Not only is it, in the words of Badger Bob Johnson, "A great day for hockey" but it is also a great decade for hockey, and particularly for young hockey players. Young American hockey players face a world of opportunities given the availability of 1) money 2) longevity and 3) excitement. Even average hockey players have great prospects for a career in the sport.
1) Money: Go Paul!
Paul Kariya is and should be the patron saint for all hockey players. His current contract negotiation is raising the bar for every future hockey player's contract. Though superstars such as Kariya and Federov will capture the lion's share of gains from their contracts, even the average player stands to benefit something from the rise in average salaries which will trickle down from the efforts of these contract and hockey superstars.
2). Longevity: Go Owners!
The reason owners can pay the sized contracts Kariya and Federov will sign is because demand for hockey has mushroomed in the United States. Because people are willing to pay to see hockey, more owners are willing to risk money buying hockey teams, and the more hockey teams there are, the higher salaries will be and the more playing opportunities there will be for the average player. Instead of a six team NHL and some scattered opportunities in Europe; current hockey prospects have the choice of 26 NHL teams, 19 IHL teams, 18 AHL teams, 25 ECHL teams, 9 WCHL teams, 11 WPHL teams, 10 CHL teams, and 10 UHL teams all offering professional hockey contracts that pay real (if not necessarily good) money. If the money keeps flowing into the sport, it will keep pouring out of it in terms of playing opportunities for skaters.
3). Excitement: Go South!
What could be more fun that to play hockey and get a suntan at the same time -- or to go hiking, or to nightclubs, or to other sporting events? Of the above 128 hockey teams, a player can choose to ply his trade in such exotic locations as Tampa Bay (NHL) or Pensacola (ECHL), Florida; Anaheim (NHL) or Long Beach (IHL), California; Phoenix (NHL) or Tucson (WCHL), Arizona; New Orleans (ECHL), Louisiana; Las Vegas (IHL) or Reno (WCHL), Nevada; and San Antonio (IHL) or Austin (WPHL), Texas. Of course not all is good, because one might end up getting traded to Grand Rapids, Michigan (IHL), Springfield, Mass (AHL), Florence, South Carolina (home of the Pee Dee Pride of the ECHL), or Fresno or Bakersfield, California (WCHL). But, I guess I'd be willing to take my chances. (My apologies to any sensitive citizens of these cities and towns)
I do not mean to imply young hockey players are spoiled, whiners, complainers, or overappreciated. But if they begin to turn that way, their whines and complaints will fall on deaf ears. Never have their futures been so bright, never have so many been wearing shades. I hope their good fortune and the expansion in their opportunities continue to grow. College hockey players are filling the ranks of the existing and newly formed leagues, and providing an entertainment product even people in Waco, Texas (WPHL) will pay to see. Continued support of college hockey by all of us fans will continue to provide Wichita, Kansas (UHL), Odessa, Texas (WPHL), Tacoma, Washington (ECHL), Mobile, Alabama (ECHL) and dozens of other cities across the nation with the game we have come to know and to love.