What will happen to the good 2009 AA PAHL teams?

[Pucks11]

37 minutes ago, RJUSHL said:

Exactly. For a strong BY like 2009 the number should be three. Pittsburgh could have three top 40 teams. The six 09 AAA teams we’ll have next year is absolutely excessive.

There will be more 09 AAA teams than 09 AA teams. Crazy. 

Blame it on the parents. To many parents want their kid to be the SUPERSTAR of the team and don't want a another kid to threaten that or they may not get seen by scouts. Then you have the pare5that won't let their kid play with another kid because they don't like that kids parents. Then comes in the parents that refuse to let their kid play for a parent coach.

At all age groups if the best kids played together Pittsburgh would have 2 or 3 strong AAA teams and some really good AA teams.

[YardSale]

6 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

Agreed. Need to figure out a host org and a coach.  I think pens, one North hills and one south Hills team would be fine. Same with 08s. 

How much ice do the south hills teams get? Plenty of ice at PIA.

[stickboy]

9 hours ago, Rewster said:

I believe that “crawl” that you are describing is also known as protecting one’s own self interest. Sometimes, it’s actually not the ones “standing proud” that win.
As the Gambler once said…you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.
I’ve witnessed the “proud standing” ones that find themselves on a train bound to nowhere.

If the “win” is to get to meaningful junior hockey then both the “crawlers” and “proud standing” will both lose. Basically, it doesn’t matter between any of these programs. One just has better marketing.  Pick which one has the coach that is best for your players needs and where your family can  tolerate being for 8 months

[Nepotisim_anyone]

11 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

Blame it on the parents. To many parents want their kid to be the SUPERSTAR of the team and don't want a another kid to threaten that or they may not get seen by scouts. Then you have the pare5that won't let their kid play with another kid because they don't like that kids parents. Then comes in the parents that refuse to let their kid play for a parent coach.

At all age groups if the best kids played together Pittsburgh would have 2 or 3 strong AAA teams and some really good AA teams.

This is it in a nutshell. Kids don’t care. But the parents and their egos do. 

[aaaahockey]

1 hour ago, Pucks11 said:

Blame it on the parents. To many parents want their kid to be the SUPERSTAR of the team and don't want a another kid to threaten that or they may not get seen by scouts. Then you have the pare5that won't let their kid play with another kid because they don't like that kids parents. Then comes in the parents that refuse to let their kid play for a parent coach.

At all age groups if the best kids played together Pittsburgh would have 2 or 3 strong AAA teams and some really good AA teams.

Well I do have to admit I don't want to spend 4000 dollars + travel  to spend 8 months with a bunch of loud jack******.  It makes the entire experience miserable and I'd rather my kid have fun and the parents have fun too.  

[Pucks11]

30 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

Well I do have to admit I don't want to spend 4000 dollars + travel  to spend 8 months with a bunch of loud jack******.  It makes the entire experience miserable and I'd rather my kid have fun and the parents have fun too.  

It's not about you, it's about the kids.

[nemesis8679]

1 hour ago, Pucks11 said:

It's not about you, it's about the kids.

Jack ass parents absolutely can ruin it for the kids, though.

[Rewster]

7 hours ago, Saucey said:

This has been developing for a while. In order to play AA, you have to sign up to play AAA. 😞🤢 All it does is increase the cost of hockey and time spent on it. PAHL AA 16u hockey was terrible quality top to bottom this year. I don't know about 14u, didn't watch any games this year, but I remember thinking last year watching two of the mid am games thinking....this is awful. Bleh. Good luck chasing, all.

Meh, now you could very well be right about the 16U AA PAHL hockey quality being terrible. I have not kept close tabs on the skill level disparity across the board, or the coaching levels, competition, recent history, etc.

I know that this year’s PAHL 18U AA hockey was honestly some of the best Midget Major hockey that I have seen as a conglomerate in this region. Armstrong is obviously the best as they have gone toe-to-toe with just about every reputable Tier 2 18U AA league in the nation; and either won, or tied. Considering that Armstrong was this year’s PAHLs 18U AA measuring stick. There were 4 or sometimes 5 league teams in the PAHL that could have been legitimate players in Tier 2 18U Nationals.

Maybe this is the culmination year for PAHL and the entirety of their divisions and organizations. It could be the brilliance of the bright flame going out in PAHL 18U AA…never to be rivaled again. I’d argue this season was …possibly/probably the best “ever” that came together in the history of the league’s apex age classification.

[Saucey]

15 minutes ago, Rewster said:

Meh, now you could very well be right about the 16U AA PAHL hockey quality being terrible. I have not kept close tabs on the skill level disparity across the board, or the coaching levels, competition, recent history, etc.

I know that this year’s PAHL 18U AA hockey was honestly some of the best Midget Major hockey that I have seen as a conglomerate in this region. Armstrong is obviously the best as they have gone toe-to-toe with just about every reputable Tier 2 18U AA league in the nation; and either won, or tied. Considering that Armstrong was this year’s PAHLs 18U AA measuring stick. There were 4 or sometimes 5 league teams in the PAHL that could have been legitimate players in Tier 2 18U Nationals.

Maybe this is the culmination year for PAHL and the entirety of their divisions and organizations. It could be the brilliance of the bright flame going out in PAHL 18U AA…never to be rivaled again. I’d argue this season was …possibly/probably the best “ever” that came together in the history of the league’s apex age classification.

The 06 BY was pretty strong. You had some kids keep playing that usually quit by 18u and a lot of the AAA options died. I think that is unusual. And....no one cares about 18u hockey, really. All washed up by that age. 🤷‍♂️ 

[Icebucket]

53 minutes ago, Rewster said:

Meh, now you could very well be right about the 16U AA PAHL hockey quality being terrible. I have not kept close tabs on the skill level disparity across the board, or the coaching levels, competition, recent history, etc.

I know that this year’s PAHL 18U AA hockey was honestly some of the best Midget Major hockey that I have seen as a conglomerate in this region. Armstrong is obviously the best as they have gone toe-to-toe with just about every reputable Tier 2 18U AA league in the nation; and either won, or tied. Considering that Armstrong was this year’s PAHLs 18U AA measuring stick. There were 4 or sometimes 5 league teams in the PAHL that could have been legitimate players in Tier 2 18U Nationals.

Maybe this is the culmination year for PAHL and the entirety of their divisions and organizations. It could be the brilliance of the bright flame going out in PAHL 18U AA…never to be rivaled again. I’d argue this season was …possibly/probably the best “ever” that came together in the history of the league’s apex age classification.

I'll agree on this one. Over the last 5 or so years, 18U has had 2 or 3 good AA teams. This year, there were 5 who easily would have been in the top 3 of any of those seasons

[Hockey00]

On 3/16/2024 at 9:07 AM, aaaahockey said:

Hard question because it also depends on if any other 08s show up that would knock them out of spots. Maybe this is where the Esmark team gets their 09s

But esmark tryouts are before allegheny 

[aaaahockey]

2 hours ago, Hockey00 said:

But esmark tryouts are before allegheny 

I figured people lick their fingers and see which way the wind is blowing.  Open skates for teams etc they will figure out fast what chance their kids have unless they are delusional. 

Edited March 17 by aaaahockey
Typo

[YardSale]

26 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

I figured people lick their fingers and see which way the wind is blowing.  Open skates for teams etc they will figure out fast what chance their kids have unless they are delusional. 

Speaking of, how are the skates looking?

[RJUSHL]

12 hours ago, YardSale said:

Speaking of, how are the skates looking?

Particularly the Esmark skates. I wonder if they can pull this off. They need to be working the phones hard to start again from scratch. It won’t work if they just rely on some gravitational pull to get kids back in the door and overcome the lost momentum from last year. But at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if they end up with the second best 09 team in the region when all is said and done.

[Hockey00]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:05 PM, HockeyFan6687 said:

Allegheny just posted its coaches.  No 08 or 09 just a 16uAA National Bound team. 
Surprised to see the 2010 listed being that there was mass exodus from there Last year. 

Interesting and no info on website if it will be PAHL, Independent, AHF, etc.  

 

No mention of what tournaments or leagues. 

 

Really confusing and heard from a dad on 09s the team wasn’t even informed of the changes and were blindsided. 

[Hockey00]

1 hour ago, RJUSHL said:

Particularly the Esmark skates. I wonder if they can pull this off. They need to be working the phones hard to start again from scratch. It won’t work if they just rely on some gravitational pull to get kids back in the door and overcome the lost momentum from last year. But at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if they end up with the second best 09 team in the region when all is said and done.

apparently they are having u16 players come to the u14 (will be u15 kids) skates so then it looks like more kids are showing up. mostly aa players at the esmark skates so far 

[HockeyFan6687]

14 hours ago, Hockey00 said:

Interesting and no info on website if it will be PAHL, Independent, AHF, etc.  

 

No mention of what tournaments or leagues. 

 

Really confusing and heard from a dad on 09s the team wasn’t even informed of the changes and were blindsided. 

Looks bad from the outside.  A good organization should look to treat their loyal players well and create situations where the talent wants to remain with the organization.  Keeping your existing families in the loop should happen before any dramatic changes are made.  
 

I’m also hearing that they are trying to push hard for a 2010 team after having all the top 2010’s last season basically pack up and move on.  Is there even a possibility?

Sounds like the older birth years have problems. 

[Hky05]

Renegades open skate attracted a lot of 09 skaters and goalies including rebellion and badgers 

[hockey07]

Any truth to preds u15 2009 not allowing kids to play PIHL hockey?

[Happy Hockey Fan]

47 minutes ago, hockey07 said:

Any truth to preds u15 2009 not allowing kids to play PIHL hockey?

If there is that coach needs to be fired. Anybody that is so delusional that they think their amateur team is so important that their players shouldn’t play PIHL for whatever reason shouldn’t be allowed to coach at all. U15 AAA Preds will probably be sending 5 or 6 kids to the NHl right? What a joke! 

[Corsi]

3 hours ago, hockey07 said:

Any truth to preds u15 2009 not allowing kids to play PIHL hockey?

I can't speak to what Vengance or the rumored Esmark team is going to do, but I know people involved with both SHAHA and Preds at that BY and they have been told that both teams will be "High School Friendly", which I would think means that there's an ability to play both and if there's a conflict it is dealt with when the conflict comes up.  

[aaaahockey]

25 minutes ago, Corsi said:

I can't speak to what Vengance or the rumored Esmark team is going to do, but I know people involved with both SHAHA and Preds at that BY and they have been told that both teams will be "High School Friendly", which I would think means that there's an ability to play both and if there's a conflict it is dealt with when the conflict comes up.  

I heard directly from a Preds parent that they were told high school hockey wasn't an option next year.  Not sure if they were correct, telling the truth, etc (I don't even know the guy he was talking to my brother) but hopefully he's wrong that sounds insane.  Maybe they changed their mind when parents got upset. 

[CranjisMcBasketball]

12 hours ago, hockey07 said:

Any truth to preds u15 2009 not allowing kids to play PIHL hockey?

I feel like it should be the other way around. Any responsible HS coach should advise his players to avoid that train wreck A chase. 

[fafa fohi]

17 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

I heard directly from a Preds parent that they were told high school hockey wasn't an option next year.  Not sure if they were correct, telling the truth, etc (I don't even know the guy he was talking to my brother) but hopefully he's wrong that sounds insane.  Maybe they changed their mind when parents got upset. 

If my kid wanted to play high school hockey and club, and the club told him he couldn't play HS then I would move on and move fast.  Granted, HS hockey is not at the level of some AA and AAA level club teams, but kids love playing in front of their school friends.  I have watched numerous Pens Cup games this year and the vibe has been nothing but outstanding.  

The Preds AAA level teams are a joke anyhow - did any of them make MidAms?

Edited March 21 by fafa fohi

[Corsi]

11 hours ago, CranjisMcBasketball said:

I feel like it should be the other way around. Any responsible HS coach should advise his players to avoid that train wreck A chase. 

The problem with that is the level of play on travel hockey teams is higher than local HS, especially when you move away from the higher PIHL divisions.  Also, if the player has any kind of goal of playing at a higher level, junior and college coaches are not sending their people to watch a PIHL game on a Thursday night, but will have people in Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh for a weekend to watch "AAA" tournament games.  I understand the desire to play with and in front of your friends from school, but the decision should be based on what an individual player's future goals are.