RJUSHL

Why have they left and/or been fired?

No doubt about that. I really hope this discussion doesn't turn into that again. Those two teams are good. Are SHAHA AAA teams looking for a new home with two sheets of ice and more practice time? It's still crazy to me how many teams they run out of the YMCA with one single sheet.

Thanks for the transparency. It makes sense, especially with how some AAA teams have swapped organizations in recent years. The entire '08 AAA Lebo team moved to SHAHA last year for example. Printscape could be a decent landing spot for some teams. But just so we're clear, the Tier 1 part of the advertisement wasn't in reference to Esmark now using ice at Printscape?

An extra sheet of ice in the south hills is great news. It's really needed. There will be no issues filling all available ice. The Tier 1 thing is interesting. I wonder if they mean Rebellion Tier 1 or if it's more of a reference to Esmark now using Printscape for their program? It's all Black Bear so there seems to be some overlap. Probably more and more overlap each year.

Good perspective. Doesn’t seem like a bad situation for the kids. They’re getting a good education, and much of the cost of their hockey is comped. For most kids, it doesn’t get any better than that. I don’t know too much about ACHA hockey, but the situation at Pitt seems like an awesome setup for local kids with good grades that couldn’t quite make it work in Tier 2 juniors or had no desire to play junior hockey. Not exactly sure who feeds these programs. I don’t understand the hate.

Fairly big travel weekend for many families. Not a good idea if you’re trying to get numbers.

Just talked to a buddy who plays out of Printscape. Still no sign of construction. I'm skeptical of the second sheet.

* Utilization of both Pittsburgh Ice Arena and Printscape Arena for practices and games ^^ That part is on the page at the bottom. I agree. Kind of hard to read. More details would be helpful.

I wonder if this will pull AAA SHAHA and Preds kids? They'll probably have to be much more specific about how the split will work.

The Esmark announcement specifically states that practices and games will be split between PIA (New Ken) and Printscape (Southpointe). https://www.esmarkstars.com/tryouts-information This means that Printscape is for sure getting an additional sheet of ice. Rebellion and all the large school organizations that practice out of Printscape seem to already be limited by ice time. Peters and Canon Mac are large school organizations with teams at all levels. I believe Rebellion has had to limit their number of teams and make cuts the past few years. Only way this works is if they add a second sheet. Has anyone been there recently and seen signs of construction? The announcement also mentions the Viper Stars still being based out of New Ken. But wasn't that announcement a few weeks ago aligning Esmark with the Huskies?

A lot of interesting things here. Maybe this needs a new thread. Esmark mentioning a split (games and practices) between PIA and Printscape. That for sure means that a second sheet is coming to Printscape, because talking to people who play out of that rink, they're always limited by the amount of available ice. Lots of Rebellion teams (I know they make cuts because of a lack of ice) and 3 or 4 school programs play out of there. I'll start a new thread because I think they want this to stay focused on just the announcements.

I understand you’re just trolling us, but you do realize that driving from Wexford (north hills) to Printscape is faster than driving from Wexford to PIA. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night or during rush hour. You may want a refund on your traffic management degree.

Says the dude who refers to himself in the third person.

Anyone a bookmaker? Let's get this man some odds.

I know you don't live in the south hills or like the south hills Flavio. That's fine. But man you really don't understand the layout of this city. Printscape is a vastly better drive for most people, whether they are in the south hills or not. Here are all the AAA PIHL high schools. You know, the largest districts, with the most kids, and the most kids who play hockey. Distances are from the actual high school. Peters Township 14 minutes to Printscape 53 minutes to PIA Central Catholic 29 minutes to Printscape 31 minutes to PIA Seneca Valley 42 minutes to Printscape 44 minutes to PIA North Allegheny 38 minutes to Printscape 42 minutes to PIA Pine Richland 42 minutes to Printscape 35 minutes to PIA Upper St. Clair 15 minutes to Printscape 47 to PIA Cathedral Prep 2 hr 9 minutes to Printscape 2 hr 12 minutes to PIA Bethel Park 21 minutes to Printscape 49 minutes to PIA Baldwin 32 minutes to Printscape 41 minutes to PIA Canon Mac 10 minutes to Printscape 51 minutes to PIA Mt. Lebanon 20 minutes to Printscape 40 to PIA Please tell me again that PIA is an amazing location and Printscape is horrible for most people. One single school is closer to PIA than Printscape. One. And it's a 7 minute difference. This is honestly such a stupid thing to argue about. I should not have taken the time to do this. Geographically speaking, I live roughly right in-between the two rinks. But the drive time is not even close. And notice that destinations even north of the city (NA, Seneca Valley, etc.) are closer to Printscape. It's not difficult to understand. Not sure why it upsets you so much.

Geography is clearly not your strong suit. You have three main roads right by Southpointe... 79, the new toll road that goes to the airport, and 19. In what alternate universe do you think Alpha or PIA are better locations?! Sure, every location is going to be good for some and bad for others, but we're speaking in general terms here. There are certain rinks that are just more convenient for more people. And this isn't much of a newsflash, but those rinks aren't Alpha or PIA. And your "people with business background" argument is even more absurd. You see any giant new business parks in New Ken? Now what about Southpointe?

What's your number?

Well I guess that settles that. Thanks for chiming in. Is it games at one, practices at another? How do you plan on managing this and selling it to potential players and families?

Has anyone who is at the rink regularly seen any construction or signs of a second sheet?

It's a quicker drive from Seneca Valley high school in Harmony to Printscape than it is to PIA. If you haven't looked at a map lately, Seneca Valley is wayyyyyyyyy north of the city. You have your 75% rule backwards. New Ken is a nightmare for 75% of the city and probably 85% of the best players who either live in the south hills or up and down the 79 corridor. It's not complicated.

Couple things... If you look at rosters of PPE, Esmark, and Vengeance, you're going to see that there is probably greater than 50% of the kids coming from the south hills and/or 79 corridor. But there are still lots of good players in the south hills that refuse to make that drive to New Ken or Harmarville but are still good players. Those kids generally choose to stay and play at SHAHA or Preds. In the case of SHAHA, many of those teams are ranked higher than Esmark. There are just more good players in the south hills in places like Upper St. Clair, Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township, Bethel Park, etc. There is also a concentration of good players in places like Quaker Valley and Seneca Valley, but even though those districts are north of the city, it's still a closer drive to Southpointe than new New Ken. Seneca Valley is wayyyy north of the city, and Printscape is still closer than PIA. And even when you exclude the 79 corridor, there is also that brand new toll road that connects Southpointe to places west of the city like Robinson, Imperial, Moon, and even Sewickley. Esmark being based out of New Ken absolutely without any doubt holds them back.

^ This. Huge missed opportunity if they don't.

I'm guessing you mean the part about Esmark using ice at Printscape is news to you? That does seem kinda wild. Is the second sheet at Printscape happening from what you've been told?

They do own a USHL team, an NAHL team, and maybe even an EHL team. So that's like Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III junior teams. So they certainly have the capability, the question is whether they would devote the time/energy/resources to get it going.

I agree completely. Good program, good coaching, good model, but with an awful location that will always hold them back. Especially with how/where the city has grown and developed the past 10-15 years. If Esmark doesn't move (doubt they will) I think it's almost a foregone conclusion that Black Bear will start a Tier 1 program in a much better location like Southpointe. There's precedent for this with Black Bear. That would put a serious squeeze on SHAHA and Preds.