Corsi

He's not playing semantics, in this case it's more of an educational thing for younger parents. Until you get to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 National Bound designations, organizations can pretty much slap however many "A's" they want on a team and advertise it as such. I know that there's always an argument about what teams are "really AAA", but that's a different conversation.

Just like the 16U team had players miss a bunch of their HS games to travel to play for Preds, the exact same thing is going to happen with the Preds 18U AAA team this year. While I don't think that Preds outright says you cannot play HS, I'm pretty sure that a number of their players are asked to/choose to regularly miss HS games/practices to focus on the Preds team. Those player's priority is going to be Preds and not PIHL.

If this is the Howard that I think it is, he has done PIHL games as well as worked on site for the Penguins in the past.

Has anyone heard any news coming out of the "AAA" tryouts that just finished at the beginning of the week? I heard a rumor that SHAHA did not get enough of a turnout and will NOT be fielding an 18U AAA team this season.

A few things I would add, especially for new parents with young players: -The best players at 10 are very rarely the best players at 16. Remember that all players develop at their own pace. -Find some veteran parents that you can trust and ask questions. Organizations tend to do a poor job of educating new families and having others that are willing to share their experiences can be more helpful than any 45 minute informational meeting an organization is going to hold in late August. -Take some time during the season and watch games at different levels (A, AA, AAA) so you and your player recognize the difference in skill levels as well as the intensity of the games. This is very helpful when it comes to being realistic about what teams and what level to try out for each season. -Your player DOES NOT need the newest, most expensive, coolest looking piece of equipment every season. Buy equipment in the off season when stores have sales and buy a model year removed from what was just released. The technology and changes in equipment from year to year rarely, if ever, justify the difference in cost. Also, your player that is just learning how to skate and shoot will not be able to tell the difference between high end skates and sticks and the less costly equipment anyway.

- Always do what is best for your family and your financial situation. There are going to be people that are going to try to tell you what you should be doing and how you should be spending your time and money, their opinion DOES NOT MATTER!!! - If your player stops having fun, then stop playing and take some things off of their plate.

If they are being advertised then there probably isn't a problem especially if any kid off the street can show up and skate. If it is something that is "invite only" then you might have an argument.

The players on teams ranked in the top 50 or so in the country are already getting somewhere in the 60 game range without playing scholastic hockey and the level of play and exposure in those 60 games is better than they will get on a Tuesday night at 9:15. The 9PM and later start times on weekday nights is something else that is an issue with some of these players. Also, there needs to be a consideration given to the additional cost by adding a high school team on top of the expenses of playing that higher level schedule and the travel that requires. Scholastic hockey is great for some players, but it does not work for everyone because the hockey landscape has changed significantly in the past 20+ years and because of these changes it is not what it used to be.

Just took a quick look at the Ohio Blue Jackets 18AAA team that just played in the championship game last weekend. Just looking at the 2008 and 2009 players, NOT A SINGLE one has a high school team listed on their Elite Prospects profile.

I'm not sure I get your point... None of these players are being held hostage and forced to play for the organization. If they wanted to play high school hockey, they could easily move on to another organization.

It is not just the casual use of the "N" word, but it has been a point of emphasis for USA Hockey officials for the past handful of years for any word that is homophobic or describes a disability... think of a word that starts with an "R". Those will all qualify as leading to a match penalty during a game, regardless of if the player uses it in the hallway at school or when out with his buddies. There was a local player that was assessed a match penalty at MidAm's last year for saying the "R" word I referenced above, and he missed the remainder of that weekend (it happened in the 1st period of the 1st game) as well as his current teams 1st game this season. Essentially a 5 minute major and a 4 game suspension.

The match penalty tells you that the player didn't simply swear at the official and that the language escalated to something that USA hockey deems as being "hateful or discriminatory in nature". I agree that simply swearing at a ref or an opposing player does not rise to the level of a match, but using some of the "magic words" that fall under "hateful or discriminatory" does according to USA Hockey.

It does look like there was a ton of match penalties handed out, but the only way to get to the point where a confrontation with an official reaches a match there's only the following: (e) A match penalty shall be assessed to any player or team official who commits the following actions: Applies deliberate physical force or attempts to inflict physical harm to any game official, including off-ice officials. (Note) Any match penalty assessed under 601(e.1) of this rule must be reported via written game report by the officials no later than 24 hours following the game. Behaving in any manner that is critically detrimental to the conducting of the game, including but not limited to spitting at an opponent, spectator, game or team official opposing Team Official or opposing player with physical contact or harm. Uses language that is hateful or discriminatory in nature anywhere in the rink before, during or after the game. If the player didn't do 1 or 2, then it has to be the "hateful or discriminatory" language.

The 2 match penalties are the most severe, and both the "Removing a Helmet" and "Grabbing a Facemask". Based on what happened in the altercation, the officials made the calls according to what the USA Hockey rulebook dictates: 615c: "(c) A match penalty (for all age classifications) shall be assessed to any player who deliberately removes their helmet/facemask prior to an altercation." 622b/c: " (b) A major plus a game misconduct penalty shall be assessed to a player who uses their hand to rub, grab or hold the facemask of an opponent. (c) A match penalty for reckless endangerment may also be assessed for grabbing or holding the facemask.