Recruiting Q & A with John Bernier, Former College Hockey Player

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009, filed in Athlete's Corner

John Bernier, who was recruited to play hockey in college at Mankato State (1994-1997) recently got in touch with us on Twitter and volunteered to answer a few hockey recruiting questions. Prior to his college career, John played played AAA hockey in Chicago for Chicago Young Americans. He was then drafted in 1991 by Compuware in the NAJHL and Rochester in the USHL. He chose to play in Rochester and was traded to Sioux City following 1991-92 season. John played in Sioux City from 1992-94, before being recruited by Mankato State University (among others).

Please see the questions and answers below to get some more insight in John’s experiences with the recruiting process and the overall college hockey recruiting process. Thanks for your help, John!

How do you think the recruiting process has changed now vs. when you were going through it?

From the time I started getting recruited, to the time I signed my National letter of intent, four years had passed. Looking back, it’s amazing to me how long the recruiting process took. I was fortunate enough to be selected to play in the “Select 15, 16 and 17″ National Olympic Development camps, and so I think I had a head start there. When I was 16, I got my first ”hey, we’re watching you with interest” letter from Brown University. I was ecstatic! After that, other Ivy League schools started to contact me. I didn’t get too full of myself once I realized that by the nature of their admissions policies, they have to cast a pretty wide net to find players with skill, and smarts. I was probably one of a few hundred who got the same letter. At around the same time, I was being asked about my willingness to forego my college eligibility by teams in the OHL, as well as QMJHL. On top of that, I was exploring the Prep School route, and had gone so far as to have applied, and been admitted to Taft, Tabor and Lawrenceville. To my good fortune, our Chicago Young American’s AAA Midget team went to nationals in 1990, and 1991. Because the AAA Midget tournaments are such a draw for scouts, I ended up playing well, and was drafted by Compuware in the NAJHL, and the Rochester Mustangs in the USHL. With all those choices on the table, I made the first big hockey related decision in my life, and chose to go play as a Sr. in High School for the Rochester Mustangs. After the 91-92 season, I was traded to Sioux City (USHL) where I played two seasons (92-94). During both years, I was recruited by several schools, and took a couple of “official visits”, including one at Michigan Tech, and one at Mankato State university (as well as several D3 schools as well). At the end of my last season in Sioux City, I decided that the best opportunity for me to continue my playing career at a high level was to commit to Mankato State University, and become a Maverick. I had developed a good relationship with their coaching staff, had visited the school, and signed a letter of intent in the spring of 1994 to enter school as a 20 year old Freshman.

For players today, I don’t imagine the process is too dissimilar. For players on-track to play at the next level, it’s a long, drawn out process. The stakes are high, and there will be many choices that have to be made. Stay and play with buddies in High School, or try to play Juniors? What about AAA? What about Major Junior? What about trying out for the National Development team? Boiled down though, it’s about playing as well as you can at all the right times, whether it’s a tournament, or during a big game in-season. I think the major difference for players right now is that it seems much easier for coaches to keep track of a players progress if they have access to online stats, or can get video updates of games. I imagine travel for those coaches has been cut back significantly, and with the advent of e-communications tools taken for granted today like emails and texting, etc…it’s easy for a coach to keep tabs and check in. Back in the day, hand written letters, and clippings from local newspapers had to do Much of the contact I had with coaches and scouts was done in person, becausethat’s the only way they could do it. I’m not saying one way is any better than the other, just different, that’s all. In the end, it’s all about finding a place you feel comfortable making a long term commitment to.

Is high school hockey more or less important than club team hockey in terms of helping athletes get noticed by coaches?

I think this depends on the region you play in. Minnesota and Michigan offer traditionally strong High School hockey, however, if you live in an area that isn’t known for producing much in the way of players advancing to the next level (whatever level that may be), you may want to consider looking for a program that offers you the opportnity to play, play, play. You’ll only get better if you play teams that challenge your abilitites, and if you get on the ice as much as possible. I was lucky growing up, since I was on the ice 5 days a week, and we played on average, over 75 games a season. I played for a club team in Chicago (Chicago Young Americans AAA), and we played out of a league based in Michigan featuring teams like GPD, Little Cesars, Sioux Greyhounds, Indianapolice Ice, and the Madison Capitals. High School Hockey was not an option for me, because I didn’t feel like it would get me on the ice enough, or that the competition would consistently challenge my abilitites. It was a personal choice though, and one everyone should consider carefully.

How did you get your name out to coaches? Did you use any services to help you?

Being fortunate enough to play for high-profile teams growing up, we always seemed to play in the right tournaments, or simply the right league. Once I John Bernier hockey2 graduated to the USHL, for example, coaches seemed to find players. It was easy to keep track of the guys in that league, because it was such a high-profile league. I didn’t really have to do much, because part of the deal was that the coaches did a lot to push the players on their teams to college scouts.

Did you play any sports other than hockey? Do you think that college hockey coaches saw that as a good thing or a bad thing?

I played baseball and football, for a while. Eventually, my commitments to hockey forced me to make the hard choice of giving up both, but in the end, I think it was the right call. There’s no doubt that college coaches look at atheletes who play multiple sports as a plus. Not only does it demonstrate that you are more than a one-dimensional athelete, but it also deomontrates that you have an ability to prioritize, and handle multiple commitments. There’s a lot to be said about how college changes people, but good habits are easier to keep intact than they are to create in a new environment, especially one like college, which can be filled with distractions that often derail a promising future.

Did you go to any camps or skills clinics that helped you prepare to play professionally and in college? If so, what were your experiences like?

Growing up, I went to as many camps as possible, including Minnesota Hockey Schools, run by Dean Grillo in Gull Lake, MN. As well, during summers, I actually taught as an instructor at Turcotte Stickhandling Schools. All of the camps I participated in offered something different in the way of development. By far, the Olympic Development camps I participated in at 15, 16 and 17 were the best competition I faced in an abbreviated timeline. There were only two of these camps in the country, and the top 100 players from the east, and west regions got to go, as I remember (it was a while ago, I admit).

What was the hardest part of your recruiting process?

The hardest part of the process was actually finding a place I felt comfortable. I was committing myself to long periods of time away from home, and when choosing a college, I was committing myself to 4 years at a place I was only able to visit for a weekend or two. I would encourage anyone making a similar decision to reach out to older guys who have spent time there to get a true sense of what it’s like. Everything from the dorms, to how you travel will impact your level of satisfaction in the end, and those opinions usually come without the “gloss” that some programs put on an official visit.

What was the most rewarding part about being recruited?

I thnk it was actually signing the letter of intent. I was proud, and in looking over my shoulder at my dad, I could see he was more proud of me than I was of myself. At that moment, I realized a dream that we had shared for years driving in cars for road trips, waking up early for 6AM ice, and all of the stuff that goes along with being a hockey family. That was it for me.

What do you think is something that is very important in the recruiting process but that many people may overlook?

I think kids might not realize how much is out of their control. At that stage in their lives, it’s all about them, and it should be. I say live for the moment, and enjoy every game as if it might be your last. Don’t get discouraged if a school cuts off communication. They may have just landed one of the three players they were trying to get, and it might not have been you. Don’t sweat it, it’s not personal. I realize now that coaches are constantly juggling multiple priorities, and they do what they think is best for their program, regardless of the concequences, because ultimately, it’s what’s in their best interests…their job is on the line in some cases. Just relax, let it happen, and if you’re not being recruited by the schools you think should be recruiting you, reach out to them, make a connection, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s ALWAYS some place to keep playing, whether it’s D3, club, rec league, or whatever. Play because you love the smell of the ice. Play because you love to go top shelf, or rip a slapper by the goalie…just keep playing because you love the game.