Breakaway hockey

[lilgretzky99]

As posted earlier, a COI exists.

After reading more of your posts, I don't see any issues that cause me concern.

You mention team selection - Everyone know who the top end players are, I would suspect those kids are taken on the top team no matter where they play or go to school. Next rung of players is 6-10 range, usually pretty easy to identify those players as well. In the 10-20 range player ability gets very subjective. (using general number ranges). In the event a 1-5 or even 6-10 don't make top team because they are not assocated with Breakaway, that would be of large concern. 10-20 range, so many factors come into play in picking those last spots. Would I be more likely to pick a kid that played for me year around which I know very well and works hard all the time, listens and does whatever you ask of them on the ice, of course. It just makes sense. Does it create a "perception" that if I play in X program year around I may have a better chance of making top team, yes, but it is still 100% the option of that family to play for X or not. I know little about either program, but do know the names and would think they are very good coaches and would likely improve players.

Until 1-10 does not make top team because they don't play for Breakaway, or Breakaway SOLICITS players with a commitment of making a certain team I just don't see any major concerns. Perception of COI no doubt, but you have not presented evidence of anything beyond a perception of COI.

Coach- I disagree in a sense. No one knows the top 10 players. No way! There is no such thing as 1-10, 11-20 so forth. Always going to be subjective decisions made by the evaluators and parents alike. This is why coaches are allowed coaches picks. I see it every year. A kid makes a team and half the parents agree with the decision and half the parents ask what is going on?

Let me ask you. 16 skaters on the team. It comes down to the coach picking player 14,15 and 16.

A) Does he pick the best fit to play on his team?
B) Does he pick the players he best knows?

[Nevertoomuchhockey]

A and B could be the same player?

And did all those bantams move to high school jv or varsity? Because they can't play bantams outside your association unless they get waivered out. Now THAT is a big red flag.

Without outing him, where is your own kid playing?

[edgeless2]

I voted Yes on conflict of interest. Simply trying to give an honest answer to an honest question.

That said, Andy and Dave are two of the state's best coaches. They are very dedicated and extremely fair. CC hockey should be thanking their lucky stars to have them and have them for free. Development and the promotion of hockey in the CC area will likely slip after their kids leave the program.

If anyone knows Dave Snuggerud and his personality, the last thing he is doing is recruiting kids to play hockey at Chaska. If kids end up going to Chaska to play hockey, it won't be because he reached out, it will be because people saw others going there to get a good education (for free), go to a smaller school, and to play for a good coach.

Agreed! Both guys you mentioned are great guys. Any which way you spin it. They are using their power to benefit their winter teams, and private business. Sure the association needs quality coaches, but its not like CC is a power house. It's a fact, in the CCHA almost all the top bantams try every which way to leave the association for greener pastures. Cannot blame them. The CCHA feeds three high schools.

Like I said. Lets see how many Chanhassen kids elect to play at Chaska? Which is another major issue. Chaska has open enrollment and Chanhassen has closed enrollment. Lets revisit this portion of the topic in 2-4 years. I will let you know where the kids elect to attend high school.

Are you certain Chanhassen doesn't have open enrollment?

[blueline8]

If you are looking for fair, you are in the wrong sport. I have been dealing with similar situations since my playing days and now with my boys. In our association there is an influx of new players every year. 2nd year bantams can transfer in because they are changing school buildings in their old association. Is that fair? Our association doesn't allow private school players to skate on the top team because they are private school students. Is that fair? Top high school teams have players come in all the time and take roster spots from life long community players. Is that fair? As a player, we lost good players every year and still do. That didn't seem fair either. I made up my mind that I will be involved, help my boys be the very best they can be with their skills, effort and attitude. You can rail against the system forever. Let us know how that works. I decided for us that it wont help and would probably hurt. You have other options too. You don't have to say where you are. Fair just isn't a big part of it. Just my opinion.

"allowed to profit"

This tells me a lot. First of all its called the free enterprise system. Hopefully they are making a good profit. They are also taking a big risk and there are no guarantees on profits. The local associations benefit from BA being such a strong program with top instructors. Sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me.

Blueline8- Free enterprise system. Really? Let me ask. How would you handle this situation if this was your son?
Private school in your association recruits kids to attend school. These kids opt to play in your association and your son gets bumped to lower team in favor of an outside player. (Let's not forget, we're talking youth sports)

Then in the back of your mind. You know one of these guys serves on the Hockey Development Committee and determines: Who coaches - Who evaluates - What drills you do in tryouts - Gets coaches picks for his team - Gets to be in tryout room as team is announced. Also knowing this person has a lot of influence over a lot of people on the board, and in the association.
Like I said. The next 2-4 years will be interesting to see which direction some of these players go?
Chaska high school has always struggled in hockey with terrible records. So in 2-4 years if outside kids who attended his private school decide to open enroll at Chaska we will know for sure if there is "Conflict of Interest". Currently there are no good players knocking on the door to play at Chaska.
Stay tuned..................................

[lilgretzky99]

I voted Yes on conflict of interest. Simply trying to give an honest answer to an honest question.

That said, Andy and Dave are two of the state's best coaches. They are very dedicated and extremely fair. CC hockey should be thanking their lucky stars to have them and have them for free. Development and the promotion of hockey in the CC area will likely slip after their kids leave the program.

If anyone knows Dave Snuggerud and his personality, the last thing he is doing is recruiting kids to play hockey at Chaska. If kids end up going to Chaska to play hockey, it won't be because he reached out, it will be because people saw others going there to get a good education (for free), go to a smaller school, and to play for a good coach.

Agreed! Both guys you mentioned are great guys. Any which way you spin it. They are using their power to benefit their winter teams, and private business. Sure the association needs quality coaches, but its not like CC is a power house. It's a fact, in the CCHA almost all the top bantams try every which way to leave the association for greener pastures. Cannot blame them. The CCHA feeds three high schools.

Like I said. Lets see how many Chanhassen kids elect to play at Chaska? Which is another major issue. Chaska has open enrollment and Chanhassen has closed enrollment. Lets revisit this portion of the topic in 2-4 years. I will let you know where the kids elect to attend high school.

Are you certain Chanhassen doesn't have open enrollment?

Positive. We have had many players that want to play in Chanhassen. What the school district did for one student. Chan has a student that wanted to transfer to Chaska. There was a goalie in Chaska that wanted to transfer to Chan. The school allowed a one for one trade.
Otherwise, if you want to play for Chanhassen high school. You have to live in Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union.
Like I said. This is another issue with Breakaway being too close to the association. Chaska does allow kids to open enroll. We will see in 2-4 years where some of these Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union kids decide to play hockey.
Keep in mind. Chaska high school has never had a good team. In fact, this year they will have a very weak team. With that said there are not kids knocking on their door to play hockey at Chaska. Let's see what happens in 2-4 years when the Breakaway kids are high school age. Stay tuned...............

[lilgretzky99]

If you are looking for fair, you are in the wrong sport. I have been dealing with similar situations since my playing days and now with my boys. In our association there is an influx of new players every year. 2nd year bantams can transfer in because they are changing school buildings in their old association. Is that fair? Our association doesn't allow private school players to skate on the top team because they are private school students. Is that fair? Top high school teams have players come in all the time and take roster spots from life long community players. Is that fair? As a player, we lost good players every year and still do. That didn't seem fair either. I made up my mind that I will be involved, help my boys be the very best they can be with their skills, effort and attitude. You can rail against the system forever. Let us know how that works. I decided for us that it wont help and would probably hurt. You have other options too. You don't have to say where you are. Fair just isn't a big part of it. Just my opinion.

"allowed to profit"

This tells me a lot. First of all its called the free enterprise system. Hopefully they are making a good profit. They are also taking a big risk and there are no guarantees on profits. The local associations benefit from BA being such a strong program with top instructors. Sounds like a lot of sour grapes to me.

Blueline8- Free enterprise system. Really? Let me ask. How would you handle this situation if this was your son?
Private school in your association recruits kids to attend school. These kids opt to play in your association and your son gets bumped to lower team in favor of an outside player. (Let's not forget, we're talking youth sports)

Then in the back of your mind. You know one of these guys serves on the Hockey Development Committee and determines: Who coaches - Who evaluates - What drills you do in tryouts - Gets coaches picks for his team - Gets to be in tryout room as team is announced. Also knowing this person has a lot of influence over a lot of people on the board, and in the association.
Like I said. The next 2-4 years will be interesting to see which direction some of these players go?
Chaska high school has always struggled in hockey with terrible records. So in 2-4 years if outside kids who attended his private school decide to open enroll at Chaska we will know for sure if there is "Conflict of Interest". Currently there are no good players knocking on the door to play at Chaska.
Stay tuned..................................

Blueline8- Agreed! There is way too much politics in hockey. I have witnessed almost everything.
The subject of Breakaway hockey being too close to CCHA is a glaring issue with majority of parents in the age groups affected.
Parents start experiencing the political stuff in Squirts, gets a little worse in PW's and by the time the kids are Bantams parents have experienced the politics.
In the CCHA it is sad to see the parent volunteers only serving because they have their own personal agenda.
Like I said in a previous post. In Squirts and PW's I tried to get a lot of this worked out with the current BOD. This is where I received the "We are all volunteers" speech. And then I received "If you want to make changes quit complaining and join the volunteers".
So I decided to be a key volunteer. They interviewed me and offered the position to me. It was a broken system within the association. I stepped in and organized and perfected the process. In my mind I was ready to help tackle and focus on major issues for the members within the association. In fact, there were former boards members that attended BOD meetings to address issues within the association. Funny how things get swept under the rug.
Example: I believe it was last year. The acting president always focuses on the budget. So the board had a decision to make for the PW's:

Choice A) Have 11-12 kids on Peewee teams.
Choice B) Have 15 kids on Peewee teams.

This is where the first Breakaway group is coming in to peewee.
Keep in mind. It would be more cost effective for the association to offer one less team. Less ice time to purchase, less tournaments.
The first thing parents said. It works out great for Breakaway owner to have less kids with more talent on his team versus having more players adding 2-3 weaker players.
Acting president many times expressed his opinion, is too allow more kids to make top teams for the experience. He also said it is his opinion that second year kids should get the spot on top teams if their score is similar with first year players. I agree with both statements.
The association decided the best most logical thing to do. Offer another team and spend more money.
In the end. What ended up happening. Some teams had issues with kids showing up for practices and games. A decision was made to benefit the top team ended up hurting other teams.
Do you know this year in the Bantam group you have more first years than second year players on the Bantam AA team? The first group of Breakaway players are coming through Bantams.
Once again. A lot of what is going on may very well be perception. But once again, when majority of the decisions being made seem to benefit a certain group of kids. Can you blame parents? It's there.
the worst thing about our association. Parents have been complaining about this for years. You see, Breakaway guys now have their kids coming through our association. Just seems to be working out great for them. Decisions being made seem to be working great for them.
I have endless amount of stories I can share of misuse of judgment.
In the end. The Breakaway guys are good guys. The association needs to limit their decision making. Coaching is one thing. I get that. I agree with that. But when they get to make certain rules that benefit their kids or teams is wrong. When they recruit kids to attend their private school and these kids decide to play in the association too. yes, that is a conflict of interest. Believe me without these kids attending the private school they would NEVER want to play for the CCHA. NEVER! Think about it. If families choose to play in the CCHA there had to be a conversation to make that happen. This means someone offered up the idea to have their kids play in the CCHA. And NO! CCHA is not a competitive association. Kids are not knocking on the door to play for the CCHA. Others are making this happen.
In D6 you have Edina, Eden Prairie and Minnetonka. Then you have Waconia and New Prague and Chaska/Chanhassen.

The Chaska/Chanhassen Hockey Association is a non-profit youth hockey association. Non-profit being the key word.

[dlow]

I'm guessing every association could make a long list of possible and actual conflicts of interest in the tryout process. Its the job of the board to minimize these and have enough diverse opinions involved so one voice doesn't overpower the others.

LilG, disagree with you though on two things you wrote, 1) 11-12 players is the optimal size for a team. 15 is too big. If your goal is for the kids to never step on the ice when they are winded, go for 15. Squirt or peewee teams should have no more than 13 kids (3 lines, 4 D). I like 2 lines in squirts.

And, Chaska Chan is a very competitive association. Always very good teams, lots of kids, etc. Not sure who you are comparing them to when you say they aren't competitive.

Also-just to add, if it makes you feel any better, and this has been said before, but from my experience it is very true-its better to be a top player on a B1 team than a bottom player on an A team. Have seen both sides of this a few times with my boys and would pick the B1 team every time. And I'm not just saying for that season, long term that kid gets leadership development, more special teams experience, and the pressure of being a lot more key to the team success than a bottom A player would.

[lilgretzky99]

I'm guessing every association could make a long list of possible and actual conflicts of interest in the tryout process. Its the job of the board to minimize these and have enough diverse opinions involved so one voice doesn't overpower the others.

LilG, disagree with you though on two things you wrote, 1) 11-12 players is the optimal size for a team. 15 is too big. If your goal is for the kids to never step on the ice when they are winded, go for 15. Squirt or peewee teams should have no more than 13 kids (3 lines, 4 D). I like 2 lines in squirts.

And, Chaska Chan is a very competitive association. Always very good teams, lots of kids, etc. Not sure who you are comparing them to when you say they aren't competitive.



Also-just to add, if it makes you feel any better, and this has been said before, but from my experience it is very true-its better to be a top player on a B1 team than a bottom player on an A team. Have seen both sides of this a few times with my boys and would pick the B1 team every time. And I'm not just saying for that season, long term that kid gets leadership development, more special teams experience, and the pressure of being a lot more key to the team success than a bottom A player would.

Dlow- I'm sure the younger teams are becoming more competitive. The Bantam teams in recent years have been terrible. Like I said. Our top players want out of the association when they become Bantams.
Last year the PWAA team was good. Once again. I believe there was 2-3 move in kids compliments of breakaway hockey. Team was ranked high majority of the year and fizzled at the end. They were competitive. If you're talking about younger teams in general then you are most likely correct.
Keep in mind. I went to lunch with acting president and attended BOD meetings. Acting president flat out said. The CCHA needs to be fiscally responsible when making decisions.
So what happened? PW teams had fewer number of players on their rosters from previous years. There is no doubt in my mind who helped make the decision to have less kids on each team. President's son was a PW and so was breakaways son. Breakaway also served on HDC. Why not have fewer talented players versus adding 2-3 weaker players. Makes sense if your son is involved. Right? Its my opinion certain people don't get that vote.
Do you find it interesting years before this was never an issue? PW teams had more players.

It is so funny how people want to serve as a volunteer to do what is best for the membership in whole. Yet they lobby the BOD to pass rules that directly affect their personal well being. Meaning: They have their own agenda and pass rules to benefit their situation. The kicker: One of Hockey Development Committee members lobbied the BOD one year to pass a move up rule. Great idea! Right? I agree. Problem is. He did this to benefit his personal situation. His little Gretzky was allowed to move up. Conflict of Interest or Perception? COI all the way. Reason being. He has served on the HDC for many years. Never was an issue in the past. He didn't bring this up until his son was coming through the association. Surely there were other little Gretzky's in same situations years prior. In fact, there were many other talented players that came though.

If you're on the BOD or HDC. Should you have a right to have a vote or lobby the BOD or HDC is your son or daughter is directly involved? I say no.

It has been interesting to see all the politics over the years. When it comes to BOD or HDC members it was sad to see them having the power to lobby or make decisions that directly involve their little Gretzky's

[observer]

I think 15 skaters is the number. 3 groups of 5 skaters makes for the best practices and drills. You can't even run some drills with only 4 D never mind if one is sick or hurt. It's a long season and the job is to develop more players for the highest level. People suggesting 13 skaters aren't supporting the mission. Sometimes it's based on the total number of Squirts or PeeWees and how best to divide them but I still believe in 15 skaters for the top 3-4 teams.

[lilgretzky99]

I think 15 skaters is the number. 3 groups of 5 skaters makes for the best practices and drills. You can't even run some drills with only 4 D never mind if one is sick or hurt. It's a long season and the job is to develop more players for the highest level. People suggesting 13 skaters aren't supporting the mission. Sometimes it's based on the total number of Squirts or PeeWees and how best to divide them but I still believe in 15 skaters for the top 3-4 teams.

Agreed! Current president wants to be fiscally responsible. So lets add one more PW team and have the PWAA coach/owner of Breakaway suggest less skaters is better for overall development. Parents buy into the idea.
The best come back I ever heard from the President. When asked multiple times why a decision was made. He would point fingers at HDC members and said it was suggested. When I asked HDC why the decision was made they would say it was only a suggestion to the president. See where I'm going with this? They blamed each other. In the end they're doing what's best for their kids.

[7feetunder]

Ok Gretzky let me ask this. What is your opinion on what they should do?

[SCBlueLiner]

Seems to me what they are currently doing is getting results. By his own admission, LilGretzky has said the teams are more competitive, the talent is getting better, and that it is because of the involvement of the Breakaway people. Sooooo, I'm failing to see what his point is. He wants them to make changes so they can move back to where they were in the competitive landscape? Seriously, not following his argument or his logic.

[AndyBrink]

Hello Everyone, I am Andy Brink and I run Breakaway Hockey and Breakaway Academy. I have never been on a chat room in my life and did not even know this chat room existed until someone showed this to me.

I will just stick with the facts and let you decide who you want to believe.

I did not take the time to read all of LilGretzky’s comments but will address a few that stood out:

1) I do not evaluate CCHA tryouts and part of our tryout process does not allow players to be moved. The players are placed on teams based only on the scores from the evaluators. I have coached many different levels in our association and every time the roster gets handed to me without any input or evaluation from me. My input is picking coaches after the tryout process has been completed.
2) The CCHA president whose son skates with Breakaway AAA is brought up several times in the posting. What LilGretzky failed to mention was that the son has never made the top level team and has always been within the next 1-3 players rated outside of the top team.
3) LilGretzky keeps bringing up Chanhassen vs. Chaska. I have said at several board meetings that we are the luckiest association in MN. We have a great youth association and we serve 3 + High Schools. That means that a great majority of our players get to experience High School hockey. Think how many good hockey players never even get a chance at Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata……Chaska/Chan kids are very lucky to have multiple High School hockey opportunities. I could care less if a player plays at Chanhassen, Chaska, Holy Family, etc. I grew up in Bemidji on a very average HS team and I received D1 scholarships. If you are good, they will find you!!
4) Lil Gretzky neglects to bring up how many Breakaway kids don’t make the top team. I have a son this year on a PWB2 team. Lil Gretzky wants to create the impression that I can rig tryouts for the Breakaway kids but apparently I can’t do it for my own son…? He also doesn’t mention all of the other kids that do make our top teams that skate with other AAA programs and camps.
5) Lil Gretzky says Breakaway is a successful business because of my involvement with CCHA hockey. I would argue just the opposite. I put hundreds of volunteer hours into the CCHA each year. If I put that time into my business I would make way more money. Breakaway is successful because we put excellent coaches on the ice, have limited # of kids on the ice, focus on skill building, focus on character building, and preach becoming a multi-sport athlete. I volunteer my time and experience because I take pride in the youth hockey program in my community.
6) Breakaway AAA is a more of a training program than a traveling AAA team. Breakaway gets results because we focus on long -term skill building and encourage playing multi-sports. We don’t run to Winnipeg, Chicago, or anywhere else. We play local tournaments and focus on developing fundamental skills. Lil Gretzky fails to mention that Breakaway has 8 players on Minnetonka’s PWAA team. So apparently I can rig tryouts in Chaska/Chan and Minnetonka…?

Breakaway has players from Shakopee, Minnetonka, Waconia, EP, Edina, Wayzata, Spring Lake Park, Hutchinson, Chaska, Chanhassen, Prior Lake, Bloomington, and many more western suburbs. We are not a training ground for only Chaska/Chan players. We are very proud of all of players and feel fortunate to work with many outstanding families.


7) By the way, there are a lot of other great training programs in the metro that get very good results and have really good people running them. Breakaway is not the only one, but we are very good at what we do!

I am really proud of our youth hockey association and how much we have progressed over the last 10 years. Although LilGretzky wants to make it sound that our teams are not competitive, he is completely wrong. The CCHA has become a very strong program and we now have several D1 and D3 players that are great academically, athletically, and great role models. We are not the best and we are not perfect, but we are trying to be. It is silly that he says we are not competitive yet he wants to have 2 different hockey associations.

It’s a shame that LilGretzky is involved in youth hockey with such a pessimistic view. I’m sorry that Breakaway has caused him such anxiety and occupied so much of his time. LilGretzky, you are more than welcome to sit down with me and talk about these things. I am 5’9 165 lbs and have lost every fight that I have ever been in so you should not be intimidated. However, I’m guessing you are much more comfortable being anonymous where you can write whatever lies you want.

One last message to LilGretzky: THANK YOU FOR THE ADVERTISING!!

I don’t believe in anonymity. Anyone that wants to contact me about this is welcome to. Andy Brink, coachandy@breakawayhockey.net, 612.310.5853

[edgeless2]

BOOM! Milkshake!

[DrGaf]

BOOM! Milkshake!

Milkshake?

[SCBlueLiner]

Well, that was a very good post.

[C-dad]

Great post Andy.

You were one of my favorite players during your time with the Gophers because you played wherever Coach Woog needed you and did whatever was asked. Glad to see you having success training young players. Just sorry my son was too old by the time I learned of your program.

[elliott70]

I like that Brink kid and the rest of his family.

[Northern Ref]

Great post, Andy. Glad to see some FACTS being put into this argument.

Somewhat related to this thread, there is a very good article by Tony Scott on Youth Hockey Hub.

http://www.youthhockeyhub.com/news_arti ... _id=967187

[DrGaf]

Well, that was a very good post.

Thank you, I'm very curious as to the milkshake.

[edgeless2]

Well, that was a very good post.

Thank you, I'm very curious as to the milkshake.

Grab one Graf they are delicious! Hard to believe you have never had a milkshake

[Northern Ref]

Agreed! Both guys you mentioned are great guys. Any which way you spin it. They are using their power to benefit their winter teams, and private business. Sure the association needs quality coaches, but its not like CC is a power house. It's a fact, in the CCHA almost all the top bantams try every which way to leave the association for greener pastures. Cannot blame them. The CCHA feeds three high schools.

Like I said. Lets see how many Chanhassen kids elect to play at Chaska? Which is another major issue. Chaska has open enrollment and Chanhassen has closed enrollment. Lets revisit this portion of the topic in 2-4 years. I will let you know where the kids elect to attend high school.

Are you certain Chanhassen doesn't have open enrollment?

Positive. We have had many players that want to play in Chanhassen. What the school district did for one student. Chan has a student that wanted to transfer to Chaska. There was a goalie in Chaska that wanted to transfer to Chan. The school allowed a one for one trade.
Otherwise, if you want to play for Chanhassen high school. You have to live in Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union.
Like I said. This is another issue with Breakaway being too close to the association. Chaska does allow kids to open enroll. We will see in 2-4 years where some of these Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union kids decide to play hockey.
Keep in mind. Chaska high school has never had a good team. In fact, this year they will have a very weak team. With that said there are not kids knocking on their door to play hockey at Chaska. Let's see what happens in 2-4 years when the Breakaway kids are high school age. Stay tuned...............

After some digging through records, Chaska has not had the best records. However, Chanhassen has had one good year, 3 years ago. The records show that Chaska has years where they have more wins than Chanhassen. Your argument here is a little flawed in my opinion.

[lilgretzky99]

Are you certain Chanhassen doesn't have open enrollment?

Positive. We have had many players that want to play in Chanhassen. What the school district did for one student. Chan has a student that wanted to transfer to Chaska. There was a goalie in Chaska that wanted to transfer to Chan. The school allowed a one for one trade.
Otherwise, if you want to play for Chanhassen high school. You have to live in Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union.
Like I said. This is another issue with Breakaway being too close to the association. Chaska does allow kids to open enroll. We will see in 2-4 years where some of these Chanhassen, Victoria, Carver or East Union kids decide to play hockey.
Keep in mind. Chaska high school has never had a good team. In fact, this year they will have a very weak team. With that said there are not kids knocking on their door to play hockey at Chaska. Let's see what happens in 2-4 years when the Breakaway kids are high school age. Stay tuned...............

After some digging through records, Chaska has not had the best records. However, Chanhassen has had one good year, 3 years ago. The records show that Chaska has years where they have more wins than Chanhassen. Your argument here is a little flawed in my opinion.

Ref, Here are the facts. Chanhassen has only been open 4-5 years. They have closed enrollment. Many of the top Chaska players wanted to play at Chanhassen in recent years. Chanhassen does not allow open enrollment. As I said. No one is knocking on the door to play at Chaska. To prove my point. Two very good Chaska players open enrolled to Holy Family to play hockey. Today, this minute as I type this, there are no top players knocking on the door to play at Chaska High School.
I will revisit this in 2-4 years and let you know where some of the Chanhassen kids end up playing high school hockey. We can also take a look at where some of the outside Breakaway kids play HS hockey. Once again. There is no interest for top end players to play at Chaska high school. There is not one top end Chanhassen player that wants to play for Chaska. 2-4 years Breakaway kids will be entering HS. Lets see how this all works out for the little Gretzky's and where they end up? My guess is all of a sudden Chaska might be a popular destination to play hockey. Stay tuned!

Just got home from business trip. I will respond to Breakaway when time allows.

[Northern Ref]

Sounds like you need to talk to the Chanhassen school district as they would be the reason for not having open enrollment. As Andy said, CCHA feeds into 3 high school teams. Should Chaska High School just not have a team? Because no top players want to play there now doesn't mean it will always be that way. With a coach like Snuggerud and open enrollment I could see players wanting to play for Chaska. Having 3 high schools will mean up and down years for all 3 teams.

[laughingmyaXXoff]

I enjoyed this so much I singed up to post. LilGretsky suddenly got too busy to post. I think Andy got his tongue. I'm certain you won't call and identify yourself.

I have one junior at Chan and a 1st year Squirt. Older one trained and played with Breakaway his entire youth. Younger one now. I appreciate dropping my boys off knowing they are in good hands, will be taught valuable life lessons, learn about sportmanship and can enjoy playing baseball and football in addition to hockey. One other bonus is they get pretty good hockey training from hockey guys. It's not in the cards for us financially, but would not hesitate to send them to the Academy if it was.

Regarding any association (football, baseball, hockey, soccer, lacrosse) sure there are politics. My squirt is one of the top 3 players in the US by my ranking, but somehow ended up on a B team this year. Still trying to figure out how that happened and not sure how I am going to explain that to all the D1 and NHL teams that are recruiting him.

If you have a problem, go and talk to them. Posting on this Board won't get you anywhere.

Andy, Jesse, Dave and the rest of the staff at Breakaway keep up the good work.