This is very long, and some of it is already known… but when compiled all together, the information creates an interesting picture that might be useful to parents and kids seeking to play hockey at the highest level.
Enjoy.
At a time when the NHL is aggressively trying to expand the game of hockey, CAHA is going in the opposite direction. This is no more apparent when examining AAA hockey in California. Following Peewee and Bantam, elite kids are leaving the state in record numbers because of low competition (only 3 AAA teams in the state), excessive travel costs (families forced to travel back East to play games), and an overall lack of opportunity (not enough elite teams for all the kids).
It wasn’t always like this… so how did we get here? Let’s look at the numbers:
AAA in 2015-2016 season:
11U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
12U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Gulls, Bears
13U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Gulls, Wave
14U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Gulls, Eagles
15U: NO DIVISION
16U: Ducks (2), Kings (2), Sharks (2), Gulls, Titans, Wave, Wildcats
18U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Wave (2), Titans, Gulls
TOTAL TEAMS: 35
And now here are the numbers for this season:
AAA in 2018-2019 season:
11U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
12U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
13U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
14U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
15U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
16U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks
18U: Ducks, Kings, Sharks, Reign
TOTAL TEAMS: 22
In three seasons, the total AAA teams in California has dropped by more than a third. That’s an abnormally large amount. So what happened?
In 2015, then CAHA President, Steve Laing, set out to “fix†Tier I hockey in California:
November 21, 2015 -
Steve Laing reported that USA Hockey is working on a document to define “Tier I Hockey†as well as multiple scenarios that may prohibit clubs from fielding Tier I teams without perimeters. Steve would like the CAHA Board of Directors to take a close look at the status of Tier I programs and advise on ways to improve Tier I performance at the state and national level.
What followed was a “Special Meeting†in December, solely focused on Tier 1 hockey:
December 19, 2015 - Special Meeting to address Tier I hockey.
Missions Statement for Tier I hockey:
—Compete nationally
—Balance competition
—Prepare players to play at the highest level possible to represent our state.
A month later, CAHA enacted several new rules for Tier I hockey in California:
January 23, 2016
CAHA President, Steve Laing, introduces Scott Allegrini as the new CAHA Tier Program Committee Chair.
—The automatic bids for the three youth NHL-affiliated clubs.
—The limitation of up to 5 teams at each age division.
—Existing Tier I Programs that have proven longevity.
—Increase of PDR requirement.
—Deadline for declaration and submission of Tier I Application.
Additionally, Scott Allegrini discussed a “flight structure†and placement weekend for Tier II, which would set the stages for our current Tier II system.
Following the enactment of the new rules, and some slight tweaking, the bylaws were rewritten, and the most powerful of bylaws, 8.1.C, was introduced:
8.1.C. With Youth Council’s recommendation, the CAHA board has the authority to prohibit a club from fielding Tier I teams whose prior season’s collective performances was non-competitive.
As highlighted in other posts, this bylaw is subjective at best… and downright destructive at worst. It gave the CAHA Board of Directors the ability to deny any Tier I application based on their perception, without explanation.
Case in point, the California Titans. Despite a long presence of AAA hockey in California at the 16U and 18U level, it only took two seasons for CAHA to totally strip the California Titans of their AAA status. The Titans appealed when they were completely denied in 2018, but their appeal was quickly rejected by new CAHA President, Tom Hancock, ending their existence as a AAA program in California. The California Heat, California Wave and San Diego Gulls, three established hockey programs with many AAA teams over the past decade, didn’t even last that long.
The #1 reason to limit AAA hockey in California was to compete nationally at the Tier I level. So has it worked? No.
Here are the numbers:
USA Hockey Tier I National Champion or 2nd Place finishes:
2012 Jr Kings - 18U 2nd Place
2010 LA Selects - 14U 2nd Place
2008 LA Selects - 12U Champions
All these dates preceded the limitation of AAA teams in the State of California.
The #2 reason to limit AAA hockey in California was to balance competition. So has it worked? Not really.
At the four Peewee and Bantam levels, the Ducks and Kings are balanced and competitive with each other, but the Sharks are not. Not even close. Refer to previous posts on the subject.
At the Midget levels, competition between these three teams increases, but much of the elite talent has already left the state by that point, which is an underlying result of a lack of competition for the first four years of AAA hockey.
It has been argued that there simply aren’t enough kids playing hockey in California to support more AAA teams. But that’s simply not true, especially as registration numbers in California are on the rise.
Let’s look at the numbers when compared with Massachusetts:
Massachusetts population 6.86 million
10,565 square miles
43,674 kids registered
11U: 16 teams
12U:17 teams
13U: 15 teams
14U: 15 teams
15U: 21 teams
16U: 26 teams
18U: 30 teams
140 total
California population 40 million
164,000 square miles
14,886 kids registered
11U: 3 teams
12U: 3 teams
13U: 3 teams
14U: 3 teams
15U: 3 teams
16U: 3 teams
18U: 4 teams
22 total
By comparison, MA has 3 times more kids under the age of 19 registered for hockey than California (43,674 to 14,886). However, they have 6 times as many AAA teams (140 to 22). That doesn’t add up.
So will this change in the near future as the number of registered kids continues to rise? Will CAHA remove the sanctions from AAA hockey in California and allow the highest level of hockey to grow organically and as the market demands? Likely no.
Tom Hancock is the current CAHA President. Steve Laing was the CAHA President before him. And a man named Charlie Fuertsch was the CAHA President before him. So where exactly are Steve and Charlie these days?
Well, Steve Laing is the USA Hockey Pacific District Director and Charlie Fuertsch is a USA Hockey Vice President.
As you can see, Tom has friends in high places, and it’s highly doubtful he would change an institutional philosophy authored by his predecessor and boss, USA Hockey Pacific Director Steve Laing.
But perhaps Tom has other plans? Perhaps Tom can see the talent leaving the state in droves and the lack of opportunity at AAA being a bad thing for the state at large?
Unfortunately, the answer again is no.
From his lone interview when taking the job as CAHA President, Tom Hancock had this to say in CA Rubber Magazine:
“As a state, neither the North nor the South has an actual structure for high school hockey, and that’s where I see the potential for significant growth,†said Hancock. “The high school hockey leagues are really growing, but it’s been offshoot leagues within the Jr. Sharks, Jr. Ducks, and Jr. Kings organizations. My vision is that we can transform that into a high school hockey league that could open the door for CIF recognition of high school hockey throughout the state, but with CAHA governance. My ambition is that by the end of my tenure, I would like to be able to walk away with CIF having some formal recognition of hockey in California.â€
So there you have it. High school hockey.
Hancock’s goal is clear, increase high school hockey in California. This is a noble enough desire, and it’s not a bad idea. But it will take many years, the full support of the cities and high schools, and at least a dozen new rinks to be fully implemented. This is not impossible, but it is definitely ambitious. And, just for the sake of our discussion, what does growing high school hockey directly conflict with?
Yup. You guessed it, allowing more AAA hockey.
Perhaps that’s not what many of you want to hear, but we’ve come upon CAHA’s apparent endgame: increase high school hockey in the state of California at the expense of allowing more AAA hockey. So if your kid has aspirations to play hockey at the highest level in the United States or Canada, you’re simply living in the wrong state and playing under the wrong governing body. And with the current CAHA President and Board of Directors, this does not appear to be changing any time soon.
If your kid is lucky enough to be one of the 45 or so kids to make one of the 3 AAA teams in the entire state of California for any given birth year, then congratulations. You’ve defied the odds and successfully navigated the muddy political waters of the Ducks, Kings and Sharks.
However, if your kid is not so lucky, and you ever want them to play at the Junior or college level, you’re shit out of luck... and you better start looking East.