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I see that there are 3 Walser teams in the U-19 Level. Is there a website where we can find the rosters of the three different teams? Why did all of the teams lose in the Stick It in the first round? Is there a change of guards of teams or what? Is Walser expanding just for the money or what? They had all of the strong teams in the past, what is going on? They generally had all of the best talent around.

defensedad wrote:I see that there are 3 Walser teams in the U-19 Level. Is there a website where we can find the rosters of the three different teams?

I tried to get a program at Stick-it but they were out & I was too late - and this was even as a "coach" in the tourney! I'll see if I can find the rosters for all from Stick-it at least and post them.

defensedad wrote:Why did all of the teams lose in the Stick It in the first round? Is there a change of guards of teams or what? Is Walser expanding just for the money or what? They had all of the strong teams in the past, what is going on? They generally had all of the best talent around.

I really don't read too much into what happens at Stick-it. So much is new, you have the first events for many teams to start the year, many players are missing for various reasons, or these may not even be the same teams that will be playing together at Meltdown next week and many will change for certain by International Cup as they gear/start-up for Fall.

What has happened the last few years is that these teams that used to be so focused on Spring/Summer alone are now instead worried about Fall/Travel & B&A (Before & After) organization. We'll see many teams change, disband, form, etc. over the Summer in preparation for Fall.

There are still some teams though that just play more for fun and just the local stuff. But, even they have the issues with conflicts as kids have full lives (which is good). For example, the team I "coach" had 11 skaters for their Sat game due to spring sports, college placement tests, prom, chicago showcase, etc. This can make things challenging when the opposition may show up with three full lines, etc. but really I think this is just about kids playing, having fun, and hopefully getting some high level competition in the process.

I had to laugh yesterday as at one point we had as many players in the penalty box as on the ice and only 1 more than that on the bench (with more "coaches" than players on ice, bench, or pen box)...

with jr sr prom this week and next its amazing the older teams can field a team. Fall is more realistic for the u19aaa teams.The younger teams go to u16. The only u16aaa teams i've seen compete in u19aaa is the walser blue and the burg ice cats.

I think Walser is still a great option and they have some good players. There are many teams/options some expensive and some very reasonable.

The U19 St. Croix Saints are pretty new and young but they want to try to develop the best hockey at the most affordable price. This is their first year playing U19 but finished second last year in the 10,000 Lakes tournamnet I think. They are a very reasonable option with no profit built in for anyone. I understand a player pays only for games played and total cost if you played in all 41 U16/U19/Bantam no check game and did all practices is only $470. They are participating in the Two Nations League with 4 Minnesota and 4 Manitoba teams.

joehockey wrote:I think Walser is still a great option and they have some good players. There are many teams/options some expensive and some very reasonable.

The U19 St. Croix Saints are pretty new and young but they want to try to develop the best hockey at the most affordable price. This is their first year playing U19 but finished second last year in the 10,000 Lakes tournamnet I think. They are a very reasonable option with no profit built in for anyone. I understand a player pays only for games played and total cost if you played in all 41 U16/U19/Bantam no check game and did all practices is only $470. They are participating in the Two Nations League with 4 Minnesota and 4 Manitoba teams.

There are many outstanding players playing for Walser. They do put Fall Travel teams on the ice and I hear this will happen again this coming season. They are up against the likes of the U19 IceCats & Jr. Whitecaps I assume in this respect.

If you do the 4 main Summer AAA tourneys alone in MN (Stick-it, Meltdown, Wild & Int'l Cup) plus 2 sets of reasonable Jerseys/Socks and dividing the entry fees by 17 players (9F, 6D, & 2G) you're looking at about $450-500 - and that's w/o any practices & also without the 2 Nations league that the Saints are doing. Although, I don't think the Saints are doing the Wild tourney due to 2 Nations conflicts. I'm very impressed with the Saints talent and long-term they're a top favorite in my book as far as U19 goes.

Someone will have to bring me up to speed on the 10K Lakes tourney composition now-a-days. Back in the day that was a HS tourney at the end of the Summer for HS teams only, but I now hear that more and more AAA teams are in? Is it all AAA now? Or are there brackets for AAA & HS? I also hear it has been renamed to the "Wal-Mart Hockey Cup HS Festival" or something like that?

defensedad wrote:I see that there are 3 Walser teams in the U-19 Level. Is there a website where we can find the rosters of the three different teams?

FYI - this was sent to me today by a friend:

Stick-it Rosters:

Note some of these lists changed since the program was published. For example, I know that Koalska & Udvig were with the Blues this weekend, etc.

Some very good names on those Walser teams, will be interesting to see if they can make a better showing in upcoming tournaments as they play together more.

I am kind of new to all this and have a 15 year old girl looking to play in a tournament or two this summer she's playing in the thoroghbred spring leauge but would really like a chance to play in a tournament Does anyone know of any teams that needs someone?

finance_gal wrote:I am kind of new to all this and have a 15 year old girl looking to play in a tournament or two this summer she's playing in the thoroghbred spring leauge but would really like a chance to play in a tournament Does anyone know of any teams that needs someone?

Gal, given that she is not on a team right now, I assume you would be looking for a U16 team and not a U19 team. I would start by looking at the Stick-It program for the U16 teams and trying to track down the team managers or coaches, especially on teams whose rosters are not large in numbers. The tournament organizers MAY be able to provide you a phone number or email, otherwise you should search for the team's respective websites and try to contact the coach or manager there. Teams will run into a player shortage now and then for a tourney or scrimmage and that is all it takes sometimes to get your foot in the door. If your daughter has youth or HS teammates of her age/grade playing on AAA teams, you might also contact their parents and ask them to drop a note to their AAA coach. Many teams are geographic by nature-- thus if your daughter is a eastside kid there might be teams interested in promoting talent from the same schools or youth programs. Organizers and coaches of AAA teams are always on the prowl for talent; if your daughter has developed a reputation as a player with above-average abilities, chances are someone will find her.

FWIW, the T-Bred spring league looks like an excellent place to play. How is that going for her?

Thanks for your help. My daughter operates in stealth mode (very shy)compared to most kids, she's a pretty solid player, we send her to a private school far from home so she dosn't see many friends outside of school and as most people know the thoroughbreds are a pretty good hiding place for someone who operates in the shadows of life anyway. She just mentioned that she would like to try a tournament or two this summer so I thought that I would see whats out there for her. I'll find some rosters that need some bodies and go on from there. Thanks again