Belleville Bulls - Prospects

As a member of the Ontario Hockey League, the Belleville Bulls organization believes that receiving a quality education while playing for the Bulls is an integral part of the junior hockey development experience for young players. It is the Bulls goal not only to prepare players for further levels of hockey but also to help provide other opportunities beyond hockey. It is our belief that by providing strong education options to all players, it will help better prepare them for life after hockey. The Bulls organization believes that success off the ice will help build success on the ice.

Through the guidance of Bulls educational consultant Peggy Burris, educational programs are developed to help meet the needs and goals of each individual player. The Bulls organization and coaching staff works closely with teachers, parents along with the player to ensure that the player is maximizing their potential in the classroom.

School visits are made on a regular basis by the Bulls coaching staff and educational consultant to meet with educators to ensure that each player is performing to their capabilities. The Bulls organization has vast experience dealing with students from extremely diverse educational backgrounds and abilities and will use this knowledge to help each player meet their academic goals.

Over 95% of OHL Players were enrolled in either high school, college or university during the 2006-07 playing season.

All educational costs including tuition, room and board and books are paid for by the OHL Member Teams while players are playing in the OHL.

The OHL recognizes the importance of education and does it's best through scheduling to ensure that as little class time as possible is missed due to hockey. 90% of regular season games are played between Thursday and Sunday, making the OHL primarily a weekend League.

Because of the Bulls close proximity to most of the teams in the OHL, players miss only a few days of school each year due to hockey. During the 08-09 regular season, the Bulls did not play one road game that did not occur from Thursday-Sunday. Team practices are also scheduled to avoid any academic conflicts.

Each OHL player receives an Educational Allowance for each year he plays in the OHL. This money is received at the end of a player's OHL career if the player chooses to pursue their education.

Players in high school will attend Quinte Secondary School while those who have graduated high school have a multitude of post secondary options including Loyalist College and Queen's University along with numerous correspondence courses. The Bulls organization will work with each individual player to ensure that the best education path is taken to meet the specific needs of each student.

Season	Scholastic Player of the Year
82-83	Mike Clayton
83-84	Craig Billington
84-85	Craig Billington *
85-86	Brian MacDonald
86-87	Mike Arthur
87-88	Dean Haig
88-89	Ken Rowbotham
89-90	Derek Morin
90-91	Derek Morin
91-92	Darren McCarty
92-93	Paul McCallion
93-94	Jeff Ambrosio
94-95	Jeff Ambrosio
95-96	Kory Cooper
96-97	Chris Stanley
97-98	Chris Stanley
98-99	Chris Stanley Kelly Paddon
99-00	Kevin Baker
00-01	Matt Stajan
01-02	Matt Stajan
02-03	Eric Tobia
03-04	Eric Tobia
04-05	Eric Tobia Geoff Killing
05-06	Geoff Killing Matt Smyth
06-07	Geoff Killing Paul Cianfrini
07-08	Bryan Cameron Robert Stellick

* OHL Scholastic Player of the Year

Education After the OHL:

Many players choose go to school after their OHL career at Canadian Universities and play CIS Hockey. Recently, Bulls graduates have had extraordinary results in the CIS with three Canadian player of the year awards in the past six seasons. In 2003-2004 Chris Stanley won CIS Player of the Year while playing for Dalhousie while Kevin Baker won the same award in 2005-2006 while playing for Acadia. Both Stanley and Baker have go onto successful professional hockey careers. This season, former Bulls Captain Marc Rancourt was named CIS Player of the Year while attending St. Mary's University while another former Captain, Andrew Brown won the Dr. Randy Gregg Award as the most outstanding student-athlete.

Additionally, Michael Mole was named Championship Tournament MVP in 2004 as he led St. Francis Xavier to the CIS Men's Hockey National Championship. In 2006, Marc Rancourt was a member of Team Canada's entry at the World University Games held in Torin, Italy. Rancourt helped Team Canada win a gold medal in the event.

The following Bulls played hockey in the CIS this season while getting their university education.

Players that live out of area are placed in local homes where they are billeted for the year. Billets feed players, as well as making sure that players adhere to the curfew requirements made by the Bulls coaching staff. Potential Belleville Bulls billets go through an intensive screening process by the Bulls organization to ensure that they are suitable for the role.