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clutterbuck22 wrote:

nickel slots wrote:

The Exiled One wrote: I'd argue that some D3 teams are playing at a higher level too. (St. Olaf, for example)

There is no way that a team from the NA would beat any team from the MIAC. Almost all of the guys in the MIAC have played in the NA (or higher), plus they are older, stronger, and smarter than they were when they were 18 or 19. 3rd & 4th liners from the NA have a hard time making the game day lineup their freshmen and sophomore years. You can make the argument that there is some D1 talent on some of the NA rosters, but that is negated by the fact that just about every MIAC team has at least one D1 transfer on their roster.

All that aside, I would still recommend that anybody with a love for the game - or aspirations of playing after high school - go check out a game. Heck, go check out a D3 game, too. You might be surprised at the level of play at both levels.

You're joking right? You're saying that a team like Fairbanks or Texas couldn't beat a team like St. Mary's, Bethel, Gustavus, or even Hamline? The Rochester Ice Hawks of the MNJHL played St. Mary's last year and it was supposed to be the jv team, but St. Mary's sent 14 of the varsity players and started their number one varsity goalie in the game and only beat the Hawks 4-2. They would have lost to the Hawks if the goalie wasn't on his A game. So to say there is "no way" that an NA team could beat a MIAC team must be a joke.

A team like Bethel or Gustavus? Gustavus started the season out ranked #5 in the country in D3 (they made the D3 frozen four in 2010-11, national quarterfinals last year) before getting swept by BETHEL. Might want to reexamine which MIAC teams you pick on...but that being said, your point is valid for some of the perennial MIAC bottom feeders, St. Marys, etc.

clutterbuck22 wrote:

nickel slots wrote:

The Exiled One wrote: I'd argue that some D3 teams are playing at a higher level too. (St. Olaf, for example)

There is no way that a team from the NA would beat any team from the MIAC. Almost all of the guys in the MIAC have played in the NA (or higher), plus they are older, stronger, and smarter than they were when they were 18 or 19. 3rd & 4th liners from the NA have a hard time making the game day lineup their freshmen and sophomore years. You can make the argument that there is some D1 talent on some of the NA rosters, but that is negated by the fact that just about every MIAC team has at least one D1 transfer on their roster.

All that aside, I would still recommend that anybody with a love for the game - or aspirations of playing after high school - go check out a game. Heck, go check out a D3 game, too. You might be surprised at the level of play at both levels.

You're joking right? You're saying that a team like Fairbanks or Texas couldn't beat a team like St. Mary's, Bethel, Gustavus, or even Hamline? The Rochester Ice Hawks of the MNJHL played St. Mary's last year and it was supposed to be the jv team, but St. Mary's sent 14 of the varsity players and started their number one varsity goalie in the game and only beat the Hawks 4-2. They would have lost to the Hawks if the goalie wasn't on his A game. So to say there is "no way" that an NA team could beat a MIAC team must be a joke.

If that's true and any of those 14 played in all the real varsity games, that would be a pretty serious violation of NCAA rules.

The average D3 team beats the average NA team 8 out of 10 times, mostly on strength, experience, and depth. But like fourthliner pointed out there are a lot of kids in the NAHL with very high ceilings.

That said, I don't see the team in Richfield drawing much for attendance.

I am planning on buying season tickets and have talked to way more people that have indicated they are planning to attend (and excited about it) than have said they won't.

Note that tomorrow is a big day for the NAHL in terms of next season. Teams must indicate whether they are staying in or joining a new league next season. It has been rumored that with the revoking of the SIJHL Duluth franchise, that NA may add a team in Duluth. Also heard a number of other cities in Minnesota being linked to the NA next season.

clutterbuck22 wrote:Note that tomorrow is a big day for the NAHL in terms of next season. Teams must indicate whether they are staying in or joining a new league next season. It has been rumored that with the revoking of the SIJHL Duluth franchise, that NA may add a team in Duluth. Also heard a number of other cities in Minnesota being linked to the NA next season.

That would be really interesting if there were several new Minnesota NA teams added. I think one is enough for next year...

So instead of AAA hockey at the youth level, the NAHL invades Minnesota and kids aged 15/16 have a place to go, close to home and play a higher level of hockey...interesting concept that could develop and threaten high school hockey if it comes to fruition

...Folks should really do their homework - look at the NAHL rosters and see how many 15/16 year olds are on the rosters. Out of the hundred's of players in the NAHL - there are 8 or 9 total that fit this category ('96 birth year - no '97 birth year)- and they are all out of state kids. The NAHL is mostly 18 - 20 year olds.

The top NAHL teams this year are heavy loaded with 92s. Most have no high school aged players.

I think it's great that someone will take the risk and try to bring upper level Jr. hockey to the Twin cities one more time. The economic model for the USHL is working, I think, because in most of their locations, the hockey team is one of the only "shows" in town. Not much to do in Kearney, NB, Sioux City, and Sioux Falls, SD, or Waterloo, IA in the dead of winter. The posting with NAHL attendance numbers for their franchises was impressive. The choices here in a larger city are many, and that may hurt this new franchise some. Investing in a marketing department may be a good idea.

As for players, if anyone has been to an "open/invite" tryout for a USHL or NAHL team, you will know that there are 150-250 players from all over the world, literally, trying to get onto a Jr. hockey team. The NAHL is the "older" of the U.S. Jr. leagues, as they have fewer restrictions on older players where the maximum for the USHL is 4 players 21 years old per
roster I believe.

Not many 15-16 year old players on any of these teams, and very few 18 years old, or "95's" this year if you check their rosters. If you do happen to check these Jr. rosters, you will find upwards of 30 skaters listed and another 2-10 listed as affiliates or possible roster insertions. This is a business, winning is paramount, and probably not the greatest place for a younger kid unless their name is Crosby or something similar.

Marketing is huge. The "show" is almost as important than the game. Teams that do it right will end up with more than just the local hockey people at their games. Smoke, lasers, music, mascots, fan events.... FAKE fights.

There are tons of people that attend these games that don't have a hockey background and wonder why the whistle blows when the puck is iced.

Put on a good show.

As to the nuimber of "commits" from the NAHL. . . they claim a commit for every kid that ever wore an NA jersey in a game. Many of the D1 commits only have a short time in the NA then went on to play at the USHL level. If you look at who committed from an NA team I would be quite surprised if you had 50 go directly to D1 . . . It's Frankenfeld statistics. You can make them say anything you want a buyer. . . .er player. . . to hear!!

thier was 375 players that played d-1 hockey last season that once skated in the nahl. 85 former nahlers in the nhl that is some great numbers oh and 7 former nahlers have won the hobey baker.

Reality is that 80% of the people on this forum havve never taken the time to drive to see a nahl game in Austin or when they were in the cities, did any of you drive to Owatonna,Albert Lea or Alex when they existed???

no you did not


Nick D'Avolio University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (NCHA, D3)
Paul LaDue University of North Dakota (WCHA, D1) #
Jacob Meyers Quinnipiac University (ECACHL, D1)
Michael Mooney Miami University (CCHA, D1)
Reid Sturos Michigan Tech University (WCHA, D1)
Hayden Trupp University of Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA, D1)
Charlie Adams University of Nebraska-Omaha (WCHA, D1)
Tyler Bruggeman St. Scholastica (NCHA, D3)
Jeremy Finger UMass-Boston (ECAC East, D3)
Christian Folin University of Massachusetts-Lowell (Hockey East, D1)
Jon Gehrt Army (Atlantic Hockey, D1)
Matt Hansen Colorado College (WCHA, D1)
Connor Quinn St. Olaf (MIAC, D3)
Trevor Waldoch Air Force Academy (Atlantic Hockey, D1)

These are commitments just from the Austin Bruins and Blizzard last season the only player that did not finish with thier club was Paul Ladue who was drafted in the NHL. Matt Hansesn played with the Bruins but commited to Colorado College as a senior in HS school.

Everyone of these kids earned thier commitment while playing in the NAHL. Austin would of had 1 more commitment but AJ Reid D-committed from West Point last year.

Frankenfeld is a clown but so are most of you on this forum look at the numbers go to a game and stop being a negative go on the girls forum and do that

Austin only has 2 high schoolers, CJ Smith is the minnesota kid that left the Holy Angels he irs ripping it apart, he wanted to play 60 games against men not teenagers.

The other is a goalie from Omaha that is 12-0-1 and will get drafted in the NHL in 2 years.

These kids have no business playing hs hockey.

they are 2 good.

Although the kids that are leaving will increase.

Story on the Johnstown Team
http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/articl ... -nahl-team

NAHL is an underdog league by comparison to USHL that is for sure. However that does not diminish the hockey brand at all.

....USHL is Tier I and NAHL is Tier II - those are the only 2 leagues in the US that are not tuition based. Both providing players very good opportunities.

After watching many NA games last year and numerous MIAC this year....no way an NA team beats a MIAC team. Rochester Ice hawks could put a team in the NA and be successful before an NA team could pull thier weight in the MIAC. St Marys plays a JV schedule and uses the 4th line varsity players some of the JV kids see varsity time so it makes them appear to be Varsity players.

I agree with many of these posts. NAHL teams tend to be older. And many players do end up getting opportunities because of their play in this league. I know many who have committed while playing in NA who then either go directly to D1 or are drafted for a year in the USHL before college.

A D3 scout explained once to some folks in the stands....on a good NAHL team, 6-7 of these kids will be D1 players, another 7 won't play beyond this level....the ones in between are the ones that will work well for the D3 level. During the time we were involved, those numbers were pretty accurate.

This looks like its just another case of dad buying a junior team so his kid can have a place to play. The main owners last name is krueger and he is from prior lake. Is it just coincidence that the first player they signed is krueger from north Iowa NA3HL who also is from prior lake???

As for attendance, the only way these NAHL teams survive is by getting diehards to come to every single game. Having 300-500 people who will go watch 1 out of every 4 games does not cut it. They will need 500 people who live and die with the magicians the same way people do in Fresno, Topeka and corpus. I don't see it happening.

This looks like its just another case of dad buying a junior team so his kid can have a place to play. The main owners last name is krueger and he is from prior lake. Is it just coincidence that the first player they signed is krueger from north Iowa NA3HL who also is from prior lake???

is this for real????????

Well on facebook, Scott Krueger likes 2 different junior hockey teams. The Minnesota Magicians and North Iowa Bulls.

And then this was posted on the NA3HL website
http://na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=7643

So I'm going to assume they are somehow related or else that's just a very, very, very big coincidence.

I feel like an idiot, I never even noticed this, His kid was tendered by another team in the NAHL last season and did not make it. Why would you tender your own kid. He is a final year next season, that makes no sense. The future if this program now rests in the palms of a hockey dad, oh no...

The main thing I don't get is why are they wasting a tender on him? No offense to the kid but he can barely even put up a point a game as a 93. Also, I'm sure they could have just brought him to main camp and given him a spot and no one would have been the wiser. If this gets out to the general public, it puts a severe damper on the legitimacy of the team.

From what I have gathered he is lazy, many kids average a point in a half a game at the Tier 3 level and get called up. Lets just say thier first shift is a thing of comedy. At the Tier 3 level you can take a nap wake up and make breakfast and than make a decision. Kids that dominate in the MNJHL and NA3HL and get called up to the NAHL cant make a play. some can, but very very few.

Unbelivable that you tender a final year kid from a tier 3 league, wow

Heard they may be putting a bar in the richfield rink? If so can they even do that with the high school team? If yes I know I'll be at every game

HockeyGuy952 wrote:Heard they may be putting a bar in the richfield rink? If so can they even do that with the high school team? If yes I know I'll be at every game

NAHL= Beer + Hockey - Chicks

2 outa 3 ain't bad!