By  Mike Beasley /

Over the years, Kent Manderville has been involved with hockey schools at the NCAA, NHL and European Elite League level but still remembers one in Wilcox, Saskatchewan as the best he’s ever been involved with.

“The best school that I ever worked for was through Notre Dame College,” said Manderville who played over ten years in the NHL with Toronto, Edmonton, Hartford/Carolina, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

“I may be biased because I went to school there but the kids were on the ice three times a day and had one hour devoted to power skating in the afternoon. The week was a grind even for the counselors but I thought it gave the students a lot of “take home value.” Many of the instructors were solid college players who cared about what they were doing which in my opinion is a big thing when developing skills.”

The Edmonton, Alta.-native has always been a keen student of the finer points of the game and is just as comfortable in a classroom as he in on the ice.

Manderville attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and played Division 1 hockey in the ECAC for the Big Red before being drafted by the Calgary Flames in the second round (89th overall) in 1989.

After his NHL career he played three seasons in Sweden before wrapping up his professional playing days in Finland.

Manderville is now attending law school at the University of Ottawa and working with his local minor hockey association.

Now that his playing career is over, Kent has more time to dissect what is out there in regards to hockey schools and their various curriculums.

In this era of specialization and advanced teaching techniques Manderville suggests that parents do their homework when it comes to selecting the right hockey school for their children.

“Always find out what the student/teacher ratio will be,” he advised.

“How many hours of on ice instruction does the school offer and what exactly will they be working on. For example will it be power skating, passing or other skills.”

Many camps advertise that NHL players will attend as instructors. Manderville encourages finding out how much time they will spend on the ice with kids.

He also recommends that mom and dad go out and ask questions, find out from others what the camp is like.

“Parents are a great source of information and will share the ‘true scoop.’”

Overnight camps have been around for decades where children are dropped off at the beginning of a week and picked up five days later. Manderville advises parents to inquire about what kind of supervision their child will receive during their stay plus any off-ice activities that will be conducted away from the rink.

“Safety is paramount at all times.”

“Once those concerns are taken care and the parents feel comfortable with one particular hockey school dig a little deeper,” Manderville said.

“Speak with someone at the camp when they leave. Try and get some advice on nutrition, training suggestions and ideas for players to work on skill development throughout the season.”