The Minor Hockey Thread

[goaliemom]

Originally Posted by Rhettzky

My son has his last evaluation skate for his first year of PeeWee tomorrow morning. He absolutely loves everything about hockey but is not a high level player. Looks as though he will shake out around Div 4 with a bunch of his friends, which is great. I'm just excited for it to be over!

The new evaluation process the Knights rolled out is really great. It seemed to be a mess before but now the level of organization and the thought put into the process is really starting to show. I've been really impressed.

The goalie evals were extra stressful and confusing this year. I think Knights have room for improvement in that department. Plus, I would like to see it done faster. It’s been a long haul. I agree though, ready to be on our teams!

[Northendzone]

this has also been a long haul for my son as well as the quad stuff started on Aug 26.

my son is likely one of the only goalies in the history of quad hockey in Calgary to have played in his associations AAA intersquad game only to be returned back to community hockey. had to hand it to him for having the fortitude to walk into the dressing room at the travelers game knowing he was likely the other player in the game who would not have a choice with respect to playing quad hockey.

he has been all in on hockey for 3 years now and being cut in his last year of midget has meant a huge reset for him. He has joined the football team at his high school and had his first practice yesterday. He said he enjoyed it and wished he had had the chance to play sooner.

i really felt like the assocation did not set him up for success this year and that politics played a role in him not making it.

[goaliemom]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

this has also been a long haul for my son as well as the quad stuff started on Aug 26.

my son is likely one of the only goalies in the history of quad hockey in Calgary to have played in his associations AAA intersquad game only to be returned back to community hockey. had to hand it to him for having the fortitude to walk into the dressing room at the travelers game knowing he was likely the other player in the game who would not have a choice with respect to playing quad hockey.

he has been all in on hockey for 3 years now and being cut in his last year of midget has meant a huge reset for him. He has joined the football team at his high school and had his first practice yesterday. He said he enjoyed it and wished he had had the chance to play sooner.

i really felt like the assocation did not set him up for success this year and that politics played a role in him not making it.

Which quad was he trying out for? Did he decide to play community or not at all? Kudos to him. It is crazy tough for the goalies at your son's level especially and they put so much into it. That's great he's enjoying football. My son plays football in summer as well and it was so nice to see him smiling and laughing and enjoying it. He loves being a goalie but sometimes I feel like the fun factor can get lost. It can be so intense.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

this has also been a long haul for my son as well as the quad stuff started on Aug 26.

my son is likely one of the only goalies in the history of quad hockey in Calgary to have played in his associations AAA intersquad game only to be returned back to community hockey. had to hand it to him for having the fortitude to walk into the dressing room at the travelers game knowing he was likely the other player in the game who would not have a choice with respect to playing quad hockey.

he has been all in on hockey for 3 years now and being cut in his last year of midget has meant a huge reset for him. He has joined the football team at his high school and had his first practice yesterday. He said he enjoyed it and wished he had had the chance to play sooner.

i really felt like the assocation did not set him up for success this year and that politics played a role in him not making it.

I feel for the kids when this happens. I know of at least two goalies who played AAA one year and got bumped back to community the next. One was 'forgotten' about by community and moved down several divisions in midget because they (community) had locked in their top goalies before he was cut. He chose not to play at all.

That's the downside about Elite hockey, the coaches have complete control over who they choose.

I hope your son can enjoy his last year of school, have some fun playing sports and hanging with his buddies. That is the upside of playing community.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Everything started out great for my son in quad hockey, but some “outside stuff” conspired against him and he will finish his minor hockey career in community.

Was a bitter pill for him as for the last 4 years he has been training, working out etc and to be derailed by “stuff” was a huge disappointment for him.

He is slowly repivoting his life and figuring out what to do with his time.

He had hoped one day to find his way into the KIJHL and then maybe the AJ but those guys seem to rely on the quad teams in the city helping them select players and you are pretty much hooped if you are not at least in AA.

I have nothing but mad respect for those guys that stick it out and go a bunch of places and then wind up making a few dollars playing

This makes me curious, "stuff" caused 6 other goalies to selected ahead of your son?

[merlin]

Evals went great for my kids. My son is playing in the AYHL at HDC this year and their evaluations consisted of 1 on ice practice and a 3 on 3 tournament this past Sunday. The kids are now on 4 separate teams and they will play 4 on 4 on HDC ice, which has all the traditional lines but on a smaller surface. Unlike the other novice kids his age playing community hockey, he will learn positional play with offsides, icings, face offs, etc. They also held all a BBQ for everyone as well!

My Atom level daughter finished her evaluations back in May and June for HSL. She had a choice of 2 teams to play on and decided to play for HDC Calgary Bandits. We have already had our first showcase weekend and although we only had 1 win, the kids had a great weekend in Banff. Unlike community hockey, we are already a couple weeks into practice and the kids are improving. It was definitely the most stress free evals we’ve had as a family.
We have a set schedule for the season and can now schedule other events. We never had that in community.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by merlin

My Atom level daughter finished her evaluations back in May and June for HSL. She had a choice of 2 teams to play on and decided to play for HDC Calgary Bandits. We have already had our first showcase weekend and although we only had 1 win, the kids had a great weekend in Banff. Unlike community hockey, we are already a couple weeks into practice and the kids are improving. It was definitely the most stress free evals we’ve had as a family.
We have a set schedule for the season and can now schedule other events. We never had that in community.

What is the cost difference, inclusive of travel/hotels.

[Northendzone]

the midget aaa team took three goalies to main camp, the one goalie they released came to my son's team - who already had 3 goalies.

so my son's team had to cut two goalies. My son sat the first exhibition game and one of the goalies that played in that game had a 9 save shutout versus what would likely be a midget 2 team.

my son played his game last sunday, coach annouces before the game that his team is getting the AAA cut goalie, so they will be cutting goalies after the game. My son goes in, gives up one two minutes in (he was screened, made the initial save but was then blocked out and could not fully recover), he then made a mistake that turned into a goal and he then knew that he was getting cut. The over riding factor was the golaie that was kept had a personal relationship with the coach so i felt he was put into a position to succeed on a path of little resistance.

i thought the other midget aa team would pick him up, but i have heard after the fact that there was also an underlying connection between one goalie on this team and the board.

tough week for my son to be cut from midget aaa, as that week he practiced twice witht eh calgary canucks and only looked out of place when guys were working on their shots from the high slot.

tough break ultimately for my son as he had been working hard for the past 3 or so years to try and get a shot at midget aaa and i would have to think it will bug him for a long tome to know that he was close to getting to AAA camp - he would likley have not made that team as they had a returning 17 yr old goalie and a 16 yr old they took deep last year.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by looooob

Junior B (in the city) this year, so will be a different feel for sure, most of his '01 buddies are off for JrB in BC or a small number scattered across JrA but decision instead to go to university and pursue a new chapter. more or less a set schedule for the first time in forever, games on Fridays and Sundays, one practice a week. I just hope he makes it through with all of his teeth now that they are straight and paid for!


Still a long way from our days of Atom 9, or 80 pounds at bantam tryouts etc. hang in there everyone

I wish I knew how small I was in Bantam, no idea what my weight was. My son is certainly bigger. I've had a lot of fun so far as it's the first time he's ever wanted to skate before evaluations to improve/be prepared. First contact skate went ok, we got knocked over a couple of times. Hard to un-teach all the stuff we taught them previous to Bantam where contact was prohibited.

[MacDaddy77]

SouthWest assoc. times the kids for the first ice time and the uses this to place kids in groups for 3 on 3 sessions. ALSO they use these times to give a final ranking to the kids groups. My son blew it on the time and although he played really great he got slotted into tier 5 because of the math involved on the timed Skate. I'll be going to the board meetings to discuss this as the evaluation process at SW is seriously messed up.

He has great coaches and will have alot of fun for the year but what a crazy way to evaluate for Hockey players. speed skaters sure, but there's more to hockey than speed.

The Knights are a new association and already have it figured out better than SW. Thats what I believe they should be doing. 2nd year player that played div 2 starts in div 2. First year player coming in player tier 2 Atom, starts tier 3 Pee Wee. let your playing ability dictate the final tier.

[merlin]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

What is the cost difference, inclusive of travel/hotels.

Price is about 4 times more than community. Our atom team last year played 38 1hr time slot games and 34 practices. This HSL team is 36 full games(20 minute periods) + exhibition games, at least 70 practices, dryland training, video review and apparel. Even skate sharpening. Probably about 6 hotel nights and some gas.

[TimSJ]

We just finished up our tryouts here on the east coast for my sons first year of Peewee AAA. Even though he made one of the teams i was not a fan of the process. I thought it dragged out a bit to long and was a bit unfair to the kids that got cut.

we had 2 evaluated technical skates and then 4 elvaluated games. After the 4 games it was cut down to 4 teams and they had a Jamboree between the 4 teams and announced the final teams Monday night. We have 4 Peewee AAA teams in our zone (which is too many but that is another issue).

My issue was that one of the associations AA tryouts actually started on Saturday. So you had kids that we still in the mix for AAA having to try to play a game on Saturday afternoon and then rush across town to make a AA technical skate or game. AAA should have been able to wrap up before the AA got started.

Another thing i was not a fan of was that in past years after the 4 games they did a call back game for the "bubble" kids. and then the coaches picked the teams. Made all of the cuts at once. This year after the initial cuts for the Jamboree they kept 1 extra D, 5 forwards and 1 Goalie. So you basically had 1 kid per team cut. why string those kids along you could have just made the teams during the initial cut.

Anyway very pleased that my son made it and am looking forward to a good year its always great in my opinion you first year of a level playing with the older kids. He got the coach he wanted and has 2 of his best friends on his team. Can't ask for much more than that.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

the midget aaa team took three goalies to main camp, the one goalie they released came to my son's team - who already had 3 goalies.

so my son's team had to cut two goalies. My son sat the first exhibition game and one of the goalies that played in that game had a 9 save shutout versus what would likely be a midget 2 team.

my son played his game last sunday, coach annouces before the game that his team is getting the AAA cut goalie, so they will be cutting goalies after the game. My son goes in, gives up one two minutes in (he was screened, made the initial save but was then blocked out and could not fully recover), he then made a mistake that turned into a goal and he then knew that he was getting cut. The over riding factor was the golaie that was kept had a personal relationship with the coach so i felt he was put into a position to succeed on a path of little resistance.

i thought the other midget aa team would pick him up, but i have heard after the fact that there was also an underlying connection between one goalie on this team and the board.

tough week for my son to be cut from midget aaa, as that week he practiced twice witht eh calgary canucks and only looked out of place when guys were working on their shots from the high slot.

tough break ultimately for my son as he had been working hard for the past 3 or so years to try and get a shot at midget aaa and i would have to think it will bug him for a long tome to know that he was close to getting to AAA camp - he would likley have not made that team as they had a returning 17 yr old goalie and a 16 yr old they took deep last year.

That really sucks, goalie tryouts are the worst.

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by merlin

Price is about 4 times more than community. Our atom team last year played 38 1hr time slot games and 34 practices. This HSL team is 36 full games(20 minute periods) + exhibition games, at least 70 practices, dryland training, video review and apparel. Even skate sharpening. Probably about 6 hotel nights and some gas.

The HSL games last year were 1.5 hour ice slots, 15-20-20, with no floods and dropping of clock into Peewee. It's way worse compared to what we get in CAHL for the dollar.

[Mr.Coffee]

I’m kind of amazed how riled up parents get about where their kid tiers in hockey. I’ve always thought it is pretty ridiculous, and it seems like parents care more about it than the kids.

This is a kids game and recreational sport. Who gives a rats ass? The important things are if your kid is having fun and making friends and getting some exercise. Not if he’s in division 4 or 2 or 1 because guess what? He ain’t making the NHL.

[savardandjokinen]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

this has also been a long haul for my son as well as the quad stuff started on Aug 26.

my son is likely one of the only goalies in the history of quad hockey in Calgary to have played in his associations AAA intersquad game only to be returned back to community hockey. had to hand it to him for having the fortitude to walk into the dressing room at the travelers game knowing he was likely the other player in the game who would not have a choice with respect to playing quad hockey.

he has been all in on hockey for 3 years now and being cut in his last year of midget has meant a huge reset for him. He has joined the football team at his high school and had his first practice yesterday. He said he enjoyed it and wished he had had the chance to play sooner.

i really felt like the assocation did not set him up for success this year and that politics played a role in him not making it.

Same goalie thing happened in Northwest last season. He played in the intrasquad game (4 goalies, so you'd assume 2 would make aaa and other two would be #1's in aa) but ended up being released back to community

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I’m kind of amazed how riled up parents get about where their kid tiers in hockey. I’ve always thought it is pretty ridiculous, and it seems like parents care more about it than the kids.

This is a kids game and recreational sport. Who gives a rats ass? The important things are if your kid is having fun and making friends and getting some exercise. Not if he’s in division 4 or 2 or 1 because guess what? He ain’t making the NHL.

This is a thread for parents to discuss the trials and tribulations of their kids hockey seasons for good or bad. If this is your only contribution why are you even in this thread, are you trying to set a record of how many threads you can bitch and complain in all at once?

There is absolutely nothing wrong in wanting the best for your children and if a message board is a place for you to come a vent then it's likely your using that platform instead of directing that frustration on your kids which is great in my opinion.

My goal for my son and the kids I coach is to enjoy playing the game still in their 40's, however that doesn't mean I shouldn't voice my concerns with things that are out of line along the way.

[Northendzone]

and i was thinking that my son was special. in my opinion, the highest team should take the number of goalies they need plus 1 more for each of the AA teams so that each AA team gets one goalie from AAA.

Originally Posted by savardandjokinen

Same goalie thing happened in Northwest last season. He played in the intrasquad game (4 goalies, so you'd assume 2 would make aaa and other two would be #1's in aa) but ended up being released back to community

this year i find myself on a different end of the community spectrum as it seems to me that my son is the best goalie in the association and i half expected them to give him tonight (the last night of evals) off but he is scheduled to play. Last night they had five goalies in a 1 hour game as I'd assume they were looking at two bottom goalies and wanted to see them in the same game.

had to laugh a bit as i was talking to one kid i know and he was trying to get a relased= from his designated quad team (he has tried out for 5 years and never been drafted to a team) and the association will not give him a release. That just blows my mind as why do you care if you have never even drafted the kid. This kid was seeking a release so he could go play with his older brother.

[merlin]

Originally Posted by Deegee

The HSL games last year were 1.5 hour ice slots, 15-20-20, with no floods and dropping of clock into Peewee. It's way worse compared to what we get in CAHL for the dollar.

I've never heard of the CAHL. Our main reason for going HSL was the schedule and development. You are correct on the Periods although our first 2 games were 20-20-20, maybe a mistake. I figured out some of the rules this past weekend and the dropping of the clock only happens when there is a 7 goal difference. Probably a good rule either way. Our first game finished 7-3 and they didn't drop the clock.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by merlin

I've never heard of the CAHL. Our main reason for going HSL was the schedule and development. You are correct on the Periods although our first 2 games were 20-20-20, maybe a mistake. I figured out some of the rules this past weekend and the dropping of the clock only happens when there is a 7 goal difference. Probably a good rule either way. Our first game finished 7-3 and they didn't drop the clock.

http://cahlhockey.net/

It is the rural league in from roughly Ponoka south.