his ceiling, playing as a young player in the EHL Premier was a good fit. He could develop, get minutes and be on a good team, with one of the best billet families we have in the program.
After 4 games (in which his team was 3-1 and he recorded an assist), I got a call from his Advisor stating that he was leaving the team. The Advisor had seemingly gotten him a Tier II tryout in September and now he was going to quit his current team to pursue that opportunity.
We released him at that point, and the player left to tryout at the Tier II level.
In looking at his EP the player nearly immediately joined an NA3HL team and never saw a minute at the Tier II level. In fact, he has no actual games listed on the season past the EHL Premier games he played at the beginning of the year. The Tier II “Tryout” did not work, and he left a great billet, teammates that liked him, an opportunity for internal advancement to the EHL, community service hours as part of the program, and chance to be part of team.
CASE #3- The Criminal
In the 2020-21 COVID season, hockey was in a panic. Many players, parents, leagues and coaches did not know what the season would and could look like. Within the scramble of activity, we attempted to recruit several players from a relatively local post- graduate prep school in a neighboring state.
The players expressed an interest, were good fits for the level, and all had ambitions of using Junior Hockey to reach NCAA hockey following their Prep school days. Some even had a strong familiarity with our program as the year prior one of the programs top defenseman had played for our team and been a huge part of our teams success.
But none of the players signed with us.
3, 4, maybe even 5 players who we wanted in the program chose a new expansion team to the East of us. What was in the water?
Now mind you… I never stress over a player choosing another program over us. Kids have different needs and values, and sometimes our program is not a perfect fit. However, in a season with so much volatility and unknowns as the COVID 2020-21 year, picking a sure thing as our established program in a state like New Hampshire (the Live Free or Die State) over the more liberal state to our immediate East, would make a lot of sense.
But it didnt. The players all went to the unestablished expansion program.
Then we found out they all had the same advisor. This is where it gets interesting.
The new expansion team had created a deal with the advisor to compensate each player put under contract for the 2020-21 season with their program. Where this isn’t an uncommon or unlawful practice, the backstory of the advisor who was interacting with these players was extremely troubling.
Enter an advisor who was charged with multiple counts of computer related crimes involving hockey players and on USA Hockey and Safesport’s Permanently ineligible list.
The expansion team had been working with a known criminal to acquire players.
Fast forward to October 2020, and the expansion team closed their doors and did not operate for the remainder of the year, the only team in league to do so that season. Come October, all of those players who were given advice to sign with the expansion team were looking for new places to play.
Always remember to be careful who you are dealing with….