2009 Caribou Coffee Classic Tournament Update

[MNIcemen]

The levels are filling up so if you are interested in participating please register online at www.mnicemen.com - contact information is also available by visiting the website so if you have questions don’t hesitate to call or email with questions – the participation per age group is below:

Tournament Dates - August 27, 28, 29 and 30
Location: Maple Grove, New Hope, Brooklyn Park and Rogers

95 Age Group Full – 8 Teams
96 Age Group 7 Paid and Registered – 1 spot remaining
97 Age Group 7 Paid and Registered – 1 spot remaining
98 Age Group Full – 10 Teams
99 Age Group 6 Paid and Registered – 2 spots remaining
00 Age Group 6 Paid and Registered – 2 spots remaining
U10 Age Group 6 Paid and Registered – 2 spots remaining
U12 Age Group Full – 10 Teams
U14 Age Group 5 Paid and Registered – 1 spot remaining (may expand to 8 Teams)

Participating Programs: Minnesota Blades, Manitoba Lightning, Chicago Cougar Selects, Lake Superior Stars, Min/Wisc Elites, Wisconsin Hustle, Minnesota Edge, Minnesota Magicians, Team Breakaway, Reebok Nationals, Raging Bulls, Outlaws, CCM Capitals, Wisconsin Jr. Badgers, Skate To Excellence, Team Accerlation, Minnesota Fighting Saints, Minnesota Ice Cats, Minnesota Rockets and Minnesota Icemen.

Thank you for your consideration -

[OGEE OGELTHORPE]

Any updates on this tourney?

[irish skater]

I did hear the Miracle was in the tournament, but I didn't see their name.

[surehockey]

98' Teams
Pool A
Wis. Attack
Skate to excellence
MN/WI elite
MN magicians

Pool B
Midwest stars
MN Edge
Reebok Natinals
MN Icemen

Pool C
Team RBK
MN Miracle
MN rockets
CCM Monopoly

Any predictions???

[surehockey]

99'
Pool A
Reebok Nationals
99 All stars
MN Magicians
Metro Fusion
MN Icemen

Pool B
Manitoba Mustangs
MN/WI Elite
MN blades
CCM Monopoly
MN Miracle

[Snowmass]

Pool C is pretty balanced/competitive, Pool B I think Icemen are favored and Pool A I know nothing. This is regarding the '98's.

[DonnyHockey]

for the '99 division my money is on the Blades, they should have no problem with a realatively weak field.

[muckandgrind]

Nice lookin' tournament...


Looks like that so-called "AAA Alliance" sure paid off for Showcase Hockey and MM, huh???

[hockeydad0930]

99'
Pool A
Reebok Nationals
99 All stars
MN Magicians
Metro Fusion
MN Icemen

Pool B
Manitoba Mustangs
MN/WI Elite
MN blades
CCM Monopoly
MN Miracle

Any idea who the Metro Fusion and '99 All Stars are in Pool "A"? I'm not familiar with their programs.

[Gotothenetman]

99 All stars
MN Magicians
Metro Fusion
MN Icemen

Pool B
Manitoba Mustangs
MN/WI Elite
MN blades
CCM Monopoly
MN Miracle[/quote]

Any idea who the Metro Fusion and '99 All Stars are in Pool "A"? I'm not familiar with their programs.[/quote]

My guess is one of these teams in everyone's good friend at MM being real clever so know one knows that he is playing outside the alliance.

I did also hear that there is a team of mixed players from a number of different teams like the MN Edge, Synergy, Grinders and others. Not sure which team or if this is true at all.

[fantasycamp]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price. These are not even open level teams outside the top two or maybe three teams. Yes the alliance has had an impact on Quailty teams playing in tournaments like this. This tournament has no AAA level teams outside the 99 Blades. Blades win by 20 plus goals
WASTE OF MONEY
4 games 17 min periods, less than 3.5 hours of hockey
Makes ICEMEN look like they are making ICE ICE BABY all for there non profit to pay the coaches and staff?

[My_Kid_Loves_Hockey]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price

Wow, not only is your grammar top notch, your facts are wrong.....
1350 Caribou
1400 Easton
1200 Duluth Ice Cup
1400 Meltdown
1600 Independent

Seems to be in line with everything else.

Could it be that money is used to help keep cost down for this season and next season?

Teams that pay their coaches pay for them on their own, the club does not.

[TheOctopus]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price. These are not even open level teams outside the top two or maybe three teams. Yes the alliance has had an impact on Quailty teams playing in tournaments like this. This tournament has no AAA level teams outside the 99 Blades. Blades win by 20 plus goals
WASTE OF MONEY
4 games 17 min periods, less than 3.5 hours of hockey
Makes ICEMEN look like they are making ICE ICE BABY all for there non profit to pay the coaches and staff?

Your right fantasy, kool-aid on a warm day does taste good. Just dont let it get to your head.. This is what happens when you do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry-rTHOpgxE

[fantasycamp]

My_Kid_Loves_Hockey

Get a clue. Saving money to lower prices on what, there Chevy truck payment. They won't lower payments to the players....Most of these tournaments have 5 games you do the math.
Grammar may not be my strong point but I can add.
"Teams that pay their coaches pay for them on their own, the club does not".
And what does this mean mister GRAMMAR. Don't all teams pay there own bills?
You are still missing the point the competition level is below open level. chew on that Grammmmmmmar
Blades win by 20 plus goals

[InigoMontoya]

You are still missing the point the competition level is below open level.

I'm not sure what your motivation is to trash a tournament. I agree that the Blades provide a nice product. However, so do LSS and Icemen; at certain age levels Breakaway, Edge, Reebok, Magicians, etc. have good players that have game success, as well. I don't see any of the other programs listed as stinking up the joint. That looks like a pretty good field for an inaugural tournament.

I may be missing the huge competition level being brought in by the Easton Cup, which I assume is your point, as an Alliance tournament that has excluded the teams that played in the Warrior Cup and are playing in the Carribou Classic. Since it seems you probably are only familiar with the 99 level, we'll use that as an example;

1999 Easton Cup Invite
Stealth
Synergy
Machine
Deuce
Snipers

St Croix Mavericks
Wisconsin Flyers
Legacy
Omaha Mavericks

The 99 Machine shouldn't be challenged by this field anymore than your thoughts regarding the 99 Blades.

As for the "value" of Showcase AAA, that topic has been discussed many times. As for grammar, if your point is solid and you're not adding gratuitous slams against somebody or his kid, your inability to distinguish there/they're/their, your/you're or to/two/too is generally overlooked.

[My_Kid_Loves_Hockey]

Get a clue. Saving money to lower prices on what, there Chevy truck payment. They won't lower payments to the players....Most of these tournaments have 5 games you do the math.
Grammar may not be my strong point but I can add.
"Teams that pay their coaches pay for them on their own, the club does not".
And what does this mean mister GRAMMAR. Don't all teams pay there own bills?

Fantasy do you have some knowledge of how this program works? Are you privy to some inside information? If so next time your at one of the Icemen meetings/functions please come introduce yourself as I will be there.

I know that its hard to believe because you really don't want to but we do this becasuse we 1) love to coach kids, 2) feel we can give something to the game, 3) we want to build a program where you don't have to take out a 2nd or 3rd mortgage to participate in it.

[MGHockey12]

My_Kid_Loves_Hockey

Get a clue. Saving money to lower prices on what, there Chevy truck payment. They won't lower payments to the players....Most of these tournaments have 5 games you do the math.
Grammar may not be my strong point but I can add.
"Teams that pay their coaches pay for them on their own, the club does not".
And what does this mean mister GRAMMAR. Don't all teams pay there own bills?
You are still missing the point the competition level is below open level. chew on that Grammmmmmmar
Blades win by 20 plus goals

Fantasy...your not on the inside, everyone knows I drive a Ford....

[Dave's a mess!]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price. These are not even open level teams outside the top two or maybe three teams. Yes the alliance has had an impact on Quailty teams playing in tournaments like this. This tournament has no AAA level teams outside the 99 Blades. Blades win by 20 plus goals
WASTE OF MONEY
4 games 17 min periods, less than 3.5 hours of hockey
Makes ICEMEN look like they are making ICE ICE BABY all for there non profit to pay the coaches and staff?

Fantasy,

First, could you please proofread your messages before you hit the send button? Your fourth grade writing skills are killing me! There is a "preview" button at the bottom - USE IT!

Second, do you realize that this is a first year tourney? Instead of ripping the talent level how about a - "Wow - they have over 80 teams committed and all of their age levels filled out?!?!?!". Who knows - if we don't hose it up too bad maybe word will get out and we may attract some better teams???? Is that how it works?

Third, there is more to the value of a tournament than the shear amount of ice time. Believe it or not teams like to play in localized rinks close to their (not there) hotels and not have to play at Wakota arena in the morning and then MM in the afternoon. I may also mention things like activities that are planned at the rink that kids can participate in, special vendors from local food and coffee chains that will be at the rinks along with professional photography, auctions, and major hockey vendors. Let's not forget about substantial team welcome packets and prizes for finalists and champions. (But you probably took this all into consideration when you labeled this tourney a waste of money because I'm sure you knew all about these details).

Lastly, the more I think about it I guess I'll just say what I wanted to say in the first place - why don't you just CAN IT! I'm sure we'll be talking in the next year or so when you came calling wanting into our tourney. I can promise it'll be a short conversation.

[silentbutdeadly3139]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price. These are not even open level teams outside the top two or maybe three teams. Yes the alliance has had an impact on Quailty teams playing in tournaments like this. This tournament has no AAA level teams outside the 99 Blades. Blades win by 20 plus goals
WASTE OF MONEY
4 games 17 min periods, less than 3.5 hours of hockey
Makes ICEMEN look like they are making ICE ICE BABY all for there non profit to pay the coaches and staff?

Fantasy,

First, could you please proofread your messages before you hit the send button? Your fourth grade writing skills are killing me! There is a "preview" button at the bottom - USE IT!

Second, do you realize that this is a first year tourney? Instead of ripping the talent level how about a - "Wow - they have over 80 teams committed and all of their age levels filled out?!?!?!". Who knows - if we don't hose it up too bad maybe word will get out and we may attract some better teams???? Is that how it works?

Third, there is more to the value of a tournament than the shear amount of ice time. Believe it or not teams like to play in localized rinks close to their (not there) hotels and not have to play at Wakota arena in the morning and then MM in the afternoon. I may also mention things like activities that are planned at the rink that kids can participate in, special vendors from local food and coffee chains that will be at the rinks along with professional photography, auctions, and major hockey vendors. Let's not forget about substantial team welcome packets and prizes for finalists and champions. (But you probably took this all into consideration when you labeled this tourney a waste of money because I'm sure you knew all about these details).

Lastly, the more I think about it I guess I'll just say what I wanted to say in the first place - why don't you just CAN IT! I'm sure we'll be talking in the next year or so when you came calling wanting into our tourney. I can promise it'll be a short conversation.

I'm not not knocking the quality of the teams as they seam decent to me, although i don't know the teams very well. But I am curious if the food vendors, coffee chains, photography, auctions and hockey vendors charge the tournament to peddle their wares ? seems like these vendors should be paying the tournament or at the very least not charging for he opportunity to sell their merchandise. If they do charge and this charge is passed on to the teams then I for one could do without and would prefer a lower price. Hockey is expensive enough without getting charge the "opportunity" to buy food and merchandise.

[Dave's a mess!]

If this is the QUALITY of play are looking for then join Showcase, better value at lower price. These are not even open level teams outside the top two or maybe three teams. Yes the alliance has had an impact on Quailty teams playing in tournaments like this. This tournament has no AAA level teams outside the 99 Blades. Blades win by 20 plus goals
WASTE OF MONEY
4 games 17 min periods, less than 3.5 hours of hockey
Makes ICEMEN look like they are making ICE ICE BABY all for there non profit to pay the coaches and staff?

Fantasy,

First, could you please proofread your messages before you hit the send button? Your fourth grade writing skills are killing me! There is a "preview" button at the bottom - USE IT!

Second, do you realize that this is a first year tourney? Instead of ripping the talent level how about a - "Wow - they have over 80 teams committed and all of their age levels filled out?!?!?!". Who knows - if we don't hose it up too bad maybe word will get out and we may attract some better teams???? Is that how it works?

Third, there is more to the value of a tournament than the shear amount of ice time. Believe it or not teams like to play in localized rinks close to their (not there) hotels and not have to play at Wakota arena in the morning and then MM in the afternoon. I may also mention things like activities that are planned at the rink that kids can participate in, special vendors from local food and coffee chains that will be at the rinks along with professional photography, auctions, and major hockey vendors. Let's not forget about substantial team welcome packets and prizes for finalists and champions. (But you probably took this all into consideration when you labeled this tourney a waste of money because I'm sure you knew all about these details).

Lastly, the more I think about it I guess I'll just say what I wanted to say in the first place - why don't you just CAN IT! I'm sure we'll be talking in the next year or so when you came calling wanting into our tourney. I can promise it'll be a short conversation.

I'm not not knocking the quality of the teams as they seam decent to me, although i don't know the teams very well. But I am curious if the food vendors, coffee chains, photography, auctions and hockey vendors charge the tournament to peddle their wares ? seems like these vendors should be paying the tournament or at the very least not charging for he opportunity to sell their merchandise. If they do charge and this charge is passed on to the teams then I for one could do without and would prefer a lower price. Hockey is expensive enough without getting charge the "opportunity" to buy food and merchandise.

SBD,

Completely understand where you are coming from and you are definitely not alone in that thinking. That point of view was taken into consideration during the planning of this tourney. I think we all probably agree that we would sacrifice all the "extras" in exchange for getting all the top teams from across the country and Canada and be able to offer it at a lower price but unfortunately (as a first year tourney) it just doesn't happen that way. Gotta lay a foundation that appeals to as many as possible and build from there.

I think as mentioned earlier up in this string the Caribou is already cheaper (albeit marginally) than the other major local tourneys. So you can go ahead and ignore all the extras if you want and give back anything that may be in the team welcome packets and anything that you may possibly win and you're still ahead! I Invite you and anyone else to come check it out if in Maple Grove and judge for yourself - you may be surprised.

$1350 Caribou
$1400 Easton
$1400 Meltdown
$1600 Independent

also,

$1495 Stars and Stripes
$1400 International Cup

[silentbutdeadly3139]

Fantasy,

First, could you please proofread your messages before you hit the send button? Your fourth grade writing skills are killing me! There is a "preview" button at the bottom - USE IT!

Second, do you realize that this is a first year tourney? Instead of ripping the talent level how about a - "Wow - they have over 80 teams committed and all of their age levels filled out?!?!?!". Who knows - if we don't hose it up too bad maybe word will get out and we may attract some better teams???? Is that how it works?

Third, there is more to the value of a tournament than the shear amount of ice time. Believe it or not teams like to play in localized rinks close to their (not there) hotels and not have to play at Wakota arena in the morning and then MM in the afternoon. I may also mention things like activities that are planned at the rink that kids can participate in, special vendors from local food and coffee chains that will be at the rinks along with professional photography, auctions, and major hockey vendors. Let's not forget about substantial team welcome packets and prizes for finalists and champions. (But you probably took this all into consideration when you labeled this tourney a waste of money because I'm sure you knew all about these details).

Lastly, the more I think about it I guess I'll just say what I wanted to say in the first place - why don't you just CAN IT! I'm sure we'll be talking in the next year or so when you came calling wanting into our tourney. I can promise it'll be a short conversation.

I'm not not knocking the quality of the teams as they seam decent to me, although i don't know the teams very well. But I am curious if the food vendors, coffee chains, photography, auctions and hockey vendors charge the tournament to peddle their wares ? seems like these vendors should be paying the tournament or at the very least not charging for he opportunity to sell their merchandise. If they do charge and this charge is passed on to the teams then I for one could do without and would prefer a lower price. Hockey is expensive enough without getting charge the "opportunity" to buy food and merchandise.

SBD,

Completely understand where you are coming from and you are definitely not alone in that thinking. That point of view was taken into consideration during the planning of this tourney. I think we all probably agree that we would sacrifice all the "extras" in exchange for getting all the top teams from across the country and Canada and be able to offer it at a lower price but unfortunately (as a first year tourney) it just doesn't happen that way. Gotta lay a foundation that appeals to as many as possible and build from there.

I think as mentioned earlier up in this string the Caribou is already cheaper (albeit marginally) than the other major local tourneys. So you can go ahead and ignore all the extras if you want and give back anything that may be in the team welcome packets and anything that you may possibly win and you're still ahead! I Invite you and anyone else to come check it out if in Maple Grove and judge for yourself - you may be surprised.

$1350 Caribou
$1400 Easton
$1400 Meltdown
$1600 Independent

also,

$1495 Stars and Stripes
$1400 International Cup

I'm not even questioning comparing your price relative to to other tournaments but the question still remains for and all tournaments :

Do tournaments get charged for vendors, photographers and auctions and do they pass on this expense to the participating teams ? Seems like this shouldn't be the case but maybe it is and if so that would be one way to make hockey more affordable.

[observer]

Generally the vendors come in and give the tourney organizer a percentage of gross revenue. Hat painter, photographers, food vendors all share revenue with the tourney organizer which could lead to lower costs. No tourney organizer is paying a nickle to anyone other than allowing them to take revenue out. But, offering products, food and services make the tournaments better events.

I think the next step is for tourney organizers to toughen up and let these sponsors know that if they want to hang their name on this large event, that attracts hundreds of families and their target customer demo, they need to pay a sponsor fee, maybe $5,000-$10,000, $20,000? to be involved. Caribou Coffee's sponsorship naming rights should have been worth $10,000 to the Icemen. Did they use that $10,000 to lower fees to everyone? Probably not. Is it a fundraiser for their organization to lower costs to their members? Maybe. Is it net profit for the organizer, not to be shared? Maybe.

[puckfan]

Wow $10,000 that would be huge!

What do you think Easton gives for the Easton Cup? $20,000?

With the economy the way it is now, do you really think they are going to get money from anybody for a summer hockey tournament?

[observer]

I don't think Easton gives anything and that's one of my points. Do you know the annual marketing budget of Easton to reach hockey players? How about the annual marketing budget of Caribou to reach coffee drinkers in the TC Metro? Sponsorship is marketing. When Easton approaches Showcase and suggests renaming the Stars of Tomorrow Tournament the Easton Cup what do you think Showcase should ask for the opportunity to reach their tournament participants? They're the target audience and it's not a single 30 second television commercial. I'm saying $20,000 or they don't get to hang their name. They spend 10s of millions of dollars annually to reach the very audience Showcase offers. They market the name throughout the year, they're a captive audience for 4 days of messaging, etc. I'll suggest that Easton has very few better opportunities, anywhere, to reach this sized audience. Showcase is the largest hockey organization in the world. 14-25 year old potential customers don't read newspapers or magazines and don't watch TV commercials. So how do they connect with this important, yet difficult to reach, audience. Sponsorship. What does Easton pay to exhibit at the Let's Play Hockey Expo?

[observer]

$675 for a 10x10 booth. Large companies rent multiple booths for larger displays.

Too cheap in my opinion. A single small display ad in a large publication is more. $675 for all the actual face time and hands on product experience that the Expo offers their exhibitors is worth significantly more. Product manufacturers look all over for ways to get their product in the hands of their target audience. Minnesota tournaments, and the Expo, offer the best opportunities anywhere in the world for these companies to get in front of their target audience. Showcase and Lets Play Hockey have underestimated the value of the audience they bring to these events. What are these companies spending marketing dollars on that offer better value?