Comments for MN HOckey Board

[nahc]

Great String!!

1) Absolutely get rid of the unfair point

2) Touch up offsides will/does improve the game

3) Hitting from behind/boarding when player (especially smaller) is against the boards. Lots of times the smaller skater will turn their backs on the defender/forchecker just as the attacking skater is making the check.......and get a penalty. Really need consistancy when/what should be called and also the penalty times (ie 2, 4, 5, 2+10) associated.

Thanks for asking!!

[a ice person]

Hey I got a great idea! Lets just enforce the rules we have instead of worrying about changing the ones we have. MH has to stop letting the district reps. pick and choose what rules they will enforce and which assoc. have to foolow them. Dist. 10 had a kid reg. , try-out , and play about 6-8 dist. games without being waived out of his assoc. or waived in to the one he is playing. Dist. 10 officials were made aware of the infraction but refuse to take any action.

[Night Train]

Definitions:

Youth Hockey = Mites, U8, Squirts, U10, PeeWees, U12, Bantams, U14
High School Hockey = High School Hockey

Of the thousands of hockey families in Minnesota only a selfish few are interested in changing these definitions.

[mn has a nba team?]

#1 change the date to assist in more mn kids playing hockey : with their grade. There is growing % kids with june/may even later birthdates not playing w/ their peers.
I liked this idea: quoted from wally schafer in other thread

"The MH board establishes the MAHA age chart for each season. I believe they would be open to strengthening hockey by increasing the numbers.

Proposal 1
1) Squirts grades 4th and 5th
2) Peewees grades 6th and 7th
3) Bantams grades 8th and 9th
4) U16 / Junior Gold / JV / Varsity grades 10th / 11th / 12th
two years at each level

Proposal 2

1) Keep current age chart, however modify the current rule of allowing associations to decide if the " July / August" birth month whom went to school at age 5 can play with their current grade.. mh to add a addendum that " to allow the local association to decide if a player born before July 1st, can play with their current grade.

Proposal 3

1) change date to Sept 1 and stated as " players, to be eligible, must have been born ON or BEFORE the stated date. Continue verbage to allow local assoc to decide if a player plays up with their grade

NEW
9/1/1992 to 8/31/1994 bantam
9/1/1994 to 8/31/1996 peewee
9/1/1996 to 8/31/1998 squirt

CURRENT
" allows local association to decide if player moves up : and states
"players to be eligible, must have been BORN on or AFTER the stated date"
7/1/1992 06/31/1994 bantam
7/1/1994 06/31/1996 peewee
7/1/1996 06/31/1998 squirt "

# 2 protect the head : the refs must call it..and make it a double everytime.

# 3 create a webbased mn hockey comment forum TIED DIRECTLY to their site.

[boardmember]

1. Get rid of the blue puck

2. Get rid of the Stop patch.

3. Keep helmets on the coaches.

4. Add a minimun participation % at the "A" level. Example, 20% of registered players at all levels at a minimun will play "A". If you have 100 SQ players 20 of them play "A" which mean you need to add a few more to make 2 teams.

5. 15 Min stop for Sq and PeeWee 17 Min Stop for bantams or something like this. Driving around town or cross county for 11 Min stop ( 33 minutes of play time) is ridiculous! Mn hockey should set this policy.

6. Get rid of HEP points!

7. Do not limit games/scrimmages.at the Sq or PW level.....mandate practice time per level! Ice time equals development whether its a game or a structured practice + the kids enjoy the games, thats why they play hockey in the first place!

8. Explore Tier1 possibilities in Minnesota. Do not ignore the warning signs out there. Believe it or not hockey is changing in Minnesota. More and more players are playing year round. Summer AAA is getting very big. Be proactive not reactive!

9. Calendar year cut off, Current dates allow for up to 3 school grades per level. This probably would create a larger Midget ( JG) level within the districts.

[zboni99]

I agree with 1-8 of boardmember.
I disagree with 9.
While 10th can be age eligible for bantams that is only 17% of eligible 10th graders. 100% of ninth graders are Bantams and 83% of 8th graders are bantams. That is pretty good age numbers for school grade alignment, not the fallacy hockeyparent11 thought. To cure the 3 grade issue align cutoff with school age cutoff. I'm ignoring early/late starts.

For USA Hockey, 33% of kids have to play up at the next level. Major Bantams is 8 months 9th grade and 4 months 8th grade. The 33% always have to play up a grade. If you combine major and minor then you also get 3 grades together. Under this cutoff 2x the percentage of kids play up.

At a minimum keep the current age cutoff for youth hockey. Better yet, align with the school cutoff.
Provide Tier 1 birth year cutoff as an option for the birthyear proponents.

[Wally Schafer]

hey i have been quoted

1. switch the age/birth date to allow our children to play with their grade : this is a simple positive move for association to h.s. hockey

2. tag up off sides for peewee/u12 & up.

3. two A teams if a assoc. has the talent : the district level involved here.

4. a mn hockey committee formed to assist local assocations in growing their programs/numbers.

[DumpandChase1]

Why doesn't MN Hockey just give every team a State Championship trophy at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, if you feel you don't deserve it, send it back. That way everyone can feel like a winner.

The other thing that is driving me nuts is this argument for 2 A teams for the bigger associations. My guess is, either your kid was cut from a large association A team, or your kids team can't beat the large association's A team. Stop worrying about what Wayzata, EP and Edina do and deal with you own association, Roseau does and seems to do just fine.

If someone wins, then someone has to lose.

Sorry, just had to vent a little.

[Pucknutz69]

Lets remember something with all the age and grade talk.

Not every association has the exact same number in each age group, they might have only 2 or 3 9th graders playing bantams due to hs size therefore they bring up more 8th graders. I like this idea but it also depends on numbers at that group.

Proposal 1
1) Squirts grades 4th and 5th
2) Peewees grades 6th and 7th
3) Bantams grades 8th and 9th
4) U16 / Junior Gold / JV / Varsity grades 10th / 11th / 12th
two years at each level

[greybeard58]

To Wally

Mn Hockey actually has 4 committees that should be dealing with growing hockey they are:
Planning
Publicity and Promotions
Hockey Operations
Diversity development
All committees are listed in the back of the Mn Hockey Handbook

[council member retired]

Pucknutz i do like this very much as well

Proposal 1
1) Squirts grades 4th and 5th
2) Peewees grades 6th and 7th
3) Bantams grades 8th and 9th
4) U16 / Junior Gold / JV / Varsity grades 10th / 11th / 12th
two years at each level

1) grow mn hockey
2) give each new mite a blue puck too keep...will they be gone after the year?

[Mr. Bo Dangles]

How about we teach coaches to teach Johnny on the bench instead of yelling across the ice at him. 2,3,4 coaches yelling constantly on the bench at players on the ice is becoming all to common.

[Ontheice]

Elliott,

Do you know the status of the private school team issue. I have heard that all affiliate agreements expire after this year and that this is a topic for this year. What are the possible outcomes?
Can these teams operate without an affiliate agreement within MN Hockey I assume they do not have the ability to meet the definition and requirements of an association.
If affiliate agreements or another vehicle is used to allow the teams is there discussion to eliminate the need for waivers?
Of the schools who currently have bantam teams the natural growth would be to add a Jr Gold team. This is where many thought they should have begun, will the questions/issues be addressed in time to form Jr Gold teams and/or to continue the Bantam teams for the upcoming year?

[O-townClown]

I'm missing something, obviously.

What is the rub with the blue puck?

[HockeyFan55]

As a parent, and active volunteer, I recognise all of the issues listed that have been previously addressed. I have more that are pointed to the BOD of MN Hockey:

1) What is the salary (+ benefits) that is to paid to the Executive Director and the part time assistant? Publish the contract.
2) Why aren't the budgets published in full for the members to see?
3) Why is the majority of the time and effort put into the 'elite' players?
4) Why to the girls and boys HS coaches have a vote at MN Hockey? The only players that they register are the 'elite'.
5) Why does everything that is controversial go to committee to disappear forever?
6) What stipends are the VPs getting for their 'work' with the 'elite'? What are they able to expense?
7) How much is spent during a season for free clothing by board members?
How many board members go to the annual USA Hockey meetings, and what do they spend?
9) Why do non-youth respresentatives get to vote on youth-only motions?
10) Who edits the Hockey Journal? How can a guy that makes the papers for running a camp on how to fight make the cover of this magazine?
11) When are the district directors going go grow some cahones and get rid of the chaff that floated to the top?
12) MN Hockey defends it's community based platform, but panders to the elite who only have to say 'lawyer'.
13) What is the contract with TPG and Custom Lettering?
14) How much money is brought in annually from corporate sponsorships?

As someone who has worked at the association level for years, I'd like to see some of these answered, and not put into committee! I hear that there is a question of raising fees. Maybe these should be answered first.

[wbl92]

Fair play points need to go. Having to serve your time in the sin bin with the opponent on the power play is the punishment. If a team is good enough to win while still taking penalties, more credit to them. Sometimes taking a few smart penalties during a game is the right thing to do. There is such a thing as a good penalty. It's absolutely rediculous that a team with a losing record can be ahead of other decent teams in the standings just because they are weak and timid. Part of playing hockey is learning life lessons, and unfortunately, in life good guys DO NOT always finish first. These kids aren't stupid, don't think they feel good about being ahead of superior teams just because they stayed out of the box.

[wbl92]

One more thing I forgot. By the pee wee level there should be tag ups allowed on off sides. Not having this rule causes way too many whistles, and more importantly puts the defensemen in a horrible position. Most of the time, after a team has spent a lot of time and energy working their forecheck and cycling, the puck pops out of the zone and they should be thinking of a line change not a neutral zone re-group. I'm not talking about instances when the other team gets possesion, cuz obviously that's when it's time to skate your butt off backchecking, but in my coaching and playing experience this is the perfect time to change lines and re apply the pressure. We are trying to teach these kids how to succeed at the next level, right?

[Puck Hog]

Mn Hockey should flex alittle with all the districts. First,they need more uniformity, example....Dates when any assocation can start the season, the rules should be exactly the same on maxinum number of games, maxinum number of scrimages, and amiut of practice each week.

Second, they need to set a rule for the amount of teams at each level. Example...if an assocaition has 8 or maybe 9 teams of Squirts (any level) they cannot have 1 "A" team ....they must have 2. if they had 13 or more there should be 3 "A" teams. Should dramatically balance power of the huge associations, with the smaller programs.

Right now it seems like the Associations do mostly what they want, some on one extreme and others on the other end of the spectrum.

Good luck!

[elliott70]

Keep em coming.

If you want me to address some of or all of the questions that were brought up, just say so on your post.

[wannagototherink]

Mn Hockey should flex alittle with all the districts. First,they need more uniformity, example....Dates when any assocation can start the season, the rules should be exactly the same on maxinum number of games, maxinum number of scrimages, and amiut of practice each week.

Second, they need to set a rule for the amount of teams at each level. Example...if an assocaition has 8 or maybe 9 teams of Squirts (any level) they cannot have 1 "A" team ....they must have 2. if they had 13 or more there should be 3 "A" teams. Should dramatically balance power of the huge associations, with the smaller programs.

Right now it seems like the Associations do mostly what they want, some on one extreme and others on the other end of the spectrum.

Good luck!

I too am now curious as to why anyone would be mandating how many squirt A teams anyone has. Why has the "B" level become such a death sentence. Part of the prestige of playing on an "A" team is you represent your community, you are at the top of YOUR program. That does not demean the kids that are playing on the "B" teams.

The argument that they win too much is irrelevant in my opinion. First no team is unbeatable, and if your angry because your assocition isn't making it to state tournaments or winning the Eden Praire tournament? This is going to be blunt but I think it needs to be said...If your problem is simply not being able to beat those teams, than WORK HARDER. Quit blaming other programs for your lack of success, and spend more time at the rink. If it is because your kid didn't make one of those "big association" teams than tell your kid to work harder.

If you force associations to water down their top teams, especially, with the programs this effects, and the money in those programs, this state will be over run with "AAA" like hockey like no one can believe. You mean to tell me that if the top four kids from EP, Edina and Wayzata are forced to play on a watered down "A" team their parents won't find away to get them on a more competitive team. Or Centennail, White Bear Lake and Blaine. You think that the top kids couldn't be convinced to play on an "Elite" Bantam or Peewee team. You are kidding yourself. You are also insulting every Bantam/Peewee/Squirt B coach out there. The kids can still develope...And if there is all this talent out there, it seems to me they will develope just fine. Bottom line, quit making excuses for individual lack of success by tearing down other individuals success.

[Tenoverpar]

Wanna

sounds like you are saying that by watering down the A level by having association have 2 or 3 would be detrimental for the 3-4 superstars that would be with the "watered down" team? Are you saying that the development of ALL kids isn't worth the expense of the ONE? (does anyone think that these kids still won't develop?)
Are you saying that a player's development is the result of the level of talent he plays "with"?

Sounds like you're the one with the issue here, not everyone else. You sound very elitist...your post even sounds like a cry for AAA for the elitists kids so they won't have to be surrounded by the stewage from B class...

[edge]

I Agree with mn has a nba team? Go back to the Sept. cut off if you don't go birth year. I don't think they should ahve changed it in the 1st place.

[O-townClown]

Puck Hog, I don't disagree that there are valid reasons for having two A teams in certain associations. You, however, think it is necessary to "balance" things?

Shouldn't strong associations have the strongest teams?

Your argument sounds like the have-nots of college football blasting the BCS schools. Hey, Tulane and Memphis don't deserve to be treated on the same level as Syracuse and Michigan.

Ten: A teams from the strongest associations are on par with AAA teams. Maybe not the best sponsored teams from Detroit, but certainly anyone else. It isn't an elitist point when he mentions that erosion of the top community A teams will fuel the mindset that some of the better players will benefit from congregating on a super-team.

Imagine your kid is a real good Pee Wee in Eden Prairie. While the community could contend for district and state titles, two teams - still Top 20 but not Top 5 - project to chronically run up against the state's best and fall short.

I can envision a program that stuffs 15 skaters on every B and C team or puts in provisions to discourage some players from coming out in an effort to stay below a certain threshhold.

[GR3343]

Allow checking at the squirt level. That way, by the time they are pee wees, they'll know how to accept and deliver a check.

[theref]

I am not 100% behind tag up offsides. What it does is allow a team to shoot in the puck, reducing the pressure on their D, while waiting for teammates to clear the zone. Under current rules that should be an intentional offsides and bring a defensive zone faceoff. To avoid that a team has to pass and stickhandle the puck in the neutral zone. I would rather see action in the neutral zone where a turnover may provide an odd-man rush than teams having a freebie to breakout under little pressure.

The biggest bonus to tag up offsides is it keeps rules consistent to HS and USA hockey.

That is incorrect. USA hockey only uses tag up offsides at the Upper Levels (women's 19U, Mens, etc) but not at any of the youth level. It is still an immediate whistle for squirts, peewees, and bantams. That is probably the reason that MN hockey has not made a change. HS does use tag up though.