Globe West sportswriter Craig Larson writes today that, "junior hockey's recent expansion in New England is raising concern,particularly among some high school coaches. They worry that, with asecond tier of teams luring players, talent will be drained from highschool programs -- and local players who join juniors too early willmiss the special experience of playing for their hometown."

So what are your thoughts? Is junior hockey bad news for high school hockey programs? Should local hockey standouts wait until after high school to try the junior circuit?

Slowhand....It is a moneymaker and a scholarship generating venue for it's players.

First off there are countless players coming out of Juniors that receive scholarships. You can look at the team sites to see alumni and where they are playing. Look at the Junior Bruins, Walpole Stars, Portland Junior Pirates and they are not even the top junior hockey teams out there...The percentage is MUCH higher than you would think and your chances are better than staying in local Public HS to get a scholarship. The junior games are where the scouts are and you can't get noticed unless you're in front of the right people. It is a venue to showcase your talent against some of the best teams in the country.

This is true in Mass. Hardly anyone goes straight from a Mass HS to D-1. John Webster was
the only one this year and he now plays for the UNH club hockeyprogram. However, its not uncommon for the best Minn HS kids to gostraight to D-1 WCHA. U. Minnesota has more than a couple of kids to dothis. The NCAA should change regs and ban Jr players. You don't seethis stuff
in football, basketball or baseball. Why is this only in hockey?

Joe Rooney was a senior at Canton High School when he played for the Walpole Stars. He previously went to St. Sebastian's, but did his senior year at Canton, but played for the Stars. He went straight from HS to Boston College as an 18 year old true freshman.

Junior Hockey is definitely very good hockey, but there's simply too much of it and it is just not as much fun. Junior teams in this area are expanding, and the talent is there, but there is really limited following, and the crowds are sparse. There are more fans at a 6:00am Mite game than at some of these junior games. With the increasing number of Junior teams, the talent ends up getting watered down. Decent (but not great players) go out in search of "middle of the road" teams that they can make and often find their way onto a Junior program's "B" squad. It seems like a new Junior team will pop up every year, and water down the pool even more.