Athol Murray College of Notre Dame proves to be unique hockey hotspot

Unlike most prominent minor hockey programs, Athol Murray College of Notre Dame isn’t based in a large city or heavy-traffic area. It’s located in the small village of Wilcox, Sask., the home of roughly 350 people.

Despite its unique location, Notre Dame has developed a reputation as one of the top hockey programs in the world, let alone Western Canada. It seems the school has at least two or three future NHLers in its development program at any given time. They have played a role in helping mold many young stars such as Jaden Schwartz, Morgan Rielly and Sean Couturier as well as retired greats like Wendel Clark, Rod Brind’Amour and Curtis Joseph.

The school is best known as a breeding ground for the Western Hockey League. They have had 22 players selected in the past three WHL bantam drafts, including many first-round selections such as Kelowna Rockets sniper Dillon Dube (21^st overall, 2013), Moose Jaw Warriors prized prospect Josh Brook (fifth overall, 2014) and Tri-City Americans young stud Carson Focht (seventh overall, 2015).

Notre Dame’s superb track record at helping players get to the WHL stems from many aspects in the school’s approach to developing student athletes. Two major reasons are the amount of ice their players see on a regular basis and how they have the only bantam ‘AAA’ program in Saskatchewan. It’s deemed a ‘AAA’ team because they play up a level in ‘AA’ midget while the rest of the province’s top bantam teams play in a watered-down 22-team ‘AA’ bantam league.

“We have a great road map that we provide for the players and teams know that our players understand what it takes to play at that level,” says Jeremy Mylmok, Notre Dame’s male hockey coordinator and bantam ‘AAA’ coach. “They have seen the players before them have success and the players buy in right away. WHL teams know that our young players are on the ice five-six days a week, are in the weight room all throughout the season and will be taught what it takes to play at the next level. There’s so much more to the game than scoring and we take pride in teaching our guys to be “three-zone” players. One question I always ask my players is “Who’s next?" So many NHL players have stood right in these young players shoes and we want them know right away that it’s possible if you’re willing to put in the work.”

Mylmok points to the maturity that comes with moving away from home to live at Notre Dame as another selling point for the school’s players.

“These are highly driven/motivated players that want to develop and have a chance to play at the highest level possible,” he says. “Teams understand that our players have already went through that transition of being away from home at a young age, which has a bigger impact on players than most people realize. And when a WHL team drafts a Hound that’s one of the many things they no longer have to worry about. Our players have also been taught proper time management skills. They know when it’s time to get homework done, know that our players work closely with our strength/conditioning coaches and they understand the importance of getting proper rest.”

Albeit the program’s top talents earn their roster spots at the next level, playing in Wilcox helps open doors for them. It puts coaches and general managers at ease knowing Notre Dame Hounds are in a program with a rock-solid reputation.

“I think being a part of the Notre Dame program helps their players get opportunities at the next level,” says Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Alan Millar. “With Josh (Brook), we knew he was in a great program and had a great midget program to play on the next year. We also knew that he was surrounded with good people and the emphasis the school puts on developing their players and building character in them.”

Partially because the school is located in a WHL-crazed province, their NCAA success is somewhat overshadowed. The combination of their development platform, education setup and college connections has helped many Hounds receive Division I commitments. Look no further than how the program played a role in landing three of its 1999-born talents (Adam Dawe, Ethan Crossman and Carson Mackinnon) full scholarships from the University of Maine this past year.

“I wouldn’t say its (NCAA connections) overshadowed, but we are in a WHL market,” says Mylmok, who played four seasons at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. “Most of our players grow up in the West and they are not familiar with the NCAA. We do a great job educating our players/parents about the NCAA and through our connections we get Division I teams on our campus and have them watch us on the road as well. Academically we prepare our players to go to university and NCAA teams know they will get player(s) that can balance their school and hockey.”

On top of the NCAA, since Notre Dame’s locker rooms consist of many out-of-province players, Wilcox attracts scouts and recruiters from several premier junior leagues. This past year was a prime example of that with six players going in the QMJHL draft and two in the USHL draft.

"Hockey opens the door to so many different avenues and we are fortunate that we have strong ties to all those leagues (USHL, QMJHL and OHL)," Mylmok notes.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen