carroll81

I'm with you then. Nobody used to recruit squirts. There were no "elite" 10 year olds. Most of the time you played for the organization at whatever rink was closest. If there were several rinks close by, you played with the team with mostly kids from your school. Funny... probably had just about the same percentage of kids moving on to "higher" levels of hockey back then too.

There are no EMT's on site at any hockey games in Eastern PA. JR's, high schools and some older T1 club teams have Athletic Trainers. All the rinks have multiple AEDs available. They are designed to be used by anyone.

It was not all at once, more like dominoes. I think that most of those teams played AHF last year. Last year AHF acted as a supplemental league, as a replacement to the teams also playing in the EJ. So, they all played regular season DVHL and some showcase+ games in the AHF. The full season league was announced and a few teams were part of the announcement or announced shortly after. I think Team Philly was one of the first. The league then made presentations to the clubs they were targeting and those clubs slowly announced their decision. The "smaller" clubs were a surprise to me - Haverford and Wissahickon. Should be an interesting season.

Pretty significant hit, about half the organizations: Delaware Ducks Grundy Senators Haverford Hawks Lancaster Firebirds LV Phantoms Philadelphia BLazers Palmyra Black Knights Team Philadelphia Valley Forge Colonials WBS Jr Knights Wissahickon Skating Club York Devils Maybe it will rejuvenate the DVHL. Maybe all the teams will be back in the DVHL is a year or two. Who knows.

I don't know enough about rink owners in the West. But there are quite a few teams in the AHF that are not owned by BB or play in a BB rink. Team Philadelphia and VF Minutemen are privately owned by rink owners. Haverford Hawks plays in a municipal rink. Wissahickon's rink is owned by a skating club I believe. I could be sooner than you think.

Here in the East, AHF will be in their first full season of league play. There is still a bunch of stuff not released yet, most important is the path to Nationals. But, they did their seeding already, their schedules are out, their website is up to date, they have a plan to rebalance divisions during the season if really needed. All the things that "the parents" seem to perennially complain about. Funny thing though, it is still the same players as were playing in the DVHL and NJYHL. Will keep you updated on how it is going!

My guess is Commotio Cordis. I am more familiar with it from Lacrosse and Baseball than hockey. The impact from the puck causes an irregular heartbeat. The only intervention is immediate defibrillation with an AED. Agree with Nemesis... make sure you are using current hockey gear. The latest shoulder pads have an added guard over the heart area to prevent such an injury. Also, can't hurt to notice where AED's are in rinks that you go to.

This is old news.

It really isn't. It just follows a path unlike other traditional sports. It has evolved recently to include more prep and NCAA vs. junior, but if you know the path it is pretty straight forward.

I get it. Serenity now!

Here's how I manage the insanity now: Who cares what division or league it is. It is still the same kids and still the same level of talent. It just gets moved around and called something different (for whatever reason). But, if you pay attention, you can figure out which teams should be at whatever you want to call the levels in your head. I like classifying them as AAA (with birthyear), AA (typically second year at the age group), and A (typically first year at an age group or athletic kids that are new to hockey). Everything else is in-house in my mind. I can usually place a team in my matrix in my mind after watching a period or so. Then, when I watch, I can set my expectations accordingly going forward. No need to worry what they call themselves or how much they are paying. Walking into the rink with the proper expectation makes it much more enjoyable.

Agreed! I'll add that it's fun to watch high school and prep teams that regroup and possess rather than just fire it back in, even though then can.

Agreed. I wonder how they compare to all the other NGO's in the US. Maybe something I will research while watching golf this weekend.

So USA Hockey changes checking, which increases participation, which is part of their charter, and it's because they are exploiting youth hockey for money?

I heard last year that the CHF was formed by some of the ACHA D2 and D3 teams because they felt those levels were not properly represented or respected by the ACHA leadership (mostly D1 teams?). I saw some of the CHF playoffs at Iceline. Some pretty good hockey.

I don't know why the West does it the way they do. They do it different than any other sport in the state. You will never get moved in the East, unless your enrollment changes. It is very subjective. For teams that struggle to compete at their level or need to combine program to be able to field a team, there is a D2 division (at least in the ICSHL). Those teams are not eligible for Flyers Cup.

Using the PIAA Lacrosse classifications as reference (closest I could find for 2 divisions). The have AA and AAA. The cutoff between the divisions seemed to be 490. West Chester Rustin: 469 West Chester East: 453 For reference: Moon Area: 458 Peters Township: 452 https://phillylacrosse.com/2022/piaa-releases-boys-classification-enrollments-by-division-for-2023-2024-seasons/

PA Hockey has been telling everyone for weeks that they can beat anyone and are perhaps the best team in the state this year. I believe the beat Malvern during the regular season. They are playing A because that is the size of their school. Hockey in the East is done like all other sports in the state. You are placed in divisions for Flyers Cup based on school size. A is small schools. AA is large schools. AAA is schools with no-boundary. During the season you play in your league, which may include a mix of A,AA and AAA. For Flyers Cup you play only teams in your size.

If you are planning on coming to the games, buy our tickets online NOW! All the Flyers Cup games sold out quickly. https://www.flyers-cup.org/boxoffice All games will also be streamed on YouTube for free https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aKxra9hZbYJ0_2bIdmviA

No other PA High School sport does it like this. They are all done by student population. They do not try to "balance" the competition at the league level. The teams can use their non-league games to play easier or harder competition. During the regular season, teams play outside their level, even in league play. Come playoff time, they play schools that are the same size.

I would think that they will build something similar out in your area. They have some rinks in Ohio also: https://www.blackbearsportsgroup.com/arenas.html

Here is the Black Bear plan for next season. Lots of teams leaving the DVHL to play in the league https://atlantichockeyfederation.com/ahf-2022-2023/ Why? 1. They promise to balance the schedules 2. They promise more ice time and better ice slots 3. They have full time staff, so web/stats/standings are updated 4. No stay to play If they can perform those things, they hit a lot of the items that parents complain about, from the Dads who want only competitive games to the goalie Moms who want the SOG and GA to be updated in real time. It will be an interesting year.

Jack, does WPIAL have JV and/or MS playoffs? It doesn't look like it from the website. There is no JV playoffs in District 1 (Central, ChesMont, PAC10). Hockey seems to be the outlier.

Curious, are there playoffs for JV and MS in the West? What about other (PIAA) sports? In the East, there are JV and MS playoffs in hockey, though they call them "Showcases". No other scholastic sport has playoffs at any level other than Varsity.