stickboy

They all think they are playing Jr next season 😉

In the last couple years I’ve seen teams picked that aren’t as strong as they could be seemingly to avoid bias, and spread the selections around the district

People actually do that?

Who won?

Actually, it looks like 13O division for nationals is only 12 team format, so I guess they are are out 😬

They’re over it since they will still qualify for nationals.

The other posts are spot on, but I’d move on just to get away from the O bench coach if he is as you described. And I believe you as I’ve seen it many times! They typically don’t change, or go easily. So it’s not worth the headache for another season. He doesn’t get it (it’s PAHL A)! And his decisions are partly to blame for your team’s lack of success. The other players aren’t invested, especially later in the game, because they know what’s going to happen (Sonny gets the call).

Stop duplicating the same information in multiple posts. It’s annoying. Especially if it’s not what you created the thread for in the first place. Not to mention that we need a Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring to read most of them!

Thought this thread was statewide Elite 8 rankings? Now PIHL AAA 11?

Kudos to both of those guys. Especially Felsing for grinding through 3 years of jr after high school!

No. Pens don’t let you play high school hockey (most other top level amateur teams don’t either), and none of the other local teams that do are competitive enough to get a schedule that is scouted by those levels. I can only think of one player in recent years that played PIHL freshmen year, then left and was drafted to USHL and committed D1. There are other local kids drafted and committed but didn’t play PIHL for reasons above or other.

Me too, but with me it’s OCD

Whether it’s easy or not, many of the “actual good ones” are already here on top midget teams and moving up into the USHL.

Cal?

What planet have you been living on? It’s been that way for years. Why so grumpy now. And did all the teammates that your 4-year all star made better make it every year?

I was thinking the same. Anticipate seeing 3 yrs of juniors before NCAA becoming the norm instead of the typical 2 now.

Don’t forget Penn State dominated ACHA M1 for years, with a strong fan base and on campus rink. That was a driver for them making the jump and being successful soon after the jump. Not the same as coming in cold turkey in a non hockey market. It’s been nice to see PSU increase the local flavor on their team recently with a lot of good talent coming out of PA. I fear that may go away again with recruiting from CHL open.

Tier Ii juniors is going to take a hit. Not going to be a destination for NCAA advancement without a bunch of new schools. Heck, USHL and BCHL are going to take a hit. Players are already leaving those leagues for CHL.

it just got harder! https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5828094/2024/11/07/ncaa-canadian-hockey-league-college-hockey-explained/ I thought this was the most thorough article on the subject to date. On a positive, maybe local 18uAA hockey will get better once reality sets in 😉

All depends on your goals. USA Hockey recommends 14u for consideration of early specialization. I’d say that is late if you aspire to play high level junior, NCAA, and beyond. If you are midget minor with aspirations to play real junior hockey and potentially D1, you better be doing skills, film, gym, etc. in addition to team practices or you are way behind. That’s the landscape to navigate to those levels. If that’s not your goal it should be all about fun, but you can’t have it all.

Are there really area midget players on the local “AAA” teams that aren’t PPE or Esmark that would completely dominate AA? I find that hard to believe.

https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/youngstown-news/youngstown-phantoms-employee-arrested-on-sex-charges/

I tuned in for the third period of the final and the hockey looked good. Two nice teams there.

Stupid semi and final format! Great way to get players injured before the season starts.

How many of these kids are even in shape at this point? I’d be willing to bet it being AAA is a stretch too. Especially if it includes teams of players playing Pittsburgh high school hockey.