North Catholic/Excel Hockey

[Danner27]

31 minutes ago, fafa fohi said:

“If he does have the skill set his parents need to get him to PPE or out of western PA.”

Really?  He was at PPE along with a solid group of players that were cut and left for greener pastures - some are now on teams that beat PPE handily over the past few years and no longer have to deal with their BS.

So much for your beloved PPE for player development.

https://www.pittsburghpenguinselite.com/roster/show/2134684?subseason=255778

It’s not so much about winning at PPE. It about the advancement, connections & being scouted. What age was the kid cut ? I don’t know the kids name. 
 

Bitch & complain as much as you want about PPE - it doesn’t change the FACT that 90% of the local players that move onto real junior hockey or further went through PPE. 
 

edit - I’m looking at shaha, their two leading scorers are close. I see one kid plays for peters the other ringold. Neither listed as ever playing for PPE. So this kid you are talking about was at PPE for squirts maybe a year for PW ? Nobody cares where you played squirts OR PW. Unless the player is a phenom with pro projections, That age is about pure development. If this kid is as good as others say, it appears PPE had a hand in his development. 

Bantam is when the kids start to really separate due to skill. Bantam is when kids start to get followed. Midget is when it gets serious. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Danner27

[twoboys]

Pretty sure most of the time the size listed for a kid is an exaggeration. 

The other interesting thing is that another kid on SHAHA put up almost identical stats.    

[Danner27]

15 minutes ago, twoboys said:

Pretty sure most of the time the size listed for a kid is an exaggeration. 

The other interesting thing is that another kid on SHAHA put up almost identical stats.    

Always subtract one inch of height. 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Danner27

[hockeyisgreat]

3 hours ago, RegDunlop7 said:

Pretty sure @hockeyisgreat is trolling haha. 700 posts on this site but keeps saying the same things and asking the same questions.

Not sure why it is trolling!  No one has answers for me.  I figured Saucey was being sarcastic about getting an agent.  Does anyone have any suggestions as to agents?  I guess I should just give up as no one can answer my questions!

[Carl Racki]

3 hours ago, Icebucket said:

I think you are drastically overrating the level of play in local HS.  This isn't MN or MA...

Of course PIHL AAA is not like Minnesota highschool hockey but I will say Pens Elite players and other AAA players that did/do play PIHL AAA before Excel started typically only averaged about 2 points per game max.  So is the league that bad or were those players that over rated?  I believe the 9th grader from Peters averaged more than that in his freshmen year.  He has potential to play wing at a higher level I believe.

[hockey2020]

23 minutes ago, Carl Racki said:

Of course PIHL AAA is not like Minnesota highschool hockey but I will say Pens Elite players and other AAA players that did/do play PIHL AAA before Excel started typically only averaged about 2 points per game max.  So is the league that bad or were those players that over rated?  I believe the 9th grader from Peters averaged more than that in his freshmen year.  He has potential to play wing at a higher level I believe.

pa high school hockey does not translate to high level aaa hockey period. the high level kids who used to play were out there having fun but it is not the same game. know idea about whoever you are talking about but if he did great in pihl good for him i’m sure it was fun but it is meaningless for advancement. the true aaa players who used to play before not being allowed by ppe were simply trying not to get hurt - it wasn’t about points so you can’t judge by if so and so only had 2 points pg during a pihl game. 

[Spear and Magic Helmet]

2 hours ago, hockey2020 said:

pa high school hockey does not translate to high level aaa hockey period. the high level kids who used to play were out there having fun but it is not the same game. know idea about whoever you are talking about but if he did great in pihl good for him i’m sure it was fun but it is meaningless for advancement. the true aaa players who used to play before not being allowed by ppe were simply trying not to get hurt - it wasn’t about points so you can’t judge by if so and so only had 2 points pg during a pihl game. 

I agree. Even at AAA, high school hockey is just not comparable to tier 1 hockey. Honestly, even though everyone here mocks the "faux AAA" teams, THAT hockey is still way better than high school hockey. The only HS hockey that got anyone anywhere from a Pittsburgh high school team was the Chicago Showcase, and that's been gone for a few years now.

[mrfreeze]

11 hours ago, Danner27 said:

I don’t know who the kid is but - 

you can’t develop or teach size. 100 players with same skill set, the biggest will always get the opening unless politics are at play. 

real junior hockey is a serious mental & physical grind. 

nobody is scouting shaha. Even at districts, those scouts already know who they are going to watch. Kids already in their conversations. Kids that are under certain advisors. 

Good luck to him - if he does have the skill set his parents need to get him to PPE or out of western pa. 
 

yes, these days it does matter who you are paying such as an advisor. 
 

 

Actually the Green Bay and London scout watch a couple of there games at Mid Am's I think I saw the Des Moines scout also and the Penn State and RMU hockey coaches where in the building for other reasons but they did get scouted. They also got a good bit of exposure at the CCM Chicago Invite that had a good turn out scouting wise. The team was in the 30"s this season and played some top 10 teams this year. Coaches talk, scouts talk, It doesn't matter what team you play on, if it is a highly ranked team it will get scouted more than others and your chances are better and the more likely your chances to get exposure and drafted. The 08 Vengeance are pretty highly ranked, if that stays true next year at u14, they will start to see scouts by the end of the year and at u15, they will get invited to higher end tournaments, opportunity to play better teams and get exposure.

[Wes]

So, so glad I'm not involved with this all anymore ?

 

[Danner27]

5 hours ago, Wes said:

So, so glad I'm not involved with this all anymore ?

 

Last year - I was thinking about not hanging around here anymore. I’ll be seeing myself out at some point soon. You can try to give advice to the younger parents but like teenagers, they just won’t take it. They will have to experience it on their own. I don’t recall when my kids were squirts & pw this level of craziness & chasing. 
 

I posted on a different thread here today about a younger, well respected coach locally. This coach told me when he has kids they will never play hockey - to much craziness, hockey is a mess. 

[fafa fohi]

7 hours ago, Danner27 said:

Last year - I was thinking about not hanging around here anymore. I’ll be seeing myself out at some point soon. You can try to give advice to the younger parents but like teenagers, they just won’t take it. They will have to experience it on their own. I don’t recall when my kids were squirts & pw this level of craziness & chasing. 
 

I posted on a different thread here today about a younger, well respected coach locally. This coach told me when he has kids they will never play hockey - to much craziness, hockey is a mess. 

That friend of yours is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he will escape loop job parents by getting involved in other sports.  Baseball may be the absolute worst, lacrosse and soccer not much better.  If you want a real party, hang out with HS football parents.  Five practices a week + game day and throw in a bunch of anabolic dads living vicariously through their kids while superstar Johnny is relegated to the punt return or kickoff team.   

Edited May 7, 2022 by fafa fohi

[Danner27]

8 hours ago, fafa fohi said:

That friend of yours is in for a rude awakening if he thinks he will escape loop job parents by getting involved in other sports.  Baseball may be the absolute worst, lacrosse and soccer not much better.  If you want a real party, hang out with HS football parents.  Five practices a week + game day and throw in a bunch of anabolic dads living vicariously through their kids while superstar Johnny is relegated to the punt return or kickoff team.   

I agree - sports in general are getting more crazy by the day. I think his main point was the crazy costs along with crazy parents he has to deal with as a coach. 

[BeaverFalls]

Adults are ruining youth sports. 

[Carl Racki]

On 5/5/2022 at 2:59 PM, hockey2020 said:

pa high school hockey does not translate to high level aaa hockey period. the high level kids who used to play were out there having fun but it is not the same game. know idea about whoever you are talking about but if he did great in pihl good for him i’m sure it was fun but it is meaningless for advancement. the true aaa players who used to play before not being allowed by ppe were simply trying not to get hurt - it wasn’t about points so you can’t judge by if so and so only had 2 points pg during a pihl game. 

Excuses excuses. I have seen it for years.  I am just saying if that kid can put up that type of production as a freshman in PIHL  he is probably as good or better than most of the AAA local kids.  I guess they only TRY in their AAA games????  Yes PIHL AAA isn't the same and if it is such a lower level then the AAA players they should really light the lamp there.  Maybe they should have tried.  Typically competitors always do.

[Wes]

16 hours ago, BeaverFalls said:

Adults are ruining youth sports. 

Money is destroying NCAA football... via the NIL/and transfer portal sham.

[Spear and Magic Helmet]

9 hours ago, Wes said:

Money is destroying NCAA football... via the NIL/and transfer portal sham.

Don't want to get too into this, but I disagree. The money has always been there, people just pretended it wasn't. That same money's in youth sports too, i.e. aau basketball. 

[Spear and Magic Helmet]

11 hours ago, Carl Racki said:

Excuses excuses. I have seen it for years.  I am just saying if that kid can put up that type of production as a freshman in PIHL  he is probably as good or better than most of the AAA local kids.  I guess they only TRY in their AAA games????  Yes PIHL AAA isn't the same and if it is such a lower level then the AAA players they should really light the lamp there.  Maybe they should have tried.  Typically competitors always do.

I don't think people are saying the kid isn't good, they're saying that the hockey is not as good. I don't think that's really an unfair statement. Any level of AAA hockey vs any level of PIHL, the AAA is better. That doesn't mean there aren't excellent players in the PIHL, even as far down as, gasp, the B division. 

[Saucey]

17 minutes ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

I don't think people are saying the kid isn't good, they're saying that the hockey is not as good. I don't think that's really an unfair statement. Any level of AAA hockey vs any level of PIHL, the AAA is better. That doesn't mean there aren't excellent players in the PIHL, even as far down as, gasp, the B division. 

Most of the big AAA high school programs, if you look at the scoring, is driven by one line. If a high school program is successful in luring some of the AAA or AA talent on the team, that is kind of a large key to success. Not all of it, way too simplistic, it is still a team sport, but the numbers don't lie.

High school hockey's attraction around here is its fun factor. Name in the paper. Friends and family coming to watch way much more than any AAA game. Playing for your school. Less pressure because there is no suggestion you should be chasing anything more than that Penguins Cup.

Some people have said here there is no exposure there. I disagree with that. If the goal and the drive is to make NCAA or the USHL, no PIHL is not the path. But that is the path of .001 percent of children, anyway.

Some of high school events like the Pens Cup, some of the events that Pa Hockey hosts, the All Star game...local club coaches watch. Definite conversations with coaches asking if my kid wanted to come play for them.

But you know what? They are also interested in about .001 percent of the kids they are seeing. For club hockey. 

Just play. Tell your kid to have fun, enjoy the ride. There is definitely a huge toll on a family's life with that chase. Finances. Friends.

[dazedandconfused]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:25 AM, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

people just pretended it wasn't.

Johnny Majors didn't successfully recruit Tony Dorsett with his "Southern Hospitality and a glass of Sweet tea".

[GrumpyOldPucker]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:23 AM, Carl Racki said:

Excuses excuses. I have seen it for years.  I am just saying if that kid can put up that type of production as a freshman in PIHL  he is probably as good or better than most of the AAA local kids.  I guess they only TRY in their AAA games????  Yes PIHL AAA isn't the same and if it is such a lower level then the AAA players they should really light the lamp there.  Maybe they should have tried.  Typically competitors always do.

Yeah, but when a kid like that plays HS and really tries to put up huge numbers someone WILL BE butt-hurt and someone WILL be trying to run them dirty to take them out of the game. I've seen it too many times.... no wonder the really talented kids don't play HS.

[Saucey]

7 hours ago, GrumpyOldPucker said:

Yeah, but when a kid like that plays HS and really tries to put up huge numbers someone WILL BE butt-hurt and someone WILL be trying to run them dirty to take them out of the game. I've seen it too many times.... no wonder the really talented kids don't play HS.

That's true no matter where you play. Not like that doesn't happen in PAHL....