Junior Ice Hockey: The Leagues Before The League

Typically, American high schoolers graduate and march off to college to continue their education-and sometimes their athletic careers-at around 18 years old. Meanwhile, in men's ice hockey, the average age of an NCAA first-year is 20. Where do these players spend their time, and what do they do before they enter collegiate or professional franchises? They head to juniors.

In juniors, players experience being cut or traded between teams and leagues, they battle it out to earn scholarships or ...