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Madison Capitols 1999 Bantam Major team will be playing in the Duluth Bantam tourney this weekend. Looks like they'll face off against Lakeville North, Duluth East and then Burnsville in their first three games with Sunday being TBD.... The following weekend that same 1999 Caps team will host Albert Lea's bantam team down in Madison for a three game tilt.... The '99 Caps are a middle of the road Tier 1 AAA team currently ranked 43rd in the 1999 Tier 1 myhockeyrankings.com polls, so they are no Chicago Mission or anything like that... just thought it was interesting they've taken the route of scheduling quite a few MN teams this season, should be fun to see what happens.

I think the Caps are @ the Pee-wee level as well.

The 99 Colorado Thunderbirds are also coming to Minneapolis December 19-22 to play the following Bantam AA teams:

Elk River
Stillwater
Lakeville South
STMA
Edina
Woodbury

Rusty Blades wrote:The 99 Colorado Thunderbirds are also coming to Minneapolis December 19-22 to play the following Bantam AA teams:

Elk River
Stillwater
Lakeville South
STMA
Edina
Woodbury

ouch
ouch
ouch
ouch
ouch
ouch

that should be fun.

old goalie85 wrote:I think the Caps are @ the Pee-wee level as well.

You are correct OG85, the 2001 Caps are also in Duluth this weekend with Duluth East, Edina, and White Bear Lake as their first three opponents and TBD after that... The 2001 Caps are ranked 68th currently in the myhockeyrankings.com site

I like to see the AAA teams come up here to play. [yes I know they are younger so don't start] I think it's good for others to see how we do it / And for our parents to realize we have a very affordable gig & ta see &meet them. I don't understand why D2 is SOOOOOO anti AAA. Please don't say the "Fire". They told our rep. to discourage letting a squirt team into our tourny.

Here is a little recap on the weekend:

1999 Caps
tied 3-3 against Lakeville North
won 4-2 against Burnsville
won 2-1 against Duluth East
Lost 3-4 to Eden Prairie (semifinals)
Lost 5-8 to Edina (third place game)

2001 Caps
won 4-3 against Duluth East
lost 10-0 to Edina
won 7-4 against White Bear Lake
lost to Superior 4-6 in consolation game

always fun when these types of matchups occur. Based on previous debates I still think the additional six months is an advantage to the MN teams but regardless it's still reasonable matchups for the kids involved and love that these can happen for all involved

JSR wrote:Here is a little recap on the weekend:

1999 Caps
tied 3-3 against Lakeville North
won 4-2 against Burnsville
won 2-1 against Duluth East
Lost 3-4 to Eden Prairie (semifinals)
Lost 5-8 to Edina (third place game)

2001 Caps
won 4-3 against Duluth East
lost 10-0 to Edina
won 7-4 against White Bear Lake
lost to Superior 4-6 in consolation game

always fun when these types of matchups occur. I do think the additional six months is an advantage to the MN teams but regardless it's still reasonable matchups for the kids involved and love that these can happen for all involved

90% of associations have a wide mix of very late born 98' to 00's at Bantams and very late born 00's to 02's at pewees. AAA teams have a balance of mostly older 99's and 01's. Advantage JSR....

JSR wrote:Here is a little recap on the weekend:

1999 Caps
tied 3-3 against Lakeville North
won 4-2 against Burnsville
won 2-1 against Duluth East
Lost 3-4 to Eden Prairie (semifinals)
Lost 5-8 to Edina (third place game)

2001 Caps
won 4-3 against Duluth East
lost 10-0 to Edina
won 7-4 against White Bear Lake
lost to Superior 4-6 in consolation game

always fun when these types of matchups occur. I do think the additional six months is an advantage to the MN teams but regardless it's still reasonable matchups for the kids involved and love that these can happen for all involved

Amazed that Superior only has 30 some pewees in their whole association and were able to beat them. Hats off to Superior!

I thought the same thing. It seems like Wis [at least western Wis] is moving toward the"Mn. model" of Assc. based hockey. D2 has Baldwin/Somerset/New Richmond/River Falls/Hudsen playing competitive games with WBL/Still/FL/Rose/Yada-Yada. I like to see it. Gives more kids a chance to play without pricing the sport away from them & their parents.

old goalie85 wrote:I thought the same thing. It seems like Wis [at least western Wis] is moving toward the"Mn. model" of Assc. based hockey. D2 has Baldwin/Somerset/New Richmond/River Falls/Hudsen playing competitive games with WBL/Still/FL/Rose/Yada-Yada. I like to see it. Gives more kids a chance to play without pricing the sport away from them & their parents.

Northwest WI has always embraced the association model similar to Minnesota.... frankly I believe it's atleast partly because WAHA will not allow a AAA team in that part of the state. Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay have the only allowed Tier 1 AAA charters for our state and WAHA seems to be inclined to keep it that way. Hence for kids in that part of the state the nearest AAA teams are anywhere from 2.5 to 5 hours away depending on where you live, that is a heck of a hike for practice etc.... so the associations up there build their associations as strong as possible and it mirrors MN nicely.... My oldest son plays AAA but that is atleast partly driven by where we live and how things are run down here in the southern part of the state, I'd love for there to be competitive association hockey with really good coaches coaching at those places but most of the good coaches are coaching AAA and most of the top players play AAA (not all but a majority share), hence it's difficult to not choose that path if your son wants to play at that level (unless you have extraordinary circumstances that allow other opportunities, like your dad is a top level coach and works with you daily in addition to your team practice etc....)

Don't get me wrong . I know your oldest plays AAA. I tend to agree w/you on most of your opinions.I just think ten years from now Wis may have the best deal going. Strong assc hockey for people like me [ 5 kids playing/No way to play AAA $$/Time] AAA hockey for familys that it is a better fit. [they can leave, play AAA and not sit and complain about being "held hostage". A win-win in my book.

How strong would WI association hockey be if they weren't able to hop across the border and play MN teams?

I think AAA hockey would cause the demise of town hockey as we know it. Adding the extra AA level has already exposed the lack of depth in many associations hitherto thought as strong. Having AAA siphon away more players could cause the collapse of many of the smaller associations, and weaken the larger ones. I have my complaints about the existing system, but am also aware that the AAA system isn't all it's made out to be.

Good point. They [west Wis] do have the advantage of Mn hockey to help fill schedules. That's why I was thinking ten years down the road. As these western communitys get stronger maybe others ,further into Wis will pop up.

There are small associations that practice twice a week and might only play forty some games at their top bantam level... And then have a neighboring association play 70 games and are only off the ice twice a month.

It's easy to say things are great when you're outside these types of boundaries.

And it's why mega associations are picking up 6-10 upper end skaters each year.

AA is just speeding up the collapse of non mega Hockey.

Jmho

57special wrote:How strong would WI association hockey be if they weren't able to hop across the border and play MN teams?

I think AAA hockey would cause the demise of town hockey as we know it. Adding the extra AA level has already exposed the lack of depth in many associations hitherto thought as strong. Having AAA siphon away more players could cause the collapse of many of the smaller associations, and weaken the larger ones. I have my complaints about the existing system, but am also aware that the AAA system isn't all it's made out to be.

Some associations would still be good. Stevens Point has a top notch association program and they can't just "hop across the boarder" as they are several hours from it, they can go to play MN but it's not like they are Hudson, Somerset or Superior or Eau Clarie etc......

Hard to say on whether AAA would cause the demise or not, WI has had AAA hockey for as long as I can remember yet association hockey and high school hockey are continuing to grow and get get better and better and frankly are out pacing the AAA programs in some instances, though we may be seeing a shift again based on some of the new "rules" etc........

The 2001 team for the Caps is not particularly strong, they could be if all the eligible players played for them but they don't, several travel south to Chicago to play and other stay in their associations etc..... You could probably find more than one association in the state of WI that could beat them, so Superior beating them is not that surprising...... Oh and anytime you can get 2 or more teams at a given age level in WI associations you are doing really well (though Superior historically has higher standards than the rest of the state for numbers, as they believe they are part of MN )

JSR wrote:

57special wrote:How strong would WI association hockey be if they weren't able to hop across the border and play MN teams?

I think AAA hockey would cause the demise of town hockey as we know it. Adding the extra AA level has already exposed the lack of depth in many associations hitherto thought as strong. Having AAA siphon away more players could cause the collapse of many of the smaller associations, and weaken the larger ones. I have my complaints about the existing system, but am also aware that the AAA system isn't all it's made out to be.

Some associations would still be good. Stevens Point has a top notch association program and they can't just "hop across the boarder" as they are several hours from it, they can go to play MN but it's not like they are Hudson, Somerset or Superior or Eau Clarie etc......

Hard to say on whether AAA would cause the demise or not, WI has had AAA hockey for as long as I can remember yet association hockey and high school hockey are continuing to grow and get get better and better and frankly are out pacing the AAA programs in some instances, though we may be seeing a shift again based on some of the new "rules" etc........

The 2001 team for the Caps is not particularly strong, they could be if all the eligible players played for them but they don't, several travel south to Chicago to play and other stay in their associations etc..... You could probably find more than one association in the state of WI that could beat them, so Superior beating them is not that surprising...... Oh and anytime you can get 2 or more teams at a given age level in WI associations you are doing really well (though Superior historically has higher standards than the rest of the state for numbers, as they believe they are part of MN )

Surprising is probably not the right word for an association with 30 some players beating an all star team... Sad, comes to mind.

Must be frustrating for a parent that pays thousands and thousands and could have better living in booze town......

I've seen indoor rinks in Siren/Ashland and other small wis towns that suggests interest in community hockey. Only time will tell. Having the local icetime is a key. IMO. The rest can be "built" whith Time/energy/Good leadership [the hardest to find].

MrBoDangles wrote:

JSR wrote:

57special wrote:How strong would WI association hockey be if they weren't able to hop across the border and play MN teams?

I think AAA hockey would cause the demise of town hockey as we know it. Adding the extra AA level has already exposed the lack of depth in many associations hitherto thought as strong. Having AAA siphon away more players could cause the collapse of many of the smaller associations, and weaken the larger ones. I have my complaints about the existing system, but am also aware that the AAA system isn't all it's made out to be.

Some associations would still be good. Stevens Point has a top notch association program and they can't just "hop across the boarder" as they are several hours from it, they can go to play MN but it's not like they are Hudson, Somerset or Superior or Eau Clarie etc......

Hard to say on whether AAA would cause the demise or not, WI has had AAA hockey for as long as I can remember yet association hockey and high school hockey are continuing to grow and get get better and better and frankly are out pacing the AAA programs in some instances, though we may be seeing a shift again based on some of the new "rules" etc........

The 2001 team for the Caps is not particularly strong, they could be if all the eligible players played for them but they don't, several travel south to Chicago to play and other stay in their associations etc..... You could probably find more than one association in the state of WI that could beat them, so Superior beating them is not that surprising...... Oh and anytime you can get 2 or more teams at a given age level in WI associations you are doing really well (though Superior historically has higher standards than the rest of the state for numbers, as they believe they are part of MN )

Surprising is probably not the right word for an association with 30 some players beating an all star team... Sad, comes to mind.

Must be frustrating for a parent that pays thousands and thousands and could have better living in booze town......

Well first of all, if we're going to discuss it let's be accurate, the Superior Association has 3 teams and has 40 players at the Pee Wee level, not 30.... Also, Superior has a pretty deep and rich hockey tradition with some good skaters and good coaches and frankly that part of the state is different than teh rest of the state hockey wise and we understand and appreciate that.... That said technically what you said you could say that about any AAA team in any part of the country. I mean clearly Edina is able to play with even the top AAA teams in the country as shown last year and I assume playing for Edina costs around $1,400 for association fees (I am guessing) whereas to play for those top AAA teams (like Chocago Mission or Honeybaked or others) costs anywhere from $9,000 to $25,000 (plus travel expenses). Should those families move to Edina because quality hockey is "cheaper"??? ... I know for me that I don't think you could pay me enough money to move to Superior, pretty in the summer for about 2 or 3 months but the rest of the year, no thanks..... That said I'd hardly call the 2001 Caps an "allstar" team, but the reality, for better or worse, is that 2001 Caps team is still better than any association team in the greater Madison area and has better practices, better coaching and plays better competition than any association team in the Madison area, so everything is relative remember..... oh lastly the fees for the Caps are probably the "cheapest" in all of AAA hockey, the Suters have always wanted to maintain a fee structure that wouldn't let money be the hinderance for good players to play there. Last year the fees were only around $2,500 plus travel expenses, so it's not even remotely as high as most other AAA programs

old goalie85 wrote:I've seen indoor rinks in Siren/Ashland and other small wis towns that suggests interest in community hockey. Only time will tell. Having the local icetime is a key. IMO. The rest can be "built" whith Time/energy/Good leadership [the hardest to find].

It is happening, we've seen 3 new rinks built in the Madison area in the last 5 years with youth participation increasing overall due to them being built.... growth is slow but its happening

JSR wrote:

MrBoDangles wrote:

JSR wrote: Some associations would still be good. Stevens Point has a top notch association program and they can't just "hop across the boarder" as they are several hours from it, they can go to play MN but it's not like they are Hudson, Somerset or Superior or Eau Clarie etc......

Hard to say on whether AAA would cause the demise or not, WI has had AAA hockey for as long as I can remember yet association hockey and high school hockey are continuing to grow and get get better and better and frankly are out pacing the AAA programs in some instances, though we may be seeing a shift again based on some of the new "rules" etc........

The 2001 team for the Caps is not particularly strong, they could be if all the eligible players played for them but they don't, several travel south to Chicago to play and other stay in their associations etc..... You could probably find more than one association in the state of WI that could beat them, so Superior beating them is not that surprising...... Oh and anytime you can get 2 or more teams at a given age level in WI associations you are doing really well (though Superior historically has higher standards than the rest of the state for numbers, as they believe they are part of MN )

Surprising is probably not the right word for an association with 30 some players beating an all star team... Sad, comes to mind.

Must be frustrating for a parent that pays thousands and thousands and could have better living in booze town......

Well first of all, if we're going to discuss it let's be accurate, the Superior Association has 3 teams and has 40 players at the Pee Wee level, not 30.... Also, Superior has a pretty deep and rich hockey tradition with some good skaters and good coaches and frankly that part of the state is different than teh rest of the state hockey wise and we understand and appreciate that.... That said technically what you said you could say that about any AAA team in any part of the country. I mean clearly Edina is able to play with even the top AAA teams in the country as shown last year and I assume playing for Edina costs around $1,400 for association fees (I am guessing) whereas to play for those top AAA teams (like Chocago Mission or Honeybaked or others) costs anywhere from $9,000 to $25,000 (plus travel expenses). Should those families move to Edina because quality hockey is "cheaper"??? ... I know for me that I don't think you could pay me enough money to move to Superior, pretty in the summer for about 2 or 3 months but the rest of the year, no thanks..... That said I'd hardly call the 2001 Caps an "allstar" team, but the reality, for better or worse, is that 2001 Caps team is still better than any association team in the greater Madison area and has better practices, better coaching and plays better competition than any association team in the Madison area, so everything is relative remember..... oh lastly the fees for the Caps are probably the "cheapest" in all of AAA hockey, the Suters have always wanted to maintain a fee structure that wouldn't let money be the hinderance for good players to play there. Last year the fees were only around $2,500 plus travel expenses, so it's not even remotely as high as most other AAA programs

I agree with you 100%... You seem to be getting a little defensive.

I'm just saying it would suck to play for an all star team that has to travel to find games just to lose to some community teams that only have three teams. I thought you were saying the same thing.....?

I thought I had counted three teams of thirteen when I said thirty *Some kids at pewees...

MrBoDangles wrote:

JSR wrote:

MrBoDangles wrote: Surprising is probably not the right word for an association with 30 some players beating an all star team... Sad, comes to mind.

Must be frustrating for a parent that pays thousands and thousands and could have better living in booze town......

Well first of all, if we're going to discuss it let's be accurate, the Superior Association has 3 teams and has 40 players at the Pee Wee level, not 30.... Also, Superior has a pretty deep and rich hockey tradition with some good skaters and good coaches and frankly that part of the state is different than teh rest of the state hockey wise and we understand and appreciate that.... That said technically what you said you could say that about any AAA team in any part of the country. I mean clearly Edina is able to play with even the top AAA teams in the country as shown last year and I assume playing for Edina costs around $1,400 for association fees (I am guessing) whereas to play for those top AAA teams (like Chocago Mission or Honeybaked or others) costs anywhere from $9,000 to $25,000 (plus travel expenses). Should those families move to Edina because quality hockey is "cheaper"??? ... I know for me that I don't think you could pay me enough money to move to Superior, pretty in the summer for about 2 or 3 months but the rest of the year, no thanks..... That said I'd hardly call the 2001 Caps an "allstar" team, but the reality, for better or worse, is that 2001 Caps team is still better than any association team in the greater Madison area and has better practices, better coaching and plays better competition than any association team in the Madison area, so everything is relative remember..... oh lastly the fees for the Caps are probably the "cheapest" in all of AAA hockey, the Suters have always wanted to maintain a fee structure that wouldn't let money be the hinderance for good players to play there. Last year the fees were only around $2,500 plus travel expenses, so it's not even remotely as high as most other AAA programs

I agree with you 100%... You seem to be getting a little defensive.

I'm just saying it would suck to play for an all star team that has to travel to find games just to lose to some community teams that only have three teams. I thought you were saying the same thing.....?

I thought I had counted three teams of thirteen when I said thirty *Some kids at pewees...

It does suck.... We have to travel a ton for my older son (2000) to get the coaching and the games you guys have in droves in a small metro area.... So yes it does suck..... That said I also know the demographics and it is what it is .... and yes they have three teams, one with 12, one with 13 and one with 15 (so = 40)

JSR wrote:

MrBoDangles wrote:

JSR wrote: Well first of all, if we're going to discuss it let's be accurate, the Superior Association has 3 teams and has 40 players at the Pee Wee level, not 30.... Also, Superior has a pretty deep and rich hockey tradition with some good skaters and good coaches and frankly that part of the state is different than teh rest of the state hockey wise and we understand and appreciate that.... That said technically what you said you could say that about any AAA team in any part of the country. I mean clearly Edina is able to play with even the top AAA teams in the country as shown last year and I assume playing for Edina costs around $1,400 for association fees (I am guessing) whereas to play for those top AAA teams (like Chocago Mission or Honeybaked or others) costs anywhere from $9,000 to $25,000 (plus travel expenses). Should those families move to Edina because quality hockey is "cheaper"??? ... I know for me that I don't think you could pay me enough money to move to Superior, pretty in the summer for about 2 or 3 months but the rest of the year, no thanks..... That said I'd hardly call the 2001 Caps an "allstar" team, but the reality, for better or worse, is that 2001 Caps team is still better than any association team in the greater Madison area and has better practices, better coaching and plays better competition than any association team in the Madison area, so everything is relative remember..... oh lastly the fees for the Caps are probably the "cheapest" in all of AAA hockey, the Suters have always wanted to maintain a fee structure that wouldn't let money be the hinderance for good players to play there. Last year the fees were only around $2,500 plus travel expenses, so it's not even remotely as high as most other AAA programs

I agree with you 100%... You seem to be getting a little defensive.

I'm just saying it would suck to play for an all star team that has to travel to find games just to lose to some community teams that only have three teams. I thought you were saying the same thing.....?

I thought I had counted three teams of thirteen when I said thirty *Some kids at pewees...

It does suck.... We have to travel a ton for my older son (2000) to get the coaching and the games you guys have in droves in a small metro area.... So yes it does suck..... That said I also know the demographics and it is what it is .... and yes they have three teams, one with 12, one with 13 and one with 15 (so = 40)

I had my fingers going while count in' then had to break out my toes and got all messed up. Add one!

Colorado team should be here today for some games. Seems like more all the time.

old goalie85 wrote:Colorado team should be here today for some games. Seems like more all the time.

Nice, should be fun..... Don't have the scores handy but from what I heard it sounds like the '99 Caps beat ALbert Lea pretty soundly in all three games last weekend