Stat of the Day - 6/26/15

Discussion of Minnesota Girls Youth Hockey

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Mavs
Posts: 448
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:35 am

Post by Mavs » Tue Aug 04, 2015 7:43 am

Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:And a random comment more to the thread topic - we watched the 02 Machine in Blaine this weekend. They won the two games we saw, but just barely. Seemed to only play to the level of their competition and very inconsistent. (Nice warm up though. Not. A little arrogant IMO.) I think OS and some other big time programs have taken the shine off the MN Made legacy. And as an aside, I mentioned somewhere else that when I've taken notice of a great young skater this summer, they seem to all be at Blake. Another "universal" if you will, both during the high school and off season AAA tourneys - when we've noticed a player making cheap shots on the boards or dirty elbows in the crease, it seems they all came up from Machine.

This should be a fun fire starter topic.
I'll bite. What do they do for a warm up? I am picturing the Bill Musselman Gopher basketball team with Sweet Georgia Brown playing and players spinning balls on their fingers and a gun on a unicycle, Harlem Globe Trotter style. :lol:

Will Blake opt up to AA like St. Thomas did?

zambonidriver
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:31 am

Post by zambonidriver » Tue Aug 04, 2015 7:54 am

Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:And a random comment more to the thread topic - we watched the 02 Machine in Blaine this weekend. They won the two games we saw, but just barely. Seemed to only play to the level of their competition and very inconsistent. (Nice warm up though. Not. A little arrogant IMO.) I think OS and some other big time programs have taken the shine off the MN Made legacy. And as an aside, I mentioned somewhere else that when I've taken notice of a great young skater this summer, they seem to all be at Blake. Another "universal" if you will, both during the high school and off season AAA tourneys - when we've noticed a player making cheap shots on the boards or dirty elbows in the crease, it seems they all came up from Machine.

This should be a fun fire starter topic.
Ok I'll bite Saw 02 machine against Ice Cougars 01 6-1 Machine in fairness to IC they had taken a month off while the machine have been going all june and July. Chorske was involved in 4 of the 6 goals be interesting to see who she plays for as she is on both the OS team and machine. The biggest weakness is goaltending which is average at best. Winny recognizes that goaltending is important and has all of the best young goalies locked up from 00 through 03. Tarasov matches lines really well and they play their system pretty good. I think in the close games they get easily frustrated.

zambonidriver
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Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:31 am

Post by zambonidriver » Tue Aug 04, 2015 8:04 am

Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:I wonder if I can take out a hockey equity loan to pay for OS Prospects and Futures, that I can guarantee to pay back in lieu of college tuition when dd gets the big scholarship?
The process isn't nearly as intimidating as the costs.
8 Week Training Futures Camp Combo $825
Futures Camp $400 (Does Not Include 8 Week Training)
Beats paying $3000 to go to Boston

Nevertoomuchhockey
Posts: 1138
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:59 pm

Post by Nevertoomuchhockey » Tue Aug 04, 2015 10:17 am

zambonidriver wrote:
Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:I wonder if I can take out a hockey equity loan to pay for OS Prospects and Futures, that I can guarantee to pay back in lieu of college tuition when dd gets the big scholarship?
The process isn't nearly as intimidating as the costs.
8 Week Training Futures Camp Combo $825
Futures Camp $400 (Does Not Include 8 Week Training)
Beats paying $3000 to go to Boston
Someone told me it was $250/weekend or $75/game for those three weekends.
And the partial warmup we saw was juggling.
I could get behind that. If hockey doesn't work out the kids have another marketable skill!

zambonidriver
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Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:31 am

Post by zambonidriver » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:00 am

Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:
zambonidriver wrote:
Nevertoomuchhockey wrote:I wonder if I can take out a hockey equity loan to pay for OS Prospects and Futures, that I can guarantee to pay back in lieu of college tuition when dd gets the big scholarship?
The process isn't nearly as intimidating as the costs.
8 Week Training Futures Camp Combo $825
Futures Camp $400 (Does Not Include 8 Week Training)
Beats paying $3000 to go to Boston
Someone told me it was $250/weekend or $75/game for those three weekends.
And the partial warmup we saw was juggling.
I could get behind that. If hockey doesn't work out the kids have another marketable skill!
i got it right off the OS website. It was invite only, first year for Futures. Kids had a lot of fun. The prospects played a lot of games. Rosters were juggled week to week depending on who could make it.
Futures had 4 teams two 7th grade two 8th grade. real good hockey. College coaches on the benches. Very little individual play lot's of team play.

massalsa
Posts: 588
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Post by massalsa » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:34 am

Thoughts from prior in thread in no particular order:

"Tarasov"...hilarious. 02 parents that I know LOVE him and think that he is a great, great coach.

I am not as great of a hockey mind as many here but IMO there are a couple of things that the 02 team does EXTREMELY well. (in addition to having many of the best 02's in the state that helps A LOT).

1. They are disciplined in their shift management (it appears to be a problem for many teams up into HS and is a big problem on so many teams on the girls side).

2. They are effective in dumping the puck and putting LOTS of pressure on teams as they try to break it out of their defensive zone.

3. They pass the puck forward to space and open skaters really well.

4. The players know that if they do not skate HARD and back check HARD there is a chance that they may not play in the next tournament.

5. I believe that they have about 10 regular players and a rotating cast of 15-20 other kids that practice with them to pull from for tourneys.

One thing that they are not great at yet and was evident to me seeing them this weekend is that they were not as strong at shooting the puck at speed (a couple are but many of the girls are not yet strong enough...give them another year or 2 and watch out!)

Saw a game at upper Futures and 1/2 of a lower futures and a Prospects game on Saturday. The difference in speed and skill between the lower futures, the upper futures, and the "prospects" was significant at each. There are some girls that can flat out play hockey at each level but the difference between lower and upper prospects from a speed and strength standpoint is significant.

Kids I know (including mine) were coached by and had interaction with the UCONN, Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell, and a USA U-18 coach (those I can recall clearly) and the individualized attention was REMARKABLE. After my kid took it up the wing and did not shoot the puck (had a shot) but made an ok pass across that missed the kid coming up the other wing the D1 coach gave her constructive ideas on what and why she should have and how she should have shot the puck. She will remember that for a lot longer than hearing it from her youth coach last year or her AAA coach this summer.

Another kid I know had the U18 coach for a game and has dreamed since she started hockey as a 4th grader about playing for team USA. The mental fuel from 60 minutes on the ice with that coach will be in her memory for her lifetime and be an encouragement to her for weeks and months.

The Futures/training combo has been great for my kid. She sees older girls that she knows and likes and watches some and plays with others. 1 hour of dryland and 1 hour of ice with great drills and small sided games is great all summer. A great compliment with the school/local association training as most programs know not to conflict with the Os deal as nearly all of their top end talent is in the program at some level (at least in our neck of the woods).

Mavs
Posts: 448
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2015 10:35 am

Post by Mavs » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:45 am

massalsa wrote:



2. They are effective in dumping the puck and putting LOTS of pressure on teams as they try to break it out of their defensive zone.
).
IMO, this is not something that should be emphasized in the spirit of DEVELOPMENT. This is systems, WIN only mentality and the exact opposite of what 95% of D1 coaches or USA hockey would tell you is best for developing hockey players.

They can be taught to dump and attack in 10 minutes once they get to high school but there is no reason to be implementing this stuff while they are developing. Skills, skills, skills.

My 2 cents

zambonidriver
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:31 am

Post by zambonidriver » Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:52 am

massalsa wrote:Thoughts from prior in thread in no particular order:

"Tarasov"...hilarious. 02 parents that I know LOVE him and think that he is a great, great coach.

I am not as great of a hockey mind as many here but IMO there are a couple of things that the 02 team does EXTREMELY well. (in addition to having many of the best 02's in the state that helps A LOT).

1. They are disciplined in their shift management (it appears to be a problem for many teams up into HS and is a big problem on so many teams on the girls side).

2. They are effective in dumping the puck and putting LOTS of pressure on teams as they try to break it out of their defensive zone.

3. They pass the puck forward to space and open skaters really well.

4. The players know that if they do not skate HARD and back check HARD there is a chance that they may not play in the next tournament.

5. I believe that they have about 10 regular players and a rotating cast of 15-20 other kids that practice with them to pull from for tourneys.

One thing that they are not great at yet and was evident to me seeing them this weekend is that they were not as strong at shooting the puck at speed (a couple are but many of the girls are not yet strong enough...give them another year or 2 and watch out!)

Saw a game at upper Futures and 1/2 of a lower futures and a Prospects game on Saturday. The difference in speed and skill between the lower futures, the upper futures, and the "prospects" was significant at each. There are some girls that can flat out play hockey at each level but the difference between lower and upper prospects from a speed and strength standpoint is significant.

Kids I know (including mine) were coached by and had interaction with the UCONN, Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell, and a USA U-18 coach (those I can recall clearly) and the individualized attention was REMARKABLE. After my kid took it up the wing and did not shoot the puck (had a shot) but made an ok pass across that missed the kid coming up the other wing the D1 coach gave her constructive ideas on what and why she should have and how she should have shot the puck. She will remember that for a lot longer than hearing it from her youth coach last year or her AAA coach this summer.

Another kid I know had the U18 coach for a game and has dreamed since she started hockey as a 4th grader about playing for team USA. The mental fuel from 60 minutes on the ice with that coach will be in her memory for her lifetime and be an encouragement to her for weeks and months.

The Futures/training combo has been great for my kid. She sees older girls that she knows and likes and watches some and plays with others. 1 hour of dryland and 1 hour of ice with great drills and small sided games is great all summer. A great compliment with the school/local association training as most programs know not to conflict with the Os deal as nearly all of their top end talent is in the program at some level (at least in our neck of the woods).
Salsa, you make some great points, Your daughter played really well this weekend considering she had to be gassed. I am with you my daughter got some great feed back from the coaches on the bench they actually told her before one game to try new things she had been working on and that this was supposed to be fun. She worships the u-18 coach as she has gotten to know him from summer camps. We will sign up for futures next year and hopefully prospects every year if we get invited it is just a wonderful festival.

Nevertoomuchhockey
Posts: 1138
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:59 pm

Post by Nevertoomuchhockey » Tue Aug 04, 2015 1:00 pm

We watched a little of the older teams at Braemer and just about every team at the Intl. Great hockey. Better than the HP 17s festival, better than the state tourney, better than some St. Cloud, UMD, Bemidji games I've seen the last few years! It's encouraging to see the team play and passing mentality among this group. Completely the opposite of what is happening at the >14u invite tourneys. It is always surprising to see exactly how many talented girls we have locally. Considering just how many were rostered at Braemer, and how many teams (14,16,19) in Blaine - and not much overlap - that's a huge number of girls and families committed to year round skating.

*** edit to add - this is not a criticism of our fine MN college programs, just an admiring testament to the growth in numbers and talent level we are seeing now

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