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For all those people that complain about any rink, if there is playable ice, keep quiet. There was a time when there were very few rinks around, and all the kids that play now wouldn’t have had the chance to play without all the rinks we have now. Ice is ice. It gives kids a chance to play. If a rink is too dirty or not nice enough for you, go play golf.

I do not but I would guess that you could find serial killers across pretty much any demographic if you chose to. My actual surprise is how quickly you could rattle off former military serial killers. Hopefully, you're some sort FBI profiler or investigator.

Some people never played at the Golden Mile or Central Pittsburgh and it shows.

If it was $50 to access the video for the whole season, I wouldn't have a major issue with that. I doubt that is the case though. Technically, rinks with LiveBarn aren't supposed to let spectators stream although no one enforces it. Is the poor kid at the counter really going to walk through the stands and stop people from recording? The reason I know this is that during COVID restrictions, when there wasn't a lot of spectators allowed in some rinks, I asked the rink for permission for a student to go in and record the game so those who couldn't attend could watch. At that time, the rink was only allowing one parent per kid to enter. Anyways, the rink manager sent me their contract with LiveBarn showing that they were supposed to prevent anyone from filming the game and spectators should be told to use LiveBarn instead. As I said, no one enforces it in LiveBarn rinks - it just came up because we tried to be proactive and ask permission (mistake). BB will probably be a lot more stringent about these types of bans though, I would guess.

Well, it appears they realized there was another revenue stream to squeeze. I can't speak about whether their service is any good, but I'll say this: out east they own everything and maybe this isn't an issue, but what this means for us locally is that if you are a team whose home rink is a BB rink, you'll have to have both LiveBarn and BBTV if the grandparents want to watch the games, or if, like me, you normally download all the games for review.

Good lord this has turn south quickly. From a guy taking over from a horrible person to have semi pro hockey to a war veteran that is possibly a serial killer. I think anyone other than Jaison is a win in everyone’s book

In my experience the defensemen that show well in these type tryouts are the flashy selfish ones. Pickle's post (THANK YOU!) suggests they note the players that stand out like a "3 stars of the game". So a defenseman that does multiple escape moves in his own end and skates the puck up the ice and gets a goal or assist is going to look a lot more impressive than your "consensus top pens" that don't ever give up any scoring chances and just move the puck up to their teamates. That same flashy defenseman might be on the ice for every goal against but that isn't noticed as much as his skating around with the puck. That's just my guess not knowing the particular players or their style of play. Thanks again Pickles for the Comprehensive explanation of the process! And if my speculation about defenseman is wrong feel free to correct me.

Good topic and discussion so far. The selection process for Select 14s and 15s camps/tryouts is notably distinct from that of the Select 16s and 17s due to the greater availability of data on older players. Consequently, there are fewer opportunities at higher levels, such as 16s and 17s, where it is expected the top players have matriculated to the Tier I teams or prep teams or even junior teams compared to the lower levels of 14s and 15s, where a larger pool of players are invited to ensure a more thorough evaluation and get more looks at players who may not be as well known. This is particularly important for identifying standout Tier II players who might otherwise go unnoticed during the season. Evaluators for the camps come from diverse backgrounds, including coaches from various Tier I programs across the district, regular Mid-Am district evaluators (I am guessing referred to here as the "dinosaurs"), and other representatives from other district affiliated hockey programs like high schools and colleges. These evaluators provide a mix of perspectives, though some may have more knowledge of the player base than others. For the 14s and 15s, during the initial round of evaluations in Sylvania, typically 8-12 evaluators focus on skaters, with an additional 3 specifically dedicated to goalies. This ensures a comprehensive assessment of each player's skills and potential. In subsequent rounds, the number of evaluators is reduced as you don't have as much player base to cover and also to maintain more impartiality and try to avoid biases associated with specific programs as there is attempt for more independence and partiality. Player selection for the initial tryout camps is primarily based on evaluations and rankings provided by their head coaches, which you would expect the coaches to take their regular season statistics into consideration, but that is all the further that statistics come into play. I don't understand where people get this "taking regular season statistics into consideration". You can't compare statistics across teams with varying levels of competition and skill. Statistics of a Tier I player on a top Tier I program can't be compared to a Tier II team. Teams do not play in competitive leagues and strength of schedules can vary significantly. In previous years, evaluators utilized detailed spreadsheets to rate players (+/-) on specific skills like skating, shooting, puck handling, hockey sense, and competitiveness among others. The data was all fed into a computer and it spit out the top players, much like a bell curve. However, recent changes have shifted towards a more subjective evaluation approach. Evaluators now focus on identifying players who consistently stand out and make an impact during the sessions/games, akin to selecting "three stars" in NHL matches. They identify the top 8-10 players from each session/game, regardless of team (can all be on same team or mix between the two). This method prioritizes qualitative assessments over quantitative metrics, ensuring a more nuanced evaluation of each player's performance. It also keeps evaluators focused on the play and looking across players rather than trying to pick out certain players and looking at a particular skill in effort to complete their spreadsheet and in process missing plays by other players along the way. The data from all the evaluators is still fed into a computer and it spits out the top players to advance. Some players stand out all sessions/games, some may only make it on three, others two and others one or even none. Again, you still tend to get a bell curve and you are only going for the top half, so having a few good shifts or scoring a couple random goals may only get you so far. Also to note, all evaluation forms have the evaluator name and contact information on them. They are not anonymous. Again, you expect to see consensus across multiple evaluators across multiple games. Any evaluation that is suspect may have follow-up with an evaluator and any suspect rankings may get removed from process and evaluator may not be welcomed back, etc. So it is in their best interest to do their best. Following the initial round, approximately 70 players, representing about 50% of the initial tryout invites, advance to the second round. There the focus narrows to selecting the Top 15 players - Mid-Am is allocated about about 8-9 forwards, 5-6 defense and only 1 goalie spot, which is about 20-25% of those who make it to this stage - a little bit harder for goalies with only the 1 spot. Both the 14s and 15s get rated and ranked, even though the 14s don't advance to a national camp. The 15s advance to the national "camp", which brings good exposure itself as this is an important year for the 15s, and where the scouts for major juniors (USHL), major prep teams and other scouts for even colleges start to identify and target players. However, it is the older "festivals" at 16s and 17s is where players are working to earn spots on the national "select" teams to represent their country in the respective international tournaments. This is not to be confused with the NTDP. Players are not working for spots on the NTDP from these PDCs and Festivals - although not saying stand out performances in these events could come into play - just saying the NTDP is a different process. Also, for those not familiar the "development camps" are more focused on development and include practice sessions and tend to focus on individual player skills and provide feedback on improvement. The "festivals" are more about the competition and intend to serve more as a platform for showcasing talent in a more competitive environment. As players progress through subsequent age groups, competition for selection becomes increasingly fierce. The evaluation process evolves accordingly, with an emphasis on identifying players who demonstrate consistent improvement and adaptability across multiple years. While the system isn't perfect, I disagree that Mid-Am is not committed to sending their best players to advance and represent the district at national events. If you have any specific questions, feel free to DM me.

Just heard the league fired jaison and there are apparently new owners rebranding the team to make it legit. Should be exciting if it is marketed the right way and not the way the league ended last season.

I think at this point no one takes this seriously. It's just overpriced summer hockey.

You're about 2 decades late, maybe 25 years.

Or Bridgeville!?!?😂

It would be great if the Vengeance started throwing toy rats on the ice after a victory.

Great. Another streaming service to add on to the ever increasing number of apps and viewing platforms that I already pay out the nose for. What’s one more little, tiny, minuscule, hardly noticeable automatic recurring charge gonna do? BB is quickly moving down my personal scale of organizations who negatively impact my finances and lifestyle unnecessarily.

I don't think it's asking all that much for them to take care of their rodent problem. Especially when they are charging around 500 an hour for ice.

It's true that Alpha is a mess, but, man, there aren't many "nicer" rinks in the area, to be honest. Especially nicer rinks with three sheets of ice. The truth is that really decent facilities are rare in the region, sadly.

According to parents, there's like a dozen teams' worth of AAA players.

I did hear the tournament is going to be expanded this year. Don't know the details.

Well, yeah. We don't have 6 teams worth of AAA players here

So it’s basically going to be a mostly AA team paying AAA prices and paying for hockey equipment to be flown on airplanes?

I take the time I could be watching football, baseball, or basketball and spend it reading.

Where can one find these "Top 10 lists" of players, most of whom have barely reached puberty. If these players are true top players, then they should take it as a slap in the face and make it impossible to be overlooked next time. But this is where many players (because of the whiny parents) just sulk and complain. Players who are driven will instead use this as motivation.

Well, Black Bear can suck it. https://blackbearsportsgroup.com/blackbeartv/

I wasn't disparaging, just stating a fact. I guess you think those people I mentioned are Great Americans, since they're veterans and stuff.

Why a big deal he's former military? So was Charles Whitman, Jeffery Dahmer, Dennis Rader, and Gary Ridgeway. People act like being a veteran makes somebody a great person just by default.