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whome87

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Posts posted by whome87

  1. 6 minutes ago, whome87 said:

    Oh gee here come the 04 predator parents with their chests pumped out. 

     

    Let me enlighten you guys on a few things. 

     

    1) it was not a invitational. It’s was the harbor center tournament hosted by the junior sabers. Anyone can pay the money to get in. All the top U15 teams were in Chicago, the tier 1 elite invitational or the north east showcase. The harbor center tournament is a fund raiser for the sabers. It’s never been high end. It’s filled with 80% buffalo teams. Do you think ppe would have a tournament and let icemen, esmark, Lebo and predators  in it ? Come on. 

     

    2) you beat Amherst who is traditionally  weak at every age group. You tied the buffalo red raiders. This team was a bad AA team last year and you beat esmark who is now proven to have a crap 04 team. It took them 3 years to finally field that mess.  1-2-1 in pool play with a consolation win vs a local team. Yep you guys are world beaters. 

     

    3) all the stats are online. I’ll give the goalie dad credit early. It’s working out for him. Seeing lots of shots. Congratulate the same 3 kids that scored all the points for your team. 

     

    Come back with your argument when you beat someone that will be ranked above 75. 

    Typo. 1-1-2 

  2. Oh gee here come the 04 predator parents with their chests pumped out. 

     

    Let me enlighten you guys on a few things. 

     

    1) it was not a invitational. It’s was the harbor center tournament hosted by the junior sabers. Anyone can pay the money to get in. All the top U15 teams were in Chicago, the tier 1 elite invitational or the north east showcase. The harbor center tournament is a fund raiser for the sabers. It’s never been high end. It’s filled with 80% buffalo teams. Do you think ppe would have a tournament and let icemen, esmark, Lebo and predators  in it ? Come on. 

     

    2) you beat Amherst who is traditionally  weak at every age group. You tied the buffalo red raiders. This team was a bad AA team last year and you beat esmark who is now proven to have a crap 04 team. It took them 3 years to finally field that mess.  1-2-1 in pool play with a consolation win vs a local team. Yep you guys are world beaters. 

     

    3) all the stats are online. I’ll give the goalie dad credit early. It’s working out for him. Seeing lots of shots. Congratulate the same 3 kids that scored all the points for your team. 

     

    Come back with your argument when you beat someone that will be ranked above 75. 

  3. 4 hours ago, g8586 said:

    I agree Whome87 sure is at ice castle a lot bashing all of the teams except for the one his kid plays for. He even watched tryouts there!  He’s giving false information thinking he’s throwing people off of who he is. Its quite obvious - his jealousy of PPE is actually humorous. What an axe to grind!! Calling out the kids who didn’t score at 16u tier 1 nationals in another thread. And now trying to say that team only won because of two kids. Do you have any idea how hard those kids work? No you don’t. Let your PPE anger go, leave the 04 Preds alone and get a life!

    If someone else was spending money on private lessons for club hockey it would be such a “money grab”!

     

    Oh look, another parent from the team. 

     

    As i stated earlier, even pro hockey players continue to work on their skating in the summers. 

     

    Look up some of my other posts, I say ppe is the real deal. Sure I think it’s wrong what they are pulling with the school and that guy from the pro team’s kid. 

     

    You parents from that 04 team really come out in full force! 

     

     

  4. 9 minutes ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    I don’t hide behind an identity like you are. I have no idea who posted that. I never knew about this site until someone told me about it. You are still the p$&@) who hides behind a screen name. Why did I use my real name because I could give 2 F$&$’s about a guy who says this and says that but offers no real evidence because no one knows who you are. Good for you for getting your son skating lessons so he can make a better team maybe. Maybe you should stick to your A Major Black and tell stories of grandeur about this fictional son that plays ACHA D1 because you refuse to say who you are! 
     

    Again why I even bother with complete tool bags like you is beyond me!

    ✌️
     

     

    Someone call the paramedics!!

     

    you never knew about this site ? That’s a lie. 99% of the local hockey community knows about it. Your player supposedly has played high level aa and ppe but you’ve never heard of this site ??

     

    Pro’s still work on their skating in the summers. I’ll tell you who can use some skating lessons, your ENTIRE team. Not one of them have any edge control or lateral speed. 

     

    Who hides behind a screen name ? 99% of the people that post here! I wouldn’t call it hiding, I would call it not being stupid. I’d be willing to bet your team parents who came in here with anonymous screen names to defend your team are probably saying to each other “can you believe our dumba$$ team manger using his real name and he keeps going back for more! I wish it would just die but he has to keep opening his fat mouth!!!” ( paraphrasing ) ? 

     

    I would be willing to bet the predators come to you soon and ask you to stop posting and shut up. 

  5. 5 minutes ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    300-500 That’s funny maybe 20

    years ago. I paid 300 in mights and $500 when were at PPE as a squirt. The Lebo team were in Chigaco, Port Huron, Dayton, Buffalo, Notre Dame not to mention fees for independent games. We played 62 or 63 games.  Tournament Fees are 18-2200. Again I ask why do you even care? You have to be grinding an axe because you are obviously pissed about something.

    you and your cronies need to look up reading comprehension. I wasn’t grinding an ax. This thread turned into other discussions about hockey. Cost of AAA hockey and the esmark Russian trip. This thread was dead for a week about your crap team, everyone moved on. 

     

    $800 is astronomical for a AA team fund that has 20 players. Most tournaments, if you played your cards correctly, you could have got in for half price. Silver sticks is no longer a relevant tournament, they take anyone that will pay. It’s been that way the last 5 years or so. 

     

    You need to calm down before you have a heart attack buddy. You are this worked up and your miserable season of losing with no development hasn’t even started yet. Keep writing the checks! 

  6. 7 minutes ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    whome87 what’s your real name? Where’s your kid play ACHA? Let’s see how all this great knowledge and hockey smarts helped your kid. Why do all these people hide behind a computers talking smack on 15 year olds? Does this make you feel good about yourself? Why do you even care about something that you have no business sticking your nose in? The only uneducated person on this thread is one that was at an ice rink for no reason at 6:30am to cause problems!! 

    Cry me a river. You are the only dumba$$ that uses their identity on this site. 

     

    My eldest son was skating, getting ready for the season with a private instructor, it wasn’t 630am but it was before your team took the ice. It was before they banned everyone and anyone from entering camp, after I created this thread. 

     

    Again, the purpose of this thread was to show what a real money grab is since the term is used very loosely around here. 

     

    If you didn’t notice this thread has morphed into other things about hockey but you and your extra two A parents keep coming back for more! 

     

    Why are you so triggered because I called out one of your mom’s now ? Did you have to ask her to join and support the cause ? 

  7. 3 hours ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    We shall see since I’m the manager. But I spent 800 in AA last year so not sure why that’s relevant to the post!! I’m sure all Slush Funds AA - AAA pay roughly the same.

    Who the heck did your Lebo team play ??with 18 skaters & two goalies your team fund was $800 ? Did you guys play 80 games ? 

     

    From my experience AA & AAA team funds are usually in the $300 - 500 range but I haven’t had to pay that recently might have gone up a little. 

  8. 10 hours ago, DrinkTheKoolAid said:

    I know for sure one of the teams mentioned above won't be able to beat any solid 18uAA team this year.  They may be ok this season in their PIHL grouping but only have a few AAA, a few AA and the rest are A level players and their starting goalie is A Minor.  The best goalie in that school isn't even playing for the school.  

    Another varsity PIHL team had to get a roller hockey goalie to play for them, as they have nobody else to put in net.

    I can see a few of the larger schools (AAA level) having enough depth to play with a good AA team, but to blanket say that that good PIHL teams will beat PAHL teams is stretching it.  You can only go so far running your top 2 lines over and over, and a good deep PAHL team will have better players on the 3rd and 4th lines and that will drain a 2 line rotation.

     

    You are talking this year. Players graduate. We wont know who the real good PIHL teams are until November. 

    You don’t think 2 lines can win ? Look at last years U16pens who were AAA national champions. They ran two lines, in fact two players alone and a good performance by the goalie is what won them the championship game! 

  9. 15 hours ago, TheUnknown said:

    Don’t bring numbers or logic to your emotional argument? Got it.

    You’re “50% played AAA” is not entirely correct. The PIHL teams did well in HS hockey because they were fairly deep and didn’t have the huge 3rd and 4th line drop in talent that a lot of HS teams have and they played well as a team. 

    I watched every one of the teams that you mentioned play in games last year and all 3 of the PAHL teams would’ve come away winners in a game against any one of the PIHL teams. That’s all I’ll say and you can make up your own mind and spin it however you want. 

    Not trying to turn this into an argument. Fully disagree. Look up the roster of those teams from last year you will find  half the kids were playing or played the previous year for pens, esmark & Pha. 

    We are not talking bottom feeder pihl teams. I’m talking about the top 2-3 in class aaa and class aa. 

    Im sorry. Pine Richland would have beat  anything Pahl U18AA had to offer. Go look up the roster of the team they beat for states if you want to talk depth, that team, lines 1 to 4 all came  from high end AAA programs out east. One of their players had a few games in the NAHL (junior titans). There is no kids from or last year playing any High level junior hockey that I am aware of. 

     

    I’m no fan of PR. They sand bagged and should have been in class aaa (they would have won that). It’s just the facts! 

  10. 14 hours ago, TheUnknown said:

    Disagree with your assessment on last years PIHL teams and no strong 18AA teams in PAHL last year. Are you forgetting about Armstrong, Predators and Arctic Foxes?

    to put numbers to your argument...

    PIHL

    NA (AAA) ranked #1 in WPA 90.92 rating

    Pine (AA) ranked #1 in WPA 92.7 rating

    Latrobe (AA) ranked #2 in WPA 91.18 rating

    PAHL 18AA

    Armstrong ranked #10 with 93.75 rating (don’t see doors getting beat by any PIHL team)

    Predators ranked #18 with 93.11 rating (doors get blown off? Nope.)

    Arctic Foxes ranked #25 with 92.64 rating (doors are firmly on still)

    if you didn’t have a dog in the fight and we’re able to watch these teams play without bias you’d realize you are way overstating PIHL (at least in W.PA...)

     

    You really can’t cross the hockey rankings between pihl and Pahl. That would be like trying to compare tier 3 juniors vs AAA. Doesn’t line up well.

     

    there are a lot of weak teams in pihl, I agreed with that but none of those teams you mentioned would have beat pr, na or Latrobe. Again, depth would hurt more then help the Pahl team. 

     

    As as I stated above about 50% of the kids on the 3 pihl teams I listed above were playing good AAA or came from AAA and just played school senior season. 

     

  11. 54 minutes ago, Scooby Doo said:

    I disagree with that assessment.  This isn't even one example as it was school vs. school.  

    If you have an 18uAA team with a lot of depth, I think it can handle itself against a good school team.  My experience in watching school teams is that you have a good core (maybe 5-7 kids) and the rest are probably below AA level players.  Most of the school districts that I live near are that way.  On the other hand if you have an AA club team with a lot of depth, the difference will easily be in the 3rd and 4th lines and the D men 5-8...  And most importantly goaltending is super important and if your school doesn't have a stud to lead them good luck.

    So I will take the money and go with a GOOD club team versus any school team.  I didn't say a bottom level AA team, I said a GOOD AA team.  I just don't see most school teams being able to go a full game against teams with 4 lines unless they have a GREAT goalie.

    One sort of indicator will be in a few weeks as the NPitt 18uAA 1 team is rumored to be mostly all NA varsity and they will be playing their placements in the next 2 weeks against good deep teams (AHA and Preds).  

    Just like most AAA teams. Most good varsity teams play 3 lines and 2 D pair. Last year Pine Richland, NA, Latrobe, etc would have blown the doors off any Pahl U18 AA teams. There really wasn’t any strong Pahl teams at that age.

     

    depth wouldn’t matter much, in fact the Pahl team rolling 4 lines would probably hurt them. The better varsity teams play their top players. The 4th line never sees the ice. 

     

    I do agree about the goalie stuff. Any team AAA, AA, VARSITY the goalie can be a deciding factor. 

     

    You yourself just said it above, np aa 18 is most the na varsity team. That np team is the clear early favorite at U18AA and NA is down in talent over its previous  years. 

  12. On 6/20/2019 at 4:00 PM, HSFBLJ said:

    Saucey, I don't disagreee with you but the PIHL teams are pretty good at the Varsity level.  Do you compare them to U18 teams?  PIHL vs. PAHL battle of the champions would be something to see.  I may even pay $$ to watch this at the UPMC Center.

    Top pihl varsity team’s  would beat Pahl U18 AA team’s. 

     

    Pihl is good hockey accept the A conference. 

     

    Just look to Pine Richland from last season. The team they beat for states was loaded with kids playing AAA for the junior flyers, virtue hockey etc. top 30 AAA programs. 

     

    most of the top pihl teams have kids that played AAA and realized the end of the road is near. 

  13. 57 minutes ago, Jack Handey said:

    I can see some reasons for the progressive increase.  Ice time for 16u is usually 90-100 minutes vs 75-80 for a game slot.  Refs cost more because you need guys who can actually keep up and control the game and sometimes you need 3 or 4 of them.  EMT if required charges more since he's there longer.  And of course there's the paid coach.  You need someone skilled enough to train these kids and the pool of eligible candidates shrinks as the kids grow up.

    Now does that add up to $6k?  Probably no.

    15,16,18 all normally play 20 minute periods with 1 ice cut. There are Some teams I’ve seen in the past that  only do 17 minute periods. Regardless, that doesn’t justify much of anything for costs. 

     

    All “aaa” teams usually have a paid coach. Personally I’ve never been apart of one that didn’t. 

     

    Refs are different state to state. Club to club. It’s all over the place. I’ve watched games that have had 1 ref 2 liners. 2 refs 2 liners, 2 refs no liners. 

     

    None of it really justify’s the price going up $1500-$2000 each birth year after 14U. 

  14. 2 hours ago, PeterThePuck said:

    I heard Preds AAA is $3800

    $1000 Slush Fund

    $1000 to Coach

    $300 for Paramedics 

    $300 for Gym

    $900 for Uniforms Helmet and Gloves.

     

     

    Are you saying $3800 plus the other funds ? I’m sure the 16’s will cost more. It’s probably the best team they have ever had there. I’ll get to 16s & 18’s cost down below. 

     

    Using your math it’s $6500 with out travel fees ? 

     

    I wouldn't doubt that is the price. I was under the assumption all their “aaa” teams are $2800 plus all the other fee’s 

     

    esmark is normally in the $4000-$5000 range depending on birth year. I don’t know what icemen are but was told last year’s 16s were around $4500. PPE was in the $6000 range but they have switched leagues. I’m not really surprised if predators 16 & 18 are $6500. This is just team fee’s not travel costs listed above for the others. 

     

    Just a fyi for the younger hockey parents,  the cost of “AAA” gets higher and higher as the player gets older. There’s really no justification for it, just the way it is. Ice time nor  the amount of games seem to really change much. 

     

    AAA hockey on the east coast and north east is close to $10000 with out travel. I’m sure Pittsburgh will soon figure that out and continue to raise fees (profit). 

  15. 22 hours ago, Buz72 said:

    Sounds like whome87 is another delusional hockey parent who has an ax to grind. Why else would he bother complaining about a team he has no connection to?  Predators have a solid reputation as a hockey organization. I don’t have any horse in this race, but let the kids play where they will and get over yourself. I’m guessing his version of his sons successful Acha team isn’t what it seems either. Probably one of those parents who drive their kids to Cleveland or Detroit but are afraid to try out for PPE. 

    Reading comprehension, look it up. You’ve just proved yourself to be one of these younger uneducated hockey parents. So, Yes you do have a “horse in this race”.  My oldest did play for the pens, they were not called the pens back then. It was the hornets. Since you don’t know about the hornets, it’s very telling of your experience in Pittsburgh youth hockey. Next time you are at the upmc rink, every player that they show on the walls that “moved” onto bigger things, played for the hornets not PPE. Mario bought the hornets out and started PPE for his son because he couldn’t make the hornets. 

     

    The predators have a great rep in Pahl, not so much in AAA. The original post was pointing out what a “real money grab” is. Your U15 team is the definition of that. 

     

    Success at the acha d1 level is defined in different ways because none of these players will have any opportunity to play after college. I consider my eldest’s  acha experience a success. He’s still playing hockey on a decent team while he gets his education. He’s having fun. He also gets some money that covers around 1/3rd of his college tuition every year.  To me and most importantly him, that is success. 

     

    Had my eldest never played hockey, the money I would have saved from AAA and junior’s  probably would have paid for his 4 years of college with some left over. I don’t have a ax to grind, I’m not delusional. I’ve been through it. I’m not embarrassed to say my son never made it pro. 

     

    Not sure why you’re taking a shot at Michigan hockey, it’s light years ahead of Pittsburgh. 

  16. 1 hour ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    Thanks for the response and congratulations to your son for playing D1. As for my qualifications I’m just a parent along for the ride. I don’t claim to know talent and be able to scout out all the players. But I have seen several of these kids play against AAA teams on tournament teams and against them. So I think they will be competitive in some of there schedule and there will be several difficult games.
     

    As for PPE having the best coaches, nutritionists and trainers etc. I don’t disagree, but does that necessarily funnel down to the 2 team model. What has really killed the local league is lack of true AA talent in PAHL especially at the 04 Level. But I really don’t concern myself outside of my sons BY. Having taken 2 teams at all the birth years has watered the system down. Several of the second teams had parent coaches. At the elite level team 1 You are correct they are doing it right.

    As for being the goalies father you are correct. In my sons case it was great being on team that won as many games as they won. But Development wise it was terrible. Playing on a team that only let 18 Goals in over 20 League games sounds great but when you only see 8 shots in some of those games it sucked. He wanted to play at a higher level to see more shots and better quality to hopefully improve his skill to get to the higher level. So for him to do that he has to play on a team that will face that competition.

    However, I take offense to you saying I created this circus. How did I create a circus, that was put into motion years before we ever joined the Predators? Did I ask for there to be a team created for my son? I don’t have any say where teams are placed and at what level they play. When tryout signups were posted we signed up for 2 Tryouts. Mt. Lebanon and Predators. My son went to both tryouts and stayed on the team he made. So again how did I create this circus? 
     

    As for where kids could and would not make it  I can’t answer that as I stated earlier I don’t judge the talent. We will be playing Iceman and Esmark this year so it will be interesting to see if you are correct.

     

    Here in lies the problem. I don’t blame you for this, it’s sounds like this is your first time through this. 

     

    Uneducated Hockey Parent

     

    my oldest son is not playing ncaa d1 he’s playing acha d1. There is a big difference. 

     

    You also contradicted yourself. You stated the players on your current predators team played in the Pahl AA championship but then reply that Lebo team is still together. In fact one of the few changes on the Lebo aa team was your son getting cut for the vengeance goalie.  

     

    Spend your money however you like, it’s yours. I’m just calling out a money grab when I see it. The U15 “AAA” predators are a straight money grab. Plan and simple. 

     

    On fees you forgot to included the $800 for gold ppe wanna be Helmets & predator gloves. Add in another 3k or so in travel expenses. These players could take half that money and use it on private instruction through out the year  that would help develop them much better than getting stomped by mid level aaa teams. If you want your son to see more shots, he definitely will! Hope his confidence doesn’t get broken, I’ve seen that happen to goalies when they let in 8 goals a game because the team in front of them has no business playing at the level they are. 

    • Like 1
  17. 10 hours ago, jmmartinprov1 said:

    This is quite the thread to read.

    As a parent of player on this team there are so many ways I could respond to this thread. However, I have just a few questions and comments.

    whome87 since you started this topic could you provide your qualifications for judging the the talent level of the team, skill level and skating ability you witnessed?

    Secondly since I have stated I am a parent of this team could you provide the team your son or daughter plays for and at what level they play? AAA, AA or A? I’m just curious as this goes towards any bias you may or may not have.

    Moving on to the main reason for the thread which was called biggest money grab in PGH. I’m curious as to why PPE wasn’t mentioned in your initial post? Was it ever questioned as to why PPE would field 2 Tier 1 teams at every birth year up to U15? Using an average fee of $3K that was additional $60 per birth year. Not to mention the excela academy fee of $5K which is basically mandatory to be on the Team.

    As for the Predators fees, from what I understand this is how most AAA teams with Non-Parent coaches are run. The fees they pay include a coaches fee that pays for the coaches. So here is the breakdown of the fees:

    Season Fees: 2400

    Coaches Fee: 850

    Training Fee: 250

    Total : $3500

    If all AAA teams have Paid coaches then I’m not seeing where there is a money grab. As for the training fee let me ask a question to all those here. How many have gym memberships, CrossFit classes etc. How much do you pay for all those? $250 pays for my player to train and do strength conditioning for the next 8 months. In my opinion a little over $30 a month is not a bad deal. 
     

    As for the talent on this team, there 8 Kids that played in 14u AA Championship last season. There are also former PPE players on this team. The rest of team from other AA programs around the city. The vast majority of these players are also playing Varsity Hockey as Freshman and Sophomores. So saying they couldn’t beat a U12 AA team is a bit of a stretch and laughable. Which is the response you were probably looking for.

    So is this a Top 50 Tier 1 team, probably not. Top 100, I think so. This team does have talent and will be competitive. 

    The thing that makes me a little uneasy is as I read back over the thread and listen to you (whome87) talk about how these kids have no talent and couldn’t make the xyz team and have to wonder did your son or daughter not make this team or another AA or AAA team that has you so angry? 
     

    Again these are just my opinions as are yours.

     

    My oldest son aged out two years ago. He played “AAA” from pw all the way up to tier 3 juniors with a small stint in tier 2 juniors. He played for the hornet’s when  Mario took them over. He is now playing acha division 1 college hockey. My other son decided to stop playing travel hockey and will finish out his playing time in pihl varsity hockey .

     

    So to answer your question, I’ve seen it all when it comes to youth hockey. I’ve been around the block. I’ve watched countless youth hockey games. I’ve made plenty of friends that have kids scattered at just about every age group. 

     

    Now that you have my credentials, what are yours ? Going by the name you posted under I’m guessing you are the goalies father. The guy that started this circus for the 04 team. Gary’s buddy. 

     

    Why was PPE not mentioned ? For starters they have the best coaches in the area. They have professional trainers. They have a professional nutritionist. I could go on. I’m personally not a fan of ppe and what they are pulling with the school but face it. It’s the real deal. 

     

    Im not angry, I’m a realist. Playing in the 14 u Pahl championship doesn’t mean much, especially when the kids that carried that team are not on your 04 predators team. You have kids that couldn’t make foxes team 1 or team 2. You have kids that played a minor Pahl last year with the aviators. The better kids on the team could not make ppe, esmark or icemen. Most of them tried out at said places. Your team barely had enough skaters at tryouts. If I was told correctly just everyone that tried out made it. It becomes a money grab because the talent to play “aaa” is not there but the predators still fielded a team for the money. Look to esmark, icemen & the vengeance. At certain birth years they didn’t have the talent to field “aaa” teams over the past years. Instead of slapping a team on the ice and taking the dreaming parents money they just didn’t field teams at those birth years. Esmark has been trying to build a 04 team for years but shut it down after tryouts every year until recently. The vengeance knew they didn’t have the talent to field 04 this year so they shut it down. The icemen have also done this in the past and they are what, 5 years old as a club ? 

     

    Yes, it’s a money grab. 

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