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I always thought it'd be nice if teams made offers before tryouts to the players they wanted to keep in order to dial down on some of the chaos. I know baseball clubs that do that and it works out for everyone. Then you see parents signing up their kids for 3-4 tryouts because off their own paranoia of being 'left out' if everyone else leaves. I always felt bad for the kids getting dragged around to multiple tryouts, especially the ones who got cut a few times and had to keep going.

Going to hazard a guess that hockey ops in the various orgs got tired of trying to form a team and making offers to kids playing the tryout circuit and getting turned down. Used to be you made the top team, you stayed. I think its selfish to try out somewhere you have no intentions of playing for, and that happens a lot, people keeping their kids feet moving for school tryouts, too. You mess things up pretty badly for the org and there is a ripple effect....that offer could have been made to a kid who wanted it, now you want to offer to that kid but they've moved on. Too much power is in the hands of parents around here. I know you all like it. It's not that way everywhere.

I think it's a little more nuanced than that. I would give pens credit for a players development if they played both 14u and 16u years there. These are the most important. I wouldn't give them credit for a 12 year old who leaves for prep school. That seems a little silly. I also don't give them credit for someone they import for the 16u team for a year who then immediately leaves to play juniors. The hard fact is there are very very few pens players who start young and stay in the program through 16u and are successful. As a matter of fact, and speaking to their own development model, not a lot of kids develop to even make the 16u team (or maybe they are leaving due to all the extra requirements/money like excel north catholic etc.).

Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the many wisdoms this forum provides. So far it's generally understood that, Good players leave PPE but we should credit the players' success to the team they left for. Good players come from elsewhere to PPE but credit should go to the organization they came from. The new one I got to wrap my head around, Good players start at PPE and stay there but we should credit the father's training and hype. Any others I'm missing?

Armstrong Arrows were unable to field 16U and 18U Non-National Bound Teams.

I heard some teams, not 12u, already folded. Is this true?

Knowing the most you can about what you're paying for and committing to is a fair ask.

He's right, and the family knows how to hype the kid.

Some of them sadly probably do pay some snake out there to advise them.

Armstrong Arrows have a few openings at 12U - All skill levels. Please reach out to Arrows Hockey Director at: aahlhockeydirector@yahoo.com

What exactly is in an offer beyond the spot on the roster? I love how some talk about receiving offers like they need to discuss with their agent.

I'll take your word for it! It wouldn't surprise me.

Not!! Just like his cousin, it's 90% Jon Sr. and his training methods.

I watched the game against Slovakia today, and that kid has acceleration like a freaking rocket!

I didn't see that, but kudos to them. We need more of that.

He's excellent. Probably one of the only kids the pens can actually take credit for.

Humphreys left the pens because his brother was cut if I recall - we are getting past the birth years I know much about these days. The mom ran the pens sled or special needs team, don’t recall which. Parent’s got pissed and sent their kids off to prep school. Probabaly the correct decision for the better kid even though it was made with emotion. All of us old timers know who the Mooney familay is - who they are related to. Never saw the kid play, couldn’t tell you how good he is.

I do recall seeing the guy with the Huskies account say in s post here that they will wait to see what they have before claiming a certain level. Or something to that effect.

Bishop Kearney

Everyone this time of year thinks they become a mastermind. Organizations, parents, and players. We all make it the free-for-all James Gatz mentioned, and everyone wonders why there are so many disgruntled people out there. There has to be a better system than this one. You have organizations saying "come play for us, we're AA" without returning anyone or even knowing who will be on their team! Silly. However, they do that because a parent won't let their kid play there if that organization was honest and said "we won't know our level until kids come to tryouts, accept, AND STAY on the team." Why? "Maybe there is a higher level team out there you get on, Billy." To the "staying on the team" part, I don't know why organizations just don't charge a higher, non-refundable commitment fee to dissuade players from jumping after accepting. Yeah, so more well-off family may be willing to eat that fee, but it's less likely to happen if it really hurts. A $300 deposit is chump change compared to what this sport costs anyone on an annual basis. And more and more people are willing to eat that fee no matter the cost. James Gatz, I like any of those options better than this crapshow, but good luck getting anyone to jump on them. What about having a fourth option where independent organizations go first, then have a week off, then PAHL AA, then PAHL A/B, THEN supplementals? PAHL can't regulate the independents, but they can regulate their members. Logically, it should be AAA, then AA, then A, then supplementals for teams that need players to fill teams. I agree with the original premise, though: This overlapping (especially with supplementals taking place before other organizations even have tryouts) is bunk. Thoughts?

Actually not really any one thing. That's the point. Who are the coaches, does the kid fit in with the other kids, location, do the tryouts show that they will have a enough for a team or was turnout weak, what team will the kid place on, what kind of schedule will there be (will practices or out-of-town travel conflict with school hockey).... There's lots of stuff. Things change year to year everywhere. Whether the kid has stuck with one team for his whole life or played for a few, sometimes kids or a parent want to explore a change. And sometimes they don't, and that works out also.

Local hockey organizations did little to contribute. Or at least, there's more to the story than local hockey.

There are plenty of ways the tryout season could work. The current model is basically a free agency free for all. I am not sure that's not the best. It let's the kids play where they want to play and lets organizations build teams. Players have to be selective with where they tryout and have commitment fees at stake if they want to play the field. The system isn't perfect, but it works. Thinking through potential alternatives each have their own issues. The independent teams add a layer of complexity, for a league like the PAHL, they could have some league rules tryouts/offers. (of course those rules would have to approved by organizations, who are not likely to vote against their interest). Option 1--An offer clearinghouse. It could work like residency placements for doctors. Players tryout at different places. Players and organizations submit priority list to the clearinghouse and the clearinghouse matches players with teams. Players have no choice but to play for that team. Does anyone really want this and trust the clearinghouse? Talk about taking away a coaches role in building a team. Option 2--Impose geographical boundaries on team formations. Any takers? Option 3--Schedule tryouts so there are few overlaps and require organizations to keep offers open until league-wide commitment date. No organization would vote for this and it likely would lead to lots of supplementals. I'm sure there are other approaches, but I can't think of any that improve on the current approach. The current approach maximizes the individual player's freedom of choice. Some of those choices have consequences...

offers on a team that is good enough for Johnny

What are you shopping for that you are going to find out at tryouts?