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Author Topic: 16AA for 2018-19  (Read 57811 times)

Justabdad

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #30 on: June 03, 2018, 01:10:18 PM »
How did the Valencia 16AA tryouts go?  Are they going to field a team? 

Justabdad

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #31 on: June 03, 2018, 01:13:52 PM »
It sounds like there will be 16 teams.  Will CAHA still have two flights or drop teams down from AA to A level? 

How is the Kings 16AA team looking?  Are they fielding a team or are they just blowing smoke?

nzone

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #32 on: June 03, 2018, 02:09:57 PM »
Yes Kings do have a team.

Justabdad

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #33 on: June 03, 2018, 02:39:17 PM »
Good news to hear about the Kings!  They have been neglecting the AA's for too long.  ;D

OneandDone

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #34 on: June 04, 2018, 11:54:30 AM »
Of the 14 teams declared in SoCal, at least 4 are still looking for players including Heat, Wave, Empire, Jr Reign and one OC team is A level at best.  Seems like at this level more kids are playing High School and just having fun with it or heading out of town.  Unless the High School and Travel leagues get together like they do in Minnesota and some areas back east and split the seasons up, travel below AAA at this level is doomed.  Tough nut to crack but if it cost 3-4K for High School and 3-4K for travel there would be way more interest in doing both IMO.  Interesting discussion here http://wpahockey.net/thread/127/hs-hockey-travel

JackBender

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2018, 01:50:04 PM »
Of the 14 teams declared in SoCal, at least 4 are still looking for players including Heat, Wave, Empire, Jr Reign and one OC team is A level at best.  Seems like at this level more kids are playing High School and just having fun with it or heading out of town.  Unless the High School and Travel leagues get together like they do in Minnesota and some areas back east and split the seasons up, travel below AAA at this level is doomed.  Tough nut to crack but if it cost 3-4K for High School and 3-4K for travel there would be way more interest in doing both IMO.  Interesting discussion here http://wpahockey.net/thread/127/hs-hockey-travel


OC hockey seems pretty competitive... so, objectively, which is more competitive?  16AA or HS? 
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Nowhearthis

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #36 on: June 11, 2018, 03:50:52 PM »
In my observation the leakage continues out of club and into HS or out of state.  If the club hockey quality isn't there at AA, they should drop the number of teams to save the system.

RW

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #37 on: June 11, 2018, 04:53:03 PM »
In my observation the leakage continues out of club and into HS or out of state.  If the club hockey quality isn't there at AA, they should drop the number of teams to save the system.

Your observation is correct, especially in the 2002 birth year.  You can probably count the number of AA caliber 2002's still playing 16AA in So Cal on your ten fingers and ten toes. Many have left and/or are just playing HS. 

Teemu8

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #38 on: June 11, 2018, 06:22:46 PM »
That's why the 02 teams took some 03s fo round out the rosters... there are even some 04s playing up.  Problem for some of us is that if you're stuck with a D3 hs team then it's like playing inhouse or B hockey so you need the AA just to keep sane.

justanotherhockeydad

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #39 on: June 11, 2018, 06:33:25 PM »
That's why the 02 teams took some 03s fo round out the rosters... there are even some 04s playing up.

04's playing at U16 is dangerous and the coaches who recruited them are irresponsible and aren't looking out for the 04 kids' best interest if they're only trying to fill out their short rosters... The 04's parents should know better too. Sure, if your 04 is physically big/strong and skilled enough then maybe it's ok. But some of the 04's I've seen planning to play at U16AA this upcoming season are barely 130 lbs and although good players, but by no means superstar caliber that needs to play up prematurely.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2018, 06:37:48 PM by justanotherhockeydad »

JackBender

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #40 on: June 11, 2018, 08:43:18 PM »
Your observation is correct, especially in the 2002 birth year.  You can probably count the number of AA caliber 2002's still playing 16AA in So Cal on your ten fingers and ten toes. Many have left and/or are just playing HS.


It is sad that soo many parents of h.s. underclassmen feel compelled to send their kids out of state, but its a completely understandable result of CAHA's inept decision-making, highlighted by crunching AAA down to just JK and JD, and the AA flighting nonsense. AA is meant to be a pathway to AAA. When advancement to AAA is restricted to only two politicized organizations, kids with next level aspirations see they have better advancement options elsewhere.  Adding insult to injury, JK haven't taken AA seriously since they pushed through minor birth year AAA, and then they killed the Titans, a club that as recently as the 95/96/97 birth years had a nice program that put over a dozen kids into the NCAA. Ducks are hurting AA by pimping ADHSHL instead of AA, which aside from OLU, St Margarita and a couple others remains a "A"-caliber league of make-believe "high school teams" (but at least kudos to them for reducing cost).  As AA gets more watered down at Bantam/Midget, the effects will trickle up to AAA in a self-defeating cycle. Dumb.

btw, I actually think the idea of building a hs league to replace AA is the right way to go (lower cost, less travel, school spirit and all that), but it ain't there yet. They need a lot more pure teams, which requires a lot more kids playing through peewess and bantams. Four more ice sheets in Irvine should help. Eventually.


Having pure HS teams would be ideal, but I imagine rinks are the biggest inhibitor.  OC actually has a lot of rinks (with new one coming!), but LA County is sparse. Can't see this being rectified, so was wondering what happened to the AAA teams? Meaning, just a few years ago the Heat, Wave, Wildcats and others all seemed to have AAA teams at PW up through Midget. I'm guess CAHA shut that down, consolidating talent to Kings/Ducks, but why? While that might make better big program teams, wouldn't that drive lots of kids out of state and to prep schools? Additionally, less kids playing Tier = less money, right? I'm sure it's complicated and nuanced... just curious, though. 
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Knuckle Puck

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #41 on: June 12, 2018, 09:40:13 AM »
was wondering what happened to the AAA teams? Meaning, just a few years ago the Heat, Wave, Wildcats and others all seemed to have AAA teams at PW up through Midget. I'm guess CAHA shut that down, consolidating talent to Kings/Ducks, but why? While that might make better big program teams, wouldn't that drive lots of kids out of state and to prep schools? Additionally, less kids playing Tier = less money, right? I'm sure it's complicated and nuanced... just curious, though.

There is zero complication or nuance to what happened.

1. CAHA board is dominated by reps from Kings, Ducks & Sharks.

2. Three years ago, they passed a new rule limited AAA to 5 teams per birth year, instituted a whole host of requirements that must be met each season to qualify (most of which only the largest and best financed clubs -- i.e. Kings, Ducks & Sharks -- could meet), required any club wishing to field an AAA to go through an "approval" process each year, except that the three "NHL sponsored clubs (Kings, Ducks and Sharks) all get automatic approval. Ain't that rare?

3. Predictably, all of the clubs not named the Kings, Ducks and Sharks have given up on AAA rather than going through the onerous and obviously biased process.

4. The three clubs pushed this through in an effort to create an AAA monopoly up north (Sharks) and duopoly in SoCal. They succeeded.

5. The non unexpected result is that a lot of families who don't like limited choice at home are moving out of state. I predicted months ago that around three dozen of the top minor Midget kids in So Cal (2003s) will be playing out of the region next season (THA, Shattuck or back East).  From what I am hearing lately, I may be low on my prediction. By getting greedy, the Kings and Ducks have wrecked the chances of building a quality Midget AAA hockey circuit in the southwest USA for this generation. 

trans4761

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #42 on: June 12, 2018, 01:21:04 PM »
was wondering what happened to the AAA teams? Meaning, just a few years ago the Heat, Wave, Wildcats and others all seemed to have AAA teams at PW up through Midget. I'm guess CAHA shut that down, consolidating talent to Kings/Ducks, but why? While that might make better big program teams, wouldn't that drive lots of kids out of state and to prep schools? Additionally, less kids playing Tier = less money, right? I'm sure it's complicated and nuanced... just curious, though.

There is zero complication or nuance to what happened.

1. CAHA board is dominated by reps from Kings, Ducks & Sharks.

2. Three years ago, they passed a new rule limited AAA to 5 teams per birth year, instituted a whole host of requirements that must be met each season to qualify (most of which only the largest and best financed clubs -- i.e. Kings, Ducks & Sharks -- could meet), required any club wishing to field an AAA to go through an "approval" process each year, except that the three "NHL sponsored clubs (Kings, Ducks and Sharks) all get automatic approval. Ain't that rare?

3. Predictably, all of the clubs not named the Kings, Ducks and Sharks have given up on AAA rather than going through the onerous and obviously biased process.

4. The three clubs pushed this through in an effort to create an AAA monopoly up north (Sharks) and duopoly in SoCal. They succeeded.

5. The non unexpected result is that a lot of families who don't like limited choice at home are moving out of state. I predicted months ago that around three dozen of the top minor Midget kids in So Cal (2003s) will be playing out of the region next season (THA, Shattuck or back East).  From what I am hearing lately, I may be low on my prediction. By getting greedy, the Kings and Ducks have wrecked the chances of building a quality Midget AAA hockey circuit in the southwest USA for this generation.
Have a agree with knucklehead on this one. :)

KickSave

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #43 on: June 12, 2018, 01:51:26 PM »
Sums it up

JackBender

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Re: 16AA for 2018-19
« Reply #44 on: June 12, 2018, 02:29:40 PM »
Wow. That sounds incredibly short sighted... and lame. Yes, the big clubs consolidated control of the AAA divisions, and maybe a few teams got better at a national level, but with less options for kids, clearly, an unforeseen side effect is more leaving the state (and CAHA) after Bantams. I wonder if this is known, or if it will be corrected? I hear the Jr Kings were pushing the 18UAAA option hard to younger families in a clear mandate to stop the Midget bleeding, but the option feels half-baked.  Money talks, and I'd guess the numbers are down big time statewide for Tier Midget hockey in CAHA. The exodus of Bears players post Bantams to prep schools/back east should be Exhibit A for change. 
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