January 13, 2025
AIC's Lang Organizes 'College Hockey Transfer Showcase'
by Anthony Travalgia/CHN Reporter (@atravalgia)
When American International head coach Eric Lang was told his program would be moving back to Division II at the end of the 2024-25 season, one thing immediately came to mind:
“We will go above and beyond and make sure that we further your college hockey career,” Lang said he told the players. “Those guys took a leap of faith to come to AIC, took a leap of faith to come play for me and they were devastated by this news; I feel a huge obligation to fulfill that promise.”
Out of that, came a novel idea: The first Men’s College Hockey Transfer Showcase was born.
The showcase will take place at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury on April 5-6. The showcase will be open to players who have entered the transfer portal across all college hockey divisions, club programs included.
The excitement from players, parents and coaches alike has been through the roof since the announcement last week. A first-of-its-kind event like this could change the landscape of the transfer portal for college hockey players across the nation for years to come.
“The landscape now with roster shrinkage, teams opting in [to the proposed House vs. NCAA settlement] and going down to 26 [roster spots], and now we have Major Junior [players eligible for NCAA hockey],” Lang said. “I feel it is going to be incredibly difficult to place these guys into another Division I landscape because teams are going to be patient, potentially see what’s better and it’s going to be a heavy lift.”
With recent changes to the transfer portal — among many other changing factors across college hockey — it has become a more useful tool for players looking for a new opportunity.
Other collegiate sports such as baseball, football and soccer have held similar events in the past. Better than ever, now is time for hockey to do the same.
“It just got the wheels spinning a little bit and I said, ‘Man, I wonder if this has ever been done before, where we can get as many transfers under one roof as possible to showcase their abilities,'” Lang said.
Technology has changed so much for coaches and scouts. Unlimited film and game access is at their fingertips 24/7. Analytics and other data are changing seemingly by the day. With all that in mind, there’s still something to be said for seeing a player perform in person.
“We’re watching a lot of it, it’s a lot of work that’s done on film or on video and then we’re kind of guessing and projecting as the kid who played at Michigan State who’s only played six games, what is his value compared to a kid in Atlantic Hockey who has 12 goals. Who’s better?” Lang said.
“There’s a lot of comparisons league to league and it’s really hard to handicap. The one thing we are never afforded to do is get a live viewing of these players and more importantly an opportunity to meet them, look them in the eye, talk to them and get a feel for them.”
The reveal of this showcase is not even a week old; we don’t know which players will be involved, and already Lang is getting inquiries about when and where the next one will be.
The hope is this becomes an annual event.
“My phone has not stopped, so much so that people are asking where are we going to host the Midwest location,” Lang said. “When you think about it, it’s an Eastern location right now and we’ve had people reach out and say, ‘What does this look like in the Midwest?’ We’re looking into that as well.”
Lang hopes there’s enough entries for four to six teams, roughly 60 players in total. The expectation is that joining Lang will be other coaches from across college hockey as well as one unnamed prolific retired coach who will assist in running practices. Players can expect two games during the two-game session.
Players from AIC and other college hockey programs have reached out to express interest. Given the timing of the announcement and the desire to not take away from players’ current situations at their respective schools, registration will be open at a later date.
In terms of AIC and what’s ahead for the future of the program, work continues to be done behind the scenes to keep AIC where it belongs, where Lang has led the program to so much success — at the Division I level.
“I’ve had some people reach out financially, willing to save this thing. I’m not sure what that looks like on the institution’s side of things. That’s a conversation that I’d love to have,” Lang said.
“Since the news, [people have asked] ‘How can I help?' Friends of the program, local entrepreneurs, corporate marketing people. When you hold one of the Division I keys, they’re incredibly powerful.”