AAA teams for next season

[TheFourthA]

Anyone have any info in what clubs (apart from Ducks, Kings and Sharks) are seeking AAA status for next season?  Heard rumors about Saints 05 and Bears, but the latter would be a paradigm shift for that club.

[TheFourthA]

Also heard a rumor that 06 Gulls have applied...

[Deuce]

Ice Dogs have a 06 AAA so possibility that they keep that team.

[TheFourthA]

Despite the changes over at the kennel, I think the Dogs are a lock to keep AAA status since they have out performed  the Sharks. 

[Fourthliner]

Out performing the Sharks is a pretty low bar.

If CAHA was smart, they would deny Bears, Gulls and Ice Dogs at 06.

Bears only have 8 AA 06 kids now between two AA teams! (Not sure how many of those are even AAA quality players.) Bears can't field a full team without stripping other programs of their better players. The only way the Bears would even be remotely competitive at AAA is by successfully luring SEVERAL kids from either Kings or Ducks. And when they don't, the couple of decent kids at the Bears who might have entertained playing there will bolt for other programs.

At least Ice Dogs had a full team in tact last year, as well as another team to draw from and a double a state championship to boast when they applied. That said though, the Dogs best win this season was over a team ranked 35th and that was the 3rd game of the year and before losing a bunch of kids. Beyond that, they don't have a win over a team ranked higher than 54th this season! Ice Dogs have bled players this season and will continue to do so making them even worse next year if they retain AAA status.

Gulls have no business applying either. They recently lost to the Ice Dogs! Adding another mediocre AAA team for the sake of an extra A doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for California hockey. They would currently be ranked 78th on MyHockeyRankings in AAA. That far down is still AA hockey. Even the "AAA tourneys" they would go to would have them relegated to playing AA teams.

All three of those teams should play AA next season and duke it out for a state championship.

[TheFourthA]

Has CAHA ever denied a current AAA team AAA status for the next year? And how could CAHA in good faith approve the Sharks but deny the Dogs? 

[Strawman]

Has CAHA ever denied a current AAA team AAA status for the next year? And how could CAHA in good faith approve the Sharks but deny the Dogs?

Didn't they do that to the Titans?  And Wave?

[Yo adrian]

Sounds like the 4th is nervous

[TheFourthA]

Not nervous at all.  We have no involvement with the Dogs.  But the decision there and on the Gulls and Bears shapes the profile of AAA for next year.  For example, with 5 teams would CAHA move to a CAHA weekend type of format for league play?  Five teams would also make the regular season mean something other than play off seeding.


Personally, I think growing the game favors having an AAA presence in San Diego.  But talent starts to leave the state at Bantam Major and it may be the wrong time to further dilute the talent base with an additional AAA team. 


The Dogs are a tough decision.  They didn’t combine their AA rosters last spring into an upper level team and lost several important players to the Ducks at tryouts.  Since tryouts, they lost their best defenseman, their head coach, and three or four other players.  They even pulled out of a tournament in Toronto at the last minute because of the turmoil.  They will have a smaller presence at Select Camp than the Gulls.  On the other hand, they have won two (lesser) tournaments, took the Kings to a shootout and have been a mid pack AAA team in the rankings. Decent results
For a first year AAA team, but I wonder if CAHA would feel better served if the Dogs made a run at an AA national championship instead?

[hopelesshockeyparent]

Competition is key....The Kings and Ducks have gotten lazy, just as the Sharks have become lazy. Clearly let the best club and more importantly coaching win! The Bears and Dogs have the best coaching and easily the best net working for moving your childs hockey career forward.


At Bantam AAA the parents are expecting a professional product. Parents are spending approximately 25-35k a year! Let the market determine what the best product is.


The worst thing CAHA has done is anoint clubs without any performance criteria. In any market this is a mistake.....just look at NorCal....parents are driving 5-6 hours each way every week not to play on the Sharks. This is a joke.


I say let all the applying clubs be AAA and then let the Market decide who is best. Parents and Kids win there.

[socalhockeydad]

The Bears and Dogs have the best coaching and easily the best net working for moving your childs hockey career forward.

No one can argue how Torsson (Bears) move kids forward in their hockey career...no one has a Prep pipeline like he has. But, and this is just pure lack of knowledge or awareness, who brings that kind of impact at the Dogs?

[JackBender]

Mention AAA hockey in California and look who comes out of the woodwork!!


Let the market decide. 100%. Offer opportunity. 100%.


Gulls have the kids and a long history of AAA. Ice Dogs have tons of kids, two sheets of ice and Konstantin, one of the best hockey guys in SoCal running the ship. And, well... the Bears have Peter the Great. They have kids, and they'll get a ton more (where you at Valley?!).


Don't be afraid of progress... embrace it. Competition, baby.   

[socalhockeydad]

[Yo adrian]

Identify yourself 4th Liner

[ohnonotagain]

Saints 15U in.  Gulls 14u in.  Jr reign 16u and 18u.  No ice dogs (surprised).  No bears.  No idea if the latter 2 applied.


Nice job Saints building their program the right way.