Educational Blog
Dr. Abene on Muscle Strains
Posted on October 28, 2020
Muscle Strains Dr. Abene is a board certified Orthopaedic Surgeon. He did his Sports Medicine Fellowship at Stanford where he worked directly with the head team physicians for the San Francisco 49ers and Giants. He is currently the head team physician for the San Jose Sharks AHL affiliate, the S...
Early Recruiting: A Study of NCAA Recruitment of Youth Hockey Prospects
Posted on September 11, 2018
When it comes to the term “early recruiting” everyone has an opinion. We have had conversations with high profile coaches and agents who regularly are recruiting youth players, we have spoken to coaches who recruit only 18-year old’s and older and we have spoken to the players themselves who have...
FAQ
Posted on September 7, 2018
How are colleges talking to 14 and 15-year-olds? Player and parent expectations should be tempered in regards to being recruited by colleges at the Bantam/Midget level. It almost surely will not happen and that’s OK. However, colleges are aware of the best prospects in the age group. The CHL d...
Star Ratings and Player Rankings
Posted on September 7, 2018
Star Rating / Rankings Neutral Zone has created an exclusive, proven star rating system which ranks prospects on a 1-5 scale in increments of 0.25. For a prospect to be given a star rating they must be seen by at least two scouts; a regional scout and a Head Scout or Scouting Director. The...
Youth Hockey
Posted on September 7, 2018
Youth hockey encompasses all levels of hockey below juniors. This goes from mites (U9) to Midget (U18). At Neutral Zone we start following and covering prospects in their Bantam season and Bantam (U14) to Midget U18 will be the focus of our information. U14/Bantam Bantam hockey, also known ...
Junior Hockey
Posted on September 7, 2018
USA Hockey and Hockey Canada provide a level of hockey referred to as junior hockey; other countries would refer to this level as U20 or U21 leagues like an extension of North America's midget hockey model. In general terms, Junior Hockey provides high school graduates with another year or two...
NCAA and CHL
Posted on September 7, 2018
The largest feeder leagues to the NHL are the CHL and the NCAA. CHL The CHL is the Canadian Hockey League which is actually the parent league of three separate Canadian junior leagues: WHL, OHL, and QMJHL. The WHL has 22 teams, the OHL has 20 teams and the QMJHL has 18 teams for a combined...
