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Rather than hijack the blades/machine thread I thought I would start a new one.

My spies tell me that the games between the blades and the mg 03 teams in the meltdown were pretty close despite the lopsided score from the first meeting. Could Bo be right and the 03 mg program is the one that halts the flow of talent to the blades and the orange? Will people really trade their orange koolaide for whatever they're serving in the gold camp? Is there anyone left up north at the 03 level that they don't already have on the team anyway? Perhaps the trend will be to drive the other direction for a change?

I 'll bite!!!! 4.00 bucks a gallon/west metro traffic/8 sheets of ice/ don't think the Blades or the orange will be able to compete.[in the next few years] I don't think a "ton" of folks will drive from that side of town out here. But most people from this side of town will just say no to going south.

Many of the teams will get 20-30+ free on ice training hrs. Is the word free at those other programs ever mentioned?

Why would anybody want to pay four times the amount for much less?

At $4/gallon, who can afford the 40 minutes it takes to get from 694 to the rink?

Free, Bo? Ain't nuthin free.

Why the change now? Gas has been $3.00+ per gallon for four years.

Think about the next two years. The Blades will be able to attract kids because of the Brick next year. How many MG players whose parents are willing to spend all that travel money will be discouraged by gas money? If MG loses 3 kids to the Blades then those games next year will not be close. The following year, will they return to MG?

MG taking a simple approach with their 03's: Give the kids first-class training, in a world-class facility, treat them like rock stars (yet treat them like kids), and charge a (better than) fair price. The families on that team are a tight knit group. I'm sure a few of them will play in the Brick next summer but I don't see them leaving MG to do so. Based on the number of Blades/Machine helmet stickers at the last round of MG tryouts, I wouldn't be shocked to see more migration towards the Super Rink next summer.

I don't know about every level, but I watched a few minutes of one of the practices. It really looked like they should have separated the gold and black teams. Way too many players on the ice. Maybe that's how they keep prices down, have 30 or so kids on the ice at the same time.

I'm sure the Gold "lets" the kids try-out for the Brick/unlike someone else!!!!!

It is also not just the gas, its travel time as well. A handful of the players travel anywhere from 30-50 miles just to get to the SR. MG opens the door to a whole lot of talent that may have never been tapped otherwise.

So what makes the mg program so special and able to keep the talent in the north? For years Legacy (until last summer) and Skate to Excellence have operated out of the superduper rink and have not been able to field a competitive invite team.

People in the Northern Metro, given the option of another decent team in the area, will stick around, and hang with people who don't like their hockey practice to resemble an episode of dance moms. Given the choice people up here will avoid the Orange like the plague, because most secretly despise it. Many just put up with it, because they want to be on an elite team.

Miracle Gold is like Howard Hughes once said, "The way of the future...the way of the future"!

hockeygoof1: Having 30 8-year olds on the ice it too much? Good grief.

InigoMontoya wrote:At $4/gallon, who can afford the 40 minutes it takes to get from 694 to the rink?

Free, Bo? Ain't nuthin free.

What would you call the 30hrs over what you were told you would get, a trick?

A program without the greed......

Location was a huge factor but not the only for us. The coaches are excellant and treat us good. I have read over and over about "check book hockey" on here, and maybe thats the difference. Gold seems to be treating us like family and not a check book.

no5hole wrote:Location was a huge factor but not the only for us. The coaches are excellant and treat us good. I have read over and over about "check book hockey" on here, and maybe thats the difference. Gold seems to be treating us like family and not a check book.

Now that brings a tear to my eye

ThePuckStopsHere wrote:

no5hole wrote:Location was a huge factor but not the only for us. The coaches are excellant and treat us good. I have read over and over about "check book hockey" on here, and maybe thats the difference. Gold seems to be treating us like family and not a check book.

Now that brings a tear to my eye

Nature hike or boating with your boy tonight?

Be as cynical as you want, it still doesn't change the fact that the program has great coaching, the cost is fantastic, it is run very well, and yes, the kids are not treated as income. If the kids stay... well that still is yet to be seen. But I do not see why they wouldn't!

no5hole wrote:Location was a huge factor but not the only for us. The coaches are excellant and treat us good. I have read over and over about "check book hockey" on here, and maybe thats the difference. Gold seems to be treating us like family and not a check book.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Show the kids and parents a little respect, deliver value for the dollar, and live up to your tag lines. Do it all in a top-notch facility, put credible coaches in front of the kids and you eliminate any reason for the families to go elsewhere. Rocket science.

HockeyDad41 wrote:So what makes the mg program so special and able to keep the talent in the north? For years Legacy (until last summer) and Skate to Excellence have operated out of the superduper rink and have not been able to field a competitive invite team.

To be fair, both of those programs are / were rather territorial. Besides, those really had no desire (at least from an outsider's perspective) to be an elite AAAAAAAAA program. Gold does.

I know for a fact of two families who's older kids skate for Blades AND Machine, and the younger siblings skate for Gold now. And the parents LOVE it. Amazing what having a choice (no pun intended) does.

Curious as to how many Blaine, Andover, WBL, STMA, Elk River, Roseville, Anoka, Champlin, Forest Lake, etc. kids are on the 2000 Machine. (year chosen due to the fact that it seems to be the most popular year in the threads)

6 maybe 7 of them?

Now, what about the 2000 Blades another 3-4 kids.

There you go, 9-11 kids that maybe would have gone Gold had the chance been there.

BadgerBob82 wrote:hockeygoof1: Having 30 8-year olds on the ice it too much? Good grief.

I didn't say anything about 8-year-olds. Try up 4 or 5 years. Good grief indeed. Yaaah, more half-ice practices. Gold, black & practice kids, sounds cozy.

hockeygoof1 wrote:

BadgerBob82 wrote:hockeygoof1: Having 30 8-year olds on the ice it too much? Good grief.

I didn't say anything about 8-year-olds. Try up 4 or 5 years. Good grief indeed. Yaaah, more half-ice practices. Gold, black & practice kids, sounds cozy.

How good is the black team, solid open team or very good open team?

InThePipes wrote:

hockeygoof1 wrote:

BadgerBob82 wrote:hockeygoof1: Having 30 8-year olds on the ice it too much? Good grief.

I didn't say anything about 8-year-olds. Try up 4 or 5 years. Good grief indeed. Yaaah, more half-ice practices. Gold, black & practice kids, sounds cozy.

How good is the black team, solid open team or very good open team?

Started with 10-2 win over Stealth tonight in Meltdown Open. Don't know if that means anything.?

Are there any canadians on the gold team?