For hockey the likelihood of payoff in the form of a scholarship is very low.
The path to professional hockey is very different than most major sports. Typically, it's fairly rare for players to go directly from high school to college. Most high school programs aren't good enough to prepare a kid for an NCAA Division 1 college program. Most D1 schools get a good number of their players from juniors hockey, either in the US or Canada - which means they are recruited to begin their college careers when they are overage for their academic year - commonly by 1 year, sometimes by as much as 3 or 4. These are the players who aren't likely to turn pro. The elite players who want to turn pro typically have to enroll at expensive/far away boarding schools with a strong hockey pedigree (Google Shattuck-St. Mary's or Phillips Exeter), and often end up trying out for the US National Team Development Program, which means a year of that specifically, and a lot of travelling / late start to college also, if they go the college route. Kids that go the juniors route are often tutored while they play, so they end up at an economic disadvantage to their peers.
If the kid is good enough, he's unlikely to finish his college career - he may only play 1-2 seasons, then try and turn pro. So the payoff would be in the form of turning pro, but he'd have to return to finish his education later if his plans don't pan out, and without the scholarship. The lure of pro money is often too good to pass up, though non-star players offered the opportunity to sign and play minor league hockey will typically finish out their college careers because the likelihood of success is lower (which is most).
Basically, you have to ask yourself if this is something your kid wants, or you want. If it's something that's going to make him happy, and be fun, it can be a valuable investment with many good life lessons. Hockey, in my opinion more than any other sport, teaches the values of teamwork, selfless action, perserverance, and humility. It's probably the only major sport where "ME ME ME" is frowned upon in a major way. It generally creates well adjusted adults who may not be the most intelligent people on the planet, but know how to work together and have strong communication skills (which you learn on the ice). However, if you view payoff strictly in the form of what it will save you down the road in college scholarships, know that would be an extremely unlikely outcome, unless your kid is already generally skating circles around the opposition. And if you go that route, it will likely require many more sacrifices from you on the way, such as tuition at an expensive boarding school to access great coaches, etc.
