Hockey Agent Tip #1: JUNIORS.
Youngsters play in the Junior leagues from the ages of 17 through 19. The three Junior leagues are the OHL, QMJHL and WHL.
Junior players are NOT paid, so you won't earn any commission from them. However, they are eligible for the NHL Draft at any stage of their Junior career.
When a Junior turns 20, if he has not been drafted he will pursue a career in the minor pro leagues. You can then find him a minor pro team which will pay him a signing bonus and annual salary. You will receive 10% of his signing bonus immediately and 10% of his salary whenever he gets paid. Players are only paid during the regular season (week 18 through 43) so you only receive your salary commission during those weeks.
Hockey Agent Tip #2: MINOR PROS.
The NHL is the top league in the north American hockey pyramid, the rest are minor pro leagues. The pyramid looks something like this:
NHL
AHL
ECHL
LNAH and SPHL
Every NHL team has an affiliate side in the AHL where they place youngsters who aren't quite ready for the NHL. AHL sides can also hand out their own contracts to players who don't have an NHL contract. In fact all the minor pro leagues (AHL, ECHL, LNAH and SPHL) can give their own contracts to players, but they are only one year in length and pay far less salary than NHL contracts.
A minor pro player could work his way up to the NHL having never been drafted, but it's not very common.
At the end of a player's contract, his team will either offer him a new contract for another year or release him, in which case he will be a free agent and able to sign for any other team.
Hockey Agent Tip #3: BEING DRAFTED.
If a Junior is drafted by an NHL team, he signs an ELC (Entry Level Contract) with the team which drafted him.
ELCs differ from standard NHL contracts because they have the following rules:
They must be 3 years in length
They are Two Way contracts, which means the player receives an NHL salary when he plays in the NHL and an AHL salary when he plays in the AHL
The minimum NHL salary is $575k and the maximum is $925k
The maximum AHL salary is $70k
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