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Kevin Gagne of New Brunswick is years away from any formal contact with the University of Maine staff, but he already believes his future holds a stop in Orono. Observers say he is not alone in committing at a younger age.

Gagne, a 15-year-old defenseman at Rothesay Netherwood School in New Brunswick, set a goal to play Division I college hockey. It wasn't just a path of dreams. It was a path of practicality. Gagne wanted to prove he could play at one of the sport's highest levels and he wanted to get a college education.

At the age when most high schoolers prepare to get their driver's license, Gagne prepares for college. In November, Gagne gave the Maine hockey program a verbal commitment, but he won't join the Black Bears until at least the fall of 2010.

"To know where I was going in the future, I thought it would be really important to have hockey and have an education," Gagne said. "That was the package for me."

Gagne's early commitment to the Black Bears exhibits a growing trend in the sport. Players are verbally committing to college programs at younger ages, at least a year before they can sign a national letter of intent, which legally binds a player to a college athletic program in exchange for financial aid. It mirrors the trend of Division I college basketball, where prospects as young as 14 give Division I coaches a vow to play for their programs.

"We first saw this about five years ago and I wrote a story about it and asked, 'Why is this happening? Is this a good thing?'..." said Nate Ewell, an editor of Insidecollegehockey.com. "Now it seems like every team has a few kids that commit that early. They all have their freshman classes mapped out three years in advance."

Gagne also has seen the trend grow.

"It's starting to happen," said Gagne, whose team played in last week's Maine High School Hockey Invitational. "There are Web sites where you can see where 2010 (graduation year) kids starting to commit to colleges. I guess sometimes (colleges) recruit them early so they can keep them away from major junior programs. I think it's a trend."

Mark Anthoine, who committed to Maine nearly a year ago as a 16-year-old, also has seen the trend and he believes changes should be made in the recruiting process.

"It's even younger when you go out West," said Anthoine, a Lewiston native who plays junior hockey for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. "There are kids two years younger than me who are already committing to schools. I think there's got to be some (restrictions) if it gets out of control."

But with his future plans determined, Gagne remains grounded. At 5-foot-8, he is not a prototypical defenseman. Still, he has speed, a snapping wrist shot and a keen ice sense -- knowing where his teammates are and how to utilize all of his surroundings. That quality, Rothesay Netherwood Coach Jamie McDonald believes, is vital in a college-caliber player.

But for players who make an early commitment to a college program, it comes with the understanding that their next few years are formative. How they develop determines where they will fit into a college's plans down the road.

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from discussing recruits before they have signed, and the NCAA has strict guidelines for recruiting. The NCAA allows coaches to accept but not return phone calls from high school freshmen and sophomores. Prospects are allowed up to three unofficial campus visits, where they can talk to coaches on campus. Schools cannot pay for the visits.

When college coaches can't talk to players, coaches like McDonald become the intermediary in the process.

"That's what you'll see more and more," said McDonald, who was an executive with Hockey Canada for 10 years. "Coaches can talk to coaches but not to players. (Maine has) been up front with me and I've shared that information with Kevin."

Ewell said there is a potential downfall of making an early commitment, such as a change in the coaching staff, a change of heart for a player, or even academic issues. But Gagne and Anthoine...