YardSale

9 minutes ago, Happy Hockey Fan said:

WVU is building a new ice rink which is awesome for their programs. I thought maybe that it was an indication that they may move to have an NCAA team, but from what I can see it isn’t going to be any more than 800 seats. Clearly not big enough for a D1 NCAA program. Why would they spend all that money and not make it large enough for an NCAA team? 

Are they building it on campus?  

Next question that will require input from multiple based on age group knowledge

How many teams do we guess for 14U AA, 16U AA, 18U AA?

19 hours ago, nemesis8679 said:

I'd love to hear more details on the attack, too. Heard it from.four different people. I wasn't there. That's all I know. 🤷‍♂️

fascinating, are we talking verbal or physical? EDIT: Re-read original post which mentioned physical

17 minutes ago, Hky05 said:

Heard some esmark kids made badgers 16uaa? Ones that left willingly or ones that got cut? 

either cuts or knew they weren't making it

1 hour ago, celly68 said:

heard they got the preds goalie that got cut for 16s but not a lot of good d 

Is that for 16U or 18U?

57 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

What age?

That is all high school aged girls

57 minutes ago, nemesis8679 said:

I heard NP closed registrations. Maybe not for 18u?

They always do.  They have their playbook and they don't waver off of it.

21 minutes ago, hockey55 said:

So what happened to the 2 that were there? Did someone leave or got cut?

1 got cut

4 minutes ago, celly68 said:

Supposedly they are losing 3 returning players to Preds.

Where did midstate goalie go? Preds? Esmark? 

Preds

5 minutes ago, hockeyisgreat said:

So where are you willing to drive to for competition on your level?  Is reasonable travel within 4 hours? What I think you will see in the future is a Western Pa, Eastern Ohio Blackbear (AHF) run league that is way better than PAHL.  PAHL will be half the size it is now!  Might be good for them to try to get their league up to par!

Detroit, Ohio, Buffalo.  being able to select the teams we play rather than having dictated showcases.  I agree they have work to do.  I just don't think blackbear is the answer.

1 minute ago, hockeyisgreat said:

So you are happy with the way PAHL runs the local league? It seems to me that Blackbear rinks have PAHL teams!  When the AHF has enough teams in Western Pa and Eastern Ohio to form a league PAHL will only have itself to blame!  I think it is coming sooner than you think!

I think PAHL has improvements to make, but I'm not driving to Philly to play PAHL level of competition.  I'd rather have our own independent games and choose our own tournaments.

11 hours ago, HockeyFan6687 said:

Where did all of the Esmark 09’s go?   

They released their results with 19 players posted and 6 alternates.  

1 minute ago, aaaahockey said:

I don't think this is true. No one wants to drive to New Jersey for a PAHL equivalent league.

I know we actively avoid blackbear rinks when looking at tryouts for that reason.

2 hours ago, AAAAleaguestarter said:

Only till bantam. Wonder is it’s a Gunty money grab 

Has Gunty gotten his fingers in to the Chicago market?

4 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

Sometimes I wonder if PAHL would just get out of the stone age if it would fix half the problems around here.  I also think having three tiers of hockey - Tier 1 being pens only, Tier 2 being all the other AAA and maybe a couple AA teams, and Tier 3 being the rest would help USA hockey. There is a big difference between roughly 1-10 and 11-60 not to mention everyone below them every year.  

AAAA?  I imagine you'll have a few takers on that.

1 hour ago, hockey07 said:

Heard Icemen and Esmark 09s both folded 

Icemen, yes, Stars no (yet).

13 minutes ago, celly68 said:

16uaaa is an absolute mess. What is wrong with the 09s. At least one aaa team folded. Another one may 

About time, there has been way too many "AAA" teams at this level for too long.

53 minutes ago, Duck Bill said:

I don't know if that's necessarily true.  North Pittsburgh generally plays about 40 games or so in a season for their de facto BY teams, I think a lot of others hover around there at the younger ages. Independent always shoots up though, but that's mainly because of the travel.  When you are going large distances, they try to pack 3-5 games in over a weekend to make it worth the expense of traveling.

The number of tournaments a team choose to play also impacts things a good bit.  Going deep in a tournament would give you 4-5 games over a weekend.  A normal PAHL schedule weekend might only see you place once or twice.  Still, I think a typical team in PAHL plays the PAHL schedule and 2-3 tournaments each season.

AHF is a different matter since they make teams play showcases.  Those are like tournament weekends in terms of game count.  Add in a few tournaments on top of that and it adds up.

I think development comes more holistically.  How practices are run are much more important than games, but games are where you learn to execute.  You can't really replicate game experiences in practice.  However, if your practices are structured poorly or the coach isn't proficient in running a good practice, games will just reinforce bad habits. So, more games for a struggling team just amplifies the issues.

With one adjustment, the number of puck touches per player in practice is significantly higher than a game.  That is why the practice to game ratio is so important.

Dowiak and DiMarsico for PSU out of PPE lighting it up tonight in NCAA tournament.  Nice to see the PGH influence.

18 minutes ago, Duck Bill said:

This doesn't make sense.  Smaller markets with only a couple AAA teams will necessarily have to travel to find other similar caliber teams to play.  Also, fewer options means there are even less spots for kids.  The only way you can get less travel is by having the local teams play each other more, which they are all loathe to do for whatever reason.

I do agree change is needed though.  In all honesty, I don't think it's a local issue.  AAA stuff is nuts across the country.  Now, tournaments even separate "AAA" from "AAA Elite." Makes my eyes roll out of my head and onto the floor.  I think USA Hockey actually should govern this in some fashion and we need some standardization across the board.

The only way it changes is if families start saying no.  PAHL could be one of the strongest leagues in the country if the PLAYERS of the AAA teams ranked below 50 (usual suspects) decided to return to PAHL AA elevating the local play significantly.  Organizations and coaches will continue to take your money.  The change has to come from those paying the bills.

1 hour ago, stickboy said:

Actually, it looks like 13O division for nationals is only 12 team format, so I guess they are are out 😬

Time to rebuild

17 minutes ago, sadday4hockey said:

2011's were a "Top 5" team all season and soiled the sheets at Districts?

How many of the parents' heads exploded on the spot?

 

 

I don't imagine that went over all that well.  

With the *Stars* skates happening last night, let's start the way too early what teams are going to be good conversations.  Any reports from attendance at *Stars*?

1 hour ago, HockeyFan6687 said:

No real AA options east of the Vengeance?!? Where are all the kids going?  Sad state of affairs   

 

Badgers?  What age group are you talking about?  

I would consider bringing up your concerns about the coaching to the organization.  Many organizations are trying to put the right people behind the benches.  Often times, they only have a parent's hockey experience to go on when naming coaches at the younger ages.  If specific details are brought to their attention in a civil manner, the odds are good that they will be able to correct the current coaching staff's philosophy or look at other options for the next season.