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I’m curious as to why.

Do you know how many Esmark and Vengeance 08 players made it to natty camp?

My thought was simply this......there is a really good chance that a parent from this proposed U18 AAA team is a regular reader of this forum and would simply chime in and say "yay" or "nay." This is where the benefits of having a local hockey forum like this really shine through. If it makes you feel better I can talk crap now or should I hold off?

Thanks for the solid - appreciate your help and feedback.

Has anyone determined if the Preds will have a U18 AAA team this season or not?

Where did anyone here say that PAHL was a powerhouse? There are plenty of AA level players that could make some of the top AAA teams in western PA. Not all of them are kids that got cut at AAA tryouts - I have known many that were exceptional players that decided to play AA and not deal with the significant differences in travel and cost or were playing a secondary sport. And many of those local AA teams that you call mediocre are usually in the top 15 nationally in Tier 2, and most play 20-30+ additional games against non-PAHL nationally ranked teams. As far as your comment on only AAA in PIHL is legit, maybe you should have a word with some of those AAA coaches that lost to AA teams in past St. Margaret’s tournaments.

So by your comment, would having shitty coaches at AAA ( yes there are many ) make it a AAA issue? There are some AA coaches at multiple age levels that can run circles around some of the AAA coaches in western PA. And anyone out there that thinks they are guaranteed great coaching at the AAA level is smoking some really good rope. Just sayin'

DW is part of the ownership group that bought the shithole that was Ice Connection and poured a ton of money into major improvements. People that have issues with Frozen Pond today either have a very short memory of what the place used to be like or had never been there prior to it being sold.

Agreed - in times when its hot during late summer the ice at Frozen Pond always held up. IMO one of the best ice surfaces in western PA.

I haven’t and won’t play the victim card on this topic. I can remain pretty objective when it comes to any of my kids level of play and what they bring to these events - both of them had some success by advancing - one survived the first cut and the other made it to the final weekend by playing in the “all-star” game. Neither made it to natty camp, which was the right call. I have no axe to grind here, but I saw it for myself on multiple occasions of PPE kids advancing both to the finals and to natty camp whereas they were clearly not the best players there. Seeing top level kids from Culver, Esmark, Tri State and others who turned heads at these events only to be denied in favor of PPE kids that were clearly outplayed. And in some cases it wasn’t even close. Call it what you want, I’ll do the same.

“For anyone crying foul on the whole process, throw out some specific ways it could be improved. What are your ideas?” You can start with independent evaluators that have zero interest in their former players advancing. The fact that PPE coaches dominate this process is a joke. I’ve seen it multiple times at the U14, U15 and U16 levels. Get these “evaluators” to swap districts or bring in those that are not tied to any of the organizations. Everything looks fair when the cuts go from 100+ to 60. When it gets really fun is seeing the list of kids that advance to natty camp and see the sea of yellow buckets. I will stick by what I said - it is a sham.

This^^^^^ PPE coaches have been included in the evaluation process and lo and behold, many gold buckets always seem to advance ahead of those that were more deserving. I think MidAms are a sham and a complete waste.

It appears that Q has infiltrated this forum.

NP, SCIR, Foxes, Mt. Lebo, Armstrong, Preds will have teams for sure. Allegheny will have a U18 AA Independent and possibly one playing PAHL as tryouts are going on now. SHAHA should have a team as well. The Viper Stars and had a supplemental last weekend and Westmoreland has one next week so who knows.

That sucks, especially since you had the headcount at tryouts to field one or even two teams. Question - since your tryouts were open to spectators, do you think there was any chance mom or dad got in their kids ear to dissuade them from accepting their spot on the AA team because the parents felt it was not a good fit for their kid or that the grass may be greener elsewhere and the talent was not up to "their" standards? My gut says "yes" but what do I know.

IMO, yes. What good does it do? Typically teams in 14U AA Minor are U13 BY teams and I assume it is only done in this division because it is their first year of checking and allows kids of similar age and size to compete as their intro to checking. Unless anyone has another valid reason why there is a AA Minor division at only the U14 level?

Adding another A division under a “AA Minor” moniker is not the solution as all you are doing is pacifying the adults and coaches for ego purposes. Hell, its what everyone on this forum complains about all of the time with adding the extra A for those seeking placement on “faux AAA” teams when they should be at the AA level. If your kid is not good enough to make a AA team regardless of age, so be it. Play A-Major Black or a comparable level based on their ability and ranking at tryouts. Not allowing commitment fees to be returned if players are placed on the top team is a step in the right direction and will prevent mom and dad from sending their kid to five different tryouts while only paying for tryout fees. NP does this. AA Major and AA Minor? Why stop there - let’s go full throttle with AA Minor Mediocre and AA Minor Adequate.

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The nonsense of having organizations placing two teams in PAHL AA has to stop. It is less about PAHL having an influence of where the teams are placed and more about anabolic parents and ambitious coaches placing teams in a division where they don't belong. Historically when the lower or second team is added with predominatly younger BY players, they get destroyed by teams carrying mostly players of the older age group. Take for example, South Pittsburgh with two 16U AA teams last season, Preds 18U AA in 2021-22, and SHAHA U14 AA in 2020-21. PAHL needs to grow a pair and just say "no" and only allow one AA team per division per organization.

I am not surprised - NP typically gets 100+ registered per age group and could field up to six teams per division. 22 teams total from Squirt to Midget last year. https://myhockeyrankings.com/association_info.php?a=295

Agreed. Sometimes mom and dad are the ones that cannot face reality and cannot handle the blow to "their" ego with their star player not pursuing AAA hockey and only playing HS or at the AA level. Going off topic, but there were lots of top local kids drafted by NCDC teams yesterday - nice feel good moment but what will come of that if anything? And when does reality finally set in for those "rock stars" that did not get drafted by NCDC teams or any others as a HS kid? I learned the hard way https://www.usphlncdc.com/ncdc-draft-results https://goaliecoaches.com/understanding-junior-hockey-path-nhl/

Agreed, and if you have a kid that is true AA level I would stay away from any organization that is having a supplemental tryout to fill their AA teams. NP, Allegheny and SCIR would be safe bets to field teams with true AA level players. Word is players that got cut by Esmark / Vengeance are finding homes at these orgs AA teams. I hope the parents of "former" AAA teams that bought all of the AAA swag are OK with their kids playing at the AA level. My guess is most of the kids are good with it, mom and dad not so much. Hopefully they will realize playing at the AA level with a chance to go to Nationals is better than having their kid play for a diluted AAA team that wins ten games in a season and is out of the running for MidAms qualification by November. Look no further than Preds or Icemen teams from last season.

Esmark pulled this shit two seasons ago when they folded the 06 BY team right after tryouts. It is a bush move to cash the tryout checks and not return those fees to the kids that made the team and committed to the team prior to them folding. Garbage move by Esmark but I am not surprised.

“I'm assuming they are doing what it appears the Rebellion are doing: playing PAHL but then also playing a partial season or showcase season in the AHF.” I’m not so sure about that as that same coach and group of players that will make up the U18 AA team played as an independent last season as a U16 AA team. They turned their noses up at PAHL before so It would not surprise me if they did the same thing this year.

One of the better schools in the PA state system for academics and also an opportunity for your kid to play hockey is West Chester University. The campus is beautiful, not too large and has a nice downtown area for the restaurants and bars. It gets overlooked by those living in western PA but gets a heavy draw from kids in the tri-state area along with Philly. It is pretty affordable too at around $25K all-in for tuition / room / board per year before academic scholarships.