Haven't been on in a bit. Sorry for late response.
You youngins get a lot of empty promises by showcases, tournaments, camps, etc. My kids get tons of emails and calls by these places. They talk a good game, sell you on a dream, and leave you with a lot less money and feeling almost forgotten in the end. It's shitty. They lie. Sounds like you're getting this treatment heavily.
Hate to say it - it's hard to come to the realization that your sports career can only go this far.
I did it with baseball myself. D1 to D3 to whatever. I played into my 40s still. All great memories.
You can work as hard as you can but in the end, the guys who advance are absolute freak shows in talent and size and a ton of luck. Not catching that ride isn't a bad thing.
You've had some killer experiences with hockey. Sure the game play or coaching sucked (most times they do regardless) - but whatever. You got to do more than most others have. You may think you're living a crappy time - but there are hundreds of other people who wish they did a fraction of what you did.
Be proud of what you've done and where you've been. Don't stop playing. Go wherever you can go and do it proudly.
99% of guys playing adult league would have given their left nut to play any type of college hockey. Let alone the Juniors teams you been a part of.
Like Chenner said, you are gaining more life skills than you can imagine. Not to mention that you will also have stories that every other dad will ENVY forever. You'll see.
Nobody sees what they have while they're in the thick of it. You're 100% normal in thinking how you are now.
Us older guys will tell you that you're doing it perfectly. Trust us, you'll look back in time and really appreciate how awesome this is.