What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

H

hockeymakesmebroke

New member
All the scouts will be headed to Boston in 10 days to find the next fit for their teams. I'm certain at some point you have all seen the tournament, so you know how exciting it can be. I know this is a college board but with no hockey left at that level, these girls are next years incoming class. The favorite is probably Shattuck as they were number one from start to finish this season. Their roster is chock full of D1 commitments from top to bottom. It's hard to know how good the Boston Eagles will be as they had some impressive wins early on but don't play together after the new year. They list a dozen or so D1 commitments so certainly they are talented. Belle Tire is the defending 16U National Champions the basically moved up as a team to 19U and are continuing to have success. They were kind of a surprise last season but continue built on that and are certainly a threat to win again. Their roster shows that most of the team will be playing in the NCAA in the next two years split between D1 and D3. The East Coast Wizards are a team that has commitments for at least half the team to D1 programs and host of this years tournament. Maybe some of the East Coasters can elaborate on the Eagles and Wizards as they both only play together until Christmas then presumably play with their High School teams, much like Minnesota? Beyond the top four, Mission has a roster full of girls that will continue playing after this season also. They too have had a lot of success this season and can be a team that puts it all together and makes a nice run this year. I was surprised NAHA didn't make the tournament. I'd be interested to hear somebody's take on why they aren't going. The next four teams, CYA, Anaheim, Mass and Pitt are all very good too and could make a run in the tournament. These teams, on the American side, roster the frosh that we will be talking about next season so I for one am excited to see how this shakes out.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

hockeymakesmebroke said:
I was surprised NAHA didn't make the tournament. I'd be interested to hear somebody's take on why they aren't going.
Click to expand...

To that point, I'd be interested in why all of the other Minnesota teams aren't going (Elite Red, White and Black). All are ranked in the top 6. Maybe they were asked and declined??? I understand location makes more sense for NAHA to be chosen. I don't know who the "at-large" teams are that got in without winning their District.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

hockeymakesmebroke said:
All the scouts will be headed to Boston in 10 days to find the next fit for their teams. I'm certain at some point you have all seen the tournament, so you know how exciting it can be. I know this is a college board but with no hockey left at that level, these girls are next years incoming class. The favorite is probably Shattuck as they were number one from start to finish this season. Their roster is chock full of D1 commitments from top to bottom. It's hard to know how good the Boston Eagles will be as they had some impressive wins early on but don't play together after the new year. They list a dozen or so D1 commitments so certainly they are talented. Belle Tire is the defending 16U National Champions the basically moved up as a team to 19U and are continuing to have success. They were kind of a surprise last season but continue built on that and are certainly a threat to win again. Their roster shows that most of the team will be playing in the NCAA in the next two years split between D1 and D3. The East Coast Wizards are a team that has commitments for at least half the team to D1 programs and host of this years tournament. Maybe some of the East Coasters can elaborate on the Eagles and Wizards as they both only play together until Christmas then presumably play with their High School teams, much like Minnesota? Beyond the top four, Mission has a roster full of girls that will continue playing after this season also. They too have had a lot of success this season and can be a team that puts it all together and makes a nice run this year. I was surprised NAHA didn't make the tournament. I'd be interested to hear somebody's take on why they aren't going. The next four teams, CYA, Anaheim, Mass and Pitt are all very good too and could make a run in the tournament. These teams, on the American side, roster the frosh that we will be talking about next season so I for one am excited to see how this shakes out.
Click to expand...

Any idea where I can find a list of teams participating?
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

joecct said:
Isn't 66 games (Mission 16u) a bit much? Heck, the National Collegiate Champs played 41 total.
Click to expand...

That is a lot, but the format for these teams is the issue. There are so few teams scattered across the country that there is no "league" so to speak, for a lot of them. They play showcase tournaments that have them playing 4-6 games in a weekend. The number of games adds up quickly over a 7 month season.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

fyi...this is still 2 weeks out starting on April 5th (a week later because of Easter).

Last year i asked a Minnesota parent, why Minnesota was not sending teams to u19-Nationals the year after they had hosted the tournament. the response i got was "we don't have to. we can stay here and get the best competition". FWIW.
Hope USA hockey does not award them another hosting slot until they put up the $$ for a trip themselves.
 
MAHOCKEY FAN said:
fyi...this is still 2 weeks out starting on April 5th (a week later because of Easter).

Last year i asked a Minnesota parent, why Minnesota was not sending teams to u19-Nationals the year after they had hosted the tournament. the response i got was "we don't have to. we can stay here and get the best competition". FWIW.
Hope USA hockey does not award them another hosting slot until they put up the $$ for a trip themselves.
Click to expand...

Well, the parent is right. Why drop $1,000 / kid when they've already been heavily scouted?
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

MAHOCKEY FAN said:
Last year i asked a Minnesota parent, why Minnesota was not sending teams to u19-Nationals the year after they had hosted the tournament. the response i got was "we don't have to. we can stay here and get the best competition". FWIW
Click to expand...

This is a valid point!
 
joecct said:
Isn't 66 games (Mission 16u) a bit much? Heck, the National Collegiate Champs played 41 total.
Click to expand...

Games can add up over tournament weekends. A dominant team like the Mission probably always made it to the championship game in every tournament- that can be as many as 5 or 6 games in a single weekend. NCAA teams play 2 games per weekend and have a shorter season.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

DDad16 said:
To that point, I'd be interested in why all of the other Minnesota teams aren't going (Elite Red, White and Black). All are ranked in the top 6. Maybe they were asked and declined??? I understand location makes more sense for NAHA to be chosen. I don't know who the "at-large" teams are that got in without winning their District.
Click to expand...

NAHA is not eligible. Its not a club team so it has never been allowed to go. That said, Shattuck is not either but I was told by Shattuck that they are grandfathered in. Doesn't make a lot of sense because there are other school teams that are eligible like Selects and Gilmour etc. I don't know what the exact criteria is but NAHA has never been eligible.

At large teams are CYA, Spitfires, Assabet and Madison.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

Rightnut said:
NAHA is not eligible. Its not a club team so it has never been allowed to go. That said, Shattuck is not either but I was told by Shattuck that they are grandfathered in. Doesn't make a lot of sense because there are other school teams that are eligible like Selects and Gilmour etc. I don't know what the exact criteria is but NAHA has never been eligible.

At large teams are CYA, Spitfires, Assabet and Madison.
Click to expand...

Historically, the individual districts make the decision on who is eligible as long as the team meets the basic USA Hockey roster and program requirements. The program requirements were redesigned to avoid "pop-up" teams like Team Pittsburgh a while back from forming 1 "super team" at 1 age level (usually by disgruntled parents with strong financial backing - Mario Lemeiux's daughter was on Pittsburgh initially) in favor of establishing long term stable more "professional" programs like the Mission, Wizards, Little Caesars, etc..

New England didn't like NAHA because the model wasn't prep school oriented (big deal in NE) so they wouldn't allow them to compete in the district tournament that all teams have to play in to qualify for Nationals. MN didn't really have any other eligible teams initially because the select/club/elite team approach wasn't their thing at the time so they allowed Shattuck to be eligible (I think there was one other MN program in the way back that was not very good).
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

MAHOCKEY FAN said:
fyi...this is still 2 weeks out starting on April 5th (a week later because of Easter).

Last year i asked a Minnesota parent, why Minnesota was not sending teams to u19-Nationals the year after they had hosted the tournament. the response i got was "we don't have to. we can stay here and get the best competition". FWIW.
Hope USA hockey does not award them another hosting slot until they put up the $$ for a trip themselves.
Click to expand...

Typical MN hockey parent (I've met a lot of them!). But in reality, they are largely correct - the scouts all go to MN and they can be seen there so they don't have to go to Nationals for that. That being said, the scouts all go to the New England prep school and club tournaments and they send teams to Nationals. There is something to be said for the thrill of winning a national championship and the level of play is generally very high (higher than MN HS hockey, but the MN Elite league is comparable or Nationals).
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

HockeyEast33 said:
Historically, the individual districts make the decision on who is eligible as long as the team meets the basic USA Hockey roster and program requirements. The program requirements were redesigned to avoid "pop-up" teams like Team Pittsburgh a while back from forming 1 "super team" at 1 age level (usually by disgruntled parents with strong financial backing - Mario Lemeiux's daughter was on Pittsburgh initially) in favor of establishing long term stable more "professional" programs like the Mission, Wizards, Little Caesars, etc..

New England didn't like NAHA because the model wasn't prep school oriented (big deal in NE) so they wouldn't allow them to compete in the district tournament that all teams have to play in to qualify for Nationals. MN didn't really have any other eligible teams initially because the select/club/elite team approach wasn't their thing at the time so they allowed Shattuck to be eligible (I think there was one other MN program in the way back that was not very good).
Click to expand...


NAHA is not a full year school. Their season ends in late February and ALL girls return to their home schools to finish the school year. So, NAHA being eligible or not for USA Nationals is a moot point because their team has split up by then each season.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

i have less of an issue with Minnesota not going to Nationals then i do with USA hockey awarding them a tournament if they only support the concept of a National Championship if it is convenient. I was told many years ago that NAHA could not play as they don't follow USA hockey rules. not sure if still valid.
 
DDad16 said:
This is a valid point!
Click to expand...

While I think it’s generally true that elite MN girls don’t “have to” go to big national tournaments to get scouted, many of the girls/parents that my daughter plays with off season have said what a great opportunity it is to play teams from all over the country & Canada throughout the season. They seem to get kind of “bored” playing the same teams/players over & over. So it goes both ways. Grass is always greener!
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

Sieve1 said:
While I think it’s generally true that elite MN girls don’t “have to” go to big national tournaments to get scouted, many of the girls/parents that my daughter plays with off season have said what a great opportunity it is to play teams from all over the country & Canada throughout the season. They seem to get kind of “bored” playing the same teams/players over & over. So it goes both ways. Grass is always greener!
Click to expand...

Agreed! I was speaking more specifically of the National Tournament and not having to pay for the travel, time away from school, etc... My daughter always got bored playing the same team over-and-over because they were close and convenient. It does, however, make for some interesting games when you get to 3 or 4 games deep in the "series". Girls get catty! :)
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

If the BK selects are elgible it would reason to have NAHA also be elgible. But, maybe Selects got a hold of a Tier One charter.
 
Re: Up next, 19U Tier 1 Nationals

Looking at myhockeyrankings.com I see that the top four teams are Shattuck, Boston Jr. Eagles, Belle Tire and East Coast Wizards. I assume they are the top seeds in pool play and have to be the favorites to win it all. I wish I were savvy enough to create a poll to see who the group feels will be eventual champion, but I'm not. So, I'll just put it out there for reply. Who's going to win the title? One of these four teams, or will a dark-horse get hot and take it all?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top