Everyone Gets Cut

Every Player Gets Cut

Everyone gets cut at one time or another. That's not a maybe. That's a guarantee. The sooner you accept that truth, the sooner you can stop letting setbacks define you and start letting them develop you.

Look around the NHL. Almost every player in that league spent time in the AHL first. Players get passed over for All Star selections and NCAA awards even when their stats don't reflect the decision. It happens at every level, from mites all the way to the pros. Getting cut is not the end of your story. It's usually the beginning of the most important chapter.

It Happens to Everyone, Including the Best

Personally, as a youth player I would make the A team one year and then the B team the next, alternating back and forth. I had a lot of dad coaches in youth hockey who were great people, but they favored their own kid. That's just the reality of youth sports. You can't always control who's making the decisions or what their motivations are.

What I learned from those years is that you can't wait for someone to hand you an opportunity. You have to earn it so clearly that it becomes hard to ignore. Even then, sometimes you still get overlooked. That's the game. Learn to handle it.

When It Happened to Me in the AHL

When I was playing for the Providence Bruins, I was awarded the Eddie Shore Award for best defenseman in the AHL. That same season, the AHL All Star Game was hosted right in our home city of Providence. I did not make the team.

Think about that. Best defenseman in the league, playing in my home city, and I was not selected to the All Star Game. That's the kind of thing that can eat you alive if you let it. Or you can use it. I chose to use it. You have to decide which kind of player you want to be when those moments come, because they will come.

It Happens Off the Ice Too

My daughter was committed to a D1 program and then had to find a new program. She re-committed and went on from there. We are forever grateful to both coaches from both programs who believed in her along the way. Recruiting is not a straight line for most players. Commitments fall through. Coaches leave schools. Programs change direction. None of that means a player isn't good enough.

What matters is how you respond. Do you shut down, or do you get back to work? The athletes who make it through those situations are the ones who stay locked in on what they can control. They don't waste energy on bitterness.

Control the Controllables

Your attitude, your work ethic, and your grit. Those are yours. No coach can take them. No cut can remove them. No politics can block them.

You cannot control which coach's kid is on the roster. You cannot control who the scouts favor or which program pulls a scholarship offer. What you can control is how hard you train, how you carry yourself in the locker room, and whether you show up ready to compete every single day. That's it. That's the job.

Players who stay focused on those three things tend to find their way. It may not be the path they planned, but it's a path. The ones who get caught up in the politics, the blame, and the bitterness are the ones who stop improving. Don't be that player.

Getting cut builds character. It makes you grittier, hungrier, and stronger. Every player who has ever laced up skates at a high level has felt the sting of rejection at some point. The difference between the ones who move forward and the ones who don't comes down to what they do the day after that cut.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do right after getting cut from a hockey team?

Give yourself a day to process it, then get back on the ice. Talk to the coach if you can and ask for specific feedback. Not all coaches will give it, but when they do, listen without getting defensive. Use that information to build your plan for the next tryout. The worst thing you can do is disappear for a few months and show up the following year no better than before.

How do I know if my child was cut for a legitimate reason or because of favoritism?

Sometimes it's hard to tell, and honestly, sometimes it's both. Dad coaches in youth hockey have been around forever and that situation is not going away. The better question is whether your child is doing everything in their control to make the decision as difficult as possible for whoever is evaluating them. Focus there. If favoritism is truly rampant on a given team, sometimes the right move is to find a better environment where your player can actually develop.

Does getting cut early mean my player has no future in hockey?

Not even close. The development timeline for hockey players varies widely. Some players peak early, some peak late, and the ones who get cut at twelve or fourteen often come back with a chip on their shoulder that turns into real fuel. The players who were always the best in youth hockey are not always the ones who make it furthest. Compete, keep developing, and let the process play out.

How do college hockey commitments fall through and what should families do?

Coaches leave programs. Schools change their recruiting needs. Scholarship budgets shift. It happens more than most families expect going into the process. If a commitment falls through, treat it the same way you would any other cut. Regroup, reach out to other programs, and keep playing at the highest level you can. Moping about a lost commitment does not get you closer to a new one. Stay ready, because the right fit is still out there.