“Exposure” Won’t Save You — Work Will.

There’s a word that gets tossed around in youth hockey circles like it’s magic: exposure.

Parents want it. Programs sell it. Kids chase it.

And every year, families pay more and more to be seen — at tournaments, showcases, ID camps, spring leagues, and the rest. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: exposure means nothing if you’re not good enough to stand out.

Scouts and evaluators don’t watch every player equally. They watch the ones who catch their eye — the ones who show, shift after shift, that they might have what it takes to play at the next level. If you’re not impacting the game consistently, you’re invisible. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the “right” team, in the “right” league, or wearing the “right” colors.

This isn’t about politics or favoritism. It’s about production, performance, and presence.

Let me tell you a story — my story.

In 1995, I was selected 9th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft. That meant I was on the radar. Scouts knew my name. I was considered one of the top 15-year-olds in Western Canada. Over the next few seasons, I played in the WHL — one of three leagues that make up the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which includes 60 teams across Canada and parts of the U.S. NHL scouts were in the building every night. We played 72 games a season in front of them.

In my first year of NHL Draft eligibility… nothing. I wasn’t picked.

In my second year of eligibility, I was selected 271st overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft — out of 272 total picks. One spot from being left off the board completely.

Now, ask yourself: Was I not getting proper exposure?

Or was I simply not what they were looking for — yet?

It wasn’t a lack of visibility. It was a need for more growth. More consistency. More maturity in my game. That wasn’t on the scouts, and it wasn’t on the league. That was on me. And once I accepted that, I got to work. I earned a 16-year pro career and played in over 1,000 games because I stopped chasing exposure and started chasing improvement.

What Scouts Are Actually Looking For

Here’s something else you should understand: scouts don’t watch every player for an entire game. They don’t have the time. They operate in snapshots — short windows of shifts — and they focus on the players who consistently show something that separates them:

• High hockey IQ

• Great decision-making

• Pace and compete

• An ability to impact the game without hurting it

Everyone at the next level is “skilled.” If that’s your one selling point, the question becomes: are you more skilled than everyone else already at the next level? If not, you’d better develop another edge. Work ethic. Intelligence. Consistency. Because those are what rise to the top.

Evaluators look for players who can play at the next level by reading three key “speeds”:

1. The speed of the player – how well you skate, accelerate, recover, and stay in the play

2. The speed of the puck – how quickly you make decisions and move the puck

3. The speed of the mind – how fast you process, anticipate, and make intelligent reads

Trying to toe-drag through three defenders every shift, throwing blind passes into traffic, or forcing a Michigan just to go viral — none of that’s on their bingo card. They’re not there to be entertained. They’re there to find hockey players who can win shifts, drive play, and make the right decisions under pressure.

So when I hear a parent proclaim, “I need to be in an organization where my kid will be seen,” I have to ask — what’s your kid doing to make themselves unmissable?

Are they outworking the 14-year-old in Vancouver who’s on the ice at 6 a.m. before school?
Are they shooting more pucks than the kid in Detroit?
Are they grinding harder than the player in Sweden who’s been playing shinny outdoors since November?

Because that’s who they’re up against. Not the kid across town. Not the kid two age groups up. Everyone, everywhere.

The exposure myth is recruiting ammo for bigger programs looking to poach talent from smaller ones. They sell the dream — “Come here, and we’ll get your kid seen.” But what they don’t tell you is this: if your kid isn’t ready, exposure won’t help. It might even hurt.

If you’re not making an impact, being seen just confirms that you're not there yet. That’s not a knock — that’s a call to action.

Development has to come first. Period.

I’m not saying don’t go to events. I’m saying don’t confuse attendance with achievement. Don’t expect visibility to replace actually standing out. That comes from work ethic, doing the extras, and preparing relentlessly so that when your moment comes — like Eminem says — you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. You can’t be out there with mom’s spaghetti on your sweater hoping a scout sees “potential.” You have to be ready to deliver. Every time.

If your kid is doing the right things — if they’re putting in the work, showing consistent growth, dominating shifts — trust me, people will notice. That’s what scouts are paid to do. They find players who are ready. Not players who are just there.

So before you ask, “Why isn’t my kid getting more exposure?” — ask, “What is my kid doing to make it impossible to ignore them?”

Then get to work.

Because exposure doesn’t change your level. It just reveals it.🏒

About the Author:

A Kamloops, B.C. product, Darrell was selected 9th overall in the 1995 WHL Bantam Draft by the Tri City Americans and 271st overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. After a 16-year pro career across 8 countries, he now runs DHHD with a focus on development, culture, and building better hockey players—and better people. He still listens to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” relentlessly during workouts, and every time that opening piano riff hits — “dunna, dunna, dunt, da da” — it sends a chill down his spine. 8 Mile should be required viewing for every kid chasing a dream. Not because of the exposure, but because it reminds you what it looks like to be ready when your moment finally comes.