FARGO BRACKETS

[observer]

The Chicago Mission is currently the top 99 team in the US, 59-6-2. The Fire is currently ranked #2 in the US at, 20-4-1. Interesting that the Mission has played 67 games and the Fire 25.

They also rank the 00s. The top team is Little Caesars, 33-6-7

http://myhockeyrankings.com/index.php

Best site ever for a hockey nut.

[InigoMontoya]

Rankings for 99 kids now that is by far the funniest damn thing I have ever seen in my life. No wonder the game has gone completely south, that is amazing.

Really??? That's a little naive. They have national and international championships for 10 year old baseball. They televise the 12 year olds all over the world.

[HockeyDad41]

Rankings for 99 kids now that is by far the funniest damn thing I have ever seen in my life. No wonder the game has gone completely south, that is amazing.

Really??? That's a little naive. They have national and international championships for 10 year old baseball. They televise the 12 year olds all over the world.

It isn't if you refuse to accept that the game evolves.

Looks like a heck of a tournament. I am sure the kids and the families will have a great time. What a great event for the Fargo-Moorhead area as well.

[Doglover]

Just unfortunate that many hockey dads don't!

[dogeatdog1]

A four year squirt? I would assume that he is a 98 now. He must be the odds on favorite to win the squirt Olympics.

He is actually a small 97 I have two birth certificates in hopes that noone notices. I have to get him a win at something as he is not very talented and I love living though my kids. I think I can squeeze one or two more squirt years if he stays small. also you should seehis pin collection after his 5th year.

[northwoods oldtimer]

It isn't if you refuse to accept that the game evolves.

No sir, I would disagree it has devolved over the past decade or so. Lucky for us all there are some who are working at restoring the game.

[muckandgrind]

It isn't if you refuse to accept that the game evolves.

No sir, I would disagree it has devolved over the past decade or so. Lucky for us all there are some who are working at restoring the game.

How so, exactly?

[HockeyDad41]

It isn't if you refuse to accept that the game evolves.

No sir, I would disagree it has devolved over the past decade or so. Lucky for us all there are some who are working at restoring the game.

I guess it depends on a person's definition of evolution.

[northwoods oldtimer]

How so, exactly?

Good question muckandgrind. The overall lack of creativity in the modern day one hour player. Not all mind you but the overall players by and large have lost that art of improvise. Too many road trips to too many games to chock up too many wins has hurt our kids greatly. Instead of 6 hours of Saturday ice it is a road trip for a one hour game and back home. We just do not churn out the volume of play makers as in the past. I think it will come back though here in the future and anxious to see that occur.

[observer]

But, any of today's squirt teams would totally destroy any squirt team from 10-20 years ago. Hockey is different. An old football or baseball team may have a chance against a current team but hockey, not a chance.

So I understand what you're saying, in regards to individual player development, but the team game has evolved to the point that they dice teams relying on individual play. Plus, they have the players with the individual skills as well, believe me.

[InigoMontoya]

Agree with Observer. The things kids do with the puck these days, even at the squirt and peewee level, are just sic. Watching state high school tournament footage from the 80s you don't see anything near that. Pretty creative.

[muckandgrind]

How so, exactly?

Good question muckandgrind. The overall lack of creativity in the modern day one hour player. Not all mind you but the overall players by and large have lost that art of improvise. Too many road trips to too many games to chock up too many wins has hurt our kids greatly. Instead of 6 hours of Saturday ice it is a road trip for a one hour game and back home. We just do not churn out the volume of play makers as in the past. I think it will come back though here in the future and anxious to see that occur.

I disagree. I believe today's players is a much better all-around player than the kid from 30+ years ago. If you don't believe me, just watch some film. Kids today have many more opportunities to train than we did when we were youngsters. Whether that be spring/fall leagues, clinics/camps, AAA hockey, etc. Somebody else said it, but its true...the best A Squirt team today would demolish the best A Squirt team from 30 years ago. And it's also false to say we don't "churn" out playmakers anymore. There are more Minnesotans drafted into the NHL now more than ever.

And it's a fallacy to say that kids play more games than in the past. The 1983 St Paul Johnson Bantam A team went 75-5-1....name one youth hockey team in Minnesota that will play that many games this year....I doubt you can do it.

[crw]

I thought this was a forum on the Fargo tourney?????

[muckandgrind]

I thought this was a forum on the Fargo tourney?????

Wow!! A thread that veers off topic??? Never seen that before.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Beauty of the forum there muck is that we can ALL have an opinion.

Now as for Fargo Squirt Tournament make sure you guys ride the teenage refs real good when they fail to make the "right" call in a squirt game.

[silentbutdeadly3139]

Beauty of the forum there muck is that we can ALL have an opinion.

Now as for Fargo Squirt Tournament make sure you guys ride the teenage refs real good when they fail to make the "right" call in a squirt game.

So he says perched high upon his pedestal where he pines for the good old days when everything was better including the hockey players.

[northwoods oldtimer]

Beauty of the forum there muck is that we can ALL have an opinion.

Now as for Fargo Squirt Tournament make sure you guys ride the teenage refs real good when they fail to make the "right" call in a squirt game.

So he says perched high upon his pedestal where he pines for the good old days when everything was better including the hockey players.

I see better to flame than discuss the subject. Fargo prediction: Thunder Bay all the way to the 'ship'!!

[HockeyDad41]

Beauty of the forum there muck is that we can ALL have an opinion.

Now as for Fargo Squirt Tournament make sure you guys ride the teenage refs real good when they fail to make the "right" call in a squirt game.

So he says perched high upon his pedestal where he pines for the good old days when everything was better including the hockey players.

I see better to flame than discuss the subject. Fargo prediction: Thunder Bay all the way to the 'ship'!!

Nothing wrong with remembering the good old days!

[MrBoDangles]

How so, exactly?

Good question muckandgrind. The overall lack of creativity in the modern day one hour player. Not all mind you but the overall players by and large have lost that art of improvise. Too many road trips to too many games to chock up too many wins has hurt our kids greatly. Instead of 6 hours of Saturday ice it is a road trip for a one hour game and back home. We just do not churn out the volume of play makers as in the past. I think it will come back though here in the future and anxious to see that occur.

I agree 100%. Sure kids are bigger, faster, and stronger than 30 years ago. sure new moves have evolved over the years, but are they as good as they could be?
A player gets about 12-13 minutes of ice time in a one hour game My guess would be a typical away game takes three hours out of a day minimum. What's going to improve a kids "art of improvise" more....... 12-13 minutes in a structured game or 3-6 hours improvised hockey?
The metro area is filled with cookie cutter kids that are great skaters. On the other hand very few with hockey sense. They just don't play shinny hockey like they used to.
Northwoods Wiseman

[muckandgrind]

How so, exactly?

Good question muckandgrind. The overall lack of creativity in the modern day one hour player. Not all mind you but the overall players by and large have lost that art of improvise. Too many road trips to too many games to chock up too many wins has hurt our kids greatly. Instead of 6 hours of Saturday ice it is a road trip for a one hour game and back home. We just do not churn out the volume of play makers as in the past. I think it will come back though here in the future and anxious to see that occur.

I agree 100%. Sure kids are bigger, faster, and stronger than 30 years ago. sure new moves have evolved over the years, but are they as good as they could be?
A player gets about 12-13 minutes of ice time in a one hour game My guess would be a typical away game takes three hours out of a day minimum. What's going to improve a kids "art of improvise" more....... 12-13 minutes in a structured game or 3-6 hours improvised hockey?
The metro area is filled with cookie cutter kids that are great skaters. On the other hand very few with hockey sense. They just don't play shinny hockey like they used to.
Northwoods Wiseman

Let's assume all of what you say is true....then how do you explain the fact that there are more Minnesotans then ever moving on to play hockey at the highest levels of the college and professional rankings??

You also assume that kids don't play outside as much as they used to....In my area, that's simply not the case. Every time I drive by our local outdoor rink, I see anywhere from 5-20 kids out there playing shinny hockey...not to mention the fact that many, many families set-up outdoor rinks in their backyards. I can tell you that my youngest son skates outdoor on an average of 3 days a week. Basically, if he doesn't have an indoor game or practice scheduled, he's outside playing. And he is not alone.

People always look back to the "good ol' days" with fond memories and it has become almost to cliche to say that the kids had it "figured out" back then....when, by and large, the kids back then really didn't have the number of opportunities to play and train that the kids have now. Simply put, the game is better today than it was 30 years ago...and it will probably be better 30 years from now than it is today.

Today's game is faster and more skilled than ever before.

[gorilla1]

Lets talk about the great 8 as follows:

1. Out of group 1 will come STMA.
2. Out of group 2, it will be a test between OMG and Jefferson.
3. Out of group 3 (which is a difficult bracket overall) it will be either Waconia (which will have a tough test against Woodbury) or Chaska/Chanhassen (which will have a tough test against Edina)
4. Out of group 4, it will be Prior Lake.
5. Out of group 6, it will be Wayzata (who is my favorite for the tourney because of their depth)
6. Out of group 6, it will either be Tonka or Lakeville South. A very tough draw for two good teams.
7. I don't even understand group 7--one average team in Eastview and one well below average team in Eagan, and the rest out of town teams. Generally speaking the out of town teams are not as strong. It is too bad they could not have put either Tonka or Lakeville south in this bracket. I'll throw a dart and pick Ventura.
8. Out of group 8, it will be EP because of the easy bracket.

Because of the way the brackets are set up, one team will come out of brackets 1 through 4 above, and one team will come out of brackets 5 through 8 above.

I am going to pick Wayzata over Lakeville South in one semi and Waconia over STMA in the other. Waconia gets to play with a very short bench which helps them alot.

Wayzata is Champion

The teams from up north will need to take their ball and go home because none of them will make the final 8!

[thunderwolf]

I see better to flame than discuss the subject. Fargo prediction: Thunder Bay all the way to the 'ship'!!

Maybe one of the teams in B. No way either team in A win the championship. But great flame.

[ThePuckStopsHere]

Lets talk about the great 8 as follows:

1. Out of group 1 will come STMA.
2. Out of group 2, it will be a test between OMG and Jefferson.
3. Out of group 3 (which is a difficult bracket overall) it will be either Waconia (which will have a tough test against Woodbury) or Chaska/Chanhassen (which will have a tough test against Edina)
4. Out of group 4, it will be Prior Lake.
5. Out of group 6, it will be Wayzata (who is my favorite for the tourney because of their depth)
6. Out of group 6, it will either be Tonka or Lakeville South. A very tough draw for two good teams.
7. I don't even understand group 7--one average team in Eastview and one well below average team in Eagan, and the rest out of town teams. Generally speaking the out of town teams are not as strong. It is too bad they could not have put either Tonka or Lakeville south in this bracket. I'll throw a dart and pick Ventura.
8. Out of group 8, it will be EP because of the easy bracket.

Because of the way the brackets are set up, one team will come out of brackets 1 through 4 above, and one team will come out of brackets 5 through 8 above.

I am going to pick Wayzata over Lakeville South in one semi and Waconia over STMA in the other. Waconia gets to play with a very short bench which helps them alot.

Wayzata is Champion

The teams from up north will need to take their ball and go home because none of them will make the final 8!

Gorilla those are solid picks, one sleeper may be OMG to make a push.

Any reason the Fire doesn't participate in this tourney? I hate to see the greatest squirt team ever assembled not given a chance to compete

[TheJet]

If EV is average so is Jefferson (3 even games with them) Chaska (EV 2 wins over them) Edina (EV 1 & 0 vs them) and Prior (2 1 goal games split). The Missouri team is likely the high seed here in the initial bracket of 4 with EV the 2nd.

[dogeatdog1]

Lakeville south is the Champ. The more the season goes on the more I see there is no dominant team. I originally thought EP had the two -three kids that could win a tourney.. that is no longer the case. I thought prior lake had more of a team butit looks like they are very beatable. South has good coaching and gets the team concept.