Looking back, being an American and sending my high school-aged son to a different country was a bit naive of me. We're a first-generation hockey family. We live in California and, yes, there is hockey in California. I didn't even know what the CHL was at that point. I didn't know what the USHL was.
My son was identified at a young age, at 14, through the U.S.A. Hockey national team development program. That's when it all started. These opportunities all hit that bantam year. The phone started ringing, and we had all these choices to make. We made the best decision with the information we had at the time. Looking back, we believed what we were told.
When you have a big name fly out to a practice to watch your son skate, and they tell you, “It's about timing and being at the right place at the right time, and we're offering him this great opportunity”, you buy into everything they're telling you.
I am here to say, always remember that it's big business. They're there to make money, and they're not always there for the best interests of the player.