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2 hours ago, Danner27 said:
I replied earlier, not sure why it didn’t take.
if nothing has changed, ppe is just the host. The ushl puts on this promotion showcase for their leauge. They do a few of these a year in different cities. They only invite the “top” youth programs. The ushl coaches and scouts will be there. This is another reason in a long list why PPE is where your kid needs to play in western pa if you or your kid think they have a chance at anything after youth hockey. I don’t really like saying it, it’s just the truth.
I posted this today under one of the other comments. This might be a good follow through to your comment. I’m sure I’m missing a few players. A majority have Pens Elite in common whether it be a stepping stone or a longer stay :
There are quit a few local kids playing Div. 1 and Div. 3 hockey right now.
NCAA Div. 1
Dalton Hunter – Hornets, Pens Elite, NAHL, USHL, Mercyhurst
Austen Swankler - Pens Elite, Oakland Junior Grizzlies, USHL, Erie Otters, Bowling Green
Alex Savagno – Pens Elite, USHL, Penn State
Matthew Sutton – Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, USHL, Brown University
Dominic Schimizzi – Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, NAHL, Robert Morris
Christian Gorschak – Esmark, NAHL, Niagara
Brian Kramer – Pens Elite, NAHL, USHL, Robert Morris, AIC
Dustin Geragach – Esmark, NAHL, Mercyhurst
NCAA Div. 3
Jackson Krock – Pens Elite, NCDC, NAHL, Hamilton
Jared Gerger – Predators, OJHL, NAHL, Lake Forest
Tyler Love – Pens Elite, Nahl, Robert Morris, Univ. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Dawson Sciarrino - Esmark, Pens Elite, NAHL, Steven's Point
Female:
Serena Slursarcyk – Pens Elite, Robert Morris
Kaitlyn Schooley - Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, Robert Morris
Jordan Timmons – Esmark, Pens Elite, USHL, Robert Morris , LIU, Echl
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This was fun. There are quit a few local kids playing Div. 1 and Div. 3 hockey right now.
NCAA Div. 1
Dalton Hunter – Hornets, Pens Elite, NAHL, USHL, Mercyhurst
Austen Swankler - Pens Elite, Oakland Junior Grizzlies, USHL, Erie Otters, Bowling Green
Alex Savagno – Pens Elite, USHL, Penn State
Matthew Sutton – Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, USHL, Brown University
Dominic Schimizzi – Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, NAHL, Robert Morris
Christian Gorschak – Esmark, NAHL, Niagara
Brian Kramer – Pens Elite, NAHL, USHL, Robert Morris, AIC
Dustin Geragach – Esmark, NAHL, Mercyhurst
NCAA Div. 3
Jackson Krock – Pens Elite, NCDC, NAHL, Hamilton
Jared Gerger – Predators, OJHL, NAHL, Lake Forest
Tyler Love – Pens Elite, Nahl, Robert Morris, Univ. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Dawson Sciarrino - Esmark, Pens Elite, NAHL, Steven's Point
Female:
Serena Slursarcyk – Pens Elite, Robert Morris
Kaitlyn Schooley - Pens Elite, Gilmour Academy, Robert Morris
Jordan Timmons – Esmark, Pens Elite, USHL, Robert Morris , LIU, Echl
And an older one I didn’t see mentioned: Anthony Petrik – Latrobe – Holy Cross
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22 hours ago, Carl Racki said:
I don't care how people waste their money. I just try to educate the ones that don't want to waste their money and are on here for that reason.
Telling people they have to play tier 3 juniors to play ACHA hockey is REALLY bad information and promoting uneducated people to waste money. I would love to know what local ACHA teams are telling kids to go play tier 3 juniors to be considered for the team???? Very bad information in my opinion.
I have heard of top ACHA teams wanting their players to experience juniors before they will talk to them. Ohio Bobcats for example, have some kids from Western , Pa. Only a handful didn't play juniors. Again, it comes down to whether your kid wants to continue to grind and your willingness as a parent to fund that if you have to pay to play . There have been alot of highly skilled kids playing tier 3 juniors because covid screwed things up for a while and changed all the rules. Heck, there are kids that are div. 1 players playing div. 3 because covid changed the rules. Things are still sorting themselves out because of the pandemic.
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On 9/20/2022 at 11:27 PM, Happy Hockey Fan said:
If someone wants the experience of playing juniors and is willing to pay why shouldn’t they? I know a couple of kids that did it for a year or two and then moved on to their life. I know kids that are willing to do it, and parents willing to pay for it, in order to earn a chance to play at higher levels of club hockey. Why does it bother you so much. I bet 95% of kids that play tier 3 are realistic about where it will take them.
Right! God forbid a kid (er, young man) still have the drive to play for a National championship, or want to compete or continue to stay active, represent his school in a sport he loves. So now we've moved from the faux AAA argument to Div 3 is a waste as well. For Pete's sake.....let the kids play without dismissing their dreams. Every one of them works hard to make a roster spot on a div. 3 team as well. Clearly some of you only played or had kids play for the status - if they couldn't be the top it was all a waste. pffff .....it all leads to bear league even for Sid Crosby. ! Holy heck...
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On 9/20/2022 at 7:34 PM, Danner27 said:
Nahl is a tier 2 junior league - not pay to play. On average the top 3 players on each nahl team have a legitimate chance.
Nah, many more players than an average of the top 3. This is just last year - during covid rules and a transfer portal.
http://nahl.com/player-advancement/college/index.cfm?season=2021
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19 minutes ago, Theroadtobeerleague said:
The secret that no one talks about with hockey and lacrosse: rich white people like it how it is because they know that if there was equal opportunity from a young age and all the way up, their nominally athletic kids would get replaced by black kids. Soccer in our nation at the highest level is finally improving on the world stage bc our best players are finally diverse (mainly non-white).
maybe in your circle of friends ….
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16 minutes ago, Theroadtobeerleague said:
The secret that no one talks about with hockey and lacrosse: rich white people like it how it is because they know that if there was equal opportunity from a young age and all the way up, their nominally athletic kids would get replaced by black kids. Soccer in our nation at the highest level is finally improving on the world stage bc our best players are finally diverse (mainly non-white).
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9 hours ago, Lucky17 said:
This is a great post, that is the real problem than none of these teams will play each other. They all take their teams and go elsewhere costing everyone more money.
When you start playing local hockey a 5 years old...playing the same kids multiple times a year - year after year gets predictable and kind of boring. I was one of those crazy parents who opted for the other A and played all over the place. Zero regrets.
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Is Paul Taibi the coach ? If so - interesting fact - he coached a black team for PPE that beat the elite at MID AMS quit a few years back when the black teams were a thing. He also took PPE’s first year of 15u’s to the semi finals at Nationals. He develops players. Many are of the opinion he is the best youth hockey coach in the area.
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12 hours ago, Happy Hockey Fan said:
Do you have a list of all their signees?
I’ve heard a handful of former players will be coming back. The kids currently on campus will begin training together this year . I’m guessing the transfer portal will provide some players next year as well.
For those commenting on trusting the program? The man responsible for eliminating it is gone - which to me speaks volumes and the community rose up and supported the program like never before financially. Many of the same people coaching and recruiting are still there or returning. It was an excellent program both in the men’s and women’s side.
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On 4/15/2022 at 5:49 PM, Danner27 said:
You are completely missing the point. It’s not about cost or winning nationals. Let me know the day a kid from the vengeance youth programs goes to a real junior league.
How many from the Pens 16 or 18U go to tier 1 or 2 Juniors the n Div. 1? Have you ever researched it? Don't count kids that played for the Pens at one point but left.
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My son came from the Pens Elite program but left after16u. Played at a Prep school. He is committed to play D1. Honestly, had he not gone to a prep school, I do not believe his grades would have been acceptable for Div. 1. Pens Elite practice was always late at night a couple days a week and we lived an hour away from the rink. Plenty of times he wouldn't get home till close to or after midnight and needed to be up early for school the next day. Moving to prep - an emphasis was put on grades first , then hockey. Interestingly enough, I believe only two players from his 16U Pens team plays in the Nahl. Another fun fact, the prep team my son played on had 6 kids in the NAHL this year. One left early to play Div 1, him and another committed Div. 1 and if I had a crystal ball, I would guess 2 more will be committing Div.1. One additional player went USHL then to Div, 1. I get a chuckle over all the commotion on these boards about the programs and where kids play - how unfair - whatever the various arguments are. Facts are - an ever so small number get to move on. Personally, we didn't listen to all the noise. As a matter of fact - my son played on the Pens Elite Black one year. Thank God we didn't consider that a failure and waste of money. Thank God we didn't listen to the opinions of know it all's on these boards. It was part of his development. He learned lessons from it and to this day considers the coach he had that year one of the best to ever coach him. While the Pens Elite program was part of his development, Prep school got him to where he is now.
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3 hours ago, Danner27 said:
This is the chart I had from 19-20. Glen Heffran tracks it. It hasn’t changed much at all. If you were to look up the few players that came from ncdc you will find out a good amount of them only spent a little time in the ncdc - making the ncdc number lower than it already is. If nothing has changed, that’s the way the data was a few years ago
congrats to your kid! The point being made around here - it’s highly unlikely for a player to make it to ncaa d1. Your chance of hitting the powerball is probably higher.
I agree. It wasn't until I saw these charts that I realized the small amount of kids that make it Div1.
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1 hour ago, hockey2020 said:
great information on all fronts. whatever - in what league did your son play juniors? i agree wholeheartedly that you can’t listen to other people and everyone has their own path. juniors is an experience in and of itself and not a waste of time for many even if it doesn’t result in D1. some leagues do take advantage and many mediocre players have unrealistic expectations but it is what it is.
My son is in the NAHL. Committed for the 23-24 season.
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On 4/7/2022 at 8:07 AM, Danner27 said:
Yes it’s a previous NAHL team. 19-20 was their last season. They also had 16 & 18’s AAA back then.
it’s the same club, lost their NAHL status for whatever reason and turned to the USPHL.
They sold their NAHL franchise. They became the Danbury Hat Tricks.
On May 11, 2020, the Knights announced they had sold their franchise rights to an organization in Danbury, Connecticut, and became the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks
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My son is finishing Juniors this year. He's going to be a 21 year old freshman. Juniors didn't cost us $. He is committed to NCAA D1. He was a late bloomer. As a matter of fact...he played on the Pens elite black back in the day whenever everyone said that was a waste of money and kids playing there shouldn't be playing triple A. I'm glad we didn't listen and let him play on the black team. I don't look at it as if he "delayed" life. Who sets the timeline on what life is supposed to look like? With that being said, I thought I'd enclose some data for those who are interested.
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Mudbugs won ! And not just one local kid but two! Matt Weber and Dawson Sciarrino were on that team. If you see them around the local rinks give them a pat on the back!! Hard work pays off.
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If anyone has an interest in Junior Hockey. the NAHL Robertson Cup finals are tonight with a local kid competing . Dawson Sciarrino will be playing for the Shreveport Mudbugs . http://www.nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=32121
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4 hours ago, Danner27 said:
I’m guessing it had to be an 03, my youngest is an 02. 99-03 are the BY in most familiar with locally. I’m not doubting the stray kid her and there was retained at 15u, I do know of one 03 but then they dumped him at 16u. Kid is at Gilmour now. The point being many kids from the black team got pushed through the mid am camp by ppe over better players in the district, then dumped by ppe at midget. I could pm you 15 names alone from the 02 & 03 BY.
Funny thing ... not our birth year but we ended up at Gilmour - by choice after 16u. Hated the coaching at 16 and it wasn’t looking too promising at 18. 16 was the last great year. The coach was not retained and he was the best. Took a black team at 14 and beat the elite at districts then took a 15 u to the semi finals at national. For whatever reason he wasn’t retained and we were no longer interested. You evidently passed through during those transition years with coaches and the mission statement.
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1 hour ago, Danner27 said:
Not for the birth years I know, the black teams could not compete with the “elite” teams. I’m taking 99 down to 03. I’m pretty confident all the kids on those black bantam teams were all dumped by ppe going into U15, yet they pushed a good amount of them through the district camp. The Ohio Blue Jackets, along with Culver had a fallen out with mid am over this about 3-4 years ago.
Nope - your memory is failing you right now. Looks like we were there around the same time. I believe the first year "black" teams were available were the 01's at the 14U level and those younger. My son also played 15U after his year as a "black" . So , nope he wasn't dumped. Made National camp 2x.
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12 hours ago, Danner27 said:
You realize PPE has by far the most “evaluators” at the district camp ? A few years back kids from the PPE black teams were getting pushed through over players from other legitimate AAA programs in the district.
My kid was on the black team a few years back and “pushed “ through as you would say at mid ams. That black team beat the gold team at districts that year. So yeah... maybe just maybe that black team kid earned his spot - both years he tried out. And, that Black team kid is currently playing in the NAHL .
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3 hours ago, Danner27 said:
There is also a heck of a lot of players that played in the NAHL and never moved onto NCAA D1. Last I saw, it averages out to the top two players per team each season that earn the opportunity or get the shot.
What does that have to do with any of what you are saying? And you haven’t checked the NAHL in quit a while . http://nahl.com/player-advancement/college/
The Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Discussion
in Western Pennsylvania Youth Hockey
Posted
In the opinions of this discussion I assumed we all realize you don’t need juniors to play at IUP, Pitt etc . It’s the equivalent of playing club. I’ve known a lot of kids that have enjoyed those programs. I assumed you all were referring to ACHA programs like Liberty or Ohio Bobcats. Those ACHA programs are built with mostly former junior players.
I like the context of buyer beware. Clearly from the list above not many make it to div 1 and only a handful more to NCAA div 3 schools. If you don’t mind your kid NOT being a top player and aren’t in a hurry to push him out the door, can afford to give him the opportunity, and he wants to experience juniors - then so be it. It’s a unique , one of a kind experience. No other sport replicates it.