In case you missed the announcement, the National Hockey League has designated February as “Hockey is for Everyone” month.

But Ken Campbell, a senior writer for The Hockey News, argues that hockey in Canada is becoming the province of an elite few who seem willing to pay any price and make any sacrifice to see their sons play in the NHL.

Campbell has combined with long-time minor-hockey coach and executive Jim Parcels to write Selling the Dream: How Hockey Parents and Their Kids Are Paying the Price for Our National Obsession.

Most Canadians are aware of the small percentage of youngsters who are fortunate to make it to the NHL. Campbell pins the chances at 1-in-1,000 and points out that if parents took the $100,000 they would spend on a typical minor Triple-A hockey career and bought tickets for a single Loto 6/49 draw, their chances of winning would be 1-in- 300.

And Campbell notes that a $100,000 investment would be a bargain. Hockey parents are aware of the spiralling cost of equipment, with $800 skates and $250 composite sticks, and the rising cost of ice time. But these expenses are becoming the tip of the iceberg.

More players and their parents are seeking specialized fitness regimens, schools that stress hockey training and summer programs. Campbell notes that parents whose sons become deeply involved in minor hockey must have a large amount of disposable income or be willing to make huge sacrifices.

The book is filled with stories of parents making such sacrifices and not all of them have happy endings.

Matt Duchene’s father, Vince, estimated it cost $322,000 for his son to play hockey from his start as a mite to joining the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League. The family gave up vacations and Vince had to take time off from his job as a realtor, but the sacrifices paid off. The Colorado Avalanche made Duchene the third overall pick at the 2009 NHL draft and he now earns $3.5 million a season.

Max Strang’s story is one of the most compelling in the book. His family moved from Pennsylvania to Toronto when he was 12 because they thought it would give him a better chance to reach the NHL. The plan hit an immediate snag when the peewee team he was supposed to play with in Toronto changed coaches while the family was en route and he was told there was no spot for him.

Strang’s father sold his business, his mother gave up her job and the family ran through its life savings while living on a sailboat for three years as Max played for three different teams, including one featuring a raw defenceman named P.K. Subban. The Strang story has a semi-happy ending. His parents split up, but Max is now wrapping up a career as the No. 1 goaltender at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.

Campbell points out one irony in the Strang saga. He might have been better off staying in Pennsylvania because four players from his draft year, including James Van Riemsdyk, grew up in the same area and all of them have seen action in the NHL

Campbell also relates numerous stories of families whose sons not only didn’t make the NHL, but saw their careers stall before reaching the major-junior or U.S. college level.

The book offers a reasoned look at the major junior vs. U.S. college debate and Campbell notes both routes have become more difficult with the growing competition for roster spots from U.S. players.

The authors also look at injuries, which have been cited as a factor in the decline of registrations at the minor level in Canada. They note it’s important for athletes and the people around them to be aware of concussions and that many injuries are the result of teams playing too many games.

Campbell offers a number of suggestions, including no elite hockey below the peewee level, more exposure to other sports and the development of more outdoor rinks based on the model of the Canadiens’ community rinks in Montreal.

As for the dream, Campbell says dreams are important, but they must be accompanied by perspective and balance.

phickey@montrealgazette.com">phickey@montrealgazette.com

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