"Who You Know" Helps

No matter what a recruits' stats might show of his potential to play professional hockey, sometimes he won't get a look or an invitation to a minor league camp unless he knows the right people.

Here's an anecdote from Ice Bears general manager mike Murray.

"Take Clay Lewis for example -- three years ago a couple weeks after I was in office -- my ex-roommate who played for the Hershey bears, Jeff chickren, had called me and he is now residing in Boca raton, fl with his family. He had mentioned this kid, he said I have this kid that you might want to take a look at, he's about 6'4 - 220, I said is he tough? he said yeah. And his tennis coach in this little gated community that he lives in down there is Clay Lewis' father, so -- clay was just looking for a place to play."


"But often it is Marc Rodgers contacts or Scotty's contacts when he played there. And you never know where you are going to find the next biggest thing that comes to your town. So, we'll take them anyway, it doesn't say how you found them once you get them here on the back of your jerseys."

sometimes, "who you know" helps get your foot in the door.