Who are top 10 1997 AAA Teams in Mn

[irving12]

Top 8 AAA Teams...................

Please tell me your thoughts............

And who is going to play in Easton Cup ?

And who is traveling to Duluth for Lake Superior Stars Cup ?

1997 Divisions............

[yellowjacket]

Top 8 AAA Teams...................

Please tell me your thoughts............

And who is going to play in Easton Cup ?

And who is traveling to Duluth for Lake Superior Stars Cup ?

1997 Divisions............

From what I've seen in the Meltdown, Independent Cup, etc... thus far, here are some of the top teams.

Blades
Deuce
Easton Stealth
Easton Synergy
Machine

Grinders
Icemen
Mavericks
Snipers

[shooter803]

Here are the current registered teams for the Stars Ice Cup 97 level:
MN Machine
Easton Stealth
Lake Superior Stars
Northern Wings
Thunder Bay
Team Reebok
Icemen
Storm
Cylone
Rainy Lake Devils

[hckynuts]

Do you also have the 96' teams registered? Who?

[d10dad]

97's

1. Blades
2. MN Machine
3. Stealth (Won International CUP)
4. Synergy (2nd place I_CUP)
5. Deuce (3rd Place I_CUP)
6. Cyclones (4th Place I_CUP)
7. IceMen
8. Grinders

[shooter803]

Here's the 96 teams registered for the stars Ice Cup in Aug.:

Lake Superior Stars
MN Deuce
MN Snipers
MN Outlaws
Cylcone
MN Edge
Hazard
Team Reebok

[shooter803]

Looks like the 97's are the black sheep of the AAA hockey community - not much input or opinions on players, etc. - everyone is just trying to catch the 97 Machine & Blades or just stay in the 2nd tier of teams

[d10dad]

Looks like the 97's are the black sheep of the AAA hockey community - not much input or opinions on players, etc. - everyone is just trying to catch the 97 Machine & Blades or just stay in the 2nd tier of teams

Give it Time... Blades are by far the Best 97 team in North America; they beat MOST 96's out there... Also, the Blades and Machine have been doing this for 3-4 years, with mostly the same kids. Not to mention some of them playing the similar system with the Fire in the winter months…

With more "Competitive AAA" teams popping up all the time, especially those that focus on skill development, not tournament teams, they will attract others if they are closer to their communities. With Gas continually going up, a parent might consider changing teams, if that team runs a similar style of Skill Development. Think of those parents who drive from Hudson, River Falls, Stillwater, North Branch, Isanti, Elk River, Forest Lake, Centennial, WBL, etc. to Edina or SLP… 3-4 days a week…

Watching the 97 International Cup teams, on any giving day, those TOP 4 placements could and will change. Those top 4 teams were dominant in the tournament.
It will be fun to see the results of the Duluth Tournament.

[rock head]

The 97 Machine and Blades teams are the best hands down. No team will ever close the gap because the best players will move up to these two teams! Unless your kid has played these teams you have no idea how good the Blades and Machine kids are. And by the way they work harder then any other 97 teams in the state. (And love it)

[shooter803]

Anyone who has seen these teams know they put in a ton of icetime. Also, like most organizations have alot of great parents & coaches. However, didn't the 97 Machine finish 3rd at the Independence Cup in May? The Blades & Machine are the teams everyone wants to beat & bring out the best effort from everyone they play - but to state all the players are the "best" - there are some hockey players outside 50 miles of the Twin Cities. For the amount of time Machine players put in they better love it - not all kids can handle that at such a young age & still love it through the real grind of peewees & bantams.

The 97 Machine and Blades teams are the best hands down. No team will ever close the gap because the best players will move up to these two teams! Unless your kid has played these teams you have no idea how good the Blades and Machine kids are. And by the way they work harder then any other 97 teams in the state. (And love it)

[hockeyboys]

is the stars ice cup in Duluth?

is there a website or any other information? Where did you get the information on which teams are playing?

[d10dad]

is the stars ice cup in Duluth?

is there a website or any other information? Where did you get the information on which teams are playing?

Yes...

Here is the Site:
http://www.lakesuperiorstars.com/tourneys/tourneys.asp

Still has last years schedule
Not sure how\where they got the list of teams in it for this year

[JoltDelivered]

I agree Rock Head, the Machine and Blades program require hard work and committment and the kids benefit from it. However, new programs have popped up in recent years that require the same dedication. I know you will be skeptical about this but it's true. Don't judge the other programs until you have spent time watching their practices and understanding their training programs. Where they fall short right now is they don't have the talent of the Blades or to a lesser extent the Machnine but their required dedication is 2nd to nobody.

As I dust off my crystal ball and look into the future say, 2-3 years I have no doubt the Blades will continue to be the class of the 97 age group, at least in these parts. They are an extremely talented group of kids with good coaching. However, based on what I hear from insiders, I think there could be an impending implosion on the horizion for the 97 boys at MN Made. Not so much at the Machine level although they could see some defections, rather at the Duece level. Don't be surprised if that team looks much different next year.

As the talent begins to shift around to different programs in the coming years, the balance power will certainly change.

[rock head]

JoltDelivered - All the teams have become better because of the Machine program! Less games more skills. The 97 Machine are still a great team and the word is the 97 Machine out played and were a much faster team in Winnipeg in a 3-2 loss to the Blades. Also the 97 Blades flew in two players from Boston and Ca. to win the tournament. The Machine team keeps working on the basic skills and if they drop a game or two it's ok.

The Deuce has alot of players that need to work harder and play together as a team. The problem is the coaches play there own kids to much and they are poor team players. I like what the Easton and Cylone teams are doing at the 97 level.

[buttend]

It seems it does not matter if its Association Hockey or AAA hockey. Parent coaches always manage to get their kids the majority of the ice. But hey, thats why the parents are coaching to make sure their kids get ice time. Too often their players are middle of the pack or bottom of the pack. Nothing drives a wedge in a team faster than weak coaches kids getting allot of ice time over the kids whose moms and dads paid the $$ to play but find their kids sitting and watching, especially in special teams situations.

If the parents complain Bernie will change the coaches. Hes done it before

[JoltDelivered]

Flying in kids has kind of been the standard operating procedure for the Blades at all levels hasn't it? Doesn't surprise me the 97's share the same practice. Agree or disagree, it is summer AAA hockey and these boys play to win. I don't expect that to change anytime soon. I don't like that sort of thing because I never been a big beleiver in "bringing in the ringer" for any sport but to some, winning is paramount and supercedes everything else.

I've heard the complaints first hand about the 97 Duece and it hasn't been so much about coaches kids getting too much ice time rather the team as a whole has taken on the personality of the coaches which is "ho-hum, low key and not alot of energy." They don't play with an edge and they don't see the passion in the kids that Bernie requires. Haven't seen the team play enough to make my own judgement but that's the word on the street.

What will be interesting to see over time is if the 97 Machine can create any sort of seperation between themselves and the 97 Blades. I think that was the expectation early on but that has not materialized yet.

[DCNC]

I have seen these Deuce kids play, quite a few times and do know people on the inside, having been there ourselves. The kids that are passionate about it seem to be on the bench more than on the ice. There are a different set of rules when it comes to coaches kids and the 'rest of them'. The 'rest of them' have given up other summer sports, the coaches kids are playing other sports, missing practices, arriving late and not getting penalized for it from what I have heard. Although I believe you should not be penalized for playing other sports - the 'rest of them' do get benched a game/period/two periods for the same reason. I have seen significant improvement from a couple of these kids who are extremely motivated and driven based on how they were treated. Generally kids go in the other direction. MN Made is a great program, it just wasn't for us.

[pro2b@3]

I have seen these Deuce kids play, quite a few times and do know people on the inside, having been there ourselves. The kids that are passionate about it seem to be on the bench more than on the ice. There are a different set of rules when it comes to coaches kids and the 'rest of them'. The 'rest of them' have given up other summer sports, the coaches kids are playing other sports, missing practices, arriving late and not getting penalized for it from what I have heard. Although I believe you should not be penalized for playing other sports - the 'rest of them' do get benched a game/period/two periods for the same reason. I have seen significant improvement from a couple of these kids who are extremely motivated and driven based on how they were treated. Generally kids go in the other direction. MN Made is a great program, it just wasn't for us.

And these are same coaches that Coach the 97 Fire...

[Bruins]

[quote="rock head"] The 97 Machine are still a great team and the word is the 97 Machine out played and were a much faster team in Winnipeg in a 3-2 loss to the Blades. Also the 97 Blades flew in two players from Boston and Ca. to win the tournament. The Machine team keeps working on the basic skills and if they drop a game or two it's ok.

I guess it depends on who you talk to. The Subway web site shows the 97 Machine lost three games, getting blown out in two of them (15 goals against). 97 Blades only lost one game after double OT in a shootout to the eventual champs. I heard the Machine played there best game all year against the Blades and could not get a win. The word on the new players is that they replaced two players that could not make the trip due to prior commitments. This is common in AAA play, we did this alot out east. Some of the Canadien rosters even have US players on them. I am not saying the Machine is not strong but there is a gap in skill and speed in favor of the 97 Blades based on head to head play and same teams played.

[yellowjacket]

This has probably already been stated, but several of the 97 AAA teams have only been together for a few months. The upper teams have been together for a couple of years. With the increased options for AAA teams and over time, more kids will be able to skate, improve, and develop their enjoyment for the game.

In the long run, isn't it supposed to be for the kids? Isn't it supposed to be fun?