Cameron Askew,’97, F, Valley Jr. Warriors, St. Sebastian’s School, commits to Northeastern for 2016. Another Hockeyrecruits4u listed player makes his college decision and will be a Huskie.
There is nothing wrong with planning ahead and thats exactly what Coach Madigan has done by getting a commitment from Cam Askew. Askew, a forward, is currently in 8th grade at St. Sebastian’s. He is a ’97 birthdate and is planning to be here for 2016.
It is interesting to say the least. Askew is apparently one of the best in his age group and its great to see Madigan and Northeastern getting a local kid before BC or BU can get their hands on him. But its hard to get excited over someone 5 years away. There is plenty of time for him to change his mind or go the Major Juniors route. And there is no guarantee that he continues to develop like he has. So kudos for getting the commitment, but lets not get too excited yet. We just hope it doesnt end up like the Chris Student situation.
Source: www.huskyhockey.wordpress.com
Empire Stats 12Gms 8G 13A 21PTS
Source: Empire Hockey League
Because of the changed landscape, players are making decisions long before they really should. It’s impossible to convince the majority of young athletes and their families that short-term gain is usually long-term failure. No matter how many players benefit from playing and avoiding commiting — while other players commit too soon and are never heard from again — you still see kids comitting too soon. The pressure is on them to do so, because the Colleges are pushing them more than ever because Major Junior is pushing them more than ever.
Is Aa third-liner in college an instant top-liner in Major Junior, scoring 30 goals in 80 games. But are they a better player? They do it against 16, 17, 18-year old kids. They are not playing against 22-year olds like in college. Talent or not, the 22-year old college guy is stronger and smarter and an overall better player than the 16-year major junior kid.
In a sense, college hockey is a victim of its own success, because it has proven itself as a vehicle for producing players, more NHL teams are preying upon it. That, and it’s cheap to do so.
One college coach told us, “You need to commit to players earlier and earlier, and then when players don’t pan out, it’s your fault”.
Youngsters get stars in their eyes, and fail to see the big picture. That’s to be expected, one supposes, about youngsters and their parents. But the new paradigm in hockey has made that easier.