Leaderboard

He was impressed with the extra "A"

As an official, sometimes you do miss the secondary assist, when that occurs I normally ask a coach or the goal scorer something like "which d-man made the 1st pass?" or something along those lines. They are good with giving me a number 99% of the time and I have to trust that they are going to give me the correct information. I only ask if I know that there was a 2nd assist and I missed the number, I won't hand out an assist just because a kid skates up to me and claims to have made a pass. If teams want to send in stats corrections, so be it. I'll be the first one to admit that I'm not perfect but I can say that I do the best job that I can when I'm out there. I always wanted my son to get credit for points when he deserved it back when he played so I make it a point to give these kids the same credit today.

Not to completely derail this thread, but the Preds are a joke. You mentioned you “spoke to the coaching staff”. That’s great. They will tell you anything you want to hear to get your tryout money and if your kid sucks up to them enough, or your wife is hot and flirtatious, your kid will make the team. However, he won’t see any playing minutes unless you are ponying up and taking weekly private or small group lessons with the coach. Thats a fact. DM me for more info. I know these guys personally and have for many years. Nothing ever changes. Ask some of the 08-12’s who have left because of those exact reasons. They over promise, under deliver, and over charge you.

@Chimp Life has earned an indefinite content moderation for being a nuisance! Congrats to Chimp for being the first of 2024 to get this honor!

They did have a Head Coach wearing an ankle monitor this season. I think that proves your point

One would suspect that the AAA Champion would disagree quite strongly?

Paid coaches, skills/goalie training, dryland, 12-15 summer practices, 2-3 weekly practices in season, 50-55 game schedule, 4-6 showcases, HUDL video, nicer locker room for Frozen Pond, THF schedule, feeling of superiority over Tier 2 Icemen and Yetis.

Thanks! Probably a blessing in disguise as we've had some pretty good offers come in that may serve him better than PE ever would. Excited to continue the journey 🙂

It's not about killing dreams but rather having realistic expectations. And why are so many parents so willing to part with their kids during such an important part of their overall societal development?

Since many have chosen to look down on the Aviators, I figured I would post a little upside (truth) for you about the Aviators. Full disclosure, I'm a parent. Yes, a few years ago they were down to only a small handful of teams. Two, maybe three teams left including their 19u ladies team. They secured a home at Alpha and since then have grown to 8 teams, with 4 this past season competing in PAHL AA division. Two of those teams competed in the PAHL 14u AA minor(2010) division and both were playoff teams. A bounce either way could have had both teams playing for the championship. One of those teams won the regular season and playoff championship. It was actually their second consecutive championship in that division. In fact, over the past 2 seasons that team has compiled a record of 86-15-4 with a goal differential of 518-201. They played everyone who would play them. The record alone should show they need to be playing higher level competition. The problem is, without the 3rd "A", they can't get those games. The only local AAA organization that would agree to play them was Vengeance. Yes, the Vengeance won the game 5-1 (for those who wish to find out what the final was) however, it was a tight game (2-1) through two periods. The Aviators wore down, plain and simple. It was their second game of the day vs. the Vengeance only game of the day. So for those to say can't even field a decent AA team, or it’s one “Dad Coach” who is recruiting, well those are just ignorant statements. They had 4 this past season with 2 fantastic teams in the 2010 group alone. Next, to say it's a money grab, again that's simply just ignorant. The kids earned their rights to play higher competition and as I stated before, they can't get those games without the 3rd "A". I was happy to see someone explain Tier 1 for those unaware, and I just learned the true difference this year. No, you can't simply declare Tier 1 AAA. Doesn't work that way, and as far as Tier 1 or Tier 2 goes, there are tons of 2010 Tier 1 AAA teams out there ranked well below the lowly 2010AA 14U 1 Aviators. Many teams ranked above them are there simply because of strength of schedule. Because they are "AAA", they can get those games and benefit greatly from it when it comes to MHR, which drives everything in youth hockey. Not gonna argue what “true AAA” is and what is not. Is PPE the top team? Yep. Quite honestly it doesn’t matter. It’s nothing more than a snap-shot in time. Where they are today. None of the A’s indicative of their collective hockey futures or futures in general. There are kids playing at that “top level” today who may trade it all in next year and play something else, or simply never develop beyond where they are today and there are “A” kids today who may develop into a highly recruited kid in 4 years. None of us know what will happen. As I disclosed earlier, I am an Aviator parent, and proud to be one. We drive an extremely long distance, not to “chase a third A” but to be with an organization that we are happy with. A place we have fun. A place where our kid is happy and healthy. The organization is an extended family for us. We have relationships with families from just about every team in the organization. It’s those types of things that attract people to the organization, which is why it has grown so much in the past 3 years. At the end of the day, we as parents make huge commitments and sacrifices for our kids, shouldn’t it be fun for all of us? So I would say, don’t bash an organization you really don’t know anything about, or at least preface your statements with, “I really don’t know anything about the Aviators today, but……”. This is really a great organization to be part of. Great kids, great families, great coaches. Let’s Fly Boys!!!

Aviators can't put together a good AA team let alone AAA. Since losing home ice, they struggled to put together any team. That's a good one. But they are trying something new. They have a home ice now? Who knows, roll of the dice. Some of these programs end up occasionally having some success, but it's a flash in the pan success. Usually it's a highly invested dad coach who heavily recruits and makes one good team. Then that kid ages out or moves on and the team falls apart. Vengeance is pretty much all new now. People who started it are gone. Who knows. You kind of have to be connected to that crew of talent to know where to go It's hard to recommend AA anymore. Most AAA is basically AA now. If I had a young player, I would not even know where to have them play these days. Coaching. At this point the best advice is to get good coaching. Fits into your schedule. Easy rink to get to. You can afford it. Good non drama to families.

Some may say the life experiences of living with a host family in a new city, and traveling the US and Canada while developing relationships with that family, coaches, and players all while pushing oneself to succeed at the highest level of their sport might be more beneficial than attending a dance at the Burgettstown Days Inn.

The back referee is the exact person to make that call. That is why they are there. There is no way the low official could have seen the spear through the crowd. Again, doesn't matter what the intent was. USA Hockey is very clear on it. Any spearing motion is 5+GM at a minimum. Not exactly sure who that official was, but I am familiar with the process for assigning those officials. They are all very experienced.

If there is that coach needs to be fired. Anybody that is so delusional that they think their amateur team is so important that their players shouldn’t play PIHL for whatever reason shouldn’t be allowed to coach at all. U15 AAA Preds will probably be sending 5 or 6 kids to the NHl right? What a joke!

I'm finding it wild that this thread has more traction than the tryout threads this year. Everyone must be getting old and we aren't recruiting enough mite parents.

Preds 09 AAA tryouts finished last night and they've already sent selections to their core. Deferring the rest to the 08 AAA tryouts tomorrow. Supposedly some additional players will make the 09 AAA team and a few that don't make that team will be placed on the 08 AAA team. And then as players get moved down each rung they'll be asked to stay and play for their mixed 16U team. Makes perfect sense, right?

What I would like to know is why is it so important to pay North Catholic? Whats in it for the Pens org to do that? Do they get a kickback? Also, I know theoretically why they want you to do excel, you get a lot of ice time and they get a lot of money. But does it ever dawn on any parents that even NHL'ERS aren't on the ice that much? That there's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to too much ice time/gym time? If everybody would use their heads and refuse to do this, then it wouldn't be a thing. But the allure of that gear bag and window sticker is enough to let it perpetuate, I guess.

It's extortion. But the fact that everyone knows it and then act blind-sided by it is........... well, amazing.

To help kids find homes, I'd like to start a topic for Supplementals only (separate from the general Tryouts topic). I know the Arrows posted some supplementals to the Tryouts page, but those might get lost there, and we know more will come from other organizations. I try helping players find homes every year, and I know how much anxiety there is this time of the year, so anything we can do to make it easier for them...

Going to be especially important this year as there seems to be tons of overlap.

Dude. You guys got played like a fiddle. Don’t come on here trying to pretend you had such noble gestures to die on your swords. Ice time couldn’t even get paid for.

This topic got way off track! I think it's time to shut it down!

To my knowledge Cardinal Wuerl had zero to do with NC other than having his name on the school. And there are those on this thread insinuating abuse occurred at NC and it was ignored? Joe Pa allowed abuse on his own campus. Apples and oranges.

No different than JoePa

AND Finally this train wreck oof a team has folded up shop. With their 2 forfeits today the league had finally booted the con artist out!!!!!! Shocked it took this long to do so....

aren’t you from Aviators? You should know this

A quick view of minimal activity on here shows exactly what this poster is all about. And how foolish they are as well. The older BY's are the ones that matter genius. And if you actually believe that your happy little group of 11's and/or 13's will stay that happy little group through the older age groups, well then I've got some bad news for you.

I don’t think the AHF is all that appealing.

Back to the main story at hand congrats to all the kids. Great honor even if you are "telling the refs who to give assists to". If that's the case these kids have a great future ahead of themselves as politicians.

I cannot speak for @twoboys but if you watch closely after a goal is scored, you will see players get in the refs ear that they were the ones that should be awarded the assist. it happens all of the time and I have seen players nowhere near the puck or scoring play do this in order to pad their stats.

I haven't coached in 10+ years, but have won plenty of league championships. And I'm sure the world hasn't changed that much and the players would much rather win it all, vs being given the opportunity to put up 9 points in a 15 goal win. Maybe develop someone other than your top 5 when games are in hand and it will pay off in those big games where depth comes into play.

Where does D-2 get plenty of publicity? Has there ever been a D-2 player recognized in your Stellar 6? You didn't even include them in your rankings and Keith Barnes didn't include them in his previews or articles on the championship previews. Where is there any mention of D-2 in your history of PA high school hockey book? And didn't I say that was a wonderful list. Why don't you congratulate the player that led all of the PIHL in scoring? He can't make your Stellar 6? Whats the criteria for inclusion?

The numbers are actually pretty even. Lets look at Pittsburgh VS Detroit. 16U and 150 Tier 1 specifically from this past season. Pittsburgh (Western PA): 1,483 registered players aged 15-16 11 total teams with approx 17 players on each (187 total) That's 12.6% of registered players on AAA teams Detroit (Michigan): 2,662 registered players aged 15-16 16 total teams with appox 17 players on each (272 total) That's 10.2% of registered players on AAA teams.

Take a look at the 14U (2009) this season. There were 8 teams in Mid-Am playing Tier 1 - 4 from Western PA (Pittsburgh), 2 from Ohio and 2 from Indiana. The two teams from Indiana did not qualify. Two Ohio teams are from Columbus and Cleveland, with home rinks separated by a 2-hour drive from each other and thus typically have their respective areas top players with little to no competition. Aside from PPE (which as pointed out on the board is generally the 1 or 1A team from the region), the other three teams were all from Pittsburgh (Predators, Vengeance and SHAHA) with home rinks all seperated by less than 50 miles (most 10-20 miles). Did these teams not deserve to be there? Should they have played and competed for Tier II? Looking at the rankings and final standings and such, if any of these teams would have dropped out and played for Tier II instead, they would certainly been playing for the Tier II National Championship next week, and would have been odds on favorite to be Tier II National Champions. So which is better? Being a top Tier I team and making districts with little to no chance of winning or being Tier II National Champions? If you surveyed all the players and parents on these teams, I would guess almost all would say they would rather be on a Tier I team and not win (as many probably somehow believe they can win). On the other hand, look at 16U (2007). There are now 12 teams competing for Tier I. Here you start getting competition from the Prep Schools - Culver and Gilmour, also Esmark which is also known to recruit from out of town for 16U and 18U, or otherwise get some PPE players when PPE does additional recruiting. But now you also add Icemen in locally. If you look at the six teams who did not qualify for Mid-Ams, locally you have Vengeance (89.51), Icemen (87.01), and Predators (86.22) - compared to the top Tier II local teams Armstrong (87.84), Steel City Renegades (competing for national championship) (86.84). Would these Tier I teams been better served playing Tier II and competing for the National Championship? What about getting to play local high school as well? Another factor everyone brings up is that it is about getting to and advancing to higher levels, particularly junior teams and college teams. A lot of the problem comes down to, and has already been addressed on this board, is that Tier II just doesn't get same level of recognition regardless of team strength, individual skill, etc.

This breakdown of US Junior seems correct. As far as having players go to Junior for a year or two following their HS graduation does make some sense. Hockey is what's considered a "late specialization" sport, which means that players don't reach their peak until mid 20's. This is compared to "early specialization" sports like figure skating and gymnastics (mid/late teens). It only makes sense that college coaches would be looking for players who are physically, mentally, and emotionally more mature than a 17 or 18 year old who is just coming out of high school and is probably living life on their own for the first time ever. With the players staying home and experiencing the "rites of passage" that is an individual player's decision. Historically, the registration numbers for USA Hockey tend to begin to slide around ages 14-16. The theory has usually been that players and their families are making the choice that the expense and time commitment is out weighed by the desire to do things like hangout with friends or significant others, have a job, party, etc. As long as organizations are up front with players and families about what the expectations are and what sacrifices may have to be made, I don't see a problem.

As someone posted earlier either here or on a different thread, it is not absolutely necessary to spend tons of money to play AAA. My son played on a high level nationally ranked AA team who went to Tier 2 Nationals consecutively and made the Pitt team without ever going the other expensive routes. I’m referencing the recent high level Pitt teams. And, he didn’t sacrifice his high school years billeting out of town and missing the rites of passage like homecoming and prom. No criticizing here—just saying it can be done considering a lot of kids end up being behind a few years from going different routes.

Really, "the ultimate consequence", actually that's incorrect. The lowest consequence for a spear is the call which was made, a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. The "ultimate consequence" escalates to a match penalty. Yes, "everyone in attendance was dumbfounded" might be correct because they were watching the play up ice as opposed to away from the puck. The rear official that made the call is 100% doing the job that he is out there for, which is to be especially vigilant for penalties which occur away from the play. Regardless of if the spear was "violent" or "soft", a spear is a spear.

You make a lot of really good points. I also think Pittsburgh is a great place to live for hockey (youth and professional). My issues are with the sport as a whole. There aren't enough NCAA hockey teams. Compare it to almost any other sport as mainstream as hockey. Spots are very very limited. That creates this terrible system where kids move away to pay to play juniors at 15-16 years old and don't start college til 22 or 23. The whole thing is broken and a$$-backwards. The amount of money, time and commitment are insane. I also understand other sports are getting there as well. It's still not the same though. Jimmy from South Park playing football for his varsity team can still get recruited to play NCAA football way easier than little johnny and his aaa hockey team. The whole thing has become a money making racket and a game where you are really just funding people above you in the food chain. My remaining boy has no shot at all at an NCAA scholarship for hockey. I'm guessing he will end up playing club hockey at a high level. He is half the baseball player he is a hockey player and based on recruiting to date will probably at least play division III baseball. I find that insane.

This whole thread seems like it abruptly turned into Western Pennsylvania Youth Hockey’s version of “Grumpy old Men.” Frankly, it reminds me of a multi-generational commiseration of the “back-in-my-day” old farts sipping coffee and telling stories about how they should have listened to their mom & dad and played baseball (or football); instead wasting their childhood years and dreams by playing hockey in Pittsburgh…since, ya know…’nobody from Pittsburgh ever gets noticed, scouted, or goes anywhere.’ I can still picture so many people saying, “Sorry kid, you should have been born further north if you wanna play hockey…yeah, you gotta be from Canada, New England, Michigan, or Minnesota if you want to ever go anywhere in this sport.” It’s weird how there’s never any mention about how quickly this region has progressed from next to nothing as a legitimate hockey region—when discussed by all of the blue-blood and traditional North American hockey markets (i.e. Boston/New England, Buffalo/Western NY, Detroit/Michigan, Minnesota, Toronto/Ontario, Montreal/Quebec, even Western Canada). It’s truly included in those circles now and accepted as such when considering the talent pool of hockey players that come out of Pittsburgh…only not on par with their overall numbers, of course. Put it another way, it appears that Pittsburgh is way past the emerging hockey market problems. You don’t ever hear stories about people complaining about 5:00 AM available ice slots; only having 3-4 ice rinks available within an hour drive; or having generations of parents that never skated or played hockey and having to resort to being self-taught… or receive marginal hockey knowledge and coaching from guys that were only qualified because they were born in Canada or Maine.

Be careful stating such a thing on this forum. Unless you have your kid play AA hockey within 15 minutes from your home until they head to college you are an irresponsible parent.

Are we sure that CV and PR actually won those games on Tuesday? It doesn't appear that the PIHL is certain. What's it take to upload some pictures? 8 minutes? Maybe 10. Each month it should become more and more apparent to all the haters what a great job John Mucha did as Commissioner. This sport could use more people with his passion AND his ability to work with just about everyone for the good of the game.

I know two kids that played both amateur and high school, didn’t stop them from going D1. Only missed one or two high school games because of amateur travel. For a coach to deny a kid an opportunity to play a game they love with friends is absolutely atrocious. Deal with any conflicts as they come up and playing for both teams is not an issue. The EGO of these coaches that say you can’t play both is the problem. A high school coach suggesting a kid not play for that kind of coach is not a problem. Missing an amateur practice occasionally for a high school game should not be a problem. The kids are on the ice. They are not going to a movie. The coaches that think missing a couple practices for other ice time need to move on to another career. Go coach adults, kids are kids and should be treated as such. Because no matter how good of a coach you are, a couple missed practices are NOT going to change the trajectory of a player or hurt their amateur team.

If my kid wanted to play high school hockey and club, and the club told him he couldn't play HS then I would move on and move fast. Granted, HS hockey is not at the level of some AA and AAA level club teams, but kids love playing in front of their school friends. I have watched numerous Pens Cup games this year and the vibe has been nothing but outstanding. The Preds AAA level teams are a joke anyhow - did any of them make MidAms?

Reopen the Golden Mile

I feel like it should be the other way around. Any responsible HS coach should advise his players to avoid that train wreck A chase.

Outscoring the next team in your bracket by 6 goals, only giving up 4 goals in 4 games and having a +17 goal differential seems okay... How'd the team that "impressed" you do?

They went 1-2 and were out scored 17-9 and that impressed you?

Read between the lines people. Jaison Kelly has to be the worst human that resides in Pittsburgh. He’s a con artist and a flat out loser . A fuckup. Until his hands are still on this River Monsters, I’m staying away. Praying he goes to jail on his arraignment that’s in April for fraud.