Let's talk about Adult Hockey in Calgary

[nickerjones]

Well as most of you know I am moving to Calgary. I am going to be looking for a new league so I want to talk about Adult Hockey in Calgary. What leagues do you play in? Why did you choose that league? What leagues should be avoided? I know a bit about NCHL. Some people love it and some people hate it which is about par. What do you guys think about NCHL?
I want the pro and the cons.


Also what about Calgary Adult Tournaments? Does anyone play in tournaments regularly? If so , what ones? If not, why not? Are there even a lot of tournaments around?

Thanks in advance.

[edn88]

NCHL = terrible times, terrible refs.
Allcal = run by a guy who is just in it for the bucks
Best league I played in was Heritage league - good organization, great refs, good balance of teams, and good players.
SASM was a lot of fun, run by a mom and pop I think.

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by edn88

NCHL = terrible times, terrible refs.
Allcal = run by a guy who is just in it for the bucks
Best league I played in was Heritage league - good organization, great refs, good balance of teams, and good players.
SASM was a lot of fun, run by a mom and pop I think.

Aren't the refs all the same throughout the leagues? I am sure there are a ton a refs in Calgary but here in OKC the refs have a union of some sort. So if you play at a certain rink wouldn't it be the same refs, for the most part, regardless of league.

what does SASM stand for?

[CMPunk]

http://winsport.goalline.ca/

Best league in the city IMO. Every game is at the same rink and the latest game is at 10:30pm.

With the amount of refs in the city, leagues can some what pick and choose who they want. If you like a ref, you give him more games..

NCHL is a beginner league. The 9 penalty forfeit and the penalty shot after 5 penalties is what sours alot of people on it

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

what does SASM stand for?

http://www.sasmhockey.com/sites/3333...ge=news_league

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

http://winsport.goalline.ca/

Best league in the city IMO. Every game is at the same rink and the latest game is at 10:30pm.

With the amount of refs in the city, leagues can some what pick and choose who they want. If you like a ref, you give him more games..

NCHL is a beginner league. The 9 penalty forfeit and the penalty shot after 5 penalties is what sours alot of people on it

9 penalties in a game ??? I don't think I have had 9 penalties in the last 2 yrs. I'm not sure why that's a big deal. How many times do teams get 9 penalties in a game? I guess I can see the 5 penalties / penalty shot rule being pretty weird.

[CMPunk]

Originally Posted by nickerjones

9 penalties in a game ??? I don't think I have had 9 penalties in the last 2 yrs. I'm not sure why that's a big deal. How many times do teams get 9 penalties in a game? I guess I can see the 5 penalties / penalty shot rule being pretty weird.

I've been apart of forfeit games due to the penalty rules. You might not get the minutes, but there are plenty of knuckleheads who think they're a step away from the show, even in div E3 in NCHL. I think part of it is people don't think it's real hockey that way. If a game gets rough, then it gets rough. Don't let the game be decided because one team got more penalties then the other.

Another downside to the NCHL is no one wants to play a mid week game at 1130pm at an out of town rink.

[Gravitykillr]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

http://winsport.goalline.ca/

Best league in the city IMO. Every game is at the same rink and the latest game is at 10:30pm.

With the amount of refs in the city, leagues can some what pick and choose who they want. If you like a ref, you give him more games..

NCHL is a beginner league. The 9 penalty forfeit and the penalty shot after 5 penalties is what sours alot of people on it

to endorse this league as well, my team played in the NCHL last winter after being in winsport the winter before and after getting back into winsport for summer I lined up at 5:45am the day we had to sign out team up to ensure we got into the league. Shane (Co-ordinator of the league) is an easy guy to deal with, and Punk and the other time keepers (Punk being the best of them) are pretty descent, and playing all the games at the same rink is an amazing plus.

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

I've been apart of forfeit games due to the penalty rules. You might not get the minutes, but there are plenty of knuckleheads who think they're a step away from the show, even in div E3 in NCHL. I think part of it is people don't think it's real hockey that way. If a game gets rough, then it gets rough. Don't let the game be decided because one team got more penalties then the other.

Another downside to the NCHL is no one wants to play a mid week game at 1130pm at an out of town rink.

i think this is a universal truth of mens hockey everywhere!!!

sooooo many guys take it waaaaay too seriously.

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by CMPunk

http://winsport.goalline.ca/

Best league in the city IMO. Every game is at the same rink and the latest game is at 10:30pm.

With the amount of refs in the city, leagues can some what pick and choose who they want. If you like a ref, you give him more games..

NCHL is a beginner league. The 9 penalty forfeit and the penalty shot after 5 penalties is what sours alot of people on it

Did a quick scan of the site and can't find it anywhere; can you sign up as a free agent?

[edmontonice]

Good to hear your back is letting you play!

[FlamesAllTheWay]

I've played SASM in the winter and Alberta Summer Hockey League in the summer (as you may have guessed..) and have enjoyed both alot. I believe its pretty much the same people that run both. Really good hockey for the most part and no late ice times way out in the boonies.

Most of the games are at fairly easy to get to rinks actually, with about 85% of the summer league games at the Flames Community Arenas.

[nickerjones]

Originally Posted by edmontonice

Good to hear your back is letting you play!

Thanks... I have been back playing since around February. I play once or twice a week. I try not to get to crazy... I dropped down to the lowest division and just play for fun.... still in Oklahoma , there are people who take it way to serious. I just try to be mindful of the back , myself getting hit, and running into things.

[meanmachine13]

Anyone who claims that WinSport league has better refs is full of it.... the good majority of those refs are NCHL refs.

Not all teams get bad schedules in NCHL, my team chooses the Regular Prime schedule, which costs a BIT more, probably $20 per player, but we have never had any late out of town weeknight games. If you choose the cheapest schedule option, you will get some of those ice times, but you get what you pay for.

The 9 penalty rule is fine in NCHL as well. My team has never reached it, and when another team reaches it, I believe that it is totally justified that the team should forfeit. If your team gets 9 penalties, you probably arent playing good hockey and dont deserve to win.

[Hockeyguy15]

I played in AllCal, Fred is a bit of a clown and we had issues with timekeepers not showing up frequently.

Another option is CAHL
http://www.cahl.ca/site/3333/page.as...ge=news_league

[East Coast Flame]

Another vote for Winsport. I quit NCHL a couple years ago after a couple years of frustration (11:30pm ice times in Chestermere every other week...good times). Got back into Winsport last year and it has been fantastic. No complaints at all.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by edn88

Allcal = run by a guy who is just in it for the bucks

Not to pick on you but why else would you run a men's hockey league? With all the aggravation and grief you get you wouldn't be doing it out of the kindness of your heart.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Reaper

Not to pick on you but why else would you run a men's hockey league? With all the aggravation and grief you get you wouldn't be doing it out of the kindness of your heart.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't think you'll ever hear a Calgary mens league owner say "I'm not in it for the money, I'm in it for the headaches, the difficulty of getting good ice time, and the subsequent whining from every GM about said ice time".

[Jbo]

CAHL is not great. Summer hockey and we are getting ice times in Springbank at 10-11.

Moving leagues for winter

[united]

Try for Winsport and avoid the NCHL if at all possible. The rest seems like a wash with pros and cons, but definitely stay out of the NCHL if you can.