WINNIPEG – Like most hockey players, Jack Lenchyshyn is chasing one goal.
“I want to play in the NHL,” the Steinbach defenceman said. “That’s what I want to do.”
Assisting that dream is the Winnipeg-based Rink Hockey Academy. Lenchyshyn captains the organization’s midget prep team. The Rink Hockey Academy is in its inaugural season and is one of two academies that have popped up in Manitoba within the last two years.
“We feel like we’re preparing our kids for the next step,” Rink Hockey Academy head coach Rob Smith said. “Everything is here for us. We make it as easy as possible.”
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Despite the fact they still go to high school, players at the hockey academy live like professionals. Transportation, skate sharpening and laundry are all taken care of. They train every day – more than 300 hours a season. Plus their games are often played in front of scouts.
“As time has gone on, it’s slowly evolving and people are seeing it’s the right path to take,” Rink Hockey Academy forward Caleb Paisley said.
But it comes with a cost. The price to tag to attend a hockey academy can be as high as $30,000 a year.
“For some families, it’s a big stretch,” University of Manitoba sports economy professor Ryan Compton said. “They’re chasing a dream where the payoff is a very low probability it is going to occur.”
Nearly 74,000 Manitobans signed up to play hockey the last three seasons. During the same span, only eight players from the province were drafted into the NHL. Hockey academies don’t guarantee their attendees will turn pro but do promise to make them better players.
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“It’s about the experience they have here and what they take from it,” Smith said. “There’s definitely expectations that go with the price tag. It’s our job to fill those expectations.”
Not just for their students but also the ones making the sacrifice.
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