No Politics

I see the problem being that some organizations have no AA program or AA-level returning players, yet advertise AA simply in hope of getting AA/AAA players to go there. They get a couple to come out, and those kids are trapped on a team that has no chance of playing AA instead of playing on a team that actually has a chance. They rob a kid of a year of their hockey lives, and develop a bad reputation because of it.

They do have a Board. There are some good people on it. I can’t say if they have it figured out, but know they’re trying.

How did you pick those three? The Arrows won it all last season. Unless you know how many 16U AA players are returning, how many talented ‘09s are moving up, where these kids are, and how they all develop over the summer, no one has any real way of telling who is going to be the top team.

Are you saying those three because you KNOW something, or for some other reason? I know multiple Yeti families, and they shouldn’t be included in that list. They have a lot of talented ‘08s returning from last season’s 16U A Major Black team, so they could easily be a AA team if they get some AA/AAA transplants to round out that roster.

Which age(s)?

That's a very interesting thought. The only drawback I can think of is that a lot of organizations/coaches may not have the heart/balls to tell the kids they don't want to keep.

16U Yetis tryouts start this evening (Friday the 26th) at 5:30pm. Registration is still open. Info can be found here, then by clicking on the "MIDGET 16U (08/09) - NATIONAL BOUND TEAM" tab. Last season's team was A Major Black, and they are shooting for AA this season. They had fourteen '08s on that team, and ten of them are returning. According to the board member I spoke to, they are hoping to have TWO teams at the 16U level, and already have over thirty kids signed up for tryouts. So if you know any 16U kids still looking for homes, there is still time to register.

I watched the game against Slovakia today, and that kid has acceleration like a freaking rocket!

I didn't see that, but kudos to them. We need more of that.

Bishop Kearney

Everyone this time of year thinks they become a mastermind. Organizations, parents, and players. We all make it the free-for-all James Gatz mentioned, and everyone wonders why there are so many disgruntled people out there. There has to be a better system than this one. You have organizations saying "come play for us, we're AA" without returning anyone or even knowing who will be on their team! Silly. However, they do that because a parent won't let their kid play there if that organization was honest and said "we won't know our level until kids come to tryouts, accept, AND STAY on the team." Why? "Maybe there is a higher level team out there you get on, Billy." To the "staying on the team" part, I don't know why organizations just don't charge a higher, non-refundable commitment fee to dissuade players from jumping after accepting. Yeah, so more well-off family may be willing to eat that fee, but it's less likely to happen if it really hurts. A $300 deposit is chump change compared to what this sport costs anyone on an annual basis. And more and more people are willing to eat that fee no matter the cost. James Gatz, I like any of those options better than this crapshow, but good luck getting anyone to jump on them. What about having a fourth option where independent organizations go first, then have a week off, then PAHL AA, then PAHL A/B, THEN supplementals? PAHL can't regulate the independents, but they can regulate their members. Logically, it should be AAA, then AA, then A, then supplementals for teams that need players to fill teams. I agree with the original premise, though: This overlapping (especially with supplementals taking place before other organizations even have tryouts) is bunk. Thoughts?

I hear you, guys. I was just asking because it seemed out of place. I understand now. Thanks.

True. And the flipside to that the numbers get so low that the parents of the kids (and the kids) trying to get onto that AAA team view it as "if there aren't a lot of kids trying out, we can sneak onto that higher-level team" instead of thinking of what it actually means to play on a higher-level team. It's not about "sneaking" onto a team, and so many organizations are willing to accept that sneaking as long as it brings in the cheddar. Then people leave. It's a vicious cycle that feeds itself into the sh*t we are watching.

SO true.

Maybe I'm not understanding this team, but why is this posted under the "Western Pennsylvania YOUTH Hockey" thread?

It is a shame to see these programs disappear. And it's the kids who ultimately suffer for it. From what I was told, the Vipers were scheduled out of there, but played at McKnight Arena. They are gone. I heard from Vipers folks that some Vipers Stars players went to the Foxes, and a lot of the regular Vipers went -- or were going -- to the Arrows. The Aviators left Alpha and went to McKnight. A buddy of mine and I laughed last week because we said "wouldn't it be nice if we just had districts like they did in The Mighty Ducks"? You just play for the team in the district where you live. Simple. Ha Ha!

No overlap with Vengeance 16U NB tryouts. The Vengeance 16U NB team tryouts are 4/21, 4/22, and 4/24. The Yetis tryouts are 4/26, 4/27, and 4/28. There is an overlap with the non-NB Vengeance tryouts on 4/28, but their first tryout date (4/25) does not overlap.

Vengeance 16U's tryouts are 4/25 and 4/28. Yeti tryouts are 4/26, 4/27, and 4/28. So there is an overlap of the last day (4/28).

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters. Those dates are: Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE. Some additional information that may help your decision: - Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall. - They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them. Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team. - They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound. Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out. - If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches. - There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance. I am just sharing this. Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc. If you or someone you know can use it, great. If not, great.

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters. Those dates are: Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE. Some additional information that may help your decision: - Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall. - They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them. Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team. - They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound. Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out. - If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches. - There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance. I am just sharing this. Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc. If you or someone you know can use it, great. If not, great.

Reminder that the Yetis are looking to field a 16U National Bound team and are having two free pre-tryout sessions (TOMORROW and Tuesday) for any '08 or '09 skaters. Those dates are: Sunday 4/21 from 2:30pm - 3:50pm Tuesday 4/23 from 5:50pm - 7:00pm The link to the Google form to sign up is HERE. Some additional information that may help your decision: - Their 16U team last year played A Major Black and had a great season overall. - They were made up of almost all first-year ('08) players -- fourteen of them. Most of those players should be coming back, as it was a tight-knit, friendly team. - They are hoping to make the jump to AA National Bound. Whether or not they do depends on what talent they get to replace the three or four '07s that aged out. - If they are able to make that jump, they plan on having paid, non-parent coaches. - There is no overlap because they have the last tryouts locally (4/26 to 4/28), so any high-level player looking for an opportunity to play at a higher level will still have that chance. I am just sharing this. Not looking to debate the organization, location, dates, coaches, etc. If you or someone you know can use it, great. If not, great.

Sorry, as well. I know other PE players, and have heard that story before regarding NC/Excel. I never heard of someone being cut for it, though, so -- again -- sorry to hear that.

If that is true, I would seriously hope they reconsider. Every season girls teams have to fold for a lack of players.

Not discounting what you are saying, and I say this half-jokingly: Walt Disney didn't blindly play the lottery to build his empire -- he had a well thought out plan -- and Wayne Gretzky said that he didn't mean for us to take shots from our own defensive end. "Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the present." -- Qui-Gon Jinn 😉

And blindly. But... "That only happens to other people. We'll be different."