Peewee AA 2017-2018

[skates]

On another note, I heard Bickley's AA team won the banner for the KHS tournament. Congrats to them!

[Norcal1]

Just a note there are 2 GSE teams from Northern Cal and only the North played at Carmen Starr.

[lcadad]

Just a note there are 2 GSE teams from Northern Cal and only the North played at Carmen Starr.

Indeed Norcal1, but where did the other team play, if anywhere, for Memorial Day?


FWIW, I thought the GSE team was stronger than their results in Carmen Starr.  I only saw their first game but it was one of the most closely contested games the Bears faced other than their loss to OCHC. 

[Norcal1]

The other GSE team did not play in a Memorial day tourney.

[Icelife]

Don't think that rosters are set yet. I know a lot of our friends who are AAA dropping down (for financial reasons) didn't play over the weekend and was told by a couple teams we are looking into for next season that there are several players who played the tournament who will not be on the roster. Kind of early to start picking top teams if that's the case. Move 2-3 top players from one team and add to another and you can have a totally different dynamic.

[rmackintosh]

Just a note there are 2 GSE teams from Northern Cal and only the North played at Carmen Starr.

Indeed Norcal1, but where did the other team play, if anywhere, for Memorial Day?


FWIW, I thought the GSE team was stronger than their results in Carmen Starr.  I only saw their first game but it was one of the most closely contested games the Bears faced other than their loss to OCHC.

Greetings from Norcal. The GSE 2 (North) team was heavily 04's last year. I believe there will be only 2 returning 05's on that team this year. The GSE 1 (South) team looks to have a strong core of 05's this year. So, the roles may be a bit reversed this year. Good luck to all!

[lcadad]

With tryouts in 2 days, I made a couple of last updates to the AA List.  I think this will likely be my last update to it.  It reflects:

• Heat long ago dropped plans to have an AA team, removed
• Saints just announced 2nd set of coaches for a team #2 

Good luck to everyone this weekend at tryouts!

[socalhockeydad]

Will be interesting to see how things end up for the valley(s) teams trying to get AA teams...Mariners, Flyers and Bears (with talk about 2?). IMO no room for 4...3 is a possibility.

[M@sshole]

Not surprised by the PW AA Carmen Star Results. The most hyped up team lost in the end. I got a chance to see the GSE game against OC. OC does have a few small kids that just were not perfoming in the game I saw. Even though they beat GSE, I didn't see them that strong as all the hype. No sour apples here either because I don't think GSE showed up this weekend either. And yes I am bias since my Nephew is on GSE.
 
Once again, just my opinion. If OC picks up kids from teams that were not contenders in A last season they will struggle. Looking at the stats these kids may have performed in the saints game, but then again, I think the saints are a middle to bottom of the division team.  Kids from Smerud's OC PW A team were definitely a difference maker for OC this weekend.  I think coach has a big decision to make come try outs this coming weekend.

Skates:  I appreciated your statistical analysis last season but have to disagree with your assessment on this one.  Shand's  OC team for Carmen Starr had kids who played on at least four different clubs during the 2016-17 season. Without having a single team practice, a certain lack of cohesion reflected in their play. But I would say they certainly met the competition in terms of talent.  As far as prior OC kids carrying the load - only one of the top five scorers for OC in Carmen Starr actually played for OC last season. Not to slam anyone - all the kids played great. Your post seems a little biased though.


If the tournament reflects the talent for 2017 - 2018 AA, it will be an exciting season.

[Hockey sophist]

Agree with M@sshole response about OC team at Carmen Starr.  Their play was at times disjointed but they showed the ability to score in bunches.  They have good team speed and some size.  They also have at least four players with AA experience.  They probably have more scoring power than was shown and the team will improve with organized practices as will the opposition.   Coaching will separate the top PWAA teams and OC will be well coached.     

[skates]

Not surprised by the PW AA Carmen Star Results. The most hyped up team lost in the end. I got a chance to see the GSE game against OC. OC does have a few small kids that just were not perfoming in the game I saw. Even though they beat GSE, I didn't see them that strong as all the hype. No sour apples here either because I don't think GSE showed up this weekend either. And yes I am bias since my Nephew is on GSE.
 
Once again, just my opinion. If OC picks up kids from teams that were not contenders in A last season they will struggle. Looking at the stats these kids may have performed in the saints game, but then again, I think the saints are a middle to bottom of the division team.  Kids from Smerud's OC PW A team were definitely a difference maker for OC this weekend.  I think coach has a big decision to make come try outs this coming weekend.

Skates:  I appreciated your statistical analysis last season but have to disagree with your assessment on this one.  Shand's  OC team for Carmen Starr had kids who played on at least four different clubs during the 2016-17 season. Without having a single team practice, a certain lack of cohesion reflected in their play. But I would say they certainly met the competition in terms of talent.  As far as prior OC kids carrying the load - only one of the top five scorers for OC in Carmen Starr actually played for OC last season. Not to slam anyone - all the kids played great. Your post seems a little biased though.


If the tournament reflects the talent for 2017 - 2018 AA, it will be an exciting season.

All I can base it off right now is the one game I saw against GSE and I didn't see the kids on this team from the bottom of Teams on AA last year and definitely the kids on the bottom of teams on A perform at a AA level. They will struggle this season. That's my opinion. I am assuming that these players may have done better against the saints but again I think saints will be in the bottom half brackets.


 If I was the coach I would be looking for more players before this weekend that can compete at a higher level. I think the defense is where OC will struggle next season. I think the coach needs to look at the strength of his defense and re-evaluate. 

[skates]

Agree with M@sshole response about OC team at Carmen Starr.  Their play was at times disjointed but they showed the ability to score in bunches.  They have good team speed and some size.  They also have at least four players with AA experience.  They probably have more scoring power than was shown and the team will improve with organized practices as will the opposition.   Coaching will separate the top PWAA teams and OC will be well coached.     

It takes coaching and team chemistry.

[Icelife]

Did all of OC defense move up? Last season you said if it wasn't for the D they wouldn't have been competitive.

[Hockey sophist]

Skates, agree with you about coaching and team chemistry.   Compared to other recent teams we seen up close, OC will have good team chemistry this year.  Dysfunctional locker rooms do adversely impact on the quality of team play.   Some coaches don't want to know about it; Coach Shand is too well attuned to details to let it slide.

[skates]

Did all of OC defense move up? Last season you said if it wasn't for the D they wouldn't have been competitive.

Okay don't quote me on this: I heard from a friend that OC2 had 6 D. 1 was an 04 and 5 were 05's. I just know by stats that OC 2 had a great D record. So where did all those 05's go I don't know but all of them were not on OC Carmen Starr roster. I imagine not all wanted to play with coach and are trying for other teams or opted out of AA for various reasons. That's what happens when teams are mixed year teams. But just imagine Eagles offense and OC2's defense could be a dangerous team. Both teams had a great season. Stats do show that.