sadday4hockey

If anyone saw the draft coverage when they interviewed Bill Daly then you saw him basically sum all of this up. He talked about the huge investment that the NHL undertook in USA hockey roughly ten years ago and how that has lead to what we saw this past weekend as far as the number of US players drafted in general and the NTP players in particular. What he didn't say but anyone can figure out is that this also means the NHL owns USA hockey. Not on paper, but they own them by telling them exactly how things will play out and how their amateur programs will do whatever they want whenever they want. This is the case in Buffalo, is slowly happening in Detroit (Little Caesar's) and well we all know first hand how it works here. I think Minnesota is probably the last bastion where hockey is still mostly non-corrupt.

All great questions. One thing is for certain, this adds a lot more to the "discretion" of the officials and that is the last thing that is needed.

It's not. It's in regard to excessive celebration of hits that leads to escalation of tempers, trash talk and trying to see who can blow up an opposing player harder than the other team.

It's like working for some sort of Frankenstein made from a combination of Jerry Jones and Lavar Ball.

Let's not kid ourselves, there's still the Elite players and the Black players divide. They may all be wearing the same helmets but the only thing that changes is that it doubles the number of players for everyone to talk smack on in MS and HS games as well as summer leagues. What will be very interesting is what happens in August/early September when half of the 2010 parents finally realize that their kid is on Team 2 when all along they were convinced he was the best player on the ice during the summer. It's become apparent that the smartest person to be involved this sport over the last 6 years was Tim Cook who got out after only one year.

Entitlement, plain and simple. Parents and by association their kids who are the players, believe that they are entitled to everything under the sun. So few want their players to actually be coached, instead they want them to be coddled and told how wonderful they are. Like it or not, believe it or not, that sense of entitlement has risen exponentially ever since the word Elite has been thrust upon hockey players that haven't even had a pimple on their asses yet. Hard work? Discipline? Words that barely are uttered any longer in area rinks.

Let's not forget the use of the Quebec players from Wyoming Seminary and the local players from Shadyside.

Is it worth the time to bash the program in Harmar? They didn't even have any U16 or U18 tryouts this year. Are they even a part of this landscape any longer?

They should have shut it down when Weaver left. He knew the model, put in the time and cared about the players, all the players. When Mom A and Dad B get involved, the only concerns are Kid A and Kid B and maybe a few others.

It's all about the $$$$$$. If they can get the Penguins Foundation to put in a large enough chunk of "free money" and the Excel executives can profit on the back end, rest assured that they will probably get it done. Remember, the Mayor and other politicians are in their back pocket so who do you think wins that battle the special interests or the local families?

The Pens pay for the league websites for both PAHL and PIHL and that's a great thing. I don't believe they pay for any individual association's website. As far as how it would work if the Armory pans out, that's anyone guess. There has been rumor of folding the Black teams and the next logical step would be to have AA teams instead. There has also been talk of a second Excel Academy in conjunction with Central Catholic. I think it's been about 18 months that "there has to be a decision by the end of next month" about the Armory.

I think their "tryouts" have been completed. If you read the information on how they operate tryouts/team placement it gives a thorough explanation along with plenty of cause for concern. For some reason, the PAHL wants them to stay afloat. They are propped up by a grant from the Penguins Foundation (as noted on their website) how many other associations get a nickel from them? The master plan is to put them into the Hunt Armory if it ever comes to fruition at which point, voila now the PPE have an association in the PAHL.

I see 4 at 10U and 5 at 12U in PAHL listing. I forgot that the 06 team was independent and didn't consider the girls. Did they have a 10U independent team? Also, the U18 didn't practice did they? It's still a lot of teams for one sheet. How many did Lebo and Southpointe have?

They had 17 teams last season plus whatever 8U they had. That's a lot of teams for a one sheet facility.

I'm confused by that. It seems more and more that the higher end teams that use more ice are moving toward SHAHA and now Lebo. I will say that the dynamic out there with 3 locations that only have one sheet to work with has to be difficult for those organizations.