Tuesday News
| The Eugene Generals make it sound as if Tier III-A approval is a forgone conclusion. I just hope the Junior Council comes to their senses and actually attempts to verify all these teams/leagues meet the requirements before granting approval (before the laughing from Canada becomes thunderous). Besides, if everyone moves up from T3B to T3A, then what was the point of the exercise? "The move to Junior A will definitely increase the level play in the (NorPac) in the upcoming season." Talk about puffery... Who are we kidding, here? NorPac will still pulling from the same player pool along with the rest of the country. I'd like to meet this "T3A Fairy" that is going around the country sprinkling magic dust on everyone to make them think they're going to be better, and knock it in the teeth... When my kids were not quite totally potty-trained, and still in pull-ups, they'd come up to me and say "change me!" I'd wave my arms like a magician and declare: "SHAZAM!!! Yooouuuu are now a WOMBAT!!!" However, like the NorPac and WSHL, despite the declaration of a new identity they still had a load in their shorts... One note of mention in the above link, at the end of the piece they mention, Medford, Missoula, and Great Falls entering the league. I'm not entirely sure why the last two would go NorPac, unless maybe the AWHL defection has been put on hold. I guess I have some calls to make. Lakehead Thunderwolves officials waiting to interview Sioux City's Siciliano... |
posted by Marc Foster at 5/01/2007 06:11:00 AM
Comments on "Tuesday News"
-
Anonymous said ... (9:47 AM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:52 AM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (10:35 AM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (10:55 AM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:36 AM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (12:06 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (12:19 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (2:16 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:16 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:33 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:39 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:56 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (5:09 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (8:35 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Marc Foster said ... (8:45 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:15 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:18 PM, May 01, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (11:15 AM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:06 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (3:28 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (6:09 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7:18 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (7:24 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:16 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (9:40 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (10:59 PM, May 02, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (2:15 PM, May 03, 2007) :
-
Anonymous said ... (4:32 PM, May 09, 2007) :
post a commentLoved the analogy between your toddlers and the league. Priceless!
The move IMHO is all about parents (kids) being able to say "I played Jr. A" rather than playing lowly Jr. B
Siciliano has plenty of time now to interview for all the jobs he wants to. The Muskies are done! Go Storm!
"Tier III" is the biggest joke, especially with all the "Tier III Jr A" teams convienently omitting the "Tier III" part when promoting their respective teams to parents, coaches and players. All it is serving to do is muddy the already muddy waters for parents & players trying to determine best opportunity for the player.
Tell me how going from Tier III Jr B to Tier III Jr A benefits the player? Still pay to play and still playing the same teams.
All it says is that it is 'beneath' everyone to play "B" hockey ....but wait! it is "B" hockey!
Here's what I don't get. The NorPac has been a doormat at the Jr. B Nationals. They have never advanced beyond the round robin. Yet they feel like they are deep enough and competitive enough to compete with the EJ and AJ? They can't compete with the top B teams and leagues in the country, what makes them think they can or should do this? If the Junior Council accepts any other leagues, it will be the CSHL only. Maybe Minnesota.
********* A FAIR SHAKE ***********
As player of the t-hawks (NORPAC) last year, and talking with SEVERAL other players from the norpac teams, it seems many players are left not knowing what really happened, and why it happened last season with fort. van.And why they just got to keep playing all season? So on behave of several players were asking NORPAC and anyone who really knows to make a statement. and send each player a letter ?or? post on each team site. Explaining the steps that have been took to have a honest 2007-2008 season. Some of us players need to start planing for next season soon and need all the info we can get.
Thank you,
06-07
NORPAC
players
From what I'm reading between the lines, the NorPac wants to go Jr A Tier III not only to try to keep their Rocky Mountain Division from re-forming their own league (which was going to be Jr A Tier III), but to fight off the WHA's expansion plans by claiming the Norpac will be a higher level of hockey. Maybe they think that will keep teams from jumping to the WHA, too. Lots of drama and intrigue out west, it appears.
The problem isn't with the classification, it's with USAH bowing to the EJ and AJ in allowing this level to begin with. Neither league had proven that they were worthy of an 'A' level classification. USAH opened up a can of worms with that new classification. They'll have a hard time denying it to any other league asking.
There are really 4 levels of Juniors: Tier 1 (where everything is paid for)
Tier 2 (Where only housing is paid by players)
Tier 3 (Where it's full pay to play with some type of restriction based on tuition amounts and other established criteria)
Tier 4 (everyone else)
If USA Hockey is going allow this classification to continue, it needs to do a couple things:
1. Require all teams to identify their tier on all team correspondence (web sites, emails, tryout flyers/announcements, etc.). If a teams fails to, they should be subject to USA Hockey discipline of some sort.
2. Provide detailed explanation of the tier structure and what it really means on their website.
Might help cut down on the confusion.
Poster above -- those are great suggestions. It would also be helpful if USAH were to put some kind of explanation of the classifications on their site as well -- and make mention in upcoming issues of USA Hockey mag, etc.
RE: Fair Shake. There was a settlement reached with Ft Van and the allegations. Because of the settlement, all information is sealed. You probably won't get the truth from anyone because of that.. not even the players or families on that team are privy to what exactly the allegations were. It is my understanding it had to do with the team from the PREVIOUS year, not this years Ft Van team. And anything that did involve players on this years team, were players that were brought on at the end of the season.
Everyone is very 'vague' about the whole situation. And because of the settlement, that's the way it will stay.
Don't you think Mike Butters (interim NorPac head) would have made a statement if he legally would have been able to?
just a joke, tier 3 is jr. b get over your egos dumb adults! kids arnet the ones asking for tier 3 status!!
I don't see what the NORPAC is doing that is any different then what the USHL did. Tier I is Major Junior Hockey, the WHL, OHL, and Q. Who do they think they are fooling?
USAH wants to level the playing field? Then get control over junior hockey by creating a single bracket. Start out ranking ALL the US Junior Teams from top to bottom. The top 20 are Tier I, the next 20 are Tier II, then Tier III, Tier IV...all the way to the bottom. Group these clubs geographically within the Tiers.
Want to create a new club? Then do so, you start out at the bottom of the ladder.
Top two teams move up a rung, bottom two drop down.
If a club needs to charge $10K a year to exist, so be it. If another club does not? More power to them.
USAH wins by eliminating all the BS leagues, and gets control of the revenue streams. Maketing would be incredible, everyone is in a single system. Put all the money into the kitty, then work on your real USNTDP, and put that crew into the OHL.
Makes way too much sense...but sure would eliminate a bunch of old farts that keep sitting on the development of the game.
Tier 3 Jr A classification is an absolute joke. CMON
I'm holding my "COME ON!" 's in reserve for if/when the NorPac and WSHL get approved by the Junior Council.
It is a real sad state of affairs hockey is in today.
1)Cheat, It's ok you can skip town or still go to nationals no matter who you are or what awful things you did to kids
2)Equality, You can be awful or undedicated and still be grouped in with the best players in the US.
There was a time when you had to earn a spot on a Junior A roster, not just pull out the check book and whalla!
Kids today are taught that it is ok to cheat and no matter there skill level or amount of dedicaton there is a place on a team for them.
Why stop at Junior A?
I think everyone should have a shot in the NHL
It could be:
NHL.1
NHL.2
NHL.3
etc.
The boy's norht of the border must be laughing there ass off.
US Junior Hockey is a effing joke
As to the bowing to the EJ and AJ. You want proof of their ability? Go look at the schools those kids are going to. Those are clearly, for the most part, Jr. A teams that can only afford to survive by charging fees. There are more kids from the Tier III A teams listed in the NHL Central scouting than from Tier II A teams. There are more kids going to DI schools from the EJ than from the NAHL. I am torn about this classification because the EJ clearly deserves it and the AJ is approaching that level. The next league that should even be mentioned in the same breath is the CSHL, period, end of story.
Lets take the word development out of the picture and look at what this really is. A business.
I like the pro soccer style of grouping. It does make sense. More then the mess we have now.
If leagues don't like it. Then teams can get their insurance elsewhere. Funny how fast something like this could be put into place.
To the 11:15 post. You cannot determine skill level of teams by pointing to what college they get recruited by. The only way to prove team levels is for the team to play each other. Also, LOOK at what D-1 schools they are going to. Very few AJ or EJ kids end up in the CCHA or WCHA. That's because of the ease of scouting the AJ and EJ for the East Coast teams. There are hundreds of kids that are just as good as those that "make it" but don't get the opportunity because of where they play, who they know, being an inch or two shorter, etc, etc, etc.
I would love to see a true Junior A National Championship without regard to Tiers. If the determining factor of a skill level is the "letter" then the Tier shouldn't make any difference. There are 4 Jr A leagues. Take the top 3 from each and put them in a National Tournament format and see what happens. I'm pretty confidant the EJ and AJ would finish near the bottom every year. The results of the NAHL showcase where the EJ played a couple of years ago shows where they truly compare on the ice.
For the Poster that stated that the NORPAC is going Tier 3 Junior A to keep teams from jumping to the WHA you need to check out the WHA. They are classified as Tier 2 Junior A. The players do not pay to play and they only pay for Billet fees. It would however, be nice to keep the likes of Jon MacWilliams and the rest of the Ft. Van crew out of the WHA
Of course Jr. B hockey is a business, a profit making business. And if you are caught cheating and that ruins your business, you bail to another league (WHA). Suddenly Jr. B is not good enough for the Ft. Van people so of course they are looking to become a Jr. A team, same folks, just a new league.
Amen to the last poster! The WHA does not need MacWilliams and his bag of tricks.
To the WHA crowd; Meet Mr. MacWilliams, Mr. O'neal, and Mr. Loftgren. It won't be long until they have worked their magic in your world. I can promise you some good hockey, but you will tire of their antics soon. They will win the WHA crown going away.
As for the T-hawks player, you should email or call Shooter. I talked to him the other night and he has resigned as coach, so he can talk now. Oh yeah, Jr.A T-III is just a way to charge more I think. The WHA Jr.A T-II??? Yeah, OK, in what jurisdiction? Non-sanctioned by USAH and Hockey Canada. I guess they can be Jr.AAAAAAAA T-I for all anyone cares. It's horrible hockey! The Pio's could have won that league with their 8-10 healthy scratches each night.
I think Jon's name should be La Ninia, He is spreading across the West bringing snow and ruining peoples seasons. Good luck WHA
I saw both WHA and Norpac games. No comparison. The WHA is better. Among other things, their players have more respect for the game. No stupid fights for the sake of fights and no referee abuse. Better coaching makes it happen.
Having said all that, Jr A Tier III is the real joke here. No comparison on that, either.
As an FYI: I've been informed that there is some definition of of the different Tiers in the USA Hockey Annual Guide. Not exactly intuitive to find, but better than nothing I suppose.
http://www.usahockey.com/servlets/FileServlet/relatedDocuments/2947DC6F183430CBE0440003BA5FE009/Annual%20Guide%202006.pdf
The reason the item about Siciliano took so long to be posted in Sioux City was that in most cases, all Sioux City media is of the "happy talk" variety, meaning if something may, in any way, be considered a put down on Sioux City, then they don't want to publish or air it until they absolutely have to. One of the TV stations in town ran with the story about Lakehead's interest after I pointed the Chronicle-Journal's story to them, but NO ONE else even mentioned it for about a week until Siciliano was in Thunder Bay doing the interview. This is what we have to deal with Sioux City, journalism at its weakest, no doubt.