National Development Camp-No More 18s

[Hux]

USA Hockey has dropped the 18s from the 17/18 National Development Camp at Lake Placid so as to better evaluate players for the U18 National team. As such, the '90 birth year girls will not be eligible for the NDC in June of 2008. I don't have word yet as to whether they will still send 100 plus girls to Lake Placid or if the numbers will be cut back.

[hockeyrube7]

Wow! If that is true, that sucks for the 90's! They just get dropped, and aren't there 90's that are still Juniors this year?

[twowayplay]

This would be a travesty! The 90's kids are an awesome group why would they be excluded from the opportunity to train and compete at this highest level. Unbelievable

Will they have just an 18 Camp? I though they were going to a 1 year age group format? You can't just skip over a group of kids especially the 90's!

[Rentley]

So.....based on this information hux, I would assume that NDC would shake out like this:

1990 Birth year..........Eliminated
1991 Birth year..........Lake Placid
1992 Birth year..........Rochester
1993 Birth year..........St. Cloud

Seems to make sense from an evaluation standpoint for the U18 national team, but does leave the 90's out in the cold.

[Hux]

Looks that way. I sent an e-mail to Kevin McLaughlin (who is in charge of the Youth Section which oversees the NDCs) at USA Hockey regarding the situation and am awaiting his reply. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I know there are quite a few '90s in Prep here that will be seniors next year, so this really throws a curve into the whole exposure aspect of the camps for them.

Who knows, maybe if there is enough of a ruckus they will add a camp for the 18s, though I doubt that would happen. I think the idea is that the vast majority of 18s would be seniors (especially with the new NCAA clearing house four year core course rule) and since they are ineligible for the U18 team, their next exposure would be the following season where they would be eligible for the U/O22 teams, thus making an 18 camp moot.

[nothernewguy]

Speaking of the national camps, does anyone know which weekend in March the phase 1 of the ndp tryouts will be?

[Hux]

So.....based on this information hux, I would assume that NDC would shake out like this:

1990 Birth year..........Eliminated
1991 Birth year..........Lake Placid
1992 Birth year..........Rochester
1993 Birth year..........St. Cloud

Seems to make sense from an evaluation standpoint for the U18 national team, but does leave the 90's out in the cold.

Well, there would also be the 14s, or '94s, which I expect would be in Rochester as well.

[unbelievable]

So.....based on this information hux, I would assume that NDC would shake out like this:

1990 Birth year..........Eliminated
1991 Birth year..........Lake Placid
1992 Birth year..........Rochester
1993 Birth year..........St. Cloud

Seems to make sense from an evaluation standpoint for the U18 national team, but does leave the 90's out in the cold.

Well, there would also be the 14s, or '94s, which I expect would be in Rochester as well.

For the rest of the nation that is true. Not for Minnesota.

[Thunderbird77]

Anyone know why Minnesota does not participate in the 1994 (or youngest age) camp? What would be the advantage to younger Minnesota players in not participating?

[Hux]

Anyone know why Minnesota does not participate in the 1994 (or youngest age) camp? What would be the advantage to younger Minnesota players in not participating?

Probably because someone was smart enough to realize that, at least until this past year, not a whole lot of development work went on at the camp. One of the biggest complaints, particularly with the 14s, was that there was too much down time, and as a result, too much goofing around off the ice, that led to goofing around on the ice. This past year they tightened up the schedule and introduced off-ice activities.

The NDCs this year for the 14s, 15s, and 16s will be in Rochester, NY, with the 17s in Lake Placid.