For Tigers, 'Gap Year' is the Norm
The following article appeared in the December 8 issue of the Daily Princetonian.
By BETH GARCIA
STAFF WRITER
In recent years, the University has encouraged newly admitted Princeton students to consider taking a year off before beginning college. This gap-year phenomenon has grown in popularity because it offers the opportunity to travel the world, explore yourself and gain a mature perspective before starting school. Although they do not necessarily participate in traditional gap-year programs, almost every member of the men’s ice hockey team takes a year or two off before starting college.
During this time, athletes play junior hockey and report that they gain many of the same benefits of the classic gap-year. Of the players on the current Tiger roster, all but two played at least one year of juniors. This convention is not unique to Princeton or the Ivy League, but rather is now the standard path for young, male players to take if they have hopes of playing at the NCAA level.
Junior hockey in the United States and Canada encompasses a number of leagues for players aged 16-20 with dreams of playing ice hockey in college or professionally. Before the establishment of juniors in the U.S., similar leagues already existed in Canada and attracted the most talented American players, who knew it would give them a better chance of making the NHL.
Complete article can be accessed via the Daily Princetonian Web site by clicking here.
