USA Hockey National Championships

[PuckRush]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Ironic that NCAA hockey will mess up the quarterfinal tournament bracket just to save the cost of ONE FLIGHT while a dozen or more U19 teams plus the U16 teams will pay to fly to wherever the national tourney is being played. The difference, of course, is who's paying!

EXACTLY.

It's really difficult to find a solution. The only way I can think to make USA Hockey change is for teams not to go. But the teams have a lot vested in this and have no incentive to boycott. When a travel program goes to Nationals, it gives the team credibility, which attracts players, which is what the teams want.

Parents don't realize that this is a scam until they do it for a few years. By the time the light bulb goes off, it's too late... their kids have "graduated" from USA Hockey and a whole new pack of rookie parents are booking flights, hotels, burning vacation days and taking their kids out of school for a week.

[PuckRush]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Some crazy, insane and ridiculous things about Nationals:

1. College coaches are only there for 2 to 3 of the 5 days.
2. Parents/players are required to stay in certain hotels. Not only do these hotels overcharge, but that means there are kick-backs to the home organization and USA Hockey.
3. Admission is charged. This year it's $40 per person!!!!! Yes, you've paid thousands and then you show up... $40 please!
4. Regional tournaments are 2 to 4 weeks prior to nationals. For those who are flying, most parents are paying last minute, top dollar fares.
5. Because it's a 5 day tournament, and you have NO idea how far your team is going to go in the tourney, you have to book flights to arrive Wed, leave Monday. Some leave on Tuesday because their team schedules a Wed practice at the site. Your kid can be "out" on Saturday morning, but you're stuck there unless you pay exorbitant change fees.
6. A few teams practice and play together all year. Other teams are thrown together and just play showcase games and the regional tournament. What does "winning" prove?

Will someone at USA Hockey please develop some ethics and make this about the kids? I see the USA Hockey people at these tournaments. I appreciate all the hard work the volunteers and low-paid staff do. But is this why you volunteer??? To rip-off parents and pull kids out of school? If you hadn't thought about how bad this is I give you a pass (they all know, but I'm being nice). But now that you are called out on it in a public forum, and you know it's insane and not right, stand up at the next meeting and say "this isn't right and we need to fix it now". If you don't... then you are part of the problem and congratulations that you get your USA Hockey jacket, free travel and food, and whatever else you get out of this. I know this is one of your only perks, but these perks are on the backs of kids and parents. Think about that on your free flight home.

[Reggie44]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Back to original question, will the Minny HS school kids do this if they had travel. There are so many local opportunities available to them and most have them have played out East over the course of their minor careers. With 56 D1 commits on the 5 local teams not sure how many would travel while school is in session.

[Rightnut]

Some crazy, insane and ridiculous things about Nationals:

1. College coaches are only there for 2 to 3 of the 5 days.
2. Parents/players are required to stay in certain hotels. Not only do these hotels overcharge, but that means there are kick-backs to the home organization and USA Hockey.
3. Admission is charged. This year it's $40 per person!!!!! Yes, you've paid thousands and then you show up... $40 please!
4. Regional tournaments are 2 to 4 weeks prior to nationals. For those who are flying, most parents are paying last minute, top dollar fares.
5. Because it's a 5 day tournament, and you have NO idea how far your team is going to go in the tourney, you have to book flights to arrive Wed, leave Monday. Some leave on Tuesday because their team schedules a Wed practice at the site. Your kid can be "out" on Saturday morning, but you're stuck there unless you pay exorbitant change fees.
6. A few teams practice and play together all year. Other teams are thrown together and just play showcase games and the regional tournament. What does "winning" prove?

Will someone at USA Hockey please develop some ethics and make this about the kids? I see the USA Hockey people at these tournaments. I appreciate all the hard work the volunteers and low-paid staff do. But is this why you volunteer??? To rip-off parents and pull kids out of school? If you hadn't thought about how bad this is I give you a pass (they all know, but I'm being nice). But now that you are called out on it in a public forum, and you know it's insane and not right, stand up at the next meeting and say "this isn't right and we need to fix it now". If you don't... then you are part of the problem and congratulations that you get your USA Hockey jacket, free travel and food, and whatever else you get out of this. I know this is one of your only perks, but these perks are on the backs of kids and parents. Think about that on your free flight home.

I don't have a problem with Nationaks as a concept. It's a goal that players strive for and to make it is special for a lot of them. I do agree that there a lot of issues with the way it's run. The travel/missed school day complaints sounds like someone from Minnesota who never goes more than a half hour away for good hockey. For many parts of the country, the travel is necessary and the normal course of business. My complaint is that this year the hosts did a poor job. Rather than making it the culmination of the season with appropriate hoopla and opening ceremonies etc like other national hosts have done, this was run like a low end tournament. The swag was terrible, service bad etc. The big event was The Taste of Minnesota which was advertised as a bunch of food trucks and craft beer gardens and was in fact 2 trucks- hot dog truck and a fried walleye truck. Plus some canned beer. If people are making the time and money commitment for Nationals, USA Hockey should make sure the hosts do it right.

[PuckRush]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

I don't have a problem with Nationaks as a concept. It's a goal that players strive for and to make it is special for a lot of them. I do agree that there a lot of issues with the way it's run. The travel/missed school day complaints sounds like someone from Minnesota who never goes more than a half hour away for good hockey. For many parts of the country, the travel is necessary and the normal course of business. My complaint is that this year the hosts did a poor job. Rather than making it the culmination of the season with appropriate hoopla and opening ceremonies etc like other national hosts have done, this was run like a low end tournament. The swag was terrible, service bad etc. The big event was The Taste of Minnesota which was advertised as a bunch of food trucks and craft beer gardens and was in fact 2 trucks- hot dog truck and a fried walleye truck. Plus some canned beer. If people are making the time and money commitment for Nationals, USA Hockey should make sure the hosts do it right.

Sorry, but I believe you are off base for most of the country, where..

1. The 19's and most of the 16's hated the opening ceremonies. The kids that participated were the 14's and the 12's (when they used to come).
2. Traveling for 7 days when school is in session is ridiculous.
3. Taste of Minnesota? You think that would have added something if they did it right? No way.
4. Swag. Really?

Do it right.

1. There needs to be at least a month between regionals and nationals. That way people can plan.
2. Hotels should be blocked so there's a discount for the parents, not a surcharge so the tournament can get their kickback.
3. Admission should not be charged.
4. Fund it by charging every team competing in a state and regional a "nationals' fee". In other words, if you are vying for nationals, you pay, whether you go or not.
5. A 3 day tournament. One hour games if you have to.
6. And most importantly... hold it at sites where it's easy for most of the families to get in and out of.

No one needs any "extra" stuff. Come for the hockey and if you want to stay extra days to do "extra" stuff, do it on your own.

[PuckRush]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Back to original question, will the Minny HS school kids do this if they had travel. There are so many local opportunities available to them and most have them have played out East over the course of their minor careers. With 56 D1 commits on the 5 local teams not sure how many would travel while school is in session.

I think Minnesota is a unique situation. The state principal's association has the "no outside team" rule, meaning players cannot play for a high school and a travel team during the high school season. That works for Minnesota because the state has a sizeable population of female hockey players which means high school games can be competitive. But more importantly, it keeps things sane. Minnesota kids can focus on high school hockey, and then play competitive travel hockey in shoulder and summer seasons.

I'd be happy to have my daughter participate in the Minnesota model. Less windshield time, more ice time.

But that model can't work in other states. No other state has the population to field competitive public high school hockey teams. So players are forced to play on these travel teams during the high school hockey season.

If USA Hockey was thinking about the future, they'd move their entire season out of winter. It would go from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That way kids could go to and play for their public schools AND play competitive hockey in the summer, JUST LIKE MINNESOTA.

The female hockey world has changed a lot in 20 years. There were very few states with high school hockey. Today there are many that have it. Frankly, the only thing holding back high school hockey for girls is USA Hockey. Lots of kids leave their public schools for "hockey high schools" and prep schools and strip their states of talent. Move USA Hockey to the summer, and we'd have strong high school hockey, which in turn makes hockey stronger, which makes USA Hockey stronger, and so on and so on...

But that makes too much sense.

[D2D]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

U19 Semifinals
Shattuck-St. Mary's 2, Chicago Mission 1
MN Elite Black 6, MN Elite Red 3

Championship: Shattuck-St. Mary's vs. MN Elite Black


U16 Semifinals
MN Elite Grey 1, Boston Jr. Eagles 0 (OT)
Shattuck-St. Mary's 3, MN Elite Sky 1

Championship: Shattuck-St. Mary's vs. MN Elite Grey

[giwan]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Check out @MinnHockey's Tweet: https://twitter.com/MinnHockey/statu...270840321?s=09

[D2D]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

U19 Championship
Shattuck-St. Mary's 2, MN Elite Black 1 (OT)
SOG were 30-20 MN Elite Black

U16 Championship
Shattuck-St. Mary's 2, MN Elite Grey 1
SOG were 24-23 SSM

[joecct]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Silly question
Boys brackets are 17/18 (18U) & 15/16 (16U)

Girls brackets are 16/17/18 (U19=18U) and 14/15 (U16=15U)

Why the difference?

[HockeyEast33]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

Check out @MinnHockey's Tweet: https://twitter.com/MinnHockey/statu...270840321?s=09

I know that the Minnesotans think that they invented everything hockey, but the system described here is what many of the MA/NE Tier 1 U16 and U19 girls teams have been doing for years. They play a Summer/Fall Tier 1 schedule, play the state tournament over Thanksgiving weekend to qualify for Nationals, and then go dormant while their players go off to play for their HS (usually prep school for the better players) for the season. If they qualify for Nationals, they come back together after the HS/prep school season to prepare for Nationals. The following programs have been doing this for as long as I can remember: Assabet, Spitfires, Wizards, Breakers, Charles River... I think the Polar Bears and Stars do this also. So this is not revolutionary to say the least. It is different at the U14 level because a lot of those girls don't play high school hockey yet.

[pokechecker]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

I know that the Minnesotans think that they invented everything hockey, but the system described here is what many of the MA/NE Tier 1 U16 and U19 girls teams have been doing for years. They play a Summer/Fall Tier 1 schedule, play the state tournament over Thanksgiving weekend to qualify for Nationals, and then go dormant while their players go off to play for their HS (usually prep school for the better players) for the season. If they qualify for Nationals, they come back together after the HS/prep school season to prepare for Nationals. The following programs have been doing this for as long as I can remember: Assabet, Spitfires, Wizards, Breakers, Charles River... I think the Polar Bears and Stars do this also. So this is not revolutionary to say the least. It is different at the U14 level because a lot of those girls don't play high school hockey yet.

I missed where the article said it was revolutionary, maybe you could point it out to me.

[OnMAA]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

If USA Hockey was thinking about the future, they'd move their entire season out of winter. It would go from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

No, the opposite. Hockey is a winter sport. Keep it there. For the older kids, summer should be used for cross/strength training. For the younger kids summer should be used to play other sports. You can still have on ice skill development during this period.

If you make hockey a 12 month sport, you will find a lot of kids suffering from burnout by the time they get to Midget.

[PenaltyKill]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

No, the opposite. Hockey is a winter sport. Keep it there. For the older kids, summer should be used for cross/strength training. For the younger kids summer should be used to play other sports. You can still have on ice skill development during this period.

If you make hockey a 12 month sport, you will find a lot of kids suffering from burnout by the time they get to Midget.

The difference between the Minnesota system and the previously described New England system seems to be that players try out for spots on a state-wide tournament team, not a club team. If Mass, NY, etc. did that, you'd have much more competitive teams showing up at Nationals

It's not about the season these girls play in (and who are we kidding, any player who wants to play in college pretty much skates year round, in addition to playing other sports), it's the system, and as someone from Mass, I'd say the Minnesota model is better

[Call It]

Re: USA Hockey National Championships

The difference between the Minnesota system and the previously described New England system seems to be that players try out for spots on a state-wide tournament team, not a club team. If Mass, NY, etc. did that, you'd have much more competitive teams showing up at Nationals

It's not about the season these girls play in (and who are we kidding, any player who wants to play in college pretty much skates year round, in addition to playing other sports), it's the system, and as someone from Mass, I'd say the Minnesota model is better

The MN Teams are geographically based, where as Mass Club Teams are based upon recruiting.