PUCKCOVID19

finishing in the basement of mid ams does take its toll every year 

2 hours ago, HSFBLJ said:

I can't beleive the Peters kid didn't get drafted.  Arguably the best 06 in area.  This just validates that where you play matters.  I doubt many people went to see SHAHA AAA.  He might have had a few looks at the HS level.  I'm just blown away by this.

if he was in the Chicago Minnesota or Detroit market he would have probably been drafted. All the faux AAA has killed this area for talent. its to spread out. 

3 hours ago, HSFBLJ said:

Did the kid from Peters get drafted?  

 

 im sure your referring to the one that plays for shah.  No, and he is a hell of a player too.

19 minutes ago, Jack Handey said:

USHL draft done. 
2 Barons, 3 PPE taken.  Also within district, 2 Culver.  

Lots from Shattuck, Mission, Little Caesars, Honeybaked, and many others.


 

that's where the REAL talent is and where it goes too 

2 hours ago, bender05 said:

Believe it or not Westmoreland is going to have an amazing team with almost half of the team AAA players 

what from all the esmark cuts and ppe cuts?

10 hours ago, Saucey said:

2005 is 17 that is 18u. Many 04s off to college...not a lot of numbers to play.

04 BY is a pretty big BY and so is 06 BY. Its well known that 05 is a very small BY.

11 minutes ago, Pa Hockey said:

And they are entertaining adding a couple of 04's from what I understand (Freshman - ACHA College players) 

they will need to they lost their starter. top forward and top d pair to the faux aaa team in the same building 

1 hour ago, Bathgate said:

You're trying to create a self-fulfilling prophesy by posting about a team's demise prematurely. Worst case scenario, there's no Icemen AAA this year but maybe a landing pad for AA hockey players. 

really, I know 1 goalie who has already accepted a spot on another team and went out for ice time. so the 2 goalies there are their goalies. and assuming all 11 stay you still min 4 shy of a roster and thats saying all 11 of them stay as well.....  

3 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

How could that be?  According to Puckcovid19 there is very little talent in Western Pa!  Must be less than that in Cleveland!

was talking about u18 boss no other BY 

12 minutes ago, 2muchAAAinWPA said:

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  There are lots of good organizations, in fact a case could be made for any of them, depending on who you talk to.  In 8 years of youth hockey, Ive learned that no organization is perfect.  Some are run better than others, differ in size, and differ depending on facility they use.  A larger organization has better quality of skill levels of teams, while smaller ones have tiers within teams.  It all comes down to you and your child and the level of play they want. 

There are bad people running orgs or coaching kids, i like to think there are more good than bad.  But like all things in life, a negative experience gets more attention than a positive one.  Sure there are bad people that create that bad experience for you but there is always a place to play hockey for your child.  It depends on their level of passion of the game.  Look for the good in a program, not dwell on the bad.  Move on and find the place thats right for your child and your experience.  

As parents we get too caught up on how many A's are tied to the team we try out on.  Ive seen parents throw other parents under the bus to help benefit their kid to get on a team.  An organization is part what makes it up (coaches, players, parents, managers, board) and part what you make of it.  

If you arent happy with a coach, there are other coaches and teams.  If you dont like how a board is run, then volunteer your time to help drive it to be better or look for another place to play.  The same people that complain are ones that dont know or understand the challenges that come with running a program of kids.

 

Every organization has its good times and bad times, and it can be good at one age and bad at another.  The underlining problem is patience and acceptance.  Kids develop and grow at different rates and times.  Your kid could play AA one year and A the next.  It all depends on them.  Parents drive the need to move up in letters.  Let the kid earn their spot. Sometimes they have to fail to grow/succeed.  

 

The only organizations that i feel are in a "bad" spot are the ones that promote AA or AAA teams that arent AA/AAA for sake of money.  It doesnt do hockey good to sell people on AA and AAA if the talent isnt there.  Pittsburgh doesnt have 5 teams worth of AAA talent and not all orgs can field a AA BY team.  Just not enough. 

The other thing that parents have to understand is the coaches arent there to develop your kids individual skills.  Too often i see parents complaining about lack of development from coaches.  Coaches are there to coach the team.  To coach systems and develop chemistry / team play.  There isnt enough time to coach to develop every player.  Thats up to the player and their parents.  Conditioning and lessons is how individual skills are developed.  A player will only develop so much from coaching in practice and games.  They learn by game experiences and extra effort they put in away from the team via lessons and off ice conditioning.  I will say as far as a coaches involvement with development, they have to give the child a chance or ice/game time to get those experiences.  But to really develop it takes the extra stuff, lessons and such.  

The topic opens up a loaded discussion and im sure I could go on and on, but i wont.  If anything, the best advice i can give is to tell anyone, remove the emotion from it. Step back and look at things without the emotion and speak in facts when evaluating an org you are in or looking at joining.  Control your emotions and feeling and look at the pros not just the cons.  

 

Pittsburgh dooesnt even have enough talent for 5 real aa team at most BY. be honest with yourself...

kiss iceman u18 good bye.  heard 3 goalies and 11 skaters showed up.  went on live barn and only counted 10 skaters and 3 goalies. either way.  maybe finally folks are seeing the money grab at the good ol ice infection 

no way does his books justify 3 millions dollars,, maybe 1-1.5 mill.  plus terrible location and needs alot of work 

34 minutes ago, fafa fohi said:

Whatever......... I mention ownership actually putting money into the facilities and the peanut gallery gets a chubby and piles on.  They could have bought the rink and did nothing just as the previous owners did.

guess you dont remember Bob Simpson and his wife where the ones the owned that rink before the Asian guy. Bob really ran it into the ground pretty bad. The Asian guy only had the rink rink for about 3-4 seasons before current owners. 

yep heard he wanted to leave but the free to play and giving sister a job was kinda a gimme to stay FOR NOW

55 minutes ago, Happy Hockey Fan said:

Where did Mooney go? 

of course he did sister is a coach. and he gets treated like a rock star.  wait tilll that team doesnt do much this season. then he will want out as well 

On 4/23/2022 at 11:01 AM, fafa fohi said:

They play at the Frozen Pond off of Rt. 8.  The place used to be the worst rink in PA, but DW and MF have poured a ton of money into that place and made huge improvements.  Who could forget the urinal in the boys locker rooms that used to be located right in the middle of the room?  As far as AA or AAA level they go into tryouts with the intention of playing at the AAA level but if the talent is not there they may play at the AA level as one of their teams did last year.

that rink is stilll a huge shit hole.... always will be.  

2 hours ago, nemesis8679 said:

That's a shame, considering they're supposedly one of the so-called top organizations in the Pittsburgh area. 

I think I also remember something like last season, I don't remember what age group, they took tryout checks only to announce they wouldn't have a team at that age after all. If either of these things happened to me or my kid, I'd be furious. Seems like they could use some organization and professionalism. Sounds like they couldn't care less, though. 

TOP? there isnt really a TOP organization.They all have a few goods seeds and bad seeds. And yes they pulled that last year with the 2006 BY. Now magically the  used car salesman convinced enough parents that their children are the next best thing since sliced bread.....

whole organization 

On 4/20/2022 at 1:10 PM, howard1 said:

Meanwhile numbers at Esmark and Vengeance U18 where 40+

vengeancehad 15 forwards 10d and 11 goalies.   too they would cut 3f 4d and 9goalies.  Honestly its a good turnout goalie wise. but skater wise I would call that slim pickings. And thats 04 and 05 BY.  

lets be honest here. unless a team is in the top 40 of tier1 hockey they ARE NOT true AAA. yes there might be a few really talented kids in that mix. BUT team skills set wise no one below 40 is really a true AAA team.

1 hour ago, Danner27 said:

Maybe folks are getting wise to that bottom of the barrel extra A. 

heard Gary is trying to see what Esmark rejects shows up after getting their rejection emails. 

8 minutes ago, Danner27 said:

That’s why kids are playing tier 1 - to move on. PPE has the best track record here. 

very true. remark gets their NAHL tenders( which is required as part of being in the NAPHL) so its more a freebee. may 1 out of every 1 make the team that tenders them, otherwise they end up in tier3 JR's

47 minutes ago, nemesis8679 said:

How many of these kids who've upended their own lives and their families lives actually end up playing in any of the leagues you've mentioned? And I mean stepped on the ice at all in those leagues, let alone making anything else out of it. 

facts NONE or very little percentage..The Kool aid man would be proud that his legacy lives on still....  and the ones referred to. 100 percent sure none will play d1 or USHL 

5 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

So you are saying that most likely the core of the team didn't sign up to tryout at Vengenance 06.  Left them with too many holes to fill for this year?  What if those kids don't make Esmark?  Or where they already guaranteed spots!  The way Yuri rolls!

ha true, nothing more then a slimy used car salesman..

just cross PPE off the list if your from PGH and above bantam major, they no longer want or care for PGH kids they want the fat check book kool aid drinking parents now...... and how did they do at mid am and nationals........ enough said