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Author Topic: Bay Area Blazers  (Read 12543 times)

jvreagan

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Bay Area Blazers
« on: January 02, 2018, 12:55:44 PM »
Looking for any insight on the Blazers spring program in Stockton.  We're new to the area and don't know much about it but have been invited for this spring.  Anyone with experience? 

highhardone

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2018, 10:01:18 PM »
Eisler is a great coach and they generally have solid AA and AAA kids in their spring program. If you are in NorCal, I would not hesitate to have your kid play with the Blazers. Development for your player will be far better than what they get with the Seals (Jr. Sharks).
When it's all said and done it's just a game for kids.

FlySouthAAA

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 05:17:08 PM »
Blazers are your best options for Spring hockey in Norcal. Strongly agree Eisler is the best coach up there.
A ranking of Norcal hockey for spring from a SoCal perspective
1. Blazers / GSE
2. Summerhawks
3. Throwing $1500 in the toilet
4. Visiting dead relatives
5. Jr Sharks/Seals




NotfromSoCal

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2018, 09:10:15 PM »
It is very clear that the two (2) people that think the Blazers are great are from SoCal and have never been a part of the Blazers.  Are you basing your judgment on the fact that the Blazers get destroyed in every tournament they enter?  Or because they have heard of the name Eisler?  It is clear they know nothing of what they speak.  Anyone with a checkbook gets invited to the Blazers.  If you like to spend money and have a miserable time, I guess that is your prerogative.  BTW, Eisler will cash your check but you wont see him on the bench when it comes to tourney time.  He is a very good skills coach and that is about it.  Good Luck to you.  Do you wonder why people aren't flocking on here to reply?  I mean people who have actually paid for Blazers? 

JakesDad01

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2018, 10:21:54 PM »
My son never played for the Blazers. However he did play for Eisler one year and will not do that again.  Eisler has perhaps the most hockey knowledge of any coach I know and is a very good skills coach - especially for forwards. That being said my son would not play for him for him again on a team from our past experience.

jvreagan

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2018, 08:53:37 AM »
Appreciate the insights and feedback, including those of you who reached out to me offline. 

lcadad

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2018, 01:21:53 PM »
Despite the name of this forum, in my experience most of the posters are from SoCal, and an even higher concentration are LA/OC based, so it's somewhat understandable that a program like the Blazers would not be familiar to people here.

I do feel it worthwhile to point out, that spring hockey of any variety is a dubious proposition.  USA Hockey flat out states that your kids should do something other than hockey, so the idea that you need an intensive "AAA" experience in the spring is basically completely ignoring the prevailing wisdom.

There was also a strong anti-sharks sentiment expressed, and I can point out a couple of observations about the Sharks program at the Peewee level.

If you look at AAA clubs on the basis of both performance and program depth, it is clear at Peewee that the Sharks program has some serious issues.  Both major and minor teams are winless in CAHA play.     The '05 team is nationally ranked between 50-60 and I wouldn't be surprised to see them slide.  Conversely, the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies who are part of the HPHL are in the 20-30 range. 

Despite the geographic closeness, the 2 clubs don't even play each other, which makes one wonder why that is? 

I didn't see any games the '05 Sharks team played against any Norcal AA teams either, and I certainly would be interested to see how they might fare against GSE which is leading 12U AA.  The '05 Sharks lost to the Jr Kings '06 AAA team, and while we are at it, the Sharks AAA '06 team lost to that same '06 Kings team by scores of 17-1 and 12-1.

Of greater concern for the Sharks is the fact that their program is lacking anything close to the depth of the Jr. Kings or Jr. Ducks programs, both of which have competitive AA teams.  The Jr. Sharks offering at AA this year was weak enough to accept a forced relegation down to Peewee A.  This does not bode well for a sudden uptick in competitiveness in the next few years, or the overall health of Norcal's franchised AAA program.

The GSE programs as an alternative to AAA contribute to the Sharks situation, but I don't think there's any doubt that at Peewee level, the program is struggling both in the state and nationally.

Again, I am only an outside observer, but these points give credence to Jr Sharks detractors. 

I have no idea what your plans or interests are for your kid, but spring hockey for many people is an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a club and perhaps a coach with the bare minimum of commitment, and the proposition that an independent "spring only AAA" program is going to make a huge difference in any eventual outcome of a kid's hockey development is one that I find highly questionable.


« Last Edit: January 17, 2018, 01:24:07 PM by lcadad »

PutYourFootOnTheGas

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2018, 01:41:43 PM »
Distance from San Jose, California to Oakland, MICHIGAN = 2,461 Miles. I wonder why they don’t play more regularly? Lol.


Every club has their issues. San Jose has some as do the LA Kings, Jr Ducks, GSE , OC, etc. Everyone should just find a place where they are comfortable and can provide the level of competition they want.

lcadad

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2018, 07:24:50 PM »
Distance from San Jose, California to Oakland, MICHIGAN = 2,461 Miles. I wonder why they don’t play more regularly? Lol.



Haha, ok my bad on that.  I did think it odd that they would be playing the other teams in that league.  Sharks don't play GSE or any of the other Norcal teams either, so there's that.

JakesDad01

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #9 on: January 18, 2018, 09:12:18 PM »
Typically the Sharks are the only AAA NorCal team.  Occasionally GSE has 1 or 2.  My son's AA SC team has played a couple of the Shark's AAA teams in exhibition games.  I'm not sure if they have played other AA teams in exhibitions too.  It's kind of hard to play games when you are the only AAA team in the area.

PutYourFootOnTheGas

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2018, 10:02:52 AM »
From what I've seen and heard recently, SJ minor AAA teams are more willing to play the local AA teams as it is a good match up. The major AAA teams don't typically play the local AA teams as they are not on same level. I'd have to look at myhockey rankings to see actual ratings and see if that jibes with the pee wee's.

JakesDad01

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2018, 11:43:53 AM »
My son's Midget AA has played both the SJ 15 AAA and the 14 AAA teams in exhibitions.  Not sure about any of their other AAA teams.

PutYourFootOnTheGas

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #12 on: January 19, 2018, 05:29:07 PM »
Oh, interesting. That means the SJ AAA Bantam Major team played a local AA team but an age group up.  How did that go? The other match up illustrates what I had heard which is AAA minor teams (in this case 15AAA) playing a local AA team (16AA). What was the result there?

JakesDad01

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2018, 09:58:52 PM »
They were close games.  AAA team won by a goal the first game and then we played like crap with not all our players and lost the second game 4-0.

DangFoo

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Re: Bay Area Blazers
« Reply #14 on: January 22, 2018, 10:59:13 AM »
My son never played for the Blazers. However he did play for Eisler one year and will not do that again.  Eisler has perhaps the most hockey knowledge of any coach I know and is a very good skills coach - especially for forwards. That being said my son would not play for him for him again on a team from our past experience.


Pretty much same for my son; invited to return and not interested. You’re paying for extra ice time that is better spent at Gretzky hours for a fraction of the cost and without the “overly corrective” coaching approach. Blazers is generally a lot of kids thrown together with minimal time to build any semblence of chemistry, then off to Minnesota and L.A. to get trounced.


No problem with the losses, but Eisler’s style is not for everybody. It wasn’t worth the coin IMO.