Twitter and Instagram have made it so we can see NCAA-hockey commitments in real time. As schools are offering players scholarships at a younger and younger age, it is natural to wonder if the window has closed for you (or your son).

One question we hear a lot from families is: “Is it too late? My son is already a [sophomore, junior, senior, a junior player] and it looks like all the commitments are going to bantams. Should we give up on the DI dream, even if he’s good enough?”

Unless you’re 21 years old and have aged out of junior hockey, the answer is no.

To help put your mind at ease that it is not too late to get college attention, let’s look at all the Division I Men’s commitments from 2017, as tracked by College Hockey Inc.

As of December 21st, 2017, there were 482 NCAA DI commitments during the 2017 calendar year. 

The biggest percentage of these commitments encompassed not young players, but players who entered the NCAA ranks the very next year:

• 183 (38%) went to players scheduled to matriculate  the next season, in 2017-18 or 2018-19
• 138 (29%) were for players scheduled to enter college in 2019-20
• 125 (26%) went to players scheduled to start in 2020-21
• Only 24 (5%) of the commitments went to players scheduled to start in 2021-22
• Just 2 players committed for 2022-23 in 2017.

I understand why, if you’re a bantam player and see 20 of your peers get college commitments, you start to get nervous. As you can see, however, almost 95% of the total spots are still available to earn in the coming years.  

It is also interesting to see where these college commitments are coming from. The main takeaway is that the majority of commitments  (278 of 482) are going to players in junior hockey (USHL, NAHL, BCHL, etc.). This does NOT mean you should rush to play in those leagues to get a commitment. Instead, it reinforces the point that most NCAA schools are preserving scholarships for older players who can step right into their program. Despite what it feels like, bantam commitments are way down the list in terms of hard numbers.

Here are the exact number of commitments made from different leagues in the U.S. and Canada in 2017:

Bottom line: if you’re a good enough player to play Division I hockey, the schools will find you and make room for you. Don’t stress about when the attention comes. Focus on improving each day so you can be good enough to play at that level eventually. Even if you get through bantam and high school with no sniffs, the majority of slots are still available, so don’t give up.

Brian Bartlett is an NHLPA Certified Agent and attorney. He is Vice-President of Sports Consulting Group, Inc. which, along with his father Steve and brother Scott, has been helping elite players navigate the path to the NHL for 35 years.

Current NHL clients include Thomas Vanek, J.T. Miller, Justin Faulk, Alex Tuch, Will Butcher, Clayton Keller and more. You can find him on Twitter @BBarts or at www.scgsports.com.