CEC boys High School Hockey to A

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Upfan111
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by Upfan111 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:35 am

zooomx wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 6:28 am
Does anyone else wonder if kniven is just trolling? I think he is just sitting back with a bowl of popcorn and giggling.
You're giving him too much credit.

Maybe sitting back with a bowl of popcorn watching all those "great" CEC teams from 2009 - 2017 :roll: #-o

blueblood
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by blueblood » Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:39 pm

He thinks trolling is what you do for walleyes on the St. Louis River.
Play Like a Champion Today

7TIMECHAMPS
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by 7TIMECHAMPS » Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:52 pm

Just my thoughts on the matter. Not speaking for anyone. It seems like people’s perception (or some people’s) is that A hockey or playing in the A state tournament is a similar experience or accomplishment as AA. Therefore, (I’ll use Section 8 as an example), when teams like Roseau and Bemidji see Warroad going to state at youth levels and even winning a state tournament they think to themselves that those kids had a better experience than our kids who sit home nearly every year. It’ll happen again this year where Warroad’s bantam and PeeWee teams will compete for an A state title and Roseau’s teams with roughly the same talent have a good chance of going home. After a while parents start to wonder why don’t we do that? It looks more fun. Same thing with high school. Last year Roseau and Bemidji were 5-6 seeds and both were dispatched in the first round. Had they been in 8A they would have been 1 seed(either of them) and likely went down to state and competed for a title.

I’m not saying I agree with that way of thinking but that is my understanding of it. To me it seems like so many things in life have become more about mommy and daddy’s Facebook post about Johnny going to state than the actual accomplishment or meaning of what was done.

And while the three teams in 8A that you mentioned might keep scores respectable most of the time the amount that they win 8AA is probably limited to 1-2 times a decade between the 3 of them. The best chance they had this decade was 13-15 EGF or Warroad. But those were far from guaranteed.

The A vs AA gap has grown. It is pronounced. Look at pagestat rankings as a reference. Orono was 32 and Alex 41 in the final rankings last year.

hockey59
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by hockey59 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 2:12 pm

7TIMECHAMPS wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:52 pm
Just my thoughts on the matter. Not speaking for anyone. It seems like people’s perception (or some people’s) is that A hockey or playing in the A state tournament is a similar experience or accomplishment as AA. Therefore, (I’ll use Section 8 as an example), when teams like Roseau and Bemidji see Warroad going to state at youth levels and even winning a state tournament they think to themselves that those kids had a better experience than our kids who sit home nearly every year. It’ll happen again this year where Warroad’s bantam and PeeWee teams will compete for an A state title and Roseau’s teams with roughly the same talent have a good chance of going home. After a while parents start to wonder why don’t we do that? It looks more fun. Same thing with high school. Last year Roseau and Bemidji were 5-6 seeds and both were dispatched in the first round. Had they been in 8A they would have been 1 seed(either of them) and likely went down to state and competed for a title.

I’m not saying I agree with that way of thinking but that is my understanding of it. To me it seems like so many things in life have become more about mommy and daddy’s Facebook post about Johnny going to state than the actual accomplishment or meaning of what was done.

And while the three teams in 8A that you mentioned might keep scores respectable most of the time the amount that they win 8AA is probably limited to 1-2 times a decade between the 3 of them. The best chance they had this decade was 13-15 EGF or Warroad. But those were far from guaranteed.

The A vs AA gap has grown. It is pronounced. Look at pagestat rankings as a reference. Orono was 32 and Alex 41 in the final rankings last year.
Well stated 7 time. The reality is...it’s NOT a similar experience or ACCOMPLISHMENT for the players (on a team like Hermantown) where as PWAA’s & BantamAA’s these players often qualify for the MAHA State Tourney...it’s a rather steep step down☝️

Alumni30
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by Alumni30 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:01 pm

First, let me say that I am a first time poster but have read this forum for years. For the most part I really enjoy reading what everyone has to say about most topics on here. With that said, let me just offer an opinion on this specific subject. Remember this is my opinion only.

As a one time coach in the high school ranks at Cloquet years ago, I don’t see them making the switch down to Class A hockey. Obviously things have probably changed a lot since I was last involved in the program and with that a new mind set in the way of thinking is definitely possible, but class AA hockey in that community is a huge deal and a lot of pride was associated with playing the “big schools”. Sure we wanted to win and play in the tournament every year but it was so much more than that. The boys learned that you have to work hard to compete at the highest level whether that was on the rink or in life and more often than not things aren’t going to be easy to achieve the ultimate goal. The history is there for Lumberjack hockey to play at and continue to play at the highest level regardless of the enrollments of Cloquet, Esko and Carlton. It’s not all about winning, it’s about working hard on and off the ice and learning valuable life lessons along the way as well as having fun and remembering things aren’t always going to be or come easy to reach your goals. Again, this post is my opinion only.

northwoods oldtimer
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Tue Dec 18, 2018 5:12 pm

Alumni30 wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 3:01 pm
First, let me say that I am a first time poster but have read this forum for years. For the most part I really enjoy reading what everyone has to say about most topics on here. With that said, let me just offer an opinion on this specific subject. Remember this is my opinion only.

As a one time coach in the high school ranks at Cloquet years ago, I don’t see them making the switch down to Class A hockey. Obviously things have probably changed a lot since I was last involved in the program and with that a new mind set in the way of thinking is definitely possible, but class AA hockey in that community is a huge deal and a lot of pride was associated with playing the “big schools”. Sure we wanted to win and play in the tournament every year but it was so much more than that. The boys learned that you have to work hard to compete at the highest level whether that was on the rink or in life and more often than not things aren’t going to be easy to achieve the ultimate goal. The history is there for Lumberjack hockey to play at and continue to play at the highest level regardless of the enrollments of Cloquet, Esko and Carlton. It’s not all about winning, it’s about working hard on and off the ice and learning valuable life lessons along the way as well as having fun and remembering things aren’t always going to be or come easy to reach your goals. Again, this post is my opinion only.
Perhaps the finest post ever drafted here! Thank you sir for sharing a valued opinion. All the best to CEC hockey!!

StanleyCup55
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by StanleyCup55 » Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:30 am

I don’t get why anyone would think moving down to A is 1) going to get you a free ticket to St. Paul each year 2) going to be better for your program when you can already compete at the AA level. There should be a lot more AA teams not just Cloquet. EGF, Denfeld, Hermantown, Alex, Hibbing, Sartell, Cathedral should all be AA. I don’t care about what their enrollment numbers are. League needs to lower that bar because those are schools that can have teams that will be able to compete with big city teams every few years. If you move Brainerd over to 7AA with these teams moved up you can align it all right to even have Elk River, Andover, STMA, Rogers and Forest Lake in city section with no more than 10 teams in each section but the league can’t figure it out. Maybe it’s because they dont want to, which I can’t understand why. The city sections as is don’t even make sense in a few areas. It’s not that hard to figure out at all. I wonder who the person is at the league office that decides who’s in what section. He/she needs to be fired effective immediately.

The need to have 2 strong northern sections is imperative to the success HS hockey state tournament and having it stay as big of a deal as it is... which is completely incredible but if it becomes all city teams (like MSHSL football) then you won’t have as many fans coming that don’t have a team in the tourney. I think the league needs to encourage some of these teams to opt up and live up to the true meaning of why we have a AA and A state tournament. So that other teams can compete who wouldn’t otherwise be able to compete against the larger schools as there is a clear disadvantage. In the Class A tourney teams get blown out in the quarterfinals every year. Then you basically have 4 teams in the Class A semis that could easily compete in the AA tourney. Something ain’t right there. Just don’t make sense why there are so many more A teams than AA teams. It should be the other way around. You look at the way it’s going with AA seemingly becoming all city teams and the rise of private schools and academies popping up and I kind of worry about the state of HS hockey in MN. You have to preserve the history of it or it will just become another tourney. Look at the state tourney programs they hand out now for $5! They don’t even do the past 10 years, 25 years, 50 year tourney recaps. I think they have one article you can read in the new ones. It’s pathetic. They might as well just staple a few pieces of paper together with each teams roster and schedule/results, take me out back kick me in the nuts, then take my $5. It’s like they’re TRYING to ruin it all and now and everyone just accepts it and hopes for the best. Hate to say it and it may not be within the next few years but I think HS hockey in MN is going to drastically change for the worse in the next 10 years unless people start to have a more “reach for the top” mentality.

Northernlakes
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by Northernlakes » Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:17 am

All due respect, you do not know what each particular situation is in each program. Take Duluth Denfeld for instance, you want them at AA. They can barely field a JV team, have one this year for the first time in 3 years. The cupboard is bare on the Western side of Duluth, families who grew up in the 1980's when Denfeld was deep, the kids went off to college. When they returned to Duluth to raise their kids, they do not move back to the Western side of town. They move to Hermantown, Esko, the Eastern side of town.

Western Duluth is not booming like the 1970's/ 80's when you had the steel plant, Diamond tool etc. Denfeld now has a very small number of kids who play hockey. 10 years ago, they had 90 squirts, enough to support 5 rinks ( 6 teams ) Pee Wee's had 4 teams, bantams 3 teams........ now they have 3 teams at squirts, barely 2 at Pee Wee, 1 at Bantam.

Yes, they do have some talented athletes, but are not nearly deep enough in numbers to play AA hockey consistently. These are just Facts on the Western side of Duluth. As it sits now, Denfeld is enjoying some success this year with a great group of senior athletes, but they are out numbered against deep AA programs.

So as far as Duluth Denfeld, class A is where they belong at this point and time. There are good people at the youth rinks trying to get more kids to ply and they are doing great in sustaining what they have to keep the Denfeld program alive. With a new group of coaches leading the high school program maybe they can keep what the previous regime had going, but as they say, numbers do not lie. 8)

northwoods oldtimer
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by northwoods oldtimer » Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:55 am

I think 218 needs to figure out how to make hockey affordable to a greater group of athletes than currently is getting culled from all the communities.
We are so busy trying to keep up with the metro teams its getting far too pricey for young families to afford the sport.
Do we really need to run our squirt teams down to the metro to play 4 - 5 X per year? It it too expensive a price to force on families with the added hotel and meal costs. Metro associations have the luxury of a 10-20 minute commute to games on a weekend and this gives time for the kids to get out and skate unorganized play to a larger degree and parents are not burdened by the commitment of hockey as heavily as the grind is for their northern parent counterpart. Plus the metro is smart about limiting teams to one travel weekend while north teams race for 4 to 5 trips to metro every winter from squirt through HS. It gets to be attrition on family budgets and each year progresses. Add to it multiple kids playing and see the budget get out of hand.

There is ample time to lock horns with the metro area teams as you grown older but we need to go back to what Herb Brooks was always pleading "keep the youth base large". We are snobs for turning a blue collar sport into an elite white collar sport it's sad to see happen. Good athletes and some of your very best are not playing because they cannot afford to play period.

@StanleyCup55 is 100 percent accurate on his observations.

O-townClown
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by O-townClown » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:15 am

StanleyCup55 wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:30 am
The need to have 2 strong northern sections is imperative to the success HS hockey state tournament and having it stay as big of a deal as it is... which is completely incredible but if it becomes all city teams (like MSHSL football) then you won’t have as many fans coming that don’t have a team in the tourney.
Very interesting perspective and a lot of merit to it. Conceptually it would be nice for two from the N and one from the S, but that ship has mostly sailed as one from the S is often suburban. Toss in a program like St. Michael-Albertville (last year) or Elk River and Andover (possibly this) and you could similarly see the Metro teams "rob" the two Northern sections of their berth.

The sentiment from folks in loaded Sections like II and VI is that the tournament would be better with the "eight best" teams. Hmmmm.
Be kind. Rewind.

elliott70
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by elliott70 » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:32 am

O-townClown wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:15 am
StanleyCup55 wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 8:30 am
The need to have 2 strong northern sections is imperative to the success HS hockey state tournament and having it stay as big of a deal as it is... which is completely incredible but if it becomes all city teams (like MSHSL football) then you won’t have as many fans coming that don’t have a team in the tourney.
Very interesting perspective and a lot of merit to it. Conceptually it would be nice for two from the N and one from the S, but that ship has mostly sailed as one from the S is often suburban. Toss in a program like St. Michael-Albertville (last year) or Elk River and Andover (possibly this) and you could similarly see the Metro teams "rob" the two Northern sections of their berth.

The sentiment from folks in loaded Sections like II and VI is that the tournament would be better with the "eight best" teams. Hmmmm.
For years the 3 "best teams" came from REGIONS 7 & 8 and their runner-up.
Things change.
I would hate to see AA not have a northern representative.

So what is the solution????

6A teams like football and 3 classes????

One section of all north teams and a second with some north teams???
Moorhead, Roseau, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Duluth East, CEC, Duluth Marshall and Brainerd.????


To have enough resources to compete at thh AA level is difficult.
That (in my mind) is the beauty of Single A.
The north and the south have teams that can vie for a championship.


Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone.

MWS coach
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by MWS coach » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:39 am

northwoods oldtimer wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:55 am
I think 218 needs to figure out how to make hockey affordable to a greater group of athletes than currently is getting culled from all the communities.
We are so busy trying to keep up with the metro teams its getting far too pricey for young families to afford the sport.
Do we really need to run our squirt teams down to the metro to play 4 - 5 X per year? It it too expensive a price to force on families with the added hotel and meal costs. Metro associations have the luxury of a 10-20 minute commute to games on a weekend and this gives time for the kids to get out and skate unorganized play to a larger degree and parents are not burdened by the commitment of hockey as heavily as the grind is for their northern parent counterpart. Plus the metro is smart about limiting teams to one travel weekend while north teams race for 4 to 5 trips to metro every winter from squirt through HS. It gets to be attrition on family budgets and each year progresses. Add to it multiple kids playing and see the budget get out of hand.

There is ample time to lock horns with the metro area teams as you grown older but we need to go back to what Herb Brooks was always pleading "keep the youth base large". We are snobs for turning a blue collar sport into an elite white collar sport it's sad to see happen. Good athletes and some of your very best are not playing because they cannot afford to play period.

@StanleyCup55 is 100 percent accurate on his observations.
Cost isn't just a 218 issue oldtimer. It effects the sport across the board. I think your perception that Metro associations play games within a 10-20 minute commute is a bit of a reach. Sure there are some of those games, but have you ever tried to drive across the metro to get to a 6 PM game? A 40 mile drive can easily take an hour and a half. I do agree 4 to 5 trips a season which includes hotel stays does increase the cost, but are 218 teams at squirts and PW's really making that many trips? District 10 has games that are much further than a 10-20 minute drive (Rogers to Chicago Lakes or Mora as an example), not to mention the district director "forced" teams to travel to luverne to play a district game at PWA level, a four hour drive for most associations... In addition, two out of town tournaments. I am not disputing what you are saying, I agree with you, just saying it is not just a 218 issue. Do keep yours eyes fully open though as even including the type of schedule you mention, the cost is WAY lower then in other parts of the country. It also doesn't help that the cost of a stick is $300 and skates $1000, of course these are top end, but the cost of gear has also increased dramatically even for the mid to low range gear. I hate to spoil your stereo type, but not all metro's are filthy rich and loaded. Many of the parents in the 763, 612, and 651 have the same financial difficulties, especially the older communites. Of course I am excluding Edina! :lol:

MWS coach
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by MWS coach » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:43 am

The sentiment from folks in loaded Sections like II and VI is that the tournament would be better with the "eight best" teams. Hmmmm.
[/quote]

Not from either of those sections, but would it be a better quality of hockey? yes. That does not mean that the tournament itself would be better. Some of the best tournaments are when you get the David (Roseau) vs Goliath (Edina) as examples and David pulls off the upset, that is what has made the Minnesota State HS Hockey tournament one of a kind, JMO.

O-townClown
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by O-townClown » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:47 am

elliott70 wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:32 am
I would hate to see AA not have a northern representative.
Me too.

Maybe the inevitable is that there is one section of all Northern teams once some of these opt-up AA retreat. That would leave Moorhead, Duluth East, Grand Rapids, Brainerd, Bemidji, and a few others.

Good news is this: Roseau and Grand Rapids recently won at AA and teams like Moorhead and Duluth East have been in the mix a lot. North ain't dead yet.
Be kind. Rewind.

CreaseMonkey
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by CreaseMonkey » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:51 am

7TIMECHAMPS wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:52 pm
And while the three teams in 8A that you mentioned might keep scores respectable most of the time the amount that they win 8AA is probably limited to 1-2 times a decade between the 3 of them. The best chance they had this decade was 13-15 EGF or Warroad. But those were far from guaranteed.
13-14 was a good year for EGF and Warroad. I think either one of them could have won 8AA that year. The 8A section championship game could have well been the state championship as EGF beat Hermantown, and I have little doubt Warroad would have had they gone instead. Both teams matched up favorably against a squad like Hermantown for different reasons.

What was really impressive though was the talent level in 8A/ 8AA those few years. A lot of D1 players came out of those sections with teams having multiple high level players, even places like Crookston and Detroit Lakes. That has not been the case since.

elliott70
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by elliott70 » Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:35 pm

There is about an 80% chance that your AA state tourney will have these teams

Edina
Duluth East
Lakeville North or South
Hill
STA
Eden Prairie or Minnetonka
Maple Grove or Blaine

Moorhead
Section 8 gives us the most chance for a variation.

So Class AAA could be with these eleven and add in Wayzata, Grand Rapids, Stillwater, Bemidji, Roseau, Eagan and Apple Valley.
In the last ten years these are the teams that have played more than once in the state tourney.
Another nine or so teams have been there once.

About 15% of the AA 64 teams are there 80% of the time.
Hermantown is about the only team I can think of that can crack into that lineup.
Every other AA team may want to consider single A.

kniven
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by kniven » Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:10 pm

elliott70 wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 12:35 pm
There is about an 80% chance that your AA state tourney will have these teams

Edina
Duluth East
Lakeville North or South
Hill
STA
Eden Prairie or Minnetonka
Maple Grove or Blaine

Moorhead
Section 8 gives us the most chance for a variation.

So Class AAA could be with these eleven and add in Wayzata, Grand Rapids, Stillwater, Bemidji, Roseau, Eagan and Apple Valley.
In the last ten years these are the teams that have played more than once in the state tourney.
Another nine or so teams have been there once.

About 15% of the AA 64 teams are there 80% of the time.
Hermantown is about the only team I can think of that can crack into that lineup.
Every other AA team may want to consider single A.

I totally agree. 👍. I think all A programs playing up to AA should play A. And hockey is an investment in your kid, which is always a good thing. A lot of time with the kid(s). More people should spend more time with the kids. Too many base everything on money these days. Invest in people 🤓
“218 hockey” Boys of the NOrth ❤️

goldy313
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by goldy313 » Fri Dec 21, 2018 6:14 pm

Off the top of my head I can’t think of any schools that opted up to AA at one point that have had success at the state level once going back to A. Maybe Hibbing the first couple of years they went back to A back in the early 2000’s.

Going back to A hasn’t seemed to make a long term difference to Austin, South St. Paul, Grenway, etc...all schools that made the state tournament opting up. Of course each school has their own issues which matter greatly, including travel.

Losing Austin and Faribault in 2006 turned 1AA from a southern section to a hybrid south/metro section which has been pretty much dominated by Lakeville and Farmington ever since, no southern school has made a section final since 2009. I think there is a direct correlation between that and the decline in hockey down here.

Alumni30
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by Alumni30 » Fri Dec 21, 2018 9:33 pm

Elliott70 - I respect your opinion and i agree with the list of teams you have listed above, but i would argue that when one of those "unexpected" teams makes the AA tournament it adds a little more excitement and interest in the building, just my thoughts...

Kniven - I along with the rest of this board know that you are a huge advocate for CEC boys and girls hockey at all levels and you want them to succeed as bad as anyone. With that said, have you ever asked the players if they would rather play class A hockey? If you polled the parents i could almost guarantee the results would be mixed between them and i actually wouldn't be shocked if the majority of them would want to go the class A route. During my time with Cloquet i did ask the players from time to time what they would like to see happen and they always told me that they wanted to stay playing the big schools. Now, it's possible that the answers may be different now then they were at that time, but i'd be surprised if they were. You have to remember that going to class A is going to change things. What do you think would happen to those 2 games a year against East? They would be gone, you may not believe that but they would be. Let's be honest, the East game is really the only one that packs the arena anymore and trust me that means more than you may know or think it does. By you saying that you think every class A program should just play class A hockey and not opt up, you do realize that this includes Grand Rapids? Basically you will have Duluth East as the only AA program in the north other than Brainerd, Moorhead and i believe the St. Cloud Coop team? I don't know about you, but i think that's a scary idea for the long term. I know you want the kids to have the experience of playing at the state tournament and you would probably like to experience it as well as a fan of your favorite team from a selfish standpoint and there is nothing wrong with that, but remember it is about the kids. I don't know if you still ride the bus occasionally to road games anymore but if you do, just ask them there thoughts about it on the side, i think you might be surprised.

Every team and every community is different and all need analyze and do what is best for them. Do i believe that certain teams should be playing class A hockey and some should be playing class AA hockey that aren't, yes, but who am i to say what is best for that team and community!!

Remember we all want to win and see our teams win, but at the end of the day playing hockey or any other sport is about the young Men and Woman who are playing. It's about working together as a team, building and growing relationships with each other, learning from each other and hopefully having fun doing it.

zooomx
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by zooomx » Fri Dec 21, 2018 10:56 pm

You know, there are some wise words above my post. We all look from the outside at certain programs and speculate, " what should they do?" regarding classifications. I know that I spent a lot of time thinking about what Alex should do when I was on the board. Technically... still am. I know we all talked about not making a rash decision based upon one group of players. If we made a move, it was for the long run. Our trend is growth. Someday, we may be AA in high school and youth, and we want to be ready. We have grown our youth hockey program immensely to prepare if we go AA in high school. Other programs may be on a downward trend or a flat trend, and even if their high school program is having success, if you don't have the numbers, you will struggle in the long run. On this forum, we tend to react to recent results and do not see the trend. I, for one, think A hockey is competitive right now, with some really strong teams in the mix. It should be exciting hockey to watch. It should be a huge undertaking to win a State Tournament, or even go to state. I know last year there were 4 teams that had a great chance of winning state. If you want 6-8 teams with a good chance, you either need the best teams to move up, or be ok with a few teams moving down. I personally think if Hermantown, Alex, Orono, and Mahtomedi are out of last years tournament, it is not nearly as interesting. I don't fault St. Cloud Cathedral for playing A, as it is a huge challenge to beat them to go to state. I look forward to the day that Alex goes AA, as it will be an arrival for our program. We are not there yet, but maybe someday we will be there. In the meantime, we will scratch to get by Cathedral and Sartell, and then Hermantown and everyone else who is in the way.

kniven
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by kniven » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:11 pm

Yes. I realize the 2 East games would be gone each year. Enter....the Hermantown Hawks. Virginia Blue Devils. Greenway Raiders. Warroad. East Grand Forks. Etc. hopefully other program that opt up would see through the blah, blah, blah. Kids just want to have fun. You know. Remember being a kid. All this blah, blah, blah adult crap. You are not playing, but kids are. Give me a break. Hermantown fans. Could you help me out here.
“218 hockey” Boys of the NOrth ❤️

zooomx
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by zooomx » Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:28 pm

kniven wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:11 pm
Yes. I realize the 2 East games would be gone each year. Enter....the Hermantown Hawks. Virginia Blue Devils. Greenway Raiders. Warroad. East Grand Forks. Etc. hopefully other program that opt up would see through the blah, blah, blah. Kids just want to have fun. You know. Remember being a kid. All this blah, blah, blah adult crap. You are not playing, but kids are. Give me a break. Hermantown fans. Could you help me out here.
Speechless. No idea what your point is?

goldy313
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Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by goldy313 » Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:17 am

Ultimately kids do not matter. Parents put them in sports, be it hockey, basketball, wrestling, or swimming. Aside from football, track, and cross country what the parent puts them in makes a great difference in what they end up doing in high school. If you are a hockey association you had better offer more at a reasonable price than basketball to entice a parent o enter your program. Cloquet has had success in football recently, given hockey and football overlap drastically, hockey better prove themselves at least equall to football....they won’t under the current programs.

kniven
Posts: 2978
Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:40 pm
Location: Duluth area

Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by kniven » Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:51 am

My point is that I will always support the kids in whatever A or AA. I do what I do for the kids win or lose.
“218 hockey” Boys of the NOrth ❤️

SpOilerfan
Posts: 154
Joined: Tue May 16, 2017 8:31 pm

Re: CEC boys High School Hockey to A

Post by SpOilerfan » Sat Dec 22, 2018 10:48 am

kniven wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:11 pm
Yes. I realize the 2 East games would be gone each year. Enter....the Hermantown Hawks. Virginia Blue Devils. Greenway Raiders. Warroad. East Grand Forks. Etc. hopefully other program that opt up would see through the blah, blah, blah. Kids just want to have fun. You know. Remember being a kid. All this blah, blah, blah adult crap. You are not playing, but kids are. Give me a break. Hermantown fans. Could you help me out here.

What is your point? The program you are talking about was here long before you jumped aboard. You have no idea the difference in the AA state tournament and the A. Its like Valley Fair compared to Disneyland. When Cloquet or Rapids or Roseau head down the whole arena pulls for them, and the difference is 18,000 vs 5,000. Ask some alumni and players how they feel. Hermantown should do what they want to do, as should Cloquet. The Cloquet girls dropped to A after being AA and take a look at the difference in their schedule, gone is Blaine and Roseville, in is Moose Lake and Eveleth, that's not disrespecting the smaller schools its just different. Sad to see a program with the pride and respect they have state wide move down, I say congrats to them for staying in the hunt and with those strong bantam teams feeding the high school I say they will get there sooner than later and thaen you can see the difference!

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