College football’s national signing day is Feb. 6, when the best recruits in the nation sign their official letters-of-intent. The day is filled with press conferences and hat-wearing, as 18-year-old athletes decide where to play  football for the next four years.

While ACHA hockey doesn’t have the spectacle or frenzy of National Signing Day, recruiting is still an important tool to putting together a championship team. Illinois has done exceptional work on the trail over the past decade, and its effort led to national championships in 2005 and 2008.

Although this is head coach Nick Fabbrini’s first year on the job, he has become acclimated with the process of finding future Illini. He’s made phone calls to both high schools and junior hockey teams and utilizes the occasional off weekend to take in games in Springfield; he even went to Kalamazoo over Thanksgiving break.

In addition to contacts from his experience coaching for three years in the Chicago area at Fenwick High School, Fabbrini has been working on adding junior hockey coaches to his rolodex to look for players. 

With exhibitions against the St. Louis Junior Blues on Dec. 14-15, Fabbrini took the weekend as a recruiting pitch of sorts. The Blues players and coaches toured the campus and played at the Big Pond to get a taste for what hockey at Illinois entails.

While Fabbrini does a lot of work on the recruiting trail, current Illini players have an impact on recruiting as well. 

“The hockey world is very big, but also very close,” junior center Matt Welch said. “We all know each other, guys who we’ve played with. … It’s probably bigger for us as players getting other players than (Fabbrini), honestly.”

Welch said while he was considering school after playing junior hockey, he would come to Champaign and skate with the players — which is still a common practice today. The interaction gives players an idea of the competition and culture that goes into playing hockey at Illinois.

While ACHA hockey doesn’t have the same allure as a NCAA Division I or Division III school, Fabbrini is adamant that the entire package of Illinois outclasses other contenders. The head coach admitted when he decided to come to Illinois, the decision making process was split between hockey and the education.

However, the premier education can also be a hindrance for some players thinking about Illinois. With the strict academic standards of the University, some players just can’t make it. Fabbrini said he gets emails “every day from kids that have no chance” of getting into the school.

A detour that players can take, such as current players Scott Barrera and Josh Baker, is going through Parkland College to acquire credits and the necessary grades before transferring to Illinois.   

Although Illinois hockey, only a club sport rather than an NCAA varsity sport, rarely competes with premier hockey programs for top talent, Fabbrini believes the school is one of the premier destinations in the ACHA and even in the country. 

“We out-draw the majority of Division III teams (in attendance),” Fabbrini said. “I’d argue there’s nothing a Division III school can offer that we can’t, aside from an NCAA logo on the back of their helmets.” 

Even those with Division I-caliber talent don’t always make it. Since there are a limited amount of spots available for teams at that level, some players are in their senior year, Fabbrini said. “So you’ve got to set yourself up for afterwards.”

Stephen can be reached at [email protected] and @steve_bourbon.