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Does anyone have photos of the old Airport ice rink? I mean besides the ones you can use Google to find.

It kinda sounds like Canada’s secret to producing the world’s best hockey players for multiple generations; has finally been unveiled…The love to play the game against higher competition while having a sheet of ice to skate on…plus genetics, of course… I’m being facetious. But, my point remains nonetheless…(plus the money thing is quite important, if that wasn’t already assumed).

Bingo. And hockey being a major priority than most people can imagine. Also working on the ice with guys currently playing in the highest level certainly doesn't hurt.

I think a lot of it has to do with two things, genetics and the fact that they have their own refrigerated rink!

I’d love to know a little bit more about Jon Sr’s training methods. I don’t know any details, but it seems to me that he’s obviously doing something right. If anyone that has any information that they’d be willing to share privately and confidentially (i.e. written plan, home exercise program, nutritional assessment and any supplements, seasonal/time of the year protocols, etc) please feel free to DM me. There’s a ton of newer sport-specific training methods centered on the holistic approach…especially the previously much-overlooked side of sports involving mental health and management. There’s still so much information and knowledge to be gained.

I'd say that is a success! Now - how many people pay how many dollars to have a success rate that you can find one person? Serious question. If you are being sold this is the premier program and the way to make it to the big leagues and dumping 40K per year on it when we include excel + NC, is it worth is? I'm not even doubting its the best program in the area.

There is no such thing as open tryouts when the coach carries over year to year. Or at best, there's very, very few.

You would no longer be able to say that you are having "open" tryouts. Although that is basically a farce for most places, but would cut into try out fees generated.

I like this idea. You know you have a team and are provided something in writing, however you still need to tryout for the organization so that the coaches can make accurate comparisons of potential new players. And if you don't have the heart to tell kids...sorry you're not cutting it, then maybe you're not cut out to be a coach. I know a kid who was the leading scorer on his team last year and thought he had a good relationship with the coach and decided to only try out for that team because that's the only place he wanted to play (it was a PAHL team). Low and behold, he was cut for a bunch of "ringers" and now he's scrambling to find something. Just a crappy situation to be in.

That's a very interesting thought. The only drawback I can think of is that a lot of organizations/coaches may not have the heart/balls to tell the kids they don't want to keep.

16U Yetis tryouts start this evening (Friday the 26th) at 5:30pm. Registration is still open. Info can be found here, then by clicking on the "MIDGET 16U (08/09) - NATIONAL BOUND TEAM" tab. Last season's team was A Major Black, and they are shooting for AA this season. They had fourteen '08s on that team, and ten of them are returning. According to the board member I spoke to, they are hoping to have TWO teams at the 16U level, and already have over thirty kids signed up for tryouts. So if you know any 16U kids still looking for homes, there is still time to register.

How about we give credit to the kid. I don’t think any coach or program deserves all the credit for any player advancing. Talent has to be there. Kid has to want it and work hard. Coaches can’t do anything about either of those criteria. Yes coaches can and do influence how players advance, but without talent and dedication to hard work, kids aren’t going anywhere.

I think I found 1 player that fits your criteria! From Western PA Played,PPE 14U,15U,16U, Invited to NTDP tryout Drafted USHL Boston University Commit Drafted 3rd round NHL Who gets the credit?

Maybe we could give a little credit to the kids themselves for taking some natural talent and adding in a bunch of hard work and dedication. And the team or organization where they played or trained only played a small part. I'm pretty sure if Mooney adopted any of our kids years ago and sprinkled his magic training on them, they still wouldn't be representing the USA at world championships.

That's correct. Because he was far and away that much better than everyone else at 07 when he got to PPE because of the dad. This preceded the Elite Mites (still love that) and Jon was the Coach and the kid was playing for the 06 team.

For those that want to keep up with Team USA: https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2024u18mwcschedule

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.