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I can't believe there's even a discussion about these rankings after the first release. Let's revisit these in about 8 weeks.

Sigh. Can't anymore on this board figure out how to have a discussion without name calling and mud slinging? Always so delightful.

The 06 and 07 teams are midget and SHAHA is definitely better at 06 and currently ranked better at 07. If we are talking u18 it's meaningless anyway according to this board. You either are in the NHL or need to play beer league at that point. 🤣

“I think he is on that SHAHA team.” Lol Thanks for the recon SHAHA dad.

Who said they were all world. The conversation has simply been that every 06 Pittsburgh kid is in Cleveland. Last year, that 06 Barons teams with all the Pittsburgh kids on it shit kicked the 06 Pens team with everywhere else’s kids on it. The pens aren’t proficient at what they claim to do. They play a tough schedule, secure those top 10 rankings regardless of win and losses, then promote themselves as some powerhouse organization. Their results with giving kid’s opportunities to develop don’t even match up to lower level orgs around the country. The director thinks he’s creating the Chicago Mission 2.0. He is a pioneer in one sense, that he saw inflation coming for about six consecutive years now. As the prices have rose steadily over those 6 years, sometimes with 1k increment jumps to the next year. No more ice time, no additional training. Cost of freezing ice in Cranberry is just higher I guess. All that’s being created though is a haven for rich parents whose kids are otherwise unhappy elsewhere. Or parents who want to be sucked off by a program, and feel the warm feelings and validation of being wanted and recruited__At the expense of local kids. As I mentioned in the last thread (linked in the first post)__ the business model is to rely on locals squirt - peewee. Tell them everything they want to hear. Let them experience a soft ‘fucking’ in bantam minor. Then drop the bomb when it’s time for excel. We all know what you squirt and mite parents are thinking__ my kid is too good. Our team is too good. Ironically, no one has been more deep with local kids than the 06’s at the Pens. As of last year, 15o, they had what… 2 locals left on the team? Stop taking your mites there, stop taking your squirts there, if you’re still there in peewee’s start looking for alternatives in the next year. Or you will find out the hard way. Just like the rest of us whose kids were top notch, some of the best in the country, getting invited to all the exclusive spring teams, having the number 1-8 ranked team in country. If you can get two consecutive squirt birthyears to pull their head out of their ass (to no fault of their own; they’re new)__ but if you can educate these people on what they would avoid by going a different route early on__ you will get every birthyear to follow and that will be the end of this unfortunate period in Pittsburgh hockey. It’s a win - win for parents. Take all of PPE’s customers (as they call them) and put them in Harmarville for a season. Take out of the equation the pens jersey, the glorified concession stand, and the rinks. What will happen is the 08 Vengeance at every birthyear. There’s some seriously talented players on that team, your child, Mr squirt Dad is not better than their best player. So put your ego aside and get the crew rounded up. Go play for Zeiler or someone down there. Kids fucking love him. Forget the pens elite car decals, nobody cares about those past age 12. What do you want more? Your (local) kid to have a shot at development or 4-5 years of Facebook photos in a Pens jersey? Any doubts? Again, look at 08’s. They’re getting invited to all the popularity contests they would have if they were at Pens. No kid on that team is missing a beat. At probably less than half the cost of the cult, and almost certainly 1/4 the bullshit. Do you know what else they won’t do in Harmarville? They won’t force your squirt player to commit money to the team__ then not tell you if he’ll be on on the gold or black team until September. That whole process was created to undermine any other local programs attempt to get some of those squirt players away from Pens. There’s not a single legitimate reason why the squirt coach waits that long to create the team. Other than to serve PPE’s interests. Thats your first red flag, but if you miss it, don’t worry many more coming. What are the results? Why is some team in Jersey who practices 3 nights a week putting kids into juniors and college > the Pens 24/7 cult buzzsaw? Just an example. Very interesting when you start to look at the Penguins Elite’s results in developing kids. Columbus outperforming them heavily? Many such cases around the country, Why? They’re on the ice more than anyone… Why is the director now holding ‘excel’ camps in Sweden? Coincidentally there are now kids from Sweden at Pens. Mite/Squirt parents. When the phone call comes. Ignore it. Even if you’re at 66’rs now. Play the game, organize behind the scenes in those few years, then leave, don’t look back and change your numbers. If one of the Scientology members is still able to reach you, tell them you don’t have any money. They will leave you alone. Better yet, go have fun and play regular mite hockey with everyone else. Enjoy the local tournaments and that age in general. That’s one of the most special time frames in the process. Don’t let them take that from you as well___ even if your intentions are still to go the PPE route.

No need to check 55 games if you only look at losses🤔. Also this year's rankings are not listed yet. You sound like a PPE parent trying to play dumb and stir the pot. What random person that has no kid playing at all and is not a scout just goes and buy a pass for $45 to watch kids play hockey. You sound about as creepy as that grandfather upset that he can't watch his grandkids practices on Livebarn.

I’m curious if anyone has ever done a book on PA high school hockey championships… and how many copies it had sold. Anyone know?

LOL do we though?

Never said I cared what local team he was on - reread my comment. I just found the authors reference of “I think he is on that SHAHA team” with an emphasis of “I think” was rather humorous.

It appears the bloom is clearly off of the rose for the Pens 06 team which is now 5-6 and got handled yesterday rather easily by NJ 5-1 in one of the many "consolation games" from the USHL tournament. https://myhockeyrankings.com/team_info.php?y=2022&t=3895 In looking at their roster and seeing where the players are from, maybe they should change their 3rd alternate jersey from the current version pictured here to say the following: FL MI AK CA NY NS ONT PA

And kudos to them on the W in the game and event. 5-0 is impressive and it wasn't against any weaklings. Maybe the new ownership group will be more Pittsburgh friendly and insist on them playing against more local teams on a regular basis such as the SHAHA 16U that just played them but this one was scheduled by the USHL folks. I think everyone can agree that having two very good teams in Pittsburgh at any age group shows the progress being made here across the whole sport. But I also second the motion that you are way too excited about the result to not have a "dogg" in the fight.

Ah great. Now it’s time for the faux high school hockey discussion.

Fair warning. If the weather turns or a game gets cancelled for other reasons, it’s rarely updated.

http://external.horizonwebref.com/scheduleExternal.hwr?asn=205428&enc=a9784d06c130b74477f196f215394e5c7e9b457c&primary=002A86&secondary=FFCC00 This is PIHL, you can look by date and it says who and where.

This board has basically turned into “which AAA team is faux today.” Time and place for that? Yes. But it’s getting pretty stale. It’s expected though. That’s the self created pinnacle of these people’s existence when it comes to living through their kids.

The Black Bear rinks in the area (PIA/Delmont/Southpointe) all have their full schedules listed on their websites

You can do that, but I think what he wants is to look at, say, Baierl, and see what's scheduled for that day. Baierl came to mind because they do publish their ice schedule, though I don't know if it would tell you who is playing whom, it might just say who scheduled the ice. https://member.daysmartrecreation.com/#/online/baierl/calendar?location=1&start=2022-10-01&end=2022-10-01

Pretty sure most here knew who the king was - thus the reason he requested all his posts taken down. I disliked the guy here but some times his posts were spot on.

Remember the premise that The King and Danner27 were the same person? Anyone? Also, haven't seen the Michigan board but the one that was removed about 10 years ago for Ontario and mainly the GTHL was the most insanity I've ever seen. Not only do they take the game seriously, they also take being ruthless seriously as well.

I'm always surprised by the negativity on this forum. Many people on here just seem angry and love to point out how terrible the various local organizations are, how everything sucks, Pittsburgh hockey is doomed, parents are all idiots, and the kids have no talent. I guess it makes some people feel good to knock others down a peg or two? Or maybe it makes them feel smart? I can't imagine having that type of outlook.

The sarcasm on this thread is thick and heavy…….I kinda like it.

They already do that.

Got it. I misunderstood what you were saying! Sometimes I'm a little to quick to react!

Oh dear lord. The first week of rankings. But you keep pounding your chest about whoever.

Yeah I'm not sure why the D2 division just gets shit on and left out. There are some extremely talented players and teams. Just because a player happens to live in an area that needs to Co-Op to field a team doesn't make the hockey any less valid. The hockey itself is just as good as the A division, the top teams would be middle of the pack in AA. All I am saying is with what little media coverage High School Hockey gets, the D2 players and teams should be included, and they should especially be given the opportunity to play for the Penguins Cup and move onto States.

It will be posted tomorrow on Post Gazette Online HSOther | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Just checked it must not have made the website yet there must be a delay from the paper copy to the site. I will try to send the link when it hits site.

Yes this is hilarious 😂. It is the first week. A lot of these teams will drop a lot! Check back at the end of December. Now back to the 2008 Pens and Vengeance fighting that no one cares about except those parents. Both good teams with their own issues. Just kidding. Please drop it. I thought we finished the blah blah of both two years ago. Let it go people!

Let me start out by saying that I have no ill will towards any of the players or parents on the 2013 pens elite teams. In fact my son is friends with and has played with the majority of them. Some seriously talented kids there, no question. We chose to not try out and to stay away from there as it is not the right fit for my son. To each their own. To the point in the post above, It is 100% true. The 2013 BY teams were not picked until 9/15, yet they held tryouts in April and everyone had to commit financially then. I know the 2012-2013 birth years very well and let me tell you that the 2013 gold roster is full of parents who “played the game” over summer and went to all their extra camps and clinics, or are currently in the excel program, and the black roster is the kids who didn’t. These are verified facts. The political BS starts very early.

Didn’t realize it’s that time of the year already! Take a look at midget minor & midget major. Culver hasn’t played enough games yet, they will take a top 6 spot for the tournament. As usual the vengance & predators are already out of the tournement sitting in dead last. No icemen this year ?

OMG can the PPE and Vengeance dad go have their fight privately. 🙄

LMAO, no dog in the fight, eh? Clearly you’ve left out that the 08 rosters for both have changed quite a bit in that 4-1 record you tout. I wasn’t going to bring this up, but since you're referring to rosters, the V is the only true Pitt based team. PPE has kids from other states, including Canada. Next year the few remaining Pitt kids will be replaced by even more imports, just like what’s gone on with the BY’s above them……so if you are one of the “originals”, hopefully your son can hang on to the dream.

I’m not upset nor offended. Amused actually. Saying something positive about PPE is akin to throwing chum into a fish tank filled with idiots. Tappin’ out.

And you sir sound like an 80 proof, angry, disenfranchised parent who attacks the messenger instead of the legit points that were raised. I bet you were a real treat to be around on the car ride home from the V/PPE game. Maybe now you could go back to attacking the leak in the UPMC roof or the cracks in the steps. 🤣

You really sound a bit too effusive to have “no dog in the fight”. Let’s not over romanticize a 2-1 game. The PPE played very well for their talent level. They hustled all over because that was their path to victory. But the V were hardly “out-muscled” or “shell shocked”. They just didn’t play well and didn’t match the intensity of the Pens The PPE head coach also scouted the V for two periods against the Sabres earlier in the day, taking copious notes. Clearly he developed a good plan and had his teams buy in. When your paycheck is dependent on results at PPE, I guess scouting 13 and 14 year olds is a must do. Congrats on the big wins all weekend. The wrath of losing to the “other guys” would’ve been substantial I’m sure. Funny thing……I’ve also seen this same PPE team, with their #1 goalie in the net, lose quite convincingly to teams ranked nowhere near the top 20. Where they couldn’t execute a 6 foot pass. So if they did indeed blow the doors off the V in this single game, and only had essentially a 2-1 win not counting the empty netter, they probably aren’t this super skilled juggernaut that you describe. Let’s not cream in our jeans over one game buddy.

Pens won this game because they out skated/hustled the Vengeance team, plain and simple. Credit to them. Hopefully these teams can play more frequently now that the ice has been broken…. In terms of your description of the game, it was a 2-1 game until a late empty net goal, so I tend to disagree that PPE “way out-skilled” the V. I also disagree with the “star forwards” being shell shocked. They’ve played in this game before, so that’s misleading. Last, the V had the toughest overall schedule last season, so I’d have to assume they’ve seen teams that move the puck….

This is so important and you need to remind your kid of this from time to time. If they broke their leg and can't play, would they still be happy at the school? This may not be accurate at all schools, but a local college coach told us that the difference between the ACHA teams there was how much commitment you wanted to give to the team, with the 1 team having most practices, travel, etc. (I took that with a grain of salt, still think more talent is going to put you on team 1.)

I should add - don’t let your kid pick a college based on the hockey program. College should be picked based on the fit for the kid, acedmics, cost for your family etc. acha 1,2 & 3 are not all that much different once you get passed the top acha programs - none reside in western pa. There are good and bad teams in all the classes.

While I know those local clubs do not require junior hockey, I talk to a few of the head coaches of those teams fairly regularly and the consensus between them is that the kids who play tier 3 juniors are significantly more prepared. It's nothing to do with the talent and completely based on maturity, responsibility, accountability and the ability to play a more physical game. The ones only play midgets typically take at least a full season to adjust. I could care less where people decide to play, just passing along what I have been told by a few of the local coaches.

Nobody is scouting shaha. It’s been happening for years. The shaha tier 2 bantam national champs a few years ago fractured in half when midget came, some of those kids went to esmark. A few of them have since made real junior teams. At midget ppe>esmark>everyone else.

This is why I hate this message board, people just say things randomly and believe they are always right. If you look at Danner's first statement. "Let’s clarify something since I’m so dumd. In the acha it’s not “D” it’s “M”. So everyone needs to stop with this acha d1 crap. It’s acha m1 - it’s m for men because it’s club, the ncaa wants no confusion. ". Well he says it. He is dumb (which he could not spell correctly). Go to the ACHA website. They call it ACHA Men's D1 (https://www.achahockey.org/) If you want to listen to anything else he ever says there are no facts. Just his opinions. He apparently knows someone who knows someone.... There are 84 current D3 teams, and most are not in this area, so you can't judge them all from Chatham (which apparently he could not even spell correctly either).