News out of District 6

YouthHockeyHub · Post by **YouthHockeyHub** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:57 pm

Some startling news out of District 6 last night...go here to find out how a couple associations would like to proceed with AA/A.

http://youthhockeyhub.com/d6news071912/

MrBoDangles · Post by **MrBoDangles** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:32 pm

You need to look at(think about it) what's being combined to form Edina and Wayzata's future A teamS

....... Then you'll understand why some won't want to field an A team.

And we're simply staying with our current system if associations start having multiple A(B-1) teams.

YouthHockeyHub · Post by **YouthHockeyHub** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:46 pm

Totally agree.

Wayzata is going AA/AA and I'm assuming B at PW and AA/A/B at Bantams
Edina is going AA/A and probably 2 B1 at both levels (maybe 1 b1).

One thing you gotta know,Bo, is MNH has the final say on each association's participation, not the other way around. My guess is they will get the Big Associations right.

MrBoDangles · Post by **MrBoDangles** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:56 pm

YouthHockeyHub wrote:Totally agree.

Wayzata is going AA/AA and I'm assuming B at PW and AA/A/B at Bantams
Edina is going AA/A and probably 2 B1 at both levels (maybe 1 b1).

One thing you gotta know,Bo, is MNH has the final say on each association's participation, not the other way around. My guess is they will get the Big Associations right.

MNH knows an associations talent better than the association does? Is MNH going to wear riot gear?

forreal · Post by **forreal** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:59 pm

YouthHockeyHub wrote:Totally agree.

Wayzata is going AA/AA and I'm assuming B at PW and AA/A/B at Bantams
Edina is going AA/A and probably 2 B1 at both levels (maybe 1 b1).

One thing you gotta know,Bo, is MNH has the final say on each association's participation, not the other way around. My guess is they will get the Big Associations right.

I am curious what peoples thoughts are about wayzata having 2 aa teams. To me it Seems like it defeats the purpose of what mn hockey is trying to do. 2 equally balanced AA teams will find it difficult to compete against other associations fielding one AA and an a team. Isn't the goal to have more competitive hockey?

Toomuchtoosoon · Post by **Toomuchtoosoon** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:04 pm

Wayzata is going AA/AA and I'm assuming B at PW and AA/A/B at Bantams

This is what was originally approved. There are some influential stake holders (non-parents) trying to change this.

They want to follow the MN model at PW also.

To be continued.

YouthHockeyHub · Post by **YouthHockeyHub** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:06 am

MrBoDangles wrote:
YouthHockeyHub wrote:Totally agree.

Wayzata is going AA/AA and I'm assuming B at PW and AA/A/B at Bantams
Edina is going AA/A and probably 2 B1 at both levels (maybe 1 b1).

One thing you gotta know,Bo, is MNH has the final say on each association's participation, not the other way around. My guess is they will get the Big Associations right.
MNH knows an associations talent better than the association does? Is MNH going to wear riot gear?

Riot gear...good one Bo. I do know this. They likely won't care what associations 11-100 do, but they will have a keen eye on 1-10 (size wise). Bubble associations with above average participation numbers and success like Prior Lake, Elk River, Minneapolis will likely get a pass.

This is reading between the lines on what I heard from my MNH people yesterday.

old goalie85 · Post by **old goalie85** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:27 am

The D2 meeting is next week. I know we have the #'s and goalies for five teams @ pee-wees/ 4 bantams. No way we can go AA/A/B1/B2. Talent says AA[this is a reach] B1 and 2 C teams @ bantams. I guess we will know more next week.

savagegopher · Post by **savagegopher** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:44 pm

When the proposal for the new AA/A system came out, I originally thought the bigger associations Wayzata and Edina would field two A teams that were evenly balanced not two AA (Wayzata) or an AA and A (Edina). This way they would get more kids in the A field but at the same time have the opportunity to have success (maybe still too much) in the playoffs.
It still makes no sense IMO that an Edina would field an AA and A team. So you pick the top 15-16 for your AA team and you pick the next 15-16 for your A team, since both are A teams they will play each other in the regular season. Get ready for some bad blood, what happens if the A team actually beats the AA team or the AA pounds the A team (which they should). I can only imagine how physical an association AA vs. A bantam game is going to get because A team Johnny believes he should be on the AA team.
It will be interesting to see how the year goes and what changes we will see next year.

Bluewhitefan · Post by **Bluewhitefan** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:16 pm

savagegopher wrote:When the proposal for the new AA/A system came out, I originally thought the bigger associations Wayzata and Edina would field two A teams that were evenly balanced not two AA (Wayzata) or an AA and A (Edina). This way they would get more kids in the A field but at the same time have the opportunity to have success (maybe still too much) in the playoffs.
It still makes no sense IMO that an Edina would field an AA and A team. So you pick the top 15-16 for your AA team and you pick the next 15-16 for your A team, since both are A teams they will play each other in the regular season. Get ready for some bad blood, what happens if the A team actually beats the AA team or the AA pounds the A team (which they should). I can only imagine how physical an association AA vs. A bantam game is going to get because A team Johnny believes he should be on the AA team.
It will be interesting to see how the year goes and what changes we will see next year.

D6 plans to have separate AA and A leagues, so they will not play each other. I'm not sure what doesn't make sense. It gives Edina the opportunity to put their 16-30 together on one team - something they've never done with two balanced B1 teams. Good for Edina, maybe not for everyone else.

edgeless2 · Post by **edgeless2** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 1:40 pm

Bluewhitefan wrote:
savagegopher wrote:When the proposal for the new AA/A system came out, I originally thought the bigger associations Wayzata and Edina would field two A teams that were evenly balanced not two AA (Wayzata) or an AA and A (Edina). This way they would get more kids in the A field but at the same time have the opportunity to have success (maybe still too much) in the playoffs.
It still makes no sense IMO that an Edina would field an AA and A team. So you pick the top 15-16 for your AA team and you pick the next 15-16 for your A team, since both are A teams they will play each other in the regular season. Get ready for some bad blood, what happens if the A team actually beats the AA team or the AA pounds the A team (which they should). I can only imagine how physical an association AA vs. A bantam game is going to get because A team Johnny believes he should be on the AA team.
It will be interesting to see how the year goes and what changes we will see next year.
D6 plans to have separate AA and A leagues, so they will not play each other. I'm not sure what doesn't make sense. It gives Edina the opportunity to put their 16-30 together on one team - something they've never done with two balanced B1 teams. Good for Edina, maybe not for everyone else.

This would be typical of D6 if A and AA teams would not play each other. Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of the change? I was under the impression that this was the major benefit of changing the entire system. The idea that A teams would get a chance to measure themselves against AA teams vs. B1 teams being unable to play A teams in the current system was the only part of the change that made sense to me.

MrBoDangles · Post by **MrBoDangles** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:11 pm

Just waiting for the announcement that the AA/A idea has been scrapped.

It's still amazing to me that they tried to go forward with this with such lack of thought..

savagegopher · Post by **savagegopher** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:18 pm

I agree with edgeless, whats the point, you might as well have left things alone and let the smaller associations play B1,

dlow · Post by **dlow** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:16 pm

yes having seperate leagues (aa and a) means we’ve just changed the lettering but the system basically stays the same. this should be disalowed if they want this new system to develop more kids at a higher level.

and whats the deal with tonka and prior lake. afraid of a 500 season, welcome to the real world. for many associations, regions and state are rare, not a yearly thing. last year prior lake had a great pw a and 2 top ranked b1 teams and now aa and b for next year?? give me a break.

give credit to wayzata for wanting to compete even if having 2 aa makes it harder to get trophies.

big picture, isnt the idea here to get more competetive games. that wont happen with tonka and PL b teams next year with just aa above them.

edgeless2 · Post by **edgeless2** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 10:31 pm

3 years ago PL put a Squirt B1 team together, which at the time was not allowed. The team was very good and went through the season with minimal losses. The team was very good and nearly won Fargo, I believe they lost in the final to a Fargo team (devils lake), if I'm not mistaken. They were subsequently sanctioned by D6 and not allowed to play in the squirt B district D6 tournament and forced to have volunteers work the district tournament, without participating. Fast forward to present day. Last year they won PWA State title, PW B1 state title and their separate (wink, wink) but equal PW B1 team was top 10. Now we hear that PL wants to opt down and may get a pass because they are not a top 10 association numbers wise. Now if winning means that much to that assoc. than fine, but let's call a duck a duck. As far as Tonka it's beyond laughable.

Mnhockeys · Post by **Mnhockeys** » Sat Jul 21, 2012 11:01 pm

edgeless2 wrote:3 years ago PL put a Squirt B1 team together, which at the time was not allowed. The team was very good and went through the season with minimal losses. The team was very good and nearly won Fargo, I believe they lost in the final to a Fargo team (devils lake), if I'm not mistaken. They were subsequently sanctioned by D6 and not allowed to play in the squirt B district D6 tournament and forced to have volunteers work the district tournament, without participating. Fast forward to present day. Last year they won PWA State title, PW B1 state title and their separate (wink, wink) but equal PW B1 team was top 10. Now we hear that PL wants to opt down and may get a pass because they are not a top 10 association numbers wise. Now if winning means that much to that assoc. than fine, but let's call a duck a duck. As far as Tonka it's beyond laughable.

Where is skipperj?

buttend · Post by **buttend** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:22 pm

edgeless2 wrote:3 years ago PL put a Squirt B1 team together, which at the time was not allowed. The team was very good and went through the season with minimal losses. The team was very good and nearly won Fargo, I believe they lost in the final to a Fargo team (devils lake), if I'm not mistaken. They were subsequently sanctioned by D6 and not allowed to play in the squirt B district D6 tournament and forced to have volunteers work the district tournament, without participating. Fast forward to present day. Last year they won PWA State title, PW B1 state title and their separate (wink, wink) but equal PW B1 team was top 10. Now we hear that PL wants to opt down and may get a pass because they are not a top 10 association numbers wise. Now if winning means that much to that assoc. than fine, but let's call a duck a duck. As far as Tonka it's beyond laughable.

I looked at the PeeWee D6 Standings for last year

PeeWee A
1. PL 42 pts
2. EP 38
3. Edina 35 pts

PeeWee B1
1. PL "Gold" 41 pts
2. Edina "white" 40 pts
7. Edina "Green 32 pts
8. PL "Navy" 31 pts.

Looks to me like Prior lake and Edina had almost the exact same team make up/composition based on results! So Edina probably did not even its B1 teams out either? (wink, wink) BTW Edina and PL were the only Associations to field 2 PWB1 teams last year.

Minnetonka fielded 2 B2 teams and 3 "C" teams . I would say Minnetonka short changed some kids with respect to development and playing level!

Edgeless help me out, PL had 3 Bantam teams and 6 PW teams according D6. Edina had 7 Bantam and 8 PW teams . Minnetonka had 5 Bantam and 7 PW teams. I dont ever remember PL having numbers or good teams. Do you really think they should be AA based on 1 season at 1 age level? How about Burnsville? they had 4 Bantam and 4 PW teams, should they be AA?

In my opinion, there should be no AA/A designation. keep it A B C. The largest associations should fields 2 "A" teams based on an enrollment number at the age level. 90+ kids = 2 "A" teams

57special · Post by **57special** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:57 pm

The Edina PW B1 ones were drafted equally. One simply jelled better than the other. To imply otherwise is false. The better PW B1 Prior Lake had one terrific player that made them a much stronger team. Don't know why he wasn't on the A team. Maybe a bad tryout?

The Prior Lake Squirt B team of 3 years ago was drafted unequally (a B1 team essentially) and was punished accordingly.

skipperj · Post by **skipperj** » Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:17 pm

Rough seas to navigate the boat through. Not my decision to make but if I had a say it would be to field an AA/A. But is my AA suppose to play my A team. Seams to me it could create some bad blood internally, especially if the A beat the AA or if AA crushed A. I have also noticed it gets more crazy when u are playing a team from the some association. It a weird phenomena.

savagegopher · Post by **savagegopher** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:36 am

Is it true the only association that wanted to separate the AA and A teams into separate divisions was Edina. So D-6 is ignoring everyone else and catering to only Edina.

edgeless2 · Post by **edgeless2** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 11:40 am

Having separate divisions makes sense for end of year tournament placement. For D6 to tell their associations that AA cant play A teams outside of league games seems a bit big brother esque. There will already be more travel costs due to less area AA teams, especially outside the metro. If district AA/A teams are unable to play each other, that will also lead to more travel costs. It also seems that associations may be afraid of inequities being revealed at the tryout level, ie an A team beating a AA team, or several A players outplaying AA players. That being said its tough to see any upside for AA teams scheduling A teams unless they know they can win. Confusing to say the least.

skipperj · Post by **skipperj** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:09 pm

Edgeless couldn't be more on in his last post. It will definitely reveal those who were picked by parent association rather than skill level. That is why old A never played old B1. It was unheard of.

DumpandChase1 · Post by **DumpandChase1** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:02 pm

Just want to set the record straight and give you people the facts. D6 is not preventing any AA team from playing any A team in the district. They are setting up district play so the the AA teams play the other AA teams and the A teams play the A teams. This is so teams will play teams of equal ability and avoid so of the blow out games that don't do either team any good.
If a top A team wants to play a AA team, they are free to set up a scrimmage.

Bluewhitefan · Post by **Bluewhitefan** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:44 pm

DumpandChase1 wrote:Just want to set the record straight and give you people the facts. D6 is not preventing any AA team from playing any A team in the district. They are setting up district play so the the AA teams play the other AA teams and the A teams play the A teams. This is so teams will play teams of equal ability and avoid so of the blow out games that don't do either team any good.
If a top A team wants to play a AA team, they are free to set up a scrimmage.

Correct. Also, any A team can (and probably will) play AA teams in tournaments throughout the year. EP is not separating AA from A classes for their Thanksgiving tournament as far as I know. Edina's holiday tournament will have separate AA and A classes. There may be others as well. D6 is probably the only district with enough AA and A teams to allow for splitting the league season.

areaman · Post by **areaman** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:12 pm

Bluewhitefan wrote:
savagegopher wrote:When the proposal for the new AA/A system came out, I originally thought the bigger associations Wayzata and Edina would field two A teams that were evenly balanced not two AA (Wayzata) or an AA and A (Edina). This way they would get more kids in the A field but at the same time have the opportunity to have success (maybe still too much) in the playoffs.
It still makes no sense IMO that an Edina would field an AA and A team. So you pick the top 15-16 for your AA team and you pick the next 15-16 for your A team, since both are A teams they will play each other in the regular season. Get ready for some bad blood, what happens if the A team actually beats the AA team or the AA pounds the A team (which they should). I can only imagine how physical an association AA vs. A bantam game is going to get because A team Johnny believes he should be on the AA team.
It will be interesting to see how the year goes and what changes we will see next year.
D6 plans to have separate AA and A leagues, so they will not play each other. I'm not sure what doesn't make sense. It gives Edina the opportunity to put their 16-30 together on one team - something they've never done with two balanced B1 teams. Good for Edina, maybe not for everyone else.

It will be interesting to see if 16-30 really is 16-30 or if it's more of a training ground for the NEXT season's A-team, especially on the girls side. I would say in Edina if they went 16-30 at the U12 level, the A team would be almost all 2nd years. I'm not sure that's what you'll see. I guess it depends on the coaches.