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Does anyone know how this process works?

Have heard some players have already been notified on roster while players that made final 54 have not even received invite to tryout.

deacon64 wrote:Does anyone know how this process works?

Have heard some players have already been notified on roster while players that made final 54 have not even received invite to tryout.

Being an elite player has very little to do with the Elite League. This league has ignored some of the best players in the state in favor of those from favorite towns or teams. Some very good players from Central Minnesota, Northern Minnesota, and Northwest Minnesota have been ignored in favor of average players and bantams from certain teams.

One is better off doing tryouts with USHL, NA, and NA3 teams.

Who are all these players the Rlite team has missed? I think they do a great job getting the top players there.

From what I can tell they seem to have been straight up/right on with the FL kids that have played in it.

minnscout wrote:Who are all these players the Rlite team has missed? I think they do a great job getting the top players there.

I can only think of one and that is eddie whitchow (sp?) who plays for waterloo now and is commited to wisconsin and was drafted by flordia. but i agree that for the most part they get good players. but there are always a few for whatever reason dont make it into the league that should

Kevin Shulze, a 2011 Hill Murray Graduate, never made the elite league, played this year in the USHL, will be playing for the Badgers next season.

I would say they have done a nice job picking the players. Eddie W is a late bloomer that was not elite until late in Senior year.

So does any one know how the process?

Yes, good players are missed. Northern players definitely get the "short" stick.

deacon64 wrote:So does any one know how the process?

Yes, good players are missed. Northern players definitely get the "short" stick.

Rosters are made up of:

1. Returners
2. Automatic Bids
3. Tryout results

Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell how many spots are available going into the tryouts because no one knows how many returners are going to leave for Juniors or how many automatic bids have been sent and accepted.

Several areas for improvement in the selection process but I'll start with two.

Must be a senior or maybe include juniors that went to the National Team camp.

Must have skated in the Elite D League first.

The Elite D League is the stepping stone for the league yet some never played in it. Some players skated in Elite League games that had never even been on a high school team yet.

2. Automatic Bids

That's funny. What is an automatic bid? Whatever it is that's one of their credibility issues.

While I'm sure there is a better way, no system would be perfect.
In 2011 the 3rd leading scorer in the league never got to the National development camp as a junior the same year. Not sure the North gets hurt any more than city kids, 4 metro teams and 2 northern...I would imagine that the North gets an even greater percentage when you look at the total number of kids playing. A kid from south of the metro has almost no chance, if any region is being over looked its likely the south. I realize the easy argument is to say they don't have the talent down there but you'd think there would at least be a few.

keepyourheadup wrote:While I'm sure there is a better way, no system would be perfect.
In 2011 the 3rd leading scorer in the league never got to the National development camp as a junior the same year. Not sure the North gets hurt any more than city kids, 4 metro teams and 2 northern...I would imagine that the North gets an even greater percentage when you look at the total number of kids playing. A kid from south of the metro has almost no chance, if any region is being over looked its likely the south. I realize the easy argument is to say they don't have the talent down there but you'd think there would at least be a few.

Alex Gologowski had to tryout...

deacon64 wrote:Does anyone know how this process works?

Have heard some players have already been notified on roster while players that made final 54 have not even received invite to tryout.

1) Players who played last year are automatic.
2) Some players who didn't play last year are invited to play without trying out.
3) They fill the rest of the league with kids that are invited to try out.

I think (no, I know) there's a lot of trading and talking among the coaches and whomever during the off season.

If you have a son who doesn't play tell him not to worry, it's not the end of the world.

A huge issue with out state kids as they don't have hockey opportunities year round and are multi-sport athletes.
It is difficult to play football on friday night and then drive 100 miles + for a saturday game.
My son tried that his sophmore year in the D-League and was not happy with the level of competition. He played the first weekend and said it was not worth it and gave up his spot.
He has not been asked back and maybe deservingly so.

This topic has been covered in the past and I think we all can agree that there have been some misses of biblical proportion but by and large the best kids are usually there. Its the bottom third of the rosters where things get really dicey.

DKS1962 wrote:A huge issue with out state kids as they don't have hockey opportunities year round and are multi-sport athletes.
It is difficult to play football on friday night and then drive 100 miles + for a saturday game.
My son tried that his sophmore year in the D-League and was not happy with the level of competition. He played the first weekend and said it was not worth it and gave up his spot.
He has not been asked back and maybe deservingly so.

It's a good opportunity for MN kids who want more games than the High School season affords them. Other fall sports can be a conflict so most kids have to prioritize, although not all. If you play golf with the coach for instance, or you attend the same HS he attended you can participate in both but that's another topic.