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Preds birth year teams all playing independent schedule


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3 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

So what AAA teams would you let your kid try out for? Only Pens Elite?  If he's not good enough to play for them just let him play PAHL?  Could be hard to get a 13 to 15 year old that has been one of the better PAHL players to understand that. Especially when he sees all the kids he grew up playing with and against playing for the so-called FAUX AAA teams.  This is all so interesting. Sure not like other High School sports.

Emark places plenty of kids in legit junior leagues.  

And at the 08 and 09 level the Vengeance is strong. 

When kids get to high school other forces come into play.  The desire to play high school hockey, to go to homecoming and have a social life, maybe play another sport in addition to hockey.  And oh yeah, it is much harder to make a U18 team.  Two birth years on one team.    

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9 minutes ago, twoboys said:

Emark places plenty of kids in legit junior leagues.  

And at the 08 and 09 level the Vengeance is strong. 

When kids get to high school other forces come into play.  The desire to play high school hockey, to go to homecoming and have a social life, maybe play another sport in addition to hockey.  And oh yeah, it is much harder to make a U18 team.  Two birth years on one team.    

go back and really dig.  yes those kids get a tender but they never make the NAHL teams that tender them. 98 percent of them are either ACHA NCDC or Premier NOT NAHL.    the last Esmark kid to go would be either the goalie thats in Alaska or the kid that went to johnstown and is now playing NCAA D1... 

 

so pens do move themes that MAKE the higher rosters 

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4 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

So what AAA teams would you let your kid try out for? Only Pens Elite?  If he's not good enough to play for them just let him play PAHL?  Could be hard to get a 13 to 15 year old that has been one of the better PAHL players to understand that. Especially when he sees all the kids he grew up playing with and against playing for the so-called FAUX AAA teams.  This is all so interesting. Sure not like other High School sports.

You asked how to keep your kid's dream alive. You are truly those league's fantasies. They totally prey on a parents' desire to cater to their kids. They are awful. Been subjected to it.

I don't understand that reason for playing expensive hockey, 'I don't want to crush my kid's dreams'. I can't help you there. For me personally, if I am funding the dreams, things have to done within reason. No AAA around here for me. I don't have a AAA player. 

The development is not any better than what we get in PAHL and private lessons. I see the players.

If you have the money, your kid can play for a long time. Fund your kid's dream of you want. You have a lot of company.

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1 hour ago, PUCKCOVID19 said:

go back and really dig.  yes those kids get a tender but they never make the NAHL teams that tender them. 98 percent of them are either ACHA NCDC or Premier NOT NAHL.    the last Esmark kid to go would be either the goalie thats in Alaska or the kid that went to johnstown and is now playing NCAA D1... 

 

so pens do move themes that MAKE the higher rosters 

This is true. It’s the same as the na3 putting the nahl carrot before the horse, the naphl is part of it. 
 

Esmark pads the stats of their top players during 16 & 18. (one of my kids was the beneficiary of this). Almost every goal has two assists, phantom points etc. once the player ends up at a nahl camp with 80 points or so in 50-60 games, doesn’t stand out they are cut or told to go pay to play in the na3 we will keep an eye on you.

The nahl also has to tender / draft X amount of kids from the naphl each year. It’s how they keep the nahl funded, the players paying to pay tier 3 na3. Naphl-na3-nahl is advertised as the ladder of development but it’s really just another rung in the machine. It’s the same model the usphl ripped off. 
 

with that said, playing for esmark your kid can possibly get a real look from a real Junior league like the nahl but as the above poster points out it very rarely works out. Usually the top 2-3 players in points every year from the naphl teams get a nahl tender or drafted. 
 

it pains me every time I say it. PPE if you are still in western pa at the age of 16 or older. 

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Sweet Jesus. Is this thread still going on? It was good for the first few pages when there was some constructive talk of how PAHL could get better in order to keep teams from going independent. Then it went into the all too inevitable death spiral of “PPE or nothing” “faux AAA” “all ends in beer league” last week.

Some sour people out there lol.
 

 

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12 hours ago, muckerandgrinder said:

 

Some sour people out there lol.
 

 

Wow, I see a lot of constructive points of view from people who have lived through it. Their points are valued by me for sure as my kid navigates through hockey in Western Pa.  I give him advice and let him tryout where he wants. Has yet to make his first choice but it hasn't stopped him from trying.  I know he's not going anywhere great but I hope he never loses his passion for the sport cause he sure has that.

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17 minutes ago, Tendymom said:

Preds 09 played up last season on the 08 division.  The size difference was a crippling factor....

According to MHR they also lost to 09 Barons, SHAHA, Buffalo Regals, Three different Philly teams, and tied a Maryland team and a Rochester team.  So unless they substantially upgraded something I'm still confused at why they would go independent.  

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3 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

According to MHR they also lost to 09 Barons, SHAHA, Buffalo Regals, Three different Philly teams, and tied a Maryland team and a Rochester team.  So unless they substantially upgraded something I'm still confused at why they would go independent.  

easy, KING needs a new Benz....

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3 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

According to MHR they also lost to 09 Barons, SHAHA, Buffalo Regals, Three different Philly teams, and tied a Maryland team and a Rochester team.  So unless they substantially upgraded something I'm still confused at why they would go independent.  

Played the Barons 6 times...lost twice, tied once, won 3. Played 2 different Rochester teams,  won 4 of those games, tied twice....all depends on who shows up to play on any given day.  Could they have played PAHL AA 09 this year , probably...but I personally think the independent schedule will be more challenging.

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1 hour ago, Tendymom said:

Played the Barons 6 times...lost twice, tied once, won 3. Played 2 different Rochester teams,  won 4 of those games, tied twice....all depends on who shows up to play on any given day.  Could they have played PAHL AA 09 this year , probably...but I personally think the independent schedule will be more challenging.

I could sign up for tier A beer league too and it would be more challenging but that isn't where I belong.

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13 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

I could sign up for tier A beer league too and it would be more challenging but that isn't where I belong.

So why would you say they don't belong?  Wouldn't it be better to be challenged and grow than dominate in a AA 09 PAHL schedule? How would that be making them any better?

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46 minutes ago, Saucey said:

If in a little over their head, that will improve skills. Way over is a waste of time for both teams. 

Agreed. And none of the games played last season or so far this season have been a complete blow out so I would say it would be beneficial in improving skills.

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12 hours ago, Tendymom said:

So why would you say they don't belong?  Wouldn't it be better to be challenged and grow than dominate in a AA 09 PAHL schedule?

Prove it?  Oh wait you can't because you went independent.  So I guess we will never know if you would dominate or lose every game?  Or did you schedule a bunch of Pahl 09 teams to prove me wrong? 

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