Xposure Tourney - what happened?

[seek & destroy]

It seems like the Xposure tourney has become less and less of a big deal each year. I remember that it used to be heavily scouted and talked about on this forum all the time and this year there has not been one mention of it that I've seen. Why?

One reason is that perhaps people are realizing that we have so many ways for players to play in the spring that they have to make choices as to which ones are important. Perhaps the Xposure just isn't that highly rated.

Another reason may be that they have 12 teams with 18 skaters per team and that it has become too watered down. At a cost of $300 per player it certainly brings in a lot of revenue for a weekend of games and maybe people realize it is more of a fundraiser then a showcase for scouts.

Other thoughts about the lack of coverage?

[summer]

It seems like the Xposure tourney has become less and less of a big deal each year. I remember that it used to be heavily scouted and talked about on this forum all the time and this year there has not been one mention of it that I've seen. Why?

One reason is that perhaps people are realizing that we have so many ways for players to play in the spring that they have to make choices as to which ones are important. Perhaps the Xposure just isn't that highly rated.

Another reason may be that they have 12 teams with 18 skaters per team and that it has become too watered down. At a cost of $300 per player it certainly brings in a lot of revenue for a weekend of games and maybe people realize it is more of a fundraiser then a showcase for scouts.

Other thoughts about the lack of coverage?

Watered down, you said it! If that is the Elite in the area, we're in trouble! Looks like they were taking any one that would pay the money to play to fill up the 12 teams. I don't know why the lack of coverage, other than there were virtually no big names at the tournament.

[seek & destroy]

I noticed that this year they didn't even fill out all the teams. The rosters are missing 1 or 2 people on several teams. That at least implies that they didn't even have enough interest to fill out all the teams apparently at forward.

Maybe the Advanced 16 & 17 and the newly added 18 level has caused this tourney to not draw the scouts like it use to.

[hockeyjunkie2]

I don't know alot about this but basically my guess is that all it takes is to have the money and your in. Am I right? Scrolling through the rosters I noticed that there is 1 kid, maybe more I don't know about, that did not even make the Varsity roster at this high school and he was cut. Not saying his name just found it an interesting thing for something like this.

[GopherPuck15]

From what I have heard, the Xposure Tournament isn't where it was a couple years ago, but the level of play was still fairly high, with many players from teams who truly want exposure, rather than some of the bigger names who have previously played, although they didn't need the extra exposure, thus a lower level of play overall.

[Sykes]

I think there a few things happened this year. First, the economy. All across the board the number of kids participating in spring hockey is down. I think this had an impact at the Xposure. Kid's that may have a good idea they have a spot on a team next year are not doing the extras that they did in years past. So that knocks a few top end players off the list.

Perhaps the biggest reason though is more and more Junior teams are having more open tryouts. It's a great money maker, so the need for the general exposure tournaments has deminished. Which is a shame because it does save money. Also then the teams scouting want you to show up at their camps so if you want to be seen you need to make the circuit and shell out more money than the tournaments.

For the Xposure, expanding also brought in a large number of kids that would not have made it in the past. There was some good talent there but most people did agree, the overall talent was down.

[Ufeelshame]

I thought the tournament was very well run and the level of play was very good. In fact, if the rosters were short they were often times filled with SSM kids. I was suprised how many graduating seniors (91's and first half 92's) were in the tournament. I thought it would be more for incoming seniors. There were many scouts there. Even if it leads to nothing, the confidence level and motivational factors were worth it. If there were kids that didn't make their HS team it was few and far between. Every team has skaters that look weaker than others. For example as to level of play, one of the SSM boys that "filled in" was playing a a year of juniors and then was committed to a D1 program. Obviously, I didn't see all the games but this was good hockey.

[seek & destroy]

I was suprised how many graduating seniors (91's and first half 92's) were in the tournament. I thought it would be more for incoming seniors.

That supports the theory that maybe it was just too close to the Select 16 and 17's. If a lot of them decided between the two events and most of them picked Selects, then it would make sense that you'd have an older group of players who don't get to do selects anymore participate in this tourney.

I'm glad to hear that it was still well run and that there were scouts there. It's just amazing to me that the event gets so little publicity now. They didn't update their website with any scores, there isn't any mention of it on the Elite website (they are the primary people running the tourney) or on Hockey Hub and I wouldn't have even known that the tournament was going on except I stumbled across their website when I was deleting some things.

[deacon64]

Any thoughts on this tourney. Does it really give a player exposure or is it primarily a money maker?

How many scouts will be attending?