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Tier 3 juniors not Div 3 NCAA. Just making sure everyone is on the same page.

I replied earlier, not sure why it didn’t take. if nothing has changed, ppe is just the host. The ushl puts on this promotion showcase for their leauge. They do a few of these a year in different cities. They only invite the “top” youth programs. The ushl coaches and scouts will be there. This is another reason in a long list why PPE is where your kid needs to play in western pa if you or your kid think they have a chance at anything after youth hockey. I don’t really like saying it, it’s just the truth.

In the spirit of making a knowledgeable consumer, this can all be summed up to Buyer Beware. No one can say a kid or a team should or shouldn’t compete at a certain level. Maybe for some reasons it’s the best fit for them. …but people also need to be realists and know what they’re getting into and know what they’re actually getting. If you’re going solely off MHR and National wins, that’s going to give you one answer. If you have a borderline AAA/AA kid that would benefit more from actually getting into a team and facing AAA competition than they would being a top 1-5 on a AA team, it’ll give you an another answer. There are some teams, organizations and parents who just want the ego stroke of saying your AAA. There are some that truly are national powerhouses. Then there are others that do develop kids but just aren’t national competitors. And yes there are some that are pure money grabs. Idk any organization well enough to pigeon-hole any of them. But I’m sure they all fit somewhere around that continuum. Unfortunately or fortunately the free market will dictate the number of teams. Personally I do think there are too many AAA teams, AA teams etc. I think there should be more in-house and cost effective programs and less travel and have travel reserved more for truly the top 50 percent of an areas players divided up from AAA to B because the output of time, money, and travel for travel hockey doesn’t give a reasonable return on investment. That being said, that will never happen. Just my two cents.

9 AA teams for u18, yea ok......... prob should be 4-6 not 9. bet blowouts happen for sure

Nah, many more players than an average of the top 3. This is just last year - during covid rules and a transfer portal. http://nahl.com/player-advancement/college/index.cfm?season=2021

For arguments sake maybe kids should just age out at 16! No PAHL or any other recreational leagues. Only Tier 1 hockey. And only the top 30 programs in the country. Why should anyone else waste their money? (Oh I forgot maybe there are some kids who just really like to play the game at the highest level they can!)

Jake Coleman, Hornets, PPE, NAHL, USHL, Robert Morris, ECHL Ben Kuzma, PPE, NCDC, NAHL, back to NCDC, Div 3 Patrick O’Neal, PPE UNTIL U18 where he then went to Esmark, CCHL, NCDC, EHL, Div 3. Michael Hertzberg, PPE, Vengeance U16&18, back to PPE U18, USPHL Premier, EHL, Div 3. Matt Krieger, PPE, NCDC, Div. 3

Add these guys to NCAA Div. 3 Wyatt George - Predators, OJHL, Babson Ryan Brown - Predators, OJHL, NCDC, Hamilton

Many players are opting to play High School hockey only, more so now than any time I can recall.

I have heard of top ACHA teams wanting their players to experience juniors before they will talk to them. Ohio Bobcats for example, have some kids from Western , Pa. Only a handful didn't play juniors. Again, it comes down to whether your kid wants to continue to grind and your willingness as a parent to fund that if you have to pay to play . There have been alot of highly skilled kids playing tier 3 juniors because covid screwed things up for a while and changed all the rules. Heck, there are kids that are div. 1 players playing div. 3 because covid changed the rules. Things are still sorting themselves out because of the pandemic.

Right! God forbid a kid (er, young man) still have the drive to play for a National championship, or want to compete or continue to stay active, represent his school in a sport he loves. So now we've moved from the faux AAA argument to Div 3 is a waste as well. For Pete's sake.....let the kids play without dismissing their dreams. Every one of them works hard to make a roster spot on a div. 3 team as well. Clearly some of you only played or had kids play for the status - if they couldn't be the top it was all a waste. pffff .....it all leads to bear league even for Sid Crosby. ! Holy heck...

I am doing the same thing, educating people. What I have had to say is also pertinent to this discussion. I have said what tier 3 is. It is an experience that could lead to higher levels of hockey. And it might not.

Personally I'd rather my son choose to play junior hockey at 18-20 years old and pay $15k/yr for it, take some online courses to figure out what field of study he wants to really pursue all while playing good hockey and making lifelong friends and memories, than make him decide what school he "needs" to go to straight out of high school that may or may not have a club hockey program he could play for all while paying $40k a year to the college, PLUS the club hockey dues only to find out a couple years in its not the right fit and have to start over or abandon it all together. Every single player and family have different views on the right path. Statements like the one below are so antiquated and out of touch with the reality of todays youth it makes me cringe. People are waiting until their mid thirties before getting married and having kids now. Letting your kid play a couple years of junior hockey is not going to "set him behind his peers". "Be aware that to some extent you may be setting them behind their peers. Their friends will start getting real jobs, married, starting families. Your kid will still be messing around with hockey and school. Maybe having a hard time finding a girl because they aren't making money. Mentally that can be hard. All to extend a hockey career that won't go past college for club hockey...."

The point of this board is to help educate each other about hockey especially people new to the sport. Yes people can spend their money however they choose. People on here just try to educate them so they don't unintentionally waste their money. It is absolutely insane to play pay to play juniors to play ACHA hockey. I repeat, it is insane to play pay to play juniors so you can play ACHA hockey. ACHA hockey is like everywhere else, if you are good enough you will get a shot. Not a bottom guy but a top player. PLEASE do not waste your money in tier 3 juniors so you can move on to ACHA hockey. If you go to a college with an ACHA program contact them and play there if you are good enough. If you are good enough they won't care what faux AAA team you played for or what tier 3 junior team you played for. Club hockey is a fun experience. The BS that you need to play tier 3 juniors is just that BS. If you would be a top one or two on the tier 3 junior team and still hoping to move on to a higher level (not ACHA club) then MAYBE take the gamble playing tier 3 understanding it will be very hard.

If someone wants the experience of playing juniors and is willing to pay why shouldn’t they? I know a couple of kids that did it for a year or two and then moved on to their life. I know kids that are willing to do it, and parents willing to pay for it, in order to earn a chance to play at higher levels of club hockey. Why does it bother you so much. I bet 95% of kids that play tier 3 are realistic about where it will take them.

Maybe not the NAHL? That's pretty good hockey where a few of the players do move on to USHL or NCAAD1.

Yet like I said before neither the SHAHA 2009 or Esmark 2009 are AAA. They will be ranked about 60 at best. I doubt even that high. A lot of great players on both teams but not AAA teams. In fact if you ask the parents of the top players on those teams they will tell you the same I bet.

In the opinions of this discussion I assumed we all realize you don’t need juniors to play at IUP, Pitt etc . It’s the equivalent of playing club. I’ve known a lot of kids that have enjoyed those programs. I assumed you all were referring to ACHA programs like Liberty or Ohio Bobcats. Those ACHA programs are built with mostly former junior players. I like the context of buyer beware. Clearly from the list above not many make it to div 1 and only a handful more to NCAA div 3 schools. If you don’t mind your kid NOT being a top player and aren’t in a hurry to push him out the door, can afford to give him the opportunity, and he wants to experience juniors - then so be it. It’s a unique , one of a kind experience. No other sport replicates it.