双语冰球｜经纪人过早介入青少年球员及其家庭

双语资料库

1. Marginal player 边缘球员

2. Hockey agent／recruiter 冰球经纪人

3. NHLPA = National Hockey League Players’ Association 北美冰球联盟球员工会

4. Curb 控制，限制，约束（不好的事情） e.g. curb the temper 控制脾气

5. Elite 精英 e.g. an elite hockey player 一名精英冰球运动员

6. Be/become accustomed to (doing) sth. 习惯于（做）某事

7. Anonymity 匿名

8. Pseudo 假的，冒牌的

9. Tournament 锦标赛

10. Coincide （两件或更多的事情）同时发生

最后，为了大家更好的理解本篇文章，除了大家都熟悉的NHL（北美冰球联盟），小编再带大家了解一下CHL的相关内容。

CHL（Canadian Hockey League）中文是加拿大冰球联盟，它是一个主要为16到20岁精英青少年冰球运动员提供平台的综合性组织，下属有三个联盟，Western Hockey League、Ontario Hockey League和Quebec Major Hockey League。CHL建立于1975年，其前身是Canadian Major Junior Hockey League。直到2016-2017赛季，这三个联赛一共有60支球队代表9个加拿大省份（其中52支球队）和4个美国大州（其中8支球队）。

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在想得到天才球员的战争中，经纪人们甚至在孩子们还未到青少年时就开始联系他们了。现在是不是应该对这种“追逐”有所管理了？

In the war to secure talent, agents are going after kids before they even hit their teens. Is it time to curb the chase?

在多伦多，现在有个男孩在打少年联赛，你也许从来没有听说过他，但也许不久之后你就会了。然而，他也可能在三年之内不再打冰球，或者在青年或大学联赛里成为边缘球员。我们决定不公布他的名字，但他现在真的非常非常棒。他正在多伦多的一个精英冰球学校，努力跳过自己的年龄组去到GreaterToronto Hockey League最好的AAA组织之一。他身强体壮，技术娴熟，前途一片光明。

There is a boy playing minor hockey in Toronto you haven’t heard about yet but probably will before too long. Then again, he could be out of hockey in three years or become a marginal player in junior or college hockey. We have chosen to not publish his name. But he’s very, very good. He’s attending an elite hockey academy in Toronto and is thriving a year above his age bracket for oneof the top Triple-A organizations in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. He’s big and he’s skilled and he has lots of promise.

他也仅仅才12岁。他的家人也一直不断接到来自球员经纪人的电话，包括那些已经拥有很多上百万身价球员的经纪人们。他也不是唯一的。球员们，特别是在加拿大最大城市的球员，都已经习惯于在他们13、14岁时被经纪人们联系，其中有些人已经有经纪人了。

He’s also just 12 years old. And his family has been getting calls from player agents. The same agents who represent multimillionaires playing in the NHL have been contacting the parents of a 12-year-old kid. And he’s not the only one. Players, particularly in Canada’s biggest city, have become accustomed to being contacted by agents during their bantam years, (ages 13 and 14) and some of them already have representatives.

“他是人们公认的‘下一代巨星,’”来自M-Five Sports 的球员经纪人AntonThun说道。“人们觉得他可能成为下一个Connor McDavid或者John Tavares。很多经纪人公司都和那个家庭的人聊过了，老实说，我们也和他们谈过。我们给了一些关于我们的信息，让他知道我们是存在的。我们不会允许其他经纪人公司到我们‘后院’来抢走我们最好的球员。”

“He’s the one people think is ‘The Next One,’” said Anton Thun, a longtime player agent M-Five Sports. “People think he might be the next Connor McDavid or John Tavares. Numerous agencies have spoken with the family and, quite honestly, we have spoken with the family. We’ve gotten information into his hands to let him know we exist. We’re not going to let other agencies come into our backyard and take the best player.”

另一位要求匿名的经纪人说，“这很残忍，但我也没办法，我不想去做但是如果我不做，我就没有生意可做了。现在可不是谁先赢的问题，现在是谁下手快的时代。

Said another agent who requested anonymity, “It’s brutal and it’s getting out of hand. I don’t want to do it, but if I don’t, I’m going to be out of business. Now it’s not about who wins the battle, but who gets there first.”

到底认证和管理球员经纪人的NHL球员工会会不会对此采取行动我们尚且不知道。设置“年龄限制”是在NHL球员工会夏季经纪人见面会上是一个受到热烈讨论的话题，工会也曾向经纪人们发送了一封公函来决定这项事宜是否应该被商议。作为自己任命的冒牌经纪人管理机构，NHL这次似乎是唯一能让经纪人自救的组织机构了。

Whether the NHL Players’ Association, which certifies and regulates player agents, is prepared to do something about it remains to be seen. Setting age restrictions was a hot topic at the NHLPA’s meeting with agents in the summer, and the union has since sent out a missive to agents to determine whether it’s an issue that needs to be addressed. And as the self-appointed pseudo-governing body foragents, it appears the NHLPA is the only institution that can save the agents from themselves on this one.

“针对招募新球员的年龄限制的问题要暂时搁置一下，因为在冰球峰会上讨论选秀年龄和发展正在进行中，”NHL球员工会发言人在邮件中说道，意味着今年夏天举办的HockeySENSE会议青少年冰球将会成为花时间第二多的一项议题。

“The matter of the age restriction regarding recruiting is something that is somewhat on hold while the Hockey Summit discussions regarding draft age, development are ongoing,” said an NHLPA spokesman in an email, referring to the Hockey SENSE meetings that took place this summer, the second of which spent agood chunk of time focused on youth hockey.

作为一个组织，经纪人们在联系球员们的时候也想要有一个年龄限制。第一，这创造了人人机会都均等的局面。这同样意味着经纪人可以花时间做更高效的事情，而不是仅仅在当地的场馆追逐那些13、14岁的球员们。他们给球员们发展的时间越多，每个人犯错误的机会就会越少。

As a group, the agents want to have age limits put on them when it comes to contacting prospects. For one, it levels the playing field for everyone. And it also means they can spend their time doing more productive things than chasing bantam players around cold local arenas. The longer they give players to develop, the less chance there is for a mistake to be made by everyone involved.

“在1980年代，我们招募18岁的孩子们，”Thun说道，“但现在我却被叫去看一场13或14岁孩子们打的冰球比赛。”

“Back in the 1980s, we recruited 18-year-old kids,” Thun said, “but now I’m being asked to go watch a hockey game where there’s a 13- or 14-year-old kid.”

唯一的问题是如果有一两个无赖的经纪人仅仅在青少年时期去追逐那些孩子们，每个经纪人都会被迫去那样做，那么就可能错过最好的球员们。这和如何引导NHL工资帽的原理是一样的。在美国大学球队招募球员时没有年龄限制，也有孩子仅仅在青少年时期就参加了不同的项目，虽然在选择进入Major Junior Hockey或者NCAA时，他们承诺他们没有和经纪人有所绑定。WHL有青少年选秀，人们也经常谈到说OHL会跟风。所以我们可以发现年轻的球员被期待做出重大的决定，包括他们是否需要经纪人或者家庭顾问。

The only problem is that if one or two rogue agents chase after kids barely in their teens, everyone is forced to do it or risk missing out on the best players. It’s pretty much the same principle that guides the salary cap in the NHL. There’s no age limit on when U.S. college teams can recruit players, and there have been examples of kids barely in their teens committing to programs –albeit making commitments that are not binding when it comes to choosing between major junior hockey and the NCAA. The WHL has a bantam draft, and thereis always talk the OHL might follow suit. So young kids are being expected to make monumental decisions, including whether they need an agent or family advisor.

但像其他事情一样，在处理年轻球员时还做的不错。瑞典在处理这个问题上有一个很好的方法。在瑞典大概有50个球员经纪人，他们与瑞典球员的组织也一个协议，就是他们不能在球员们满16岁那一年的一月一日之前找他们，这与球员们第一次有机会进国家队的时间相重合。每年秋天，国家都会举行电视转播的冰球锦标赛来找到最好的15岁以下的球员们。这基本上就是第一次那些精英球员们的亮相，然后到一月，他们就可以联系经纪人了。在规定时间前直接或间接的联系球员的经纪人第一次将会受到警告，第二次被罚款，第三次就有可能被吊销执照。

But like so many other things it does well when it comes to dealing with young players, Sweden appears to have come up with a great way of dealing with this problem. There are about 50 agents/recruiters in Sweden, and they have an agreement with the Swedish players’ association that they cannot approach or be approached by any player prior to Jan. 1 of the year he turns 16. That coincides with the first time they have an opportunity to be selected for anational team. Every fall, the country holds its annual TV Puck tournament featuring the best 15-and-under players. That’s basically the first time elite players are identified, and by January, they can make contact with an agent. Agents who directly or indirectly contact players prior to the set date are first warned, then fined, then risk having their licenses revoked.

同样经纪人也会和瑞典冰球协会合作，一同制裁、约束和惩罚那些通常过度声势浩大自行联系经纪人或已经签过合同的球员家长们。

And the agents are also working with the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to try toput sanctions in place that penalize players whose (often overaggressive) parents reach out to agents or sign an agreement with one.

“如果我接到一个家长为了找经纪人的电话，第一件事我会问‘所以，你们没有经纪人吗？’”瑞典长期的一位CAA经纪人Claes Elefalk说道。“第二个问题是，‘他多大了？’如果答案是还没有到今年将满16岁的情况，我就必须说，‘噢，我们有规定，我必须马上挂电话了，你只能在之后才能打给我。’我甚至不能被允许与他们交谈超过五分钟、发邮件或做其他的事儿。我必须说这个方法在瑞典是很管用的。”

“If I get a call from a parent looking for an agent, the first thing I ask, ‘So,you don’t have an agent?’ ”said longtime Sweden-based agent Claes Elefalk of CAA. “The second question is, ‘How old is he?’ And if it’s before Jan. 1 of theyear he turns 16, I have to say, ‘Oh, we have a rule that means I need to hang up the phone immediately and you can only call me back the first of January.’ I’m not allowed to even speak for five minutes or send an email or anything. I must say it has been working really well in Sweden.”