Saucey

True. They were advertising a supplemental. ?‍♂️

Assuming that most kids and parents are there to get to the next level, the other programs just aren't being scouted. You have to be looked at to move on. I don't ever see anyone drooling over the Pens on this board. I don't hear anyone who has ever played for them do any drooling, either. People are there to move up. That's it. Every once in a while someone gets all excited and says....PAHL sucks or doesn't offer enough and that's why we left for independent or faux AAA and we are so happy etc. But those teams always seem to disintegrate. So...since those things were still on offer, presumably, the families left to chase. Still going nowhere. Those of you saying those things just don't want to admit you are chasing.

Icemen have been fielding independent AA. You know, charge parents AAA prices to play same level they could have in PAHL.

Been playing under this rule for a few years now. I don't mind it at all. Doesn't apply to high school. Kids adjust or take a whistle when they do ice. I HATE automatic off sides applied at all levels, however. Bleh.

One of my takeaways is that if your AAA team isn't moving players to USPHL or NAHL and that is your purpose in playing AAA, going NCAA Div 1, why bother? Tier III junior pay to play won't get you there. Doesn't look like Esmark and it's ilk will, either. MOST KIDS PLAYING PPE and other AAA organizations won't, as well. I knew this but I liked that this chart spells it out, for all the new parents looking to spend money on hockey.

Since this is frequently a topic of conversation, I thought I would share.

That was useful discussion. ?

What do you think he should address out of curiosity? No one addresses raiding anywhere, not just Mid Am. If an organization tries to run a fair tryout, doesn't actively recruit, blow a lot of smoke up parents' tushes about what a jewel their kid is, and promise a lot of crap, the organization can expect movement.

I find it unfortunate that a post meant to celebrate an accomplishment devolved into a large discussion regarding a complaint. Standard for here. It's ok to want to discuss it. But it's really a tangent to the OP that could be its own post. I understand the complaint, very talented hockey players don't get as much attention in high school because of where they go to school, something they do not have control over. However, it is true that it is more of an accomplishment to do what the six celebrated here did both because of their talent AND because of the level of hockey they played. It's a reason I completely approve of not basing hockey divisions over size of the school district alone. PIHL's current system generates and encourages the development of good hockey. I would submit that there are opportunities in PIHL to allow kids to get looks from juniors, etc, while not playing AAA. Rare, but the players celebrated here are also rare. It's a celebration of elite talent. The All Star game is how all the talent at every division is celebrated. Why, exactly, is that not enough? Sorry, there isn't much of a comparison between the level of hockey played at D2 and the stars of AAA. The hockey is almost an entirely different game. The speed, the difference in shot totals, etc. It's just not comparable. I'm guilty of straying from the OP's topic, obviously, since I just did it. ?

I don't think kids play juniors to get into ACHA. They didn't get what they wanted from the juniors.

Fresh from High school can play. Look at rosters. They might not play much but that may be similar to a high school freshman on high school varsity. I dislike that trend, too. The 20 21 year old player spent a lot of money in juniors somewhere and delayed life. Pitt IUP Ca University RMU John Carroll are options for the player who does not wish to delay school. You need to have the grades..

Meh I am sure a lot of those programs will take other programs' cast offs after tryouts are over.

Comments about the difficulty in figuring out the quality of hockey is another reason to make hockey the secondary choice after picking your school based on quality of school/area of study. If your kid is thinking club hockey. Plus coaches come and go.

I beg to differ. It only takes one charismatic dad to convince entire teams that what the organization did was wrong and another organization in need of check books. That's how the Icemen fill their rosters every year. You know, because they don't have a program that develops from the mites on.

Just as info for those who don't know....Danner talked about a 'merit' scholarship. The only program that can offer athletic scholarships is an NCAA D1. A 'merit' scholarship is money a school can offer based on the academic record and isn't based on the sport at all. Schools aren't supposed to offer these as a way to get players for non varsity sports. Moral of the story...get the grades, kids. Make the school/area of study the important part of your decision and hockey the plus to that decision. Even at D1 you have to get into the school and demonstrate that you won't flunk out. Also, even many of these ACHA programs have rosters littered with players who played AAA or pay to play Tier III juniors. I don't know when that started happening, if related to the pandemic or what. Basically, it's not easy to play hockey in college for most people without a crazy amount of commitment, delay in going, and additional significant money spent that is well above the ask of any other sport. Makes all the crazy things people do to chase the extra A with the thought of playing college even crazier IMHO. It isn't likely to get your kid money to go. That being said, looking at rosters, a lot of the programs listed do take players right out of high school, which is nice to see. There is good hockey played at ACHA. Some bad hockey, too.

True. The top team at an organization often doesn't get in at AA if they don't belong there

Someone was asking how PAHL can retain players and there was all this fancy talk about what is wrong with PAHL. Add an 'A' to the AA designation, obviously. ? And just let the parents pick the teams!

They know that the parents don't know any better. Hook em into the AAA while you can.

I think he is referring to if they play in Black Bears AAA league, which would include trips to NJ

That's awesome. I hope this goes well for the ladies. ?

Are there high school girls teams in the east?

The organization has come a long way and I disagree with the slights. But open skates are usually an attempt to attract talent. This ad suggests they are looking for 07s to join their National Bound team What the...or maybe they are looking for a AA team next year as their National Bound team goes independent. Good luck with that. There are less 07s around at this point than there was with the 05s. Certainly not enough to field AAA and AA at the same organization. But no one wants to hear that, we have more and more AAA teams littering the landscape these days...

Not that I disagree, but let's set aside the money for a second and ask a different question about the system that PPE has set up. Maybe it is not a question of talent of the players, or of the coaching. I have doubts that treating children as adults and training them as adults...is good for children. The entire system that has evolved regarding sport and kids, not just in hockey. With Excel, the multiple ice touches per day plus off ice training sounds good in theory. But children...are not adults. They have things to do that the professional adult player does not. School. And growing. When in this system do they get a chance...to be children? To rest? When is hockey...fun? I have never met a PPE player who seems to be enjoying themselves. Even in these questionable 'AAA' programs that keep popping up, I do run into kids who seem to be enjoying themselves. Perhaps it is a failure of the adults all around who push too hard. Parents and the PPE who cater to them.

It's like yelling into the wind. It just makes me sad, because we are moving into a direction that makes hockey more elite in terms of access. It doesn't grow the game to make AA into low level AAA teams. Just more expense.

I've never said that I love hockey. My kids love hockey. I see the faux 'AAA' programs chasing the squirt group now. Get em while their parents really know nothing.