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14 ('07), 15 ('06), 16 ('05), 17 ('04) all starting around now - tryouts for 16 and 17 just concluded, festival next weekend. Any interesting insights to share? Numbers at tryouts? Notable absences? Surprising makes/cuts?

Rosters to be posted after dinner tonight. Will be interesting to see how many 03s took spots in the 17s.

What time is dinner?

Eagles93 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:33 pm What time is dinner?

Dinner is over.....rosters are posted.

A quick view of three of the G17/G18 rosters.

I see one section took 5 late 03s, another took 7, another took 6, and another took 4.

I'm quite surprised to not see the last name Jungels on the Section 6 roster. Even more proof she might be accelerating, given this:

New this season, the HP 17 program (2004 birth years) will also be open to high school junior players born in 2003 (HP 18's).

Had another look at that Section 6 roster. I guess I'm also surprised to not see the last names of Maxwell, Lindborg and Mortenson.

I've perused the 17/18 rosters, and there were a few headscratchers in other sections: some that may have reasonable explanations - like did the Gazdik's try out in Wisconsin instead of section 4; some intrigue - 10 from Holy Family in 2, but a couple notable absences; some "yikes" - in handicapping, I forgot about the SSM kids in section 1 - tilts that section a bit.

But 6 was a gong show. Who were the evaluators?

As to your question - I don't think Jungels, Maxwell, Lindborg (or Kuehl) tried out. Mortenson was there, I believe. Jungels and Kuehl I get - doubt their coaches care whether they make the 54s this year, and there's nowhere further to go. But Maxwell as an 03, and even more, Lindborg as an 04?!? The future college coach is pretty intense - I wonder if she vetted with Muzzy bailing on an opportunity to bolster the brand of Muzzy's recruiting class? Hope she was okay with that choice. And Chapman lost out to an Edina JV player? And a D made the team without trying out? Love to hear the story there.

But Broz?!? I would take her all day every day before all the forwards you mentioned. She made the 18 camp as a double-underager in 2019, and one of only 5 04s that year from Minnesota, had a good '21 season as the top line center for Blake (had more points than all of the kids on the section 6 team that played a high-end schedule, except her Blake wings) and now, according to the cracker jack evaluators from section 6, she's behind an Edina JV and a Benilde 4th liner/swing...? Um, no. That is bat-$#!^ crazy - just totally bonkers. Who were the evaluators?

On the 16s... I wonder if tryout numbers were low this year? Some of those sections are really lacking in depth, I've never heard of a few of the players.

Thoen88 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:07 am Dinner is over.....rosters are posted.

Link?

15s: https://www.minnesotahockey.org/page/sh ... ival-2021-

16 & 17/18s: https://www.minnesotahockey.org/page/sh ... ival-2021-

Click on each team to see the roster.

Overheard walking by evaluators table: “just mark down all the D1 commits - they must be good.”

"...like her, she's going to [a strong D1 program]," about the younger sister of a kid ACTUALLY going to [strong D1 program].

Minnesota hockey staff - "We have our top [people] on it."
Indiana Jones - "Who?"
Staff - "Our. Top. [People]."

It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for em.

Mixing movie quotes - never a good sign...

The Director/Owner of Os Hockey was sitting in the middle of the eval table. No conflict of interest there....

I guess I missed the fact that 3 of the 5 Class of 2022 Gopher commits (including Jungels for now, who is a 2022 but might accelerate) weren't on a HP17 Festival team this past weekend, whether by choice or by Section selection. That's crazy, though Jungels is an 03, so I can understand that decision.

The other two 2022 Gopher commits went pointless.

Also, where was Courneia? Seriously?

I'm not sure it means much of anything in the grand scheme of things, but I do think the number of eligible yet absent D1 commits at the 04 level was one of the stories of the Festival weekend.

54s rosters are out. With the kids playing in the nationals not being allowed to compete in the 54s, it makes for some shakeups this weekend at Fogerty.

Thoen88 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:28 pm 54s rosters are out. With the kids playing in the nationals not being allowed to compete in the 54s, it makes for some shakeups this weekend at Fogerty.

This is the answer to my question as to missing players. But, does this mean those players aren't going to be considered for the U18s? How do you leave this group:

http://www.hselitehockey.com/stats#/394 ... 461/roster

out of the pool of consideration? Surely these players are going to be considered for the U18s which, well, why bother with this tryout process at all? Maybe the process should be like USA Basketball at the U16 level - 20 invites and 10 accepted applicants for a 2-week training camp, and fully invited players after that.

Adding to it - none of the 03s made it to weekend #2. Which again begs the question, along with the Nationals participants, as to why they were there in the first place. Hopefully they weren't asked to pay.....

Simple answer. Money

Post by Thoen88 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:21 pm
"Rosters to be posted after dinner tonight. Will be interesting to see how many 03s took spots in the 17s."

I wonder if people like Madison Lavergne (Warroad), CJ Mack and Kendra Emery (EGF), Hanley Block (Alexandria) and Tenley Stewart (Cloquet) were informed by Minnesota Hockey that they had absolutely zero chance of advancing to 54's before they made the trip to Plymouth from their respective locations last weekend. Seems like it would be the "Minnesota nice" thing to do...

bodyup88 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 11:04 am Post by Thoen88 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 9:21 pm
"Rosters to be posted after dinner tonight. Will be interesting to see how many 03s took spots in the 17s."

I wonder if people like Madison Lavergne (Warroad), CJ Mack and Kendra Emery (EGF), Hanley Block (Alexandria) and Tenley Stewart (Cloquet) were informed by Minnesota Hockey that they had absolutely zero chance of advancing to 54's before they made the trip to Plymouth from their respective locations last weekend. Seems like it would be the "Minnesota nice" thing to do...

By my count, about 20% of the 160 U17 roster spots were occupied by ineligible players last weekend, in the name of "relative age effect" (Brandt was born in November!) and exposure to college scouts (during a dead period).

Also by my count, 18 skaters and 2 goalies who have good odds to be chosen for USA U16/U17 and U18 camps this summer won't be playing this weekend at the Final 54. They get to play and be assessed at Nationals, playing with girls they've skated with for years. Girls at the Final 54 are precluded from any direct competition with these players.

This whole thread is what MN HP has been doing for years...and generally will do for years to come. USA hockey both past and present is similar too.

Both organizations are a combination of gathering $$$ and "growing the game". During the years my kid was a part of these programs there were kids discussed amongst parent groups I was included in around rinks that did not belong skill wise and the only reason we could come up with was that MN/USA Hockey wanted to make sure that there was greater geographic and section representation. It was crystal clear when those kids were on the ice with other kids the higher those kids made it. This was most clear at USA camps with kids from districts that represented the traditionally non hockey states. This is much more the case on the girls side than the boys imo.

Turnover each year at 54's and the lower level USA hockey camps (the super select camp or 66 or whatever it might be called had a lot less turnover) was a goal of both so if your kid was in the bottom 30%-50% of 54's than most likely she would make it one of two years unless she was the best player in her section(assuming it was a weak section).

I think Minnesota Hockey did not handle the 03 thing well. They made clear they couldn't be considered for USA camps, but did not make clear they couldn't make the 54s. They should have. Say what you are going to do. Do it. Pretty good rule for administering anything.

I don't think "money" explains their decision to open the Festival up to 03s - they were going to fill the 160 slots last weekend or the 54 slots this weekend regardless - it was just a question of who was filling them. And their argument that it was about kids who had been overlooked made no sense. That is an age group for which very few recruiting opportunities remain. If anything, the very deep 04 group is more likely to have kids overlooked than the relatively thin 03 group. Just weird...