nemesis8679

So what was the deal with PIA being open?

Is that open to all the instructors now? Or just certain ones/or one? If that's the case, I can't see all the other instructors that have lost presumably thousands of dollars being real thrilled.

I come here to get away from delusional Trump-humpers. Yeesh.

No way.

Steedle was great. Big mistake. Wonder what the problem was?

Yeah that was a good article. Also the one one Michel Briere.

Not soon enough

Vanbiesbrouck has no place in hockey, let alone hockey involving minors.

Not sure about midam, but with USA Hockey, USA LaCrosse, any of those types of governing bodies... it could have something to do with the organizations buying insurance through them, and the coverage/liabilities involved. Just a guess.

All the rinks are closed for now.

I think this NC/Excel "partnership" will open it up for the other AAA teams, whose schedules are more convenient, cost less, etc. to pick up better players. Give PPE a run for their money. If people can just get past the name and logo.

No. I'm saying that even with great coaching, player devolopment, success, etc. - I would find that stuff somewhere else. Hard to take seriously a team that spells the nickname as "DAWGS". You know, the age-old question in literature: What's in a name? That spelling was cute back in 1997 or so, to use it now (and let's be honest- even back then) conjures visions of white trash and crazy parents. I could be wrong, and location plays a big part in deciding where to play. But I would assume that the Butler Valley organization attracts people of the "DAWG" mentality more than say, the Wildcats, Renegades, or Vipers do. It's just how branding works. The logo itself, of the spiked-collar, fighting dog comes from the same mentality. On it's own, maybe coupled with a nickname like Bulldogs, instead of the DAWGS, wouldn't be as bad. More traditional, if not necessarily creative, if you will. But the two together make me think of something more suited to a New Jersey travel ball hockey team than an ice hockey organization that wants to be taken seriously. Also heard from a few different people that they are pretty unorganized as well. So there's that, too.

100%

About 20 years too late.

2008

Well, I'd love to hear it...

With tryouts approaching, what are the pros and cons of birth year teams vs. mixed year teams? Thoughts? Thanks.

I wouldn't even think of my kid playing there simply because of the ghetto logo and name/spelling. I know maybe that sounds silly, but...

Yes, judging by their tuition, Shadyside Academy is very doable for most families: $9,250-13,500 Pre-K $16,250 K $18,975 1st $20,250 2nd-5th $25,100 6th-8th $29,675 9th-12th $13,000 five-day boarding fee $16,500 seven-day boarding fee $2,000 international boarding fee ?

And how many really good, skilled kids get overlooked because they don't want to go/can't afford to go to one of those schools? Is committing to something like that really worth the 1/10 of 1% chance you'll ever play even one game on the 4th line in the NHL?

What a convoluted mess.

There's enough accusations from different organizations, by different people unknown to each other, and the m.o. is basically the same... I would find it hard to believe that he didn't at least attempt this everywhere.

Yeah it's pretty crazy. Though I knew the organization was a joke when they hired Vanbiesbrouck. Not only for what he did, that's bad enough. But just the thought of doing something like that, then still sticking to it when people spoke up about it being ridiculous, just showed me that 1) the organization has bad judgment, and 2) they don't care what anybody thinks; they want you to step aside because they're going to do whatever they want to, anyway. Unfortunately, nothing will come of this abuse stuff. But I don't have a ton of confidence in USA Hockey doing anything about future situations like this after reading that. Not that a parent should rely on anybody but themselves for their kids's safety... but USA Hockey shouldn't be making it harder.

It serves as a good reminder to look out for your kids, and maybe bring up- or repeat- what is and isn't appropriate behavior from a coach, or any adult for that matter. This whole thing is just like the recent church stuff, Penn State, Boy Scouts, etc. where enough people knew damn well what was going on and allowed it to continue. Here's an excerpt, that makes it hard to have much confidence in Jim Smith or USA Hockey (well, whatever confidence anyone had left after they decided to hire John Vanbiesbrouk) . I remember hearing about Adrahtas a couple years ago, but not to the extent of the article. I'd post the whole article, but it's not really appropriate to put where kids might read it, it's pretty explicit. " In 2010, Adrahtas was slated to be inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame. Chris Jensen heard about it and reached out through a friend to AHAI, the regional affiliate of USA Hockey in the state of Illinois that oversees the nomination process and approves candidates, and notified the organization about what Adrahtas had done to him. Jensen was asked to draft a letter detailing his experience. It was the first time Jensen had told anyone outside his immediate friend group what happened (The Athletic spoke to three of Jensen’s friends, who confirmed the details of his disclosure to them). The letter that Jensen sent to AHAI, dated Feb. 10, 2010, describes his interactions with Adrahtas in the summer of 1984. Jensen wrote that he believed Adrahtas performed oral sex on him, that he felt it was part of a larger pattern of abuse and that Adrahtas was a threat to adolescents and those under his authority. (This letter was later shared with the SafeSport investigator, according to a source.) Jensen said he was subsequently informed that an AHAI hearing was set for Adrahtas to address the allegations but that Adrahtas had some sort of breakdown and declined to cooperate with investigators. Jensen was told Adrahtas was suspended from coaching AHAI-sanctioned teams. AHAI has declined to comment on any disciplinary action taken against Adrahtas as a result of the letter, or on account of any previous or subsequent notifications of his behavior. Nowhere in the publicly available minutes of the AHAI board of directors meetings in 2010 is there any evidence that Jensen’s letter was discussed. USA Hockey, via a spokesperson, said that it never received any reports of misconduct prior to September 2018. Several AHAI officials declined to comment or did not return calls and emails. At least one deferred to the organization’s lawyer and SafeSport. That lawyer did not return multiple calls and emails for comment. The SafeSport investigator assigned to the case referred questions to a spokesperson, who declined to divulge specifics of the investigation, citing both privacy and safety concerns. When approached at a recent USA Hockey event, Jim Smith, a long-standing member of AHAI (he was recently recognized with the Founders Award for 40 years of service to the organization; 1980-2020), said that he was never aware that AHAI was informed about Adrahtas and did not know what happened with his Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame candidacy. Smith is now the president of USA Hockey."

There should be icing on a pk. Makes the players get creative and make a play. I can see the NHL going to that someday.