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New Semi Pro team in Pittsburgh


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I wonder if the Union Hockey League is investigating this whole mess in Pittsburgh and looking for a new owner. Looks like the league itself is legit.  Nothing wrong with another chance for folks to play the game they love. As long as no one gets scammed in the process!  Who ever runs the facebook page for the River Monsters seems to be doing a good job.

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7 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

I wonder if the Union Hockey League is investigating this whole mess in Pittsburgh and looking for a new owner. Looks like the league itself is legit.  Nothing wrong with another chance for folks to play the game they love. As long as no one gets scammed in the process!  Who ever runs the facebook page for the River Monsters seems to be doing a good job.

Not so sure that the local team is run any different from the other teams in the UHL. The bit about them going to Senior AAA status is a bit, uh, interesting. The fact that teams do way better at home than on the road is kind of telling.

There are Senior leagues in the west, like the Black Diamond League, that would blow the doors off this league. I agree that the social media for the River Monsters is very good. Whoever is doing that should get a raise.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/bdhl

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On 3/1/2024 at 4:20 PM, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

Not so sure that the local team is run any different from the other teams in the UHL. The bit about them going to Senior AAA status is a bit, uh, interesting. The fact that teams do way better at home than on the road is kind of telling.

There are Senior leagues in the west, like the Black Diamond League, that would blow the doors off this league. I agree that the social media for the River Monsters is very good. Whoever is doing that should get a raise.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/bdhl

You’re correct. But, it basically boils down to the clingiest of clingers to the last thread of any competitive hockey that they’re going to play in their lifetime. I get it (mostly). It’s basically, this is what the culmination of all of those years having fun and working hard is going to be as the competitive apex. For most guys, it’s high school, possibly ACHA D-Whatever for a couple/few years before booze and chicks enter the equation…then that’s it.

It ramps up fast; starting at bantam > then U16 > then U18 levels. I’m not really sure that most parents and youth players coming up even realize that it now takes 1-2 of Junior hockey after high school to be legitimate for any reputable ACHA D1 hockey. It was just starting to go that way in the early 2000s when I played. But, that was also the time ACHA D1 layed the foundation in order to shed the “club hockey” stigma…and also started getting players into pro leagues like the ECHL.

The landscape has changed quite a bit over the past 20-25 years. I remember when the ECHL was just above the delineation line of what was considered “professional.” $250/wk paycheck was a standard E contract (unless you were under an AHL contract…which was more liveable). It’s all so fleeting when you think about it.

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On 3/3/2024 at 2:32 AM, Rewster said:

You’re correct. But, it basically boils down to the clingiest of clingers to the last thread of any competitive hockey that they’re going to play in their lifetime. I get it (mostly). It’s basically, this is what the culmination of all of those years having fun and working hard is going to be as the competitive apex. For most guys, it’s high school, possibly ACHA D-Whatever for a couple/few years before booze and chicks enter the equation…then that’s it.

It ramps up fast; starting at bantam > then U16 > then U18 levels. I’m not really sure that most parents and youth players coming up even realize that it now takes 1-2 of Junior hockey after high school to be legitimate for any reputable ACHA D1 hockey. It was just starting to go that way in the early 2000s when I played. But, that was also the time ACHA D1 layed the foundation in order to shed the “club hockey” stigma…and also started getting players into pro leagues like the ECHL.

The landscape has changed quite a bit over the past 20-25 years. I remember when the ECHL was just above the delineation line of what was considered “professional.” $250/wk paycheck was a standard E contract (unless you were under an AHL contract…which was more liveable). It’s all so fleeting when you think about it.

It's been years since I've been around ACHA hockey, but my experience matches yours. In the 90s, you were happy to get kids who at least played on a high school team. Believe it or not, playing high school hockey was a much lower bar than it is now. By the early 2010s, those same kids were getting cut.

And around the same time (1990s), I do remember ECHL games were nothing but fights. Were they called the Wheeling Thunderbirds at first?? Now it's a legit AA option and even some of the single A leagues are sort of legit these days. I think it started when NHL teams needed a place to put their goalie prospects and it kind of ballooned from there. I'm not sure that the money is a whole lot better for the average ECHLer, but they do offer housing and some other amenities now.

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30 minutes ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

It's been years since I've been around ACHA hockey, but my experience matches yours. In the 90s, you were happy to get kids who at least played on a high school team. Believe it or not, playing high school hockey was a much lower bar than it is now. By the early 2010s, those same kids were getting cut.

And around the same time (1990s), I do remember ECHL games were nothing but fights. Were they called the Wheeling Thunderbirds at first?? Now it's a legit AA option and even some of the single A leagues are sort of legit these days. I think it started when NHL teams needed a place to put their goalie prospects and it kind of ballooned from there. I'm not sure that the money is a whole lot better for the average ECHLer, but they do offer housing and some other amenities now.

ECHL average pay is somewhere in the 700/week range. Minimum is like 500-something and up to around 1000. 

Very few if any players around here would have the ability to make a team. It might be a "lower" league but when it comes down to it those guys are closer to nhl players than the best players around here are to the ECHL.

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13 minutes ago, hockeyisgreat said:

Interesting!  Where do we find out more about this? What does APHL stand for?

Just seeing it on Facebook, appears all websites and social media for the UHL have been deleted.

image.jpeg.ed87427de2cbd09810ea901cb52bc7a3.jpeg

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3 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

Thanks for the scoop!  Seems there will be more info coming out! Don't trust what JK has to say!  Sure would like to see someone honest take over this team!

or just fold up shop

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9 hours ago, PUCKCOVID19 said:

or just fold up shop

Right. Or just form a new team that’s in Pittsburgh and in the same league…only run it ethically and legitimately. I mean, how much can the franchise fee actually cost? $250?

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6 hours ago, Rewster said:

Right. Or just form a new team that’s in Pittsburgh and in the same league…only run it ethically and legitimately. I mean, how much can the franchise fee actually cost? $250?

I get guys wanting to continue to play, but it's really just not needed. The level of play is not as strong as the better mens leagues around here.

This is essentially faux AAA for adults.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/1/2024 at 4:20 PM, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

Not so sure that the local team is run any different from the other teams in the UHL. The bit about them going to Senior AAA status is a bit, uh, interesting. The fact that teams do way better at home than on the road is kind of telling.

There are Senior leagues in the west, like the Black Diamond League, that would blow the doors off this league. I agree that the social media for the River Monsters is very good. Whoever is doing that should get a raise.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/league/bdhl

They just did a feature on the “staff” on FB… Ben Cunningham’s girlfriend Bri makes all of the good social media content for FB and Instagram. If none of the players are getting paid I doubt she’s getting anything. 

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20 hours ago, i am score said:

They just did a feature on the “staff” on FB… Ben Cunningham’s girlfriend Bri makes all of the good social media content for FB and Instagram. If none of the players are getting paid I doubt she’s getting anything. 

Ha. Probably not. But she is doing a good job. Their content looks great.

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Read between the lines people. Jaison Kelly has to be the worst human that resides in Pittsburgh. He’s a con artist and a flat out loser . A fuckup. Until his hands are still on this River Monsters, I’m staying away. Praying he goes to jail on his arraignment that’s in April for fraud.

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6 hours ago, Sendhimaway55 said:

Read between the lines people. Jaison Kelly has to be the worst human that resides in Pittsburgh. He’s a con artist and a flat out loser . A fuckup. Until his hands are still on this River Monsters, I’m staying away. Praying he goes to jail on his arraignment that’s in April for fraud.

the whole league is a joke tbh.... how many name changes this season alone.  3 already.... 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/20/2024 at 5:54 PM, PUCKCOVID19 said:

the whole league is a joke tbh.... how many name changes this season alone.  3 already.... 

Didn't this guy just have a formal arraignment?? What happened? I heard there was barely 200 people if that at their last game.

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3 hours ago, spilledbeans said:

Didn't this guy just have a formal arraignment?? What happened? I heard there was barely 200 people if that at their last game.

no idea but judging by the YouTube feed I would say lucky to have 100 even 

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