PWAA 2016-17

[trans4761]

BF..............at it again.


From a reliable source , the PW "ELITE" division was made up of a few in house teams, Heat, Mariners.  Now, if the Heat/Mariners knew that they were playing in an "Elite" division with basically in house teams, then it's their fault.  But knowing they do things in BF-LAND, it was probably told to them after they could not get into another tournament, if at all. I will quote the source as calling it a "shit show". Now I may be wrong (but i'm usually not), but why would anyone want to play in a tournament that is filled in with TEAM WC ELITE TEAL/ TEAM WC ELITE PINK etc, that is being passed off as a PW "ELITE" division ? I thought the JKs were serving the Kool Aid a few years ago with their Elite AAA tournament for 6 year olds (sorry B.O.) We keep hearing about these kind of things in BF-LAND over and over again.  would like to hear from any families that were at the BF-Land tournament this week end to get some feed back.


BTW......he still owes me $$$

[justanotherhockeydad]

BF..............at it again.


From a reliable source , the PW "ELITE" division was made up of a few in house teams, Heat, Mariners.  Now, if the Heat/Mariners knew that they were playing in an "Elite" division with basically in house teams, then it's their fault.  But knowing they do things in BF-LAND, it was probably told to them after they could not get into another tournament, if at all. I will quote the source as calling it a "shit show". Now I may be wrong (but i'm usually not), but why would anyone want to play in a tournament that is filled in with TEAM WC ELITE TEAL/ TEAM WC ELITE PINK etc, that is being passed off as a PW "ELITE" division ? I thought the JKs were serving the Kool Aid a few years ago with their Elite AAA tournament for 6 year olds (sorry B.O.) We keep hearing about these kind of things in BF-LAND over and over again.  would like to hear from any families that were at the BF-Land tournament this week end to get some feed back.


BTW......he still owes me $$$

My kid played at the Riverside tourney and here's what I saw.

There were 5 teams at the 'Elite PW' level:
Heat
Mariners
Wildcats Gold
Leafs
Ont Eagles

We had an opportunity to play with OC (Anaheim tourney) and Saints (Carmen Starr) and we chose to join the Heat (my son has played with the same group of kids before, for tourneys only) because we like playing with that group and Riverside was much closer to where we live. Whether Heat knew what BF/Riverside is all about or not, or if it was too late to join other tourney, I have no idea. We just knew we wanted to do a local tourney, with a group my son is familiar with...

Heat: Most of the kids at the tourney played PWAA last yr, one Bear PW or Sq(?), one Blaze PWA, with a few Heat SQA's moving up. I'd say 90% of the team are legit PWAA. My kid has fun every time he plays with these guys, and so do we, and that was the most important factor in deciding whether to join a new group in a more 'prestigious' tourney or do a lighthearted one with his friends.

Eagles: Aren't all Eagles teams 'in-house'? Likely consist of mostly PWA and my kid has scrimmaged with some of them at old Ontario... Struggled to score against most teams at Riverside, but managed to score a few goals vs Mariners, the eventual winner, but still, lost all their games.

Leafs: spoke to a few parents there and they appear to be the PWB team that won SCAHA last year. They had the most trouble putting up goals and lost all their games.

Wildcats Gold: Got stomped by Mariners, beat Leafs and Eagles, and managed to tie Heat. They had a few PWA kids from all over, one Jr Ducks2 PWAA, one or two PWAA from Wildcats' PWAA team last year and those kids were legit PWAA players. I have to admit I was surprised they managed to tie the Heat. When they played the Heat, Heat were more dominant and had a 2 goal lead but WC came back and tied. I know all about the BF crap, but I have to admit, they were better than their previous 'in-house' teams.

Mariners: Dominated all the teams, except Heat. Mix of mostly Riptide PWB (undefeated last yr), one from the Heat PWAA, one from Bears PWAA, one or two Mariners PWAA, and goalie from Ont Waves PWAA IIRC, won State last year. The PWB Riptide kids weren't big, except their goalie, but if you know who they are, you'll know that they're little speedsters with hands that keep coming at you. My kid has played this group since Squirts and it was always the same bunch of little speed demons that do most of the damage.

Heat vs Mariners was an excellent PWAA game to watch. Different style of play. Heat were bigger and moved the puck better as a team, while Mariners relied on their kids speed and dangles to beat you with breakaway's... Heat had more shots and in their zone longer but ultimately lost in OT... Game could've easily gone either way. I think everyone who watched would agree.

The Riverside tourney had only 2 true PWAA team in my opinion. And the two PWAA teams are likely middle of the pack next year. I believe the Leafs and Eagles were testing the water to see if they could hang/belong in PWAA. Most of the WC Gold are likely PWBB and PWA, except for #71 and maybe two other, who are legit PWAA.

Generally, I really dread even thinking about Riverside tourneys but I was too late to get my son to try out for Carmen Starr and by the time when I got to it, Wada and Bickley were set and we didn't want to stress about traveling so BF 'sh*tshow' it was... For once, I actually didn't mind Riverside tourney as my kid had lots of fun, was a top player there and managed to forfeited a game to go home early on Monday!

I think using the term 'sh*tshow' to describe the overall 'Elite PW' tourney is a little harsh... I've seen hardcore BF sh*tshows and this one was better than that...

[The Artist Formerly Known as Mite Dad]

Not a shit show IMHO. The teams that played in Riverside will not challenge for AA supremacy in the Fall, but they were not "in house" either. Mariners, Heat, Leafs and Cats each had a handful of kids who played PWAA last year, plus another handful who had strong PWA or SQA seasons and are ready to move up. Sure, all the teams weren't evenly matched, but neither were the teams at Carmen Starr, judging by the scores. Mariners/Heat was fast, back-and-forth, entertaining game, decided in OT, that could have gone the other way with just one different bounce here or there.

Can't speak for other clubs' reasons for participating, but I'm told that Heat participate because it is the only tourney where all of their teams can compete at the same location, which makes logistics easier for coaches and parents with multiple kids on different teams.

[MO-ICETIME]

Hopefully SCAHA will step in and stop teams from pumping out the cool aid, as it's being described, and stop teams from jumping to AA like last year! It was the same conversation with a few teams mentioned and we all see how that worked out.


But hey, if your kid can develop and the coaching is good.... It's not about wins and losses? Another question I wonder is .... How those "elite" division teams would have fared against the Anaheim peewee A division top teams?

[Hockey05]

I'm hearing that CAHA/SCAHA may have the right to force teams to drop from AA to A if they are not competitive.  Also, players would not have to be released for this to happen.  I see the point of it.  Certainly teams did not belong at tier last year, but this happens at every level.  For those not educated to the sport, blindly in denial or for all those who believe what a coach or club says all spring, then should players lose this right and be stuck with that same team?  IMO, if a coach or club errs, too bad they should have no choice but to grant a release.  Any change in this rule could bring on additional deceit.  Can anyone provide insight to this rule change and if it has occurred?

[Pistonkev]

I'm hearing that CAHA/SCAHA may have the right to force teams to drop from AA to A if they are not competitive.  Also, players would not have to be released for this to happen.  I see the point of it.  Certainly teams did not belong at tier last year, but this happens at every level.  For those not educated to the sport, blindly in denial or for all those who believe what a coach or club says all spring, then should players lose this right and be stuck with that same team?  IMO, if a coach or club errs, too bad they should have no choice but to grant a release.  Any change in this rule could bring on additional deceit.  Can anyone provide insight to this rule change and if it has occurred?

They have actually had this right to drop teams down or force teams up. They have never used it as far as i can tell. In fact when the Riptide Pee Wee A team begged to move to AA after killing the teams they were facing it was denied by CAHA.

[Kangaroo Jack]

Does SCAHA/CAHA care if they have teams in the right divisions?  It does not appear they care in the A/B divisions. So why would they care in AA?

[area51]

The problem isn't dropping teams, the problem is that everyone becomes a free agent when that happens. The clubs make up the board, so they don't want to do that to one of their own. If the rules change and the kids don't become free agents, it will be a little easier to force teams down a division. I'm guessing that is why there is a Peewee AA division this year. It would be nice to have more competitive divisions at every level.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Mite Dad]

I don't understand the hubbub over this issue every year. There always will be very strong teams and very weak teams in every division, unless the teams are stratified into eight or nine divisions of four to six teams at every age level. And even that probably won't work to achieve relative parity -- just look at last year's Bantam A, Midget A and most of the AAA divisions.

I think the addition of a PWBB level is good, because divisions of 20+ teams for sure are not going to be balanced top to bottom. There still might be a team every now and then that goes winless and regularly loses by double digits every game. That team's weakness is usually evident by mid-September, and I guess maybe a team like that should be moved down. Other than moving a real obvious outlier team like that up or down, I think the system is about as good as we can hope for. Imagine the uproar that would ensue if a committee of "experts" was charged with the responsibility of relegating/promoting several teams in every division every year based upon a three or four game sample set. Yikes. 

[Pistonkev]

Is it just me or is it the same had full of clubs who play up into the wrong division every year. I could post what clubs but I would get face washed by their parents. lol   

[MO-ICETIME]

Is it just me or is it the same had full of clubs who play up into the wrong division every year. I could post what clubs but I would get face washed by their parents. lol

Come on PK. All those Stick Taps you have, you can take some washes! 

[skates]

Does anyone know why Ontario does not have a PW AA team listed for tryouts this weekend anymore? It has been removed.

[uggs]

CAHA rules apparently say that a club can only have two AA teams. So Artesia got them, and Ontario lost out.

[justanotherhockeydad]

CAHA rules apparently say that a club can only have two AA teams. So Artesia got them, and Ontario lost out.

That's what I heard also... What I don't understand is why and how did Calder, the new guy coming into the Waves, gets to have his PWAA team over the Ont Waves. The Ont Waves PWAA had tremendous success last year, and would've been competitive this yr with returning players and players from elsewhere. How did a team/coach with proven success and an established history lose out to a new guy coming in, and now an entire area/region of PWAA players are screwed and have to scramble to decide where to play for, TWO DAYS before tryout.

CAHA/SCAHA's decision should've granted both Artesia and Ontario with their own PWAA, or make an exception for Ontario, and have 3 PWAA teams, since Ont is basically in an entirely different region. The club appears to be Artesia-focused and made a very questionable decision along with CAHA/SCAHA in my opinion, and in the end, Ontario's kids, parents, and coaches got royally screwed.

[justanotherhockeydad]

@ justanotherhockeydad. Too bad you have napalmed your bridge at the Desert Blaze and now Riverside. Goes to show the hockey world is small....Good Luck wherever you end up.

Classy as always... the hockey world is small, and people know about your kid and the issues you guys have. I haven't napalmed anything with anyone, but would certainly like to get away from parents like you.

Funny how quickly you deleted the post...