Gretzky - okay so educate me on how many hours in a Blades season on the ice? Maybe my Blades friends are lying to me.
Dog - Thanks for the shot. Needed one on a Monday morning. Have a AAA player and very much clued in. Yes many deserve credit, but in the case of the 88s, besides the kids, BM deserves more than most. And when you get your facts right, you will find that the bottom 4 were not turned over from year to year on that team. And if you weren't so afraid to find out how those boys got so talented before they were launched into some really great opportunities you would become enlightened.
And now I'll ask you and GreyB to answer the questions at the bottom of my last post.
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts?
What year was that?
What year did MN produce three top 10 draft picks ever?
This doesn't happen_has not happened_with any "ONE" team anywhere. Was it just a coincidence that each of the players ended up succeeding at the highest levels of hockey as they moved on from the 7 years of 150+ hours of unique skills training each off season with BM?
Seems that only you find that it is a stretch that BM as the common thread and largely responsible for making this happen.
Snow:
You need to do some research. The common thread is that the 88s gathered many of the best players from Minnesota hockey,as the best summer teams do every year. The bulk of Minnesota's national camp kids always come from the strongest summer programs of that birth year. the best Minnesota players always go D1. The best Minnesota players always get drafted.
Even in the vaunted 2006 draft year of the 88s, The Blades had nine draft picks from the team they put together after the 88s left. The 88s only had seven picks. The Blades site lists 31 D1 players in 1988, presumably many among those who left to the 88s.
Shattuck produces about 15 D1 players every year. How about the Bloomington and Edina teams of the 80s and 90s?
Minnesota generally has 15 or more players drafted. In 2006, seven of them played summer hockey for the 88s. LPH says we have about 50 Minnesotans in the NHL right now.
The 88s were a very strong Minnesota summer team. The 88 players were very good. As in all years, the strongest Minnesota players were sought after for the higher levels. The 88s have the right to be proud of their accomplishments and they have earned them. As a group, they have accomplished pretty much the same as the groups best players from Minnesota in other recent years.
You've gotta be kidding us. Bringing the Blades in again. You have been called out for not checking your facts my friend and here you go again. My facts are spot on. Your comments about summer teams are appropriate for the Blades. The Blades recruit and turn over their skaters from year to year in a big big way, especially these days. The Blades are a showcase team. The 88s were a development team.
The difference that you may or may not realize (and if you did your homework) is that the 88s were virtually all ecruited as squirts and then stayed together for 7 years developing under BM. BM did not "seek after" as you put it, the strongest players each summer. He developed the same group of kids in a highly progressive skills intensive program.
The Blades go after the most sought after players and bring them together for tournaments with little practice/development. Some guys developed better than others during the winter season and, like other summer programs, the Blades compete for these guys from Summer to Summer. These programs are off season tournament/showcase teams.
So here it is in a nutshell: Blades carry the best guys they can find and showcase them with very some/little development (a couple hours a week for those that live locally). You can claim an affiliation to those kids that moved on to bigger things if you want but really the Blades are providing a showcase service, and of course, if they attract some of the best kids they are going to move on to bigger shows regardless of whether they play for the Blades or not.
On the other hand, the 88s got 150+ hours of development every off season in a skills program. They were essentially the same kids together for the 7 years and BM's development is what moved them on.
HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!
Then you say "As a group, they have accomplished pretty much the same as the groups best players from Minnesota in other recent years."
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts?
What year was that?
What year did MN produce three top 10 draft picks ever (never mind from one group of kids that worked their a$$es off in an unprecedented program)?
Nobody is saying the 88's were not a good group of hockey players and BM had nothing to do with it, hardly, he did have a hand in their development, ALONG WITH A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS...PERIOD. On the other hand, one can say BM got lucky with the 88 team, because he has not produced the same kind of talent since the 88's went away. He got close with the 96's, but they dissolved into history. 97's are mediocore at best. 98's may have been the most successful age group BM had for the last several years (funny that it's not coached by BM), and top players are leaving for other teams. What's left...99's and '00. 99's have been a good team with very good talent that has not meet expectations, or won the big games against national powerhouse teams, why? 2000's are too young to say one way or the other. BM can take credit for the 88's, whatever, but can he walk into a parent meeting and tell his investors "what I done for you lately".
[quote="SnowedIn"]Gretzky - okay so educate me on how many hours in a Blades season on the ice? Maybe my Blades friends are lying to me.
Blades/ Friends.. don't think you have many of those the way you spout off about BM... If you truely have a AAA player and not a AA .... Player that makes you a machine parent... and if that is the case you switched your monikar... couldn't handle keepin one ? again it is tough to gain respect on this board when throwing out things such as Blades are tournament teams? cmon and take a step back. Go to a practice or two and you will see development beyond chopping a puck up into tiny pieces while breaking the ice on each side of the puck or maybe a unique break out without pounding into a kids head d to d to wing.... d to d to wing....Jst my observations form a lot of time a a MM rink....
Gretzky - okay so educate me on how many hours in a Blades season on the ice? Maybe my Blades friends are lying to me.
Dog - Thanks for the shot. Needed one on a Monday morning. Have a AAA player and very much clued in. Yes many deserve credit, but in the case of the 88s, besides the kids, BM deserves more than most. And when you get your facts right, you will find that the bottom 4 were not turned over from year to year on that team. And if you weren't so afraid to find out how those boys got so talented before they were launched into some really great opportunities you would become enlightened.
And now I'll ask you and GreyB to answer the questions at the bottom of my last post.
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts?
What year was that?
What year did MN produce three top 10 draft picks ever?
Just emailed a Blade parent. They went through this last years practice schedule and came up with around 170 hrs. of scheduled (not added practices, they didn't have them on the original schedule and couldn't remember how many hours), from March through August, and said the Blades take most of the month of July off. That is not counting scrimmages or tourneys. Seems to me a kid might be able to develop some skills skating that much.
Yes I have spouted off and taken some shots at the most recent. Got a little tired of the haters and missinformation and decided to rant for a while. Sue me
You've spent all of that time at the MM rink but don't understand why D-D-W and not much else. I'd tell ya but then I'd have to kill ya.
So back to my unanswered questions:
Originally to GB in response to his post
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts? What year was that?
What other year did MN produce three top 10 draft picks?
GreatOne - posts crossed. Well that's plenty of ice now isn't it and far from what I was lead to believe which begs the question. Is this consistent for each age group?
I don't have all the answers but I have one questions. If MM/BM was the reason the 88's stayed together and were successful that would beg the question why hasn't this been reproduced with 93, 94, 95 etc. since he has been doing this for 17 years as MM site says he has ?
SnowedIn wrote:Yes I have spouted off and taken some shots at the most recent. Got a little tired of the haters and missinformation and decided to rant for a while. Sue me
You've spent all of that time at the MM rink but don't understand why D-D-W and not much else. I'd tell ya but then I'd have to kill ya.
So back to my unanswered questions:
Originally to GB in response to his post
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts? What year was that?
What other year did MN produce three top 10 draft picks?
Back to my unanswered question. What has BM done for his investors lately?
The Blades site says they had four first rounders in both 2006 and 2007, with a total of 16 drafted in 06 and 13 drafted in 07. (link to stroy at bottom of home page). The site says six were drafted in 2008. Nothing on 09 and 10.
The Icemen site lists about a dozen draftees in the last several years, including a few first rounders.
I believe I read that 15 Minnesota H.S. kids were drafted in 2010. I don't know who they played for.
Of the sixteen Blades drafted in 2006 (88 dob) seven also played for the 88s. So the 88s did not even lead in drafted players their own year (9-7).
The 1988 dob group of the best players in Minnesota are outstanding players who have earned their accomplishments. These outstanding achievements are more or less the same as those of the top Minnesota players from other recent years.
The common thread for all these years is Minnesota Hockey, not MM.
SnowedIn wrote:GreatOne - posts crossed. Well that's plenty of ice now isn't it and far from what I was lead to believe which begs the question. Is this consistent for each age group?
The model (Blades ) has been around fo ra long time.. so I'm betting the answer is yes. Their mission is consistent and the development is right up there with the great one...BM himself.. I'm not a hater just someone that thinks he oversells which for him is a working business model.. I guess...myself I couldn't sleep at night. BTW... D-D-W is defendable.... but I don't think that trick with dumping it in and changing all 5 at once is... Can't believe the great coaches in the NHL haven't copied him on that one
SI,
Go back and slowly re-read my posts below is your quote not mine so if you are stating or inferring that I said the statement below you might be mistaken.
So are you saying Minnesota has produced a #1, #7 and #8 draft pick and four others in the same year from one team made up of kids virtually all that started together as squirts? What year was that?
As I stated I do not care a bit or worry about summer hockey but it does help players improve. The teams that I recognize for their accomplishments are those registered by USA Hockey, State High school league, NCAA, NHL and the IIHF. Just so happens most everybody else does also. That one age group had a number of exceptional players and they skated together every summer with one coach according to you, but they went in different directions for the actual competitive seasons and without the USA Registration or the playing on a high school team none of them would have qualified for the Advanced 15,16 or 17 program no matter what they did during the summer.
So to answer your question no Minnesota registered/sanctioned team has had 3 draft choices in the top 10. However in the 2006 draft, Holy Angles had 3 players that played for them coached by Greg Trebil drafted and Apple Valley had 2, maybe check the history on how many players played for Trebil and Satterdalen in youth and High school also for the Edina program just to name 2 of the many good youth/high school programs of earlier times.
SBD/HOTG - BM was busy with the 88's and didn't touch another team till the 96's. That's why no 93, 94, 95. This was not a full fledged org like it is now. 96's are all over the place now. 97's and later years are kind of young to be burning down pro scout doors but they're doing well.
mkpfb - agree to disagree. Yes hockey in MN is great and makes all things possible. However, when it comes to the 88's, I find it comical that you say this is just business as usual. They have achieved some of the greatest results both individually and as a group, that stayed together for many years, lead by BM. And why would they/you include them in the Blades numbers when they were Squirts or Mites at the time? In that case, I'm kind of weary of the Blades numbers. Not that this really matters though. Just give the kids a place to learn and play.
Dog - and I'm not a worshipper but giving credit. Oversell? Maybe, maybe not. The guy did accomplish a great thing with his coaches and kids. He's a business man. Why wouldn't he use that to his advantage. He earned it and is using the same model. Why are the Blades overselling their involvement with those 7 kids when they were Mites/Sq when they were Blades for almost no time at all? How many more fly by nights are included in their numbers? Don't you think that constitutes overselling?
SnowedIn wrote:Hey I like where the tone is headed here.
I think MN hockey deserves mucho credit.
SBD/HOTG - BM was busy with the 88's and didn't touch another team till the 96's. That's why no 93, 94, 95. This was not a full fledged org like it is now. 96's are all over the place now. 97's and later years are kind of young to be burning down pro scout doors but they're doing well.
mkpfb - agree to disagree. Yes hockey in MN is great and makes all things possible. However, when it comes to the 88's, I find it comical that you say this is just business as usual. They have achieved some of the greatest results both individually and as a group, that stayed together for many years, lead by BM. And why would they/you include them in the Blades numbers when they were Squirts or Mites at the time? In that case, I'm kind of weary of the Blades numbers. Not that this really matters though. Just give the kids a place to learn and play.
Dog - and I'm not a worshipper but giving credit. Oversell? Maybe, maybe not. The guy did accomplish a great thing with his coaches and kids. He's a business man. Why wouldn't he use that to his advantage. He earned it and is using the same model. Why are the Blades overselling their involvement with those 7 kids when they were Mites/Sq when they were Blades for almost no time at all? How many more fly by nights are included in their numbers? Don't you think that constitutes overselling?
He DID have a 95 team for a few years....but the coach and players bolted MM and went to Breakaway Hockey because they got sick of BM's crap. Same reason the 96 team imploded. We'll see how long before his other teams follow suit.
SnowedIn wrote:Hey I like where the tone is headed here.
I think MN hockey deserves mucho credit.
SBD/HOTG - BM was busy with the 88's and didn't touch another team till the 96's. That's why no 93, 94, 95. This was not a full fledged org like it is now. 96's are all over the place now. 97's and later years are kind of young to be burning down pro scout doors but they're doing well.
mkpfb - agree to disagree. Yes hockey in MN is great and makes all things possible. However, when it comes to the 88's, I find it comical that you say this is just business as usual. They have achieved some of the greatest results both individually and as a group, that stayed together for many years, lead by BM. And why would they/you include them in the Blades numbers when they were Squirts or Mites at the time? In that case, I'm kind of weary of the Blades numbers. Not that this really matters though. Just give the kids a place to learn and play.
Dog - and I'm not a worshipper but giving credit. Oversell? Maybe, maybe not. The guy did accomplish a great thing with his coaches and kids. He's a business man. Why wouldn't he use that to his advantage. He earned it and is using the same model. Why are the Blades overselling their involvement with those 7 kids when they were Mites/Sq when they were Blades for almost no time at all? How many more fly by nights are included in their numbers? Don't you think that constitutes overselling?
He DID have a 95 team for a few years....but the coach and players bolted MM and went to Breakaway Hockey because they got sick of BM's crap. Same reason the 96 team imploded. We'll see how long before his other teams follow suit.
all this talk about 88's... from 88-96's that is a long time to carry a reputation... If I was writing the check I would be asking a bit of what have you done lately. I see it this way and tell me if I'm wrong..Maybe his kid had a bunch of buddies that were destined to be great athelets and BM just gave them an opportunity to skate a bunch ... I think they most likey would have turned out the way they did. So he gets credit from me for giving them the ops...Since then I see a couple of things that make me ? his ability to be this super developer as you (Snowy) tout. You would think that there would be another super class coming out of that camp. I see all the time on the news and reports that he now is giving over 200 kids at each level that same opportunity? You would think that if he is as you say he would have more than 13 kids (Orange rosters rarely play more than that # in big games) That could step in and compete at the top level. Am I not seeing something that everyone else is because if I am missing something I have an 03 and am ready to write a check.
I've been following this thread for a while chuckling at all of the comments. Ol BM sure is a polarizing figure isn't he?
I will offer up one funny story though to maybe lighten the mood. I had a son go through the Machine tryout process a few years back. While the kids were skating, the parents were jammed into a stuffy meeting room. BM came in and went through his talking points and set expectations of the process. Pretty straight forward stuff. He then went into his marketing campaign. Among the several claims he made, mostly on the backs of the 88's, one caught my attention and has always stuck with me to this day.
During that tryout, BM used outdoor soccer to try and evaulate the kids athletic ability. Not sure if he still does that, but back then he did. During his marketing speech to us parents, BM explained to us why he had kids play soccer for a hockey tryout. He said there was no better way to evaluate a players athletic ability, awarenss, anticipation, etc.. Didn't seem so outlandish to me. A bit different maybe, but plausible I suppose. He went on to say that is how he discovered Kyle Okposo when building the 88's way back in the day. He said Kyle absolutly dominated the soccer portion of the tryout. He was explosive, quick and always knew where to be. Unfortunatley, according to BM, Kyle could barely stand up on skates. His words...not mine. But in reading the tea leaves, BM claimed he took Kyle under his wing, taught him how to skate and molded the young Okposo into a world class hockey player. Trust me, it was a very compelling story that evening. The room of parents, including me, couldn't wait to sign our checks over to BM with the hope that maybe he could do the same for our kids.
In the years since (now gone from the program), I have learned alot more about what I heard in that meeting on that night. Most importantly, that marketing the program is as important, if not more, than anything that happens on the ice.
Just recently I relayed that Okposo story to a close friend of mine. This friend has been an A level hockey coach for over 15 years in the metro area. Before I even finished the story, he told me to stop. He laughed and then said, "Bernie found Okposo at the Selects. I know because I was on the coaching staff that year for the Selects. And trust me, Okposo could skate. He was our stud. Heartwarming story though, but not anywhere close to being accurate."
The morale of the story is now that I have younger boys coming up through the ranks I have a much more tuned in ear and a huge BS filter when coaches, programs and even parents make wild claims. I would encourage all of you to stay even keel, listen to your common sense voice, don't put all of your eggs in one basket and most importantly listen to your son. He will offer you clues of how much or little he is enjoying his AAA experience. However what I'v noticed most through the years is most parents really aren't listening and looking for the clues.
Ya Dog, you're right, he spotted 8 year old guaranteed NHL players. The work and program was not much of a factor. So he gave them the ice made ice cream of the crop. That's a really easy and believable explanation. Okay. I'm satisfied. Discussion over.
So all you need to do is take that check book you have over to MM, save yourself a lot of time and money and write him a check for, say $1000, to evaluate your 03. If he gets the NHL stamp on his hand, then all of your future time and money will be worth it. If he doesn't then throw in the towel now and take it easy and save your money.
SnowedIn wrote:Ya Dog, you're right, he spotted 8 year old guaranteed NHL players. The work and program was not much of a factor. So he gave them the ice made ice cream of the crop. That's a really easy and believable explanation. Okay. I'm satisfied. Discussion over.
So all you need to do is take that check book you have over to MM, save yourself a lot of time and money and write him a check for, say $1000, to evaluate your 03. If he gets the NHL stamp on his hand, then all of your future time and money will be worth it. If he doesn't then throw in the towel now and take it easy and save your money.
How much to evaluate my '04 and does the NHL stamp wear off or does it stay on until he is drafted? Is it less if you only want a D1 scholarship?
I think we can all agree that all of the various programs take credit for the achievements of any kid that ever wore their jersey. Certainly many of the successful '88s played for both the Blades and BM, which is great. Just like in life, it takes many hands to help a kid achieve success. Whatever the combination of instruction (and genetics), it led to success for the 88's.
Regarding the ice time for the Blades vs. the Machine, at the younger ages the Machine has more ice. My son was invited to play for both teams, and from our discussions with BM and the Blades, it was clear that the Machine has more ice, and costs about $500 per season more.
There is a fatal flaw with this. When it comes to Bernie, there is no agreeing about anything. Some like, some dislike. Almost pointless to "disucss" because there doesn't ever seem to be any "common" or "middle" ground.
JoltDelivered wrote:I've been following this thread for a while chuckling at all of the comments. Ol BM sure is a polarizing figure isn't he?
I will offer up one funny story though to maybe lighten the mood. I had a son go through the Machine tryout process a few years back. While the kids were skating, the parents were jammed into a stuffy meeting room. BM came in and went through his talking points and set expectations of the process. Pretty straight forward stuff. He then went into his marketing campaign. Among the several claims he made, mostly on the backs of the 88's, one caught my attention and has always stuck with me to this day.
During that tryout, BM used outdoor soccer to try and evaulate the kids athletic ability. Not sure if he still does that, but back then he did. During his marketing speech to us parents, BM explained to us why he had kids play soccer for a hockey tryout. He said there was no better way to evaluate a players athletic ability, awarenss, anticipation, etc.. Didn't seem so outlandish to me. A bit different maybe, but plausible I suppose. He went on to say that is how he discovered Kyle Okposo when building the 88's way back in the day. He said Kyle absolutly dominated the soccer portion of the tryout. He was explosive, quick and always knew where to be. Unfortunatley, according to BM, Kyle could barely stand up on skates. His words...not mine. But in reading the tea leaves, BM claimed he took Kyle under his wing, taught him how to skate and molded the young Okposo into a world class hockey player. Trust me, it was a very compelling story that evening. The room of parents, including me, couldn't wait to sign our checks over to BM with the hope that maybe he could do the same for our kids.
In the years since (now gone from the program), I have learned alot more about what I heard in that meeting on that night. Most importantly, that marketing the program is as important, if not more, than anything that happens on the ice.
Just recently I relayed that Okposo story to a close friend of mine. This friend has been an A level hockey coach for over 15 years in the metro area. Before I even finished the story, he told me to stop. He laughed and then said, "Bernie found Okposo at the Selects. I know because I was on the coaching staff that year for the Selects. And trust me, Okposo could skate. He was our stud. Heartwarming story though, but not anywhere close to being accurate."
The morale of the story is now that I have younger boys coming up through the ranks I have a much more tuned in ear and a huge BS filter when coaches, programs and even parents make wild claims. I would encourage all of you to stay even keel, listen to your common sense voice, don't put all of your eggs in one basket and most importantly listen to your son. He will offer you clues of how much or little he is enjoying his AAA experience. However what I'v noticed most through the years is most parents really aren't listening and looking for the clues.
AMEN!!! the Marketing and selling the product is a great business mans ploy. BM beleves and so do a lot of others.. I say good for those 13 kids that make the orange and get to play. As for the other masses CAVEAT EMPTOR. and maybe snowed in is just getting snowed....
JoltDelivered wrote:I've been following this thread for a while chuckling at all of the comments. Ol BM sure is a polarizing figure isn't he?
I will offer up one funny story though to maybe lighten the mood. I had a son go through the Machine tryout process a few years back. While the kids were skating, the parents were jammed into a stuffy meeting room. BM came in and went through his talking points and set expectations of the process. Pretty straight forward stuff. He then went into his marketing campaign. Among the several claims he made, mostly on the backs of the 88's, one caught my attention and has always stuck with me to this day.
During that tryout, BM used outdoor soccer to try and evaulate the kids athletic ability. Not sure if he still does that, but back then he did. During his marketing speech to us parents, BM explained to us why he had kids play soccer for a hockey tryout. He said there was no better way to evaluate a players athletic ability, awarenss, anticipation, etc.. Didn't seem so outlandish to me. A bit different maybe, but plausible I suppose. He went on to say that is how he discovered Kyle Okposo when building the 88's way back in the day. He said Kyle absolutly dominated the soccer portion of the tryout. He was explosive, quick and always knew where to be. Unfortunatley, according to BM, Kyle could barely stand up on skates. His words...not mine. But in reading the tea leaves, BM claimed he took Kyle under his wing, taught him how to skate and molded the young Okposo into a world class hockey player. Trust me, it was a very compelling story that evening. The room of parents, including me, couldn't wait to sign our checks over to BM with the hope that maybe he could do the same for our kids.
In the years since (now gone from the program), I have learned alot more about what I heard in that meeting on that night. Most importantly, that marketing the program is as important, if not more, than anything that happens on the ice.
Just recently I relayed that Okposo story to a close friend of mine. This friend has been an A level hockey coach for over 15 years in the metro area. Before I even finished the story, he told me to stop. He laughed and then said, "Bernie found Okposo at the Selects. I know because I was on the coaching staff that year for the Selects. And trust me, Okposo could skate. He was our stud. Heartwarming story though, but not anywhere close to being accurate."
The morale of the story is now that I have younger boys coming up through the ranks I have a much more tuned in ear and a huge BS filter when coaches, programs and even parents make wild claims. I would encourage all of you to stay even keel, listen to your common sense voice, don't put all of your eggs in one basket and most importantly listen to your son. He will offer you clues of how much or little he is enjoying his AAA experience. However what I'v noticed most through the years is most parents really aren't listening and looking for the clues.
AMEN!!! the Marketing and selling the product is a great business mans ploy. BM beleves and so do a lot of others.. I say good for those 13 kids that make the orange and get to play. As for the other masses CAVEAT EMPTOR. and maybe snowed in is just getting snowed....
Ha, Ha Dog - may be, may be not. Guess it depends on what you believe. Marketing only gets you into the door. Blindly following any sales job is not advisable as Jolt did if his story is true. It's your responsibility to to your homework, sift through the details and the reality of what is going on. Then choose your path.
One cold hard fact is the on ice performance - hard to argue with the progress these kids individually and as a team are making year after year relative to their peers in MN and the rest of the country.
Oh you're spot on SI but don't assumed I blindly followed anything. Make no bones about it, I did the research. Which really all that consisted of was:
Talking to the coach to understand expectation, schedules, costs, etc
Talked to parents already in the program (older teams)
Talked to parents who left the program
Talked to players who played in the program
But one can't hide behind the fact of doing research to say you're completly informed and therefore immune to any potential shenanigans. I have always told people the only way to understand AAA hockey is to expereience it. Take everything else, including opinions from current and previous participants, with a grain of salt. EVERYONE has their own agenda and nobody really cares (outside of me) where my kid eventually ends up, no matter how much they say to the contrary.
JoltDelivered wrote:Oh you're spot on SI but don't assumed I blindly followed anything. Make no bones about it, I did the research. Which really all that consisted of was:
Talking to the coach to understand expectation, schedules, costs, etc
Talked to parents already in the program (older teams)
Talked to parents who left the program
Talked to players who played in the program
But one can't hide behind the fact of doing research to say you're completly informed and therefore immune to any potential shenanigans. I have always told people the only way to understand AAA hockey is to expereience it. Take everything else, including opinions from current and previous participants, with a grain of salt. EVERYONE has their own agenda and nobody really cares (outside of me) where my kid eventually ends up, no matter how much they say to the contrary.
Snowedin - I agree with your comment. I think all AAA programs are going to try to sell you that their program is better then the others. They are going to tell you that all the other programs lie to you and give you false hope.
For example, I watched a tryout for the 98 Machine Black at MM and they had about 40 players on the ice at $10 ea. Many of the players were pulled out of the speed academy that they had the week before and were told that they were really good and that they should tryout for the Machine Black. MM then called back I would say about 30 players for a second tryout because they were told that they made the first cut (another $10). I would say that at least 7-10 of the players were "B2" or "C" level peewee players. Now the players are waiting on pins and needles for the call that they made the team. Guess what, the call is never going to come. Look what happened, MM just filled 3 hrs of previously unbooked ice time. As a parent you can look at it 2 ways, I got 3 hrs of ice time for $20 or I got screwed because there wasn't a kid on the ice that was going to make the team. As Snowedin said, you need to do your homework and sift through the details. I personally think it was a smart move on the part of MM. Many parents have a false reality of how good their kids really are and its the parents that give their own kid the false hope. MM is in business to make money and they have many kids moving through their doors.
