Across the country, an important step in the journey to playing hockey in college or professionally is to go through the trials of junior hockey first. Benilde-St. Margaret’s is known for sending an impressive number of students to junior hockey programs across the country.

Junior hockey is a competitive league for star players looking to advance their skills, gain notice, and continue playing hockey at a high level. With players ranging in age from 16 to 21, the juniors league helps players adjust to a more professional lifestyle. “I think it’ll look a lot like a professional lifestyle. I know they are pretty strict on living like a pro there. So I’m excited to learn how to do that and also be around people who already live like that,” junior Drew Stewart said.

With many high level players in love with the sport their whole lives, the path to juniors often starts early. “My hockey background starts from the time I first started skating when I was three through six years old. I started feeling a love for hockey. The reason I started skating was because of my brother’s influence and my dad encouraged me to as well. That just became a family thing with my siblings,” junior Mason Stenger said.

BSM is a popular school for hockey players looking to play in college or professionally. From 2000-2014, BSM helped seven players advance to the NHL. This history of competitive success improves the entire program. “Always having good players come here helps to push the pace and get me better every day. I think having alums get drafted to the NHL really gives the guys a lot of push to do better, not only in hockey but everything in life,” Stewart said.

Another large factor in the success of BSM hockey is the strength of its coaching staff. “I feel like they had a really big impact…They’re just really solid coaches so it helps my gameplay advance and get better,” Stenger said.

Many people who play junior Hockey have aspirations to play in college and even the NHL. Ultimately, junior hockey takes players to the next step in their career. “Playing junior hockey really just develops you for the next level. Next level after juniors for me would be college, and after that pro hockey – or even getting drafted to the NHL would be a dream come true,” junior Gavin Reed said.