hockeyisgreat

29 minutes ago, JerryTime said:

And who owns and operates AHF….

I’m sure it comes with a price tag

I believe it is Black Bear.  How much more could it cost compared to what we are paying now?  Anybody know what membership in the AHF costs per year?  Esmark and Icemen play in that league! I am surprised that Black Bear hasn't tried to force all the teams that play in their rinks in SWPA to join the AHF.

The AHF distinguishes itself with a full-time professional staff, live scoring and extensive social media coverage making it the ultimate choice for those seeking the best. With parity showcases All-Stars and Championships the AHF offers a complete experience for our members.

Taken from the AHF website!

Wouldn't it be nice if the PAHL could do just some of this!

Congratulations to all the teams that won their Divisions this weekend.  Too bad all we get is scores!  No game sheets to see how the games went!  Or for that matter any coverage at all.  Does PAHL have a facebook or Twitter site?  It's ashamed how far behind Black Bear Tier 2 they are.  Hopefully we will be able to find the MidAms on Score Sheet this weekend. If PAHL is not going to recognize their top AA players, I would suggest all those teams Join the Atlantic Hockey Federation and have their own Western PA Division.

23 minutes ago, PUCKCOVID19 said:

yea odd TJ finished first in standings but has second place in playoffs ?

They had the same point total and split in the regular season. I think it went to the penalty minutes tie breaker!  But I could be wrong!

I wonder if the Union Hockey League is investigating this whole mess in Pittsburgh and looking for a new owner. Looks like the league itself is legit.  Nothing wrong with another chance for folks to play the game they love. As long as no one gets scammed in the process!  Who ever runs the facebook page for the River Monsters seems to be doing a good job.

3 hours ago, zam said:

I heard your number 1 ranked Mars team fell to an underwhelming, unranked Moon team from a lesser division last night. Can anybody confirm?

Wow, and that's why they play the games!

3 minutes ago, Corsi said:

I get the idea about having people from outside MidAm run the camp, but the gloves, socks, helmets argument doesn't matter.  At each age group they distribute a "scouting book" which identifies the players, gives vitals (height/weight), as well as stats.  I know the statistics are not guaranteed to be accurate, but players are already able to be identified based off of what MidAm provides to those in attendance.  Worrying about helmet and glove color is irrelevant at that point when all relevant identifying information is provided/available.

1st I have heard of the "scouting book" does it also list the teams they played for last year?  If so why do they waste time on tryouts if the Pens Elite are supposed to be the best of the best?

Anybody know how their attendance for Basketball is?  Maybe their promotions department needs to get out there and get Youth Hockey teams in the building like the Pens do.  Junior Starters and intermission shootouts and minigames give the Pens ticket sales. I bet they could add 50 to 100 paid admissions per home game with a little promotion.  I may be missing something but don't see much social media about their games or game days.   Anybody know the number of total Hockey players in Western PA?

On 2/24/2024 at 3:56 PM, Saucey said:

You mean the Icemen can no longer send entire teams? ☺️

Looks like the entire Pens Elite 2010 team was invited!

Thanks guys!  I looked this morning and couldn't find them!

And while I am complaining about the MidAm why can't they post schedules for the District tournaments?  Is it a secret?  They do NOTHING to promote the sport.  I know the schedules are out already!  Just try to find them!  At least PAHL has schedules up for playoffs!

4 minutes ago, Corsi said:

Yes, the MidAm site states explicitly that "higher ranked teams will receive more spots at evaluations", which makes sense.  I believe the 09 group will be split up into 8 teams, which does seem like too many kids to evaluate in such a short period of time.

You cannot chose who is attending based off of stats, because of the discrepancy in the level of play across teams.  In theory, the harder the schedule the more difficult it will be to put up numbers and vice versa.  The kids on a team that faces stiffer competition should not be penalized because of that just as a players on a team that plays a weaker schedule should not get a boost.

Evaluators won't be able to see who the "right ones" are in that short of a time period.  The evaluation is normally very, very game heavy, so they are looking for the kids that perform the best in game situations.  I like this format because it eliminates the players that focus only on what they learn in skills clinics and are great at stick handling through cones, but don't know how to really play in a game situation.

Nothing is going to be perfect, but at least this format makes sense.

Makes sense if you have the right evaluators with no ties to the MidAm. Bring them in from other Districts! Make the kids all wear black or white helmets with no stickers.  There is a fair way to do it and it's not what is going on right now!

28 minutes ago, Nepotisim_anyone said:

I’d love for someone to explain what criteria determines who gets accepted or nominated. Shouldn’t it be driven entirely by stats? 

HAHA, try to find some stats!  Especially in the PAHL.  Kids nominated by Coaches!  Teams can make up whatever stats they want for independent team players!  MidAm tryouts a total joke! Coaches kids nominated most often!

Get Reps from the National Camp to run it! 

 Not allow any identifying equipment!  All the way down to Gloves and Socks!

But it will never happen!  Politics in Youth Sports is everywhere! Hockey is no different!

OK, so who are the Crimson Hawks?

4 minutes ago, LGP13 said:

I left an email with PGM off Alpha's site. They handled the scheduling.

 

I emailed the officiating director for MidAm.

 

And I called and left a message officiating advancement director for USA Hockey.

 

Probably won't get anywhere, but worth a shot.

When you were officiating did you ever get an evaluation? Just curious?

10 minutes ago, LGP13 said:

I have ref'd for like 4-5 years. Don't do anymore because I coach and my job pays me enough I don't need the 60$ spending money.

 

I don't care if I lost anyone or not. I'm making people aware. Also, I came here asking questions about standards and what the procedures are for quality control.

 

Now that I've debunked your assumptions, now what?

 

I was being respectful, you won't know that though because the next excuse will be that you can't hear what is being said when I ask for explainations.

 

Your just a troll and mad I called out one of your fellow officials for being a shitty ref. I get it, you don't want that to be the norm. Next thing you know everyone is on here blasting every officials' name. I understand your frustration and how you want to be defensive, bottom line is treat people with respect and don't just show up to collect your 75$, maybe explain to kids why calls are made or what you saw. Basically, don't be an elitist jerkoff because you have the power to make calls and throw people out. 

 

I'm done with replying here as I found the information I was looking for. Have a great day!

Care to share where you found the info you were looking for?

I see PAHL is having a meeting on February 20th.  They are going over rules for next year.  Maybe this would be a good time to ask why they have no Player Stats!  At least for 14U and above.  They use the same platform as PIHL so I see no reason why they couldn't do the same!  Once again the lack of recognition for players in PAHL is very sad!  I see no excuse as to why it isn't being done already.

15 minutes ago, Corsi said:

MidAm site shows boys at UPMC and girls in Columbus.

So when will the actual schedules be put on the website?  Would be nice to do some advanced planning!  Does any Mid Am Rep visit this site?

When will the schedules come out?  What about host sites?

Does anyone know when the selections will be made public?  Or will the MidAm make you wait and search to find the information.  I believe they use MHR to determine who makes the field.  Is there a cut off date or do they go up to 2 weeks before the Tournament?   AA MidAms are scheduled for March 7 to 10.  Do we know where yet by age group?

1 minute ago, RJUSHL said:

Who knows? A lot of 09 teams could improve and move up to AA. Foxes, Aviators, Yetis, etc.

Do you think a AA Minor division is a bad idea? Is it in the best interest of PAHL to create one and avoid losing three or four good 09 AA teams?

You are asking PAHL to be forward thinking!  I would be shocked if that happens!

48 minutes ago, HereForTheChirps said:

Maybe it is just me, but it seems like some of the local teams are a bit more open to playing each other this season across all age groups.  Again, could be just my perception.

Welcome to the board!  I hope you are right!  It's silly for these teams not to play each other!  Could save a whole lot of travel costs. But I do understand that they don't want to chance getting beat by what they consider a lesser team.  After all especially in the Faux AAA they are all fighting for the same $$$$ from the crazy parents!

36 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

Almost every local organization has posted their tryouts either on their website or Facebook EXCEPT for national bound teams.

I must be looking in the wrong places!  We should start a thread for orgs to post their tryout info!

Oighir,  welcome to the forum.  You bring a lot of great points into the discussion.  We need more new voices around here to share their experiences and opinions.  Looks like the landscape of youth hockey around here will be changing greatly this year.  So far the only tryouts I have seen are for the Huskies.  I bet we see them all coming out within the next few weeks.  Can't wait to see the official word from the Renegades and Vengeance.