Home>Team Sports>Ice Hockey>NHL Hockey
Last updated: Aug 25, 2023
PreviousNext
Have you ever wondered how to become a professional hockey player? Hockey is one of the most entertaining, fast-paced, and physical sports played at a professional level. Becoming a professional in any sport takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Read more to find out what it takes to become a pro hockey player.
Table of Contents
- How to Become a Professional Hockey Player
- How Hard Is It to Become a Pro Hockey Player?
- Traits of a Pro Hockey Player
- Starting Young
- Understanding Rookie Contracts
- FAQ
How to Become a Professional Hockey Player
One must first be an elite amateur hockey player to become a professional hockey player. However, there are multiple pathways to the professional level. Read on to learn about the most common pathways to the NHL.
Major Juniors
The biggest junior hockeyleagues fall under the umbrella of the Canadian Hockey League.These three leagues, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League, and Western Hockey League, make up the majority of the board on NHL Draft day.Major Juniors are not technically considered amateurs, as they receive pay directly from their team.
Minor Leagues
Another common route to the NHL is through the minor professional leagues in North America, the American Hockey League (AHL) and the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).In these leagues, the players are paid and the clubs are affiliated with NHL teams. Most players drafted by NHL teams will spend some time developing in the minors before being called up to the NHL.
NCAA Division I
Another less common pathway is playing Division I hockey. Only four players of the 217 drafted in the 2019 NHL Draft were from Division I schools. If players do get recruited from a D1 school to the NHL, they are typically the stand-out players of the conference. Unlike other pathways, players drafted from college are not required to abandon their amateur status until they sign with a professional club.
International Leagues
There are several leagues outside of North America where players are drafted from, including the Kontinental Hockey League (Russia), Swedish Hockey League (Sweden), and Liiga (Finland). Several players from these leagues are taken in the first round of the NHL Draft each year. These leagues, like professional leagues in the United States, require a player to abandon their amateur status since they are being paid.
How Hard Is It to Become a Pro Hockey Player?
Hockey is one of the hardest sports to make it to the professional level. In fact, only 12% of hockey players who play in high school make it to play in college; from there, that percentage decreases greatly for professionals.Of the players who make it to the major junior level of hockey’s minor leagues, only 5% advance to playing in the NHL.
Traits of a Pro Hockey Player
There are a few key traits necessary for becoming a professional hockey player:
- Size- Professional hockey players are typically 5’9” and taller.
- High Skill Level- The faster and more disciplined you are with your skills, the more likely you are to play professionally.
- High Competition Level- The better players and teams that you play against while developing your skills, the better chance you have of being noticed by scouts.
- Passion - Someone who wants to play professional hockey needs to have an intense passion for the game in order to make it.
- Media Savvy- In addition to making appearances before the media, players are under constant scrutiny. Pros must always conduct themselves properly and be able to deal with pressure.
Starting Young
Like all professional sports, to play hockey professionally, you must start developing skills at a young age.When first starting, a player must know how to skate forward, backward, side to side, make quick turns, and be able to stop on a dime. The speed of the game increases as the level gets higher.
After this, a player must know the basic skills of passing, shooting, and stickhandling. A player that wants to play professionally must have a high endurance level along with lean body mass and high muscular strength. These can both be worked on through conditioning, lifting, and other high-endurance activities to get players into excellent shape to skate.
Understanding Rookie Contracts
When becoming a pro hockey player, there are several types of rookie contracts that one must understand. One-way contracts, reserved for the hottest prospects, guarantee a fixed salary, regardless of whether one plays in the NHL or a minor league. Two-way contracts pay a base salary if one plays in the NHL and a lower amount if one plays in a minor league. Three-way contracts guarantee three different salary tiers based on which of three leagues one plays in, with the NHL paying the highest.
FAQ
What does it take to become an NHL player?
The biggest requirement for becoming an NHL player is a passion for playing the game. To make the NHL, you must also always be improving as a hockey player and developing your skills. Most players spend time in the minor leagues before making it to the NHL. Typically, two years of playing at the major junior level are required before being considered for an NHL roster.
What is pro hockey?
Pro hockey is an ice hockey competition in a league where competitors are paid. The NHL, or National Hockey League, is the biggest pro hockey league and consists of 32 professional hockey teams. These teams are based in North America, with 25 teams located in the United States and seven in Canada.Although these teams are primarily from Canada and the United States, there are professional hockey players from around the world competing in the league.
Where do most pro hockey players come from?
Some of the biggest hockey countries include Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.Although the NHL is the biggest and most dominant hockey league, there are several popular professional leagues that are located in other countries. For example, the second-best hockey league in the world is called the Kontinental Hockey League or KHL, and it is located in Russia. There are opportunities to play professional hockey all around the world, but the NHL in North America is the most dominant league and pays the most for professional hockey.
PreviousNext
Pages Related to How Do You Become A Pro Hockey Player?
- How Much Does An NHL Hockey Player Make?
- History Of The National Hockey League (NHL)
- How Did Hockey Expand Around The World?
- Has Anyone Ever Dropped The Stanley Cup In Hockey?
- How Much Does An NHL Head Coach Make?
- How Much Do NHL Teams Cost?
PreviousNext
