And all these Faux AAA teams besides Pens and possibly Esmark will never be competitive until politics are set aside and the best players are chosen. Obviously, I that will never happen so your best bet to play at a higher level is make Pens/Esmark or leave Pittsburgh and roll the dice.
Dad is an excellent skater and skills coach. I am glad for Ty, but we all know how hard it is to make it when you aren't big. I thought the NHL was trending towards skill and speed for a while, but not the last two seasons. I would prefer that game over 'grit' and 'goons' as defined by the Canadians...