Author: Chris Pauly

As young players move through the ranks of minor hockey and edge closer to their draft year, the same thought sits for many: ‘Where do I go after this year?’ 

For some, this is a motivating force that drives them to train harder on and off the ice, while leaving others with some feelings of anxiety and uncertainty if they go unnoticed. So what exactly is the key to moving forward, and are there any avenues for greater exposure?

At the higher ranks when players are in junior hockey, showcase camps are prominent throughout the hockey season and in the summer, where certain organizations host weekends of player development and competitive games. At most of these, collegiate and OHL scouts are invited to come and watch the talent, with their goal of picking up a few stand-out players who make the most of their weekend performance. The majority of these come at a cost of $200-$500, and picking your spots for entering the right showcase is critical so money isn’t wasted.

Unfortunately in minor hockey, showcase camps like these are slim to none, but that doesn’t mean recruiting isn’t occurring. While players and parents may not see it, there is always someone in the stands from an organization looking for talent. OHL and junior teams have designated scouts they send to league games throughout the season and across the province, constantly seeking out players ahead of the spring draft and spring junior camps. Scouting is quite high near the beginning of the season, when fresh talent is emerging and players are excited and energized to kick off their first few games with success. Early bird tournaments and Christmas tournaments are big recruiting grounds as well, since scouts have the ability to watch multiple teams play across the span of one weekend. 

The minor midget year is a big season for all players as they look forward to their opportunity to be drafted in the following spring. At this age group in AAA only, one of the few showcases and arguably the biggest one at the minor hockey level in Ontario is the OHL Cup. This tournament is hosted after playoffs end, and it features the top minor midget teams across the province as well as a couple teams from the United States. It is invitation and qualification-based, as you must be ranked in a certain position at the end of your season (pending on your league) in order to receive the invite. There are also ‘wild card’ invitations as well, where 10 teams outside of the invitees are matched up and play a single-game qualification to receive their tournament invite. The rules for qualifying for the wild card matchups differ across the leagues in Ontario. 

The OHL Cup is very heavily scouted, as there is an abundance of talent when looking at the players of the top teams in the province. Most scouts already have their primary list of players on their radar, but this tournament is a chance for some to move up the draft list if they have a stellar performance. It takes one solid week in front of the eyes of these scouts to make an impression, and there’s no better time to prove yourself when you’re up against some of the best players in your age group. It is safe to assume that every OHL team will be present during this week, as well as many NCAA Division 1 programs making the trip up north to seek out players for future scholarships. In terms of showcases at the minor hockey level, this is one that all players would definitely want their team to be in.

Another invite-only tournament is the OHL Gold Cup, hosted in the spring for minor midget players. 160 players are selected across all the Ontario minor hockey leagues, with each league building one or two teams depending on their player density. This tournament serves as a recruiting and scouting ground for Hockey Canada officials to evaluate players to be a part of Team Ontario, in which the team will go on to compete at the national level in various tournaments for the U17 categories. The selected players for Team Ontario will also go on to compete as one of three Canadian teams at the U17 World Hockey Challenge, an international competition where many scouts from all over the world will be present. While this event is primarily focused on scouting for global tournaments, having the opportunity to participate can put a player in front of many sets of eyes that could lead to greater networking, connections, and opportunities at higher levels in the future.

With these opportunities present at the minor midget level, many people might ask how their child can get noticed at a young age without access to these big showcase tournaments. The answer here is quite simple, and I’m sure it has been heard many times before: you need to CONSISTENTLY stand out above the rest. Sometimes, parents will try to find summer tournaments and camps to try and get their kid exposed to coaches, but at the end of the day it is up to them to perform and catch their attention. This comes from within the player, as they have to possess that desire and competitive nature to want to get better and be the best player they can be. It takes a certain spark or ‘wow’ factor to catch the attention of scout, and each player needs to find their own edge as they grow up and develop. While player development has seen tremendous growth over the years, there are a lot of kids out there who possess the technical skills to be great. It ultimately comes down to how a player is able to utilize those skills and craft their game to gain the attention of scouts as they grow up. If you’re good enough, the interest will come to you at the end of the day.

It’s tough enough getting our athletes up and out the door for early morning games, trying to feed them beforehand adds another layer of stress and challenges. Considering it takes about four hours for a full meal to completely digest, it’s safe to say our athletes aren’t going to wake up at 2 or 3 am just to eat. But, trying to practice or compete on an empty stomach isn’t effective either.

While a quick drive-thru donut or fast-food breakfast sandwich might be convenient, they’re typically laden in fat and sugar which will leave players feeling sluggish or experiencing an energy crash before the end of the game.

Eggs are another common choice, but remember, eggs contain protein and fat but no carbohydrates. Be sure to pair eggs with whole grain toast, fruit, or a bagel for their body’s main source of energy.

Since there’s likely only two to three hours between wake-up and game-time, opt for fuel that’s easily digestible and wait until after practice/game for slower digesting dairy and higher fat meats.

Which foods are good fueling options? Whether at home or on the road, give these ideas a try to fuel their game instead of merely getting through their game.

• Oatmeal with berries
• Half or full Dave’s Killer Bagel
• Breakfast “cookie”
• Strawberry chia seed muffin
• ½ peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• Crepe with berries and hazelnut spread
• Berries with small handful of almonds 
• Greek yogurt with granola 
• Pancakes/waffles topped with berries and Greek Yogurt

Reluctant breakfast eaters? Leftover pasta or half a chicken wrap are great options too!

Don’t forget about water! Rehydrating — especially after waking — is essential for reducing muscle cramping, increasing energy, and maintaining focus.

Questions about early morning fuel specifically for your athlete? Visit  RockPerformance.net.

When Shane Hoskin’s son Trevor asked his dad if he could tape a hockey stick faster than Tiktoker joeysofo, who had issued the Tape Job challenge on Tiktok, he gave one simple answer, “Yup.”

Claiming to be the fastest stick taper on the app, what joeysofo didn’t know was that, growing up, Hoskin worked at a sporting goods store called Four Seasons Sports in Belleville, Ont., for five years.

Their specialty … taping hockey sticks.

Hoskin grew up playing minor hockey in Belleville, where he was successful enough to be drafted into the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

However, after a brief stint with the London Knights he returned home to attend school and find work. 

That’s how he wound up at Four Seasons Sports.

At the time, the store was run by brothers Ike and Taso Christopher. Their family still runs the store today. 

When a stick was purchased, one of the unique things the Christopher brothers did to entice customers was cut and then tape the stick in front of them at a fast pace. 

“When Ike and Taso did this, I kind of thought that was cool because the look on the kids’ faces were phenomenal. So, I always took old used tape they had in the back and I would practice,” said Hoskin, “I got to a point where I could do it.”

It turned out to be a good marketing technique for the store.

“As soon as you would tape a stick for a kid from say Oshawa, or Kitchener they would go back to their teammates and say ‘You should’ve seen these guys tape these hockey sticks,’ well the next thing you know we were sold out of hockey sticks,” said Hoskin.

After a day of taping sticks at the shop he would often leave with bandages on his fingers.

The “trick” he says, is keeping pressure between your finger and the inside of the tape roll, instead of letting the roll spin around your fingers. 

Other than that, Hoskin recommends having good stability at the base of the stick, so it doesn’t move around, good tape (he uses Howies), and practice.

However, a good tape job is not always about speed.

“I grew up with guys that would take twenty minutes to tape their stick just to make sure it’s perfect,” he added, “guys in the NHL all have their quirks and stuff like that so there’s a lot of personality in how you adopt it.”

Over 20 million people have now gotten a glimpse of Hoskin’s personality since the Tiktok of him destroying the Tape Job challenge went viral. 

@trevorhoskin34

#duet with @joeysofo I can’t tell who won? Rematch? #ew

♬ original sound – joey

Sporting a Red Deer sweater in the video, which has led to some people dubbing him Rick from Red Deer, though he is not sure why, Hoskin completed the tape job in under five seconds.

“I hadn’t taped a stick in over two years before he (Trevor) asked me, and that was my first try,” said Hoskin.

Sorry joeysofo, but it looks like the fastest hands in the north go to Rick from Red Deer, or rather Shane Hoskin.

Although his hockey playing career ended with the London Knights, Hoskin has since gone on to coach the Belleville Bearcats, where his daughter played, and the Napanee Raiders, who are a Junior hockey team in the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL). 

Now a Zamboni driver, Hoskin was surprised by his overnight Tiktok notoriety.

“I taped it and my son posted it and then the next day we woke up and it’s at like 12 million views,” said Hoskin. 

Radio stations in Belleville began calling him and one asked if he knew how big it was to have a video rack up as many views as his did, “I said I have no clue, I don’t follow Tiktok,” said Hoskin. 

Admittedly Hoskin, 51, is still learning about the relatively new media platform. 

The video-sharing social networking app exploded in popularity in 2020 with its main users being people aged 10-19.

Hoskin’s son Trevor has since posted two more videos of his dad, one of him attempting the Tape Job challenge while blindfolded, and the other is titled Knob Edition, where Hoskin tapes the knob end of the hockey stick instead of the blade. 

It currently has over one million views.

None of us think we’re that parent.

Let’s be honest, most of us roll our eyes when we have to do online Respect in Sport-style courses, and laugh or cringe when we hear stories about crazy hockey parents freaking out on coaches or — worse yet — putting ridiculous pressure and unrealistic expectations on their kids.

But if none of us are that parent, then who is?

The sad reality is far too many parents still display ludicrous behavior every season, both at the arena and behind the scenes at home, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are, indeed, that parent.

What are you pushing your kids towards? What is about minor sports that causes rational people to become, well, irrational – to put in nicely?

There’s nothing wrong with advocating for your child and encouraging them to be the best they can, but a big reason we put our kids in sports — aside from the athletic aspect — is to learn how to function within a team, take direction, and through time, develop some independence from us, something that pays off for them in school and life. 

And, perhaps most importantly, to have fun (more on that below).

Unfortunately what happens far too often is that many kids lose their love of the game because of what their parents may do and say.

So why do we act like this? What is the ultimate goal?

I won’t bore you with the statistics, but one worth noting is that the average kid playing minor hockey in Canada has a 0.11% of making the NHL. Forget the pros, no matter how good your kid is (or you think they are), they still have a very small chance of playing high-end junior or collegiate.

I spent nearly 20 years as journalist, most of it in sports, including serving as the Sports Editor of the Calgary Sun. I left four years ago to become the Director of Digital Content and Social Media for the Calgary Flames, so I’ve seen it all professionally.

Though I’ve always been keenly aware of just how unlikely it is to find success at the highest levels of hockey, I had a moment that stood out to me not long after I started with the Flames and attended the Young Stars Tournament in Penticton, B.C.

The Flames, Oilers, Canucks and Jets all sent their top prospects to play in the week-long tournament in September. The person many consider the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, once skated in it.

As I stood and watched warmups before one game, it really hit me that every player out there had likely been the McDavid of their association growing up, an absolute phenom in minor hockey and likely a standout in junior. Yet, here they were, many of them unlikely to become full-time NHLers, perhaps able to make a career in the minors if they were lucky. And they were once the cream of the crop.

It wasn’t an ‘aha moment,’ but something that galvanized what I already knew — and far too few people still won’t admit: The majority of your child’s hockey experience will likely come when they are an adult, playing in some type of rec league. And that is if they don’t quit all together first.

Let that sink in and really think about it for a moment.

Hockey should be fun: Scoring goals, making plays, skating, spending time with your friends. When it’s not fun, you’ll have issues. As someone who is around NHLers every day, I can tell that even when pros don’t have fun, things are tough for them. If that’s what happens to adults at the pinnacle of the game, what do you think happens to kids?

There’s a good chance you got your child into hockey because you love it, you’re a lifelong fan and you want them to be the same. You certainly don’t want them to quit playing and, worse yet, develop a hate for it.

It led me to think up what I call the 24-year-old old rule. We all know the 24-hour rule – don’t reach out to your team’s coach or manager until you’ve spent that long thinking and composing yourself. So what’s the 24-year-old rule? Simple – where do you want your kid to be when they are 24? Do you want them still playing the game in some capacity, or have given it up – maybe for good.

At the end of the day, there are many roads your kid may take during their minor hockey days, and most lead to the same place.  When we forget that, we can make some really bad decisions.

So always think of the 24-year-old rule and ask yourself, am I taking the fun out of the game for them? It’s one of the most important questions you can ask yourself as a parent.