Yote 53

This is my biggest fear, that this is the new normal. I'm not willing to live like this with annual shutdowns and total disruptions of our society. I'd rather live my life and just deal with whatever happens.

I agree with that. I also agree that they may have been forced into the corner of cancelling due to the possibility of bad publicity of continuing the games. It would be a PR nightmare if the games played on and the pandemic blew up and out of control and could be linked to people attending sporting events. Nobody wants to be the league that's legacy is they are willing to kill their fans, or players, just so they can make a buck. It would be a PR disaster.

The only thing I will say is that these professional sports leagues and the NCAA aren't going to make decisions that cost them millions or 100's of millions of dollars based on media hype or overreaction. Before they start costing themselves milllions they are going to consult with the highest levels of government and the CDC. They have access to more information than you or I. My take is that when these businesses start shutting down operations costing them millions then this crap just got real, it must be real. It's really happening and it's not just because of "hype" or "overblown" or "hysteria".

Santa Clara County just effectively shut down the San Jose Sharks. County wide ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Sharks will be playing in an empty stadium. This is getting ridiculous. Media driven hysteria is doing more damage to this country and the economy than the coronavirus. Simply look at the numbers, you have a better chance of dying in a car accident today than dying from coronavirus. The hysteria won't stop until we go full on quarantine like Italy so be prepared to be stuck at home or at least have travel restricted to your county/city. We're stocking up on essentials in the Yote53 household; TP, non-perishable food, water, beer, and vodka. A ton of beer and vodka.

Here is the news story on the incident. LINK Hockey and sports in general mirror society today. There are extremes on both ends. While there are people like this out there and crazy does happen I don't think it reflects or defines the sport. There are a ton of good people involved in hockey doing things the right way, players, parents, coaches, and referees . These days the ugly incidents and knuckleheads can make national headlines in minutes given the reach of social media and make everybody look bad. This guy will never coach again. His club fired him and he's probably already on the Safesport banned list. He's probably got bigger problems as I am guessing he will do time in jail for assault, as he should. The most disturbing thing to me in that really messed up deal is some of the kids stick tapping during and after the fight. Incredible.

Didn't know that. They don't show up on any of the national rankings and they must not be a national tournament bound team because Sioux Falls has gotten a pass to nationals the last couple of years out of the Northern Plains district. I thought the program had folded. Suppose I could have just Googled it to find out. Edit: I did Google it and see only the 14U team is playing Sioux Falls for a spot at Nationals. 16U and 18U are not.

Whatever happened to Team North Dakota Tier 1 Before and After program? They haven't fielded teams the last two years.

Must have flipped his commitment this year. He was a CC commit.

Just keep giving them access to State and support hockey in southern MN. It may take years but they'll get better. Already see the improvement in 3A programs like Luverne, New Ulm, Hutch, LDC, Marshall over years past. Heck, I remember when some of these towns didn't have programs and were just getting youth programs started. It takes a while to catch up.

To be fair, the 1A semifinals are going to be great. Any four of those teams could win the title. Should be some pretty good & entertaining hockey. As bad as the 3A rep Hutchinson got boat raced (as did the 1A and 5A reps) they need to keep the Sections how they have them. Hockey is growing in southern MN and in a few more years you'll see the 3A schools become more competitive. Also, need Section 1A to grow and growth in the Rochester Area. No idea how Rochester is going to support 3 Class AA high schools (Century, John Marshall, Mayo) and 1 Class A school (Lourdes) when the youth hockey program doesn't even field a AA Bantam team instead fielding 2 Bantam A, 2 B1, and 2 B2 teams. Yeah, you could argue the state tournament should have the best teams in the state. I would argue that shutting out the southern schools and not giving them access to State would lead to death of programs that are trying to grow or just trying to hang on. Good article by McFeely that touches on subjects related to this. Class AA is becoming a Metro party. LINK

NTDP, Juniors, AAA. One of the best U16 goalies in the country is from Minnesota and has never played a HS game there in his career. Been at Sioux Falls AAA the entire time and got some time with USHL Dubuque this year as well. You come across quite a few Minnesota addresses if you start digging into Tier 1 and Junior rosters.

I think you missed my point. Players and parents don't get into the game for the purpose of getting a scholarship. If that were the case you could take all the money spent on youth hockey put it in a 529 and pay for an Ivy League school. If you are a good athlete and good at a sport there should be a legitimate pathway to play collegiately, with a relative number of available spots, and we shouldn't be prematurely washing potential hockey players out of the system because there are so many barriers to reaching that level, that's my point. It doesn't take too many years (those pre-HS Bantam years is one point) before "choices" are made about what sport(s) are pursued in HS and if there isn't legitimate opportunity available then the choice to continue or drop a sport becomes easy. I've seen this with kids I know that dropped basketball and focused on baseball, so it's not just a hockey thing, but they were looking at the entire picture and their opportunity to play a sport in college. Just so happens these boys are being offered in baseball in the GPAC. Another kid I know dropped football to focus on wrestling and now he's going to a D1 wrestling school. If you look at the sport of hockey and see so few opportunities the choice to drop the sport and focus on another becomes easy. Minnesota high school is the anomaly, not the rule when it comes to hockey in the USA. But even MN Hockey experiences talent loss to Junior and AAA programs, and some of the best (or at least talented) North Dakota hockey players leave HS hockey to pursue AAA or Junior hockey all due to the ongoing changes in the development path of players. I just need to read the ND State Hockey Tournament thread to see that. Used to be if you were good enough they will find you. For the top 1-5% of players that is probably still true, but for the other 95% they have a tougher road because there are so many talented players today with so limited spots available. So they feel compelled to take what some believe are "extreme" measures in order to achieve their goal. I'm just saying the road can be very hard for what amounts to minimal opportunities because college hockey growth has been stagnant relative to youth hockey growth the last 20 years.

This is important. Lack of opportunities down the road is a disincentive to get involved, stay involved, or continue to pursue a higher level of hockey for players who show some promise. Right now a player has to delay college for 2-3 years and play Juniors with a tough shot at making a D3 roster, let alone a D1 roster. If you use USA Hockey's own Long Term Athletic Development Model (ADM) it has 8 steps and players don't even reach the Train to Compete stage until Stage 6 at U20. Most players wash out before even getting to this point due to a lack of a realistic opportunity that any of this will go anywhere. The percentages say you're better off just going to college and not pursuing Juniors, or just choose a different sport long before you get to this point if you are a good athlete. There are more opportunities to play football, basketball, and baseball at the D1, D2, D3, and NAIA levels. Until more NCAA college hockey opportunities are opened up it creates a bottleneck, and effectively a cap on the number of participants taking up the sport. Eventually it is going to hurt youth numbers, or at best cap them, as people come to this realization

That Iowa article does not say they are going D1. In fact, I've had this argument over on the Iowa board for years, there is just no desire by Gary Barta to start a D1 hockey program. Iowa is one of the richest AD in the country and could do it if they wanted to with Xtreme Arena and it's 5,100 seats sitting right there waiting for them. The fact is they won't do it because it would be winter competition for the wrestling and basketball programs. Wrestling attendance would be fine but basketball, not so sure. When basketball is down Carver Hawkeye is a ghost town. I think the AD is resisting hockey to protect basketball. Lack of money is not an excuse. The Big Ten just raked in the most money ever in history at over $750 million in 2018. Most money EVER for a conference. It's about choosing not to start a program at this point. The interesting take from that article, Iowa City is going to host a semi-pro hockey team, so competition for entertainment dollars is going to happen whether Barta likes it or not. Good. I hope they have crazy good attendance. If that happens the Hawkeyes would see there is a market and maybe Barta would open his eyes to the possibility.

As far as the Summit is concerned the only talk about Augie to the Summit has come from the Sioux Falls media. Nobody from Augie has contacted the Summit about possible membership last I heard. It's now been two years since Augie announced they were going D1 and then... Summit is good at 10. Augie shouldn't even be considered.

Well it looks like it worked out for Notre Dame. They play in the beautiful Compton Family Arena, are members of the Big Ten in hockey, made the Frozen Four in 2017 & 2018 and Big Ten titles in 2018 & 2019, and have their own deal with NBC Sports that gives them a national TV audience. They got everything they wanted.

What year is Trey Lance scheduled to graduate? 2023? Uh oh.

Iowa volleyball is using the new arena. No idea how a small club hockey team could afford to pay the rent on a building like Iowa Arena. I don't see how what a club hockey program does has any bearing on a varsity hockey program. If a school decides to go D1 they go D1, doesn't matter what the club situation is.

Roll the two years back to one year and there would be less "minor league" stuff going on as most freshman redshirt. One year should give players enough time to know if they made the right college choice or not and if a transfer is necessary.

Yep, lots of drawbacks to unhindered transfers and you guys have hit on a few of them. I would put some restrictions on transfers but otherwise make it a much easier and smoother process. I don't think it is good for the school, the program, or the student-athletes to allow unlimited, unhindered transfers. I cannot imagine the amount of pressure that would put on everybody involved in college sports, athletes, coaches, ADs, etc. - Sometimes kids just choose the wrong school. I would allow one transfer within the first two years of a student-athletes enrollment, no restrictions. - If there is a change in head coaches the student-athletes should be allowed to transfer, no restrictions. - If a player graduates they should be eligible to transfer, no restrictions. - If a player can show some sort of hardship that requires them to transfer to a school closer to home, this usually involves health/medical issues with the player's family. Those are just a few reasonable reasons that players should be allowed a free transfer.

No. Never happen.

Wouldn't it be ironic if D1 hockey took off in the SEC before it ever does in the PAC? With ASU going D1 we hear about other PAC schools kicking the tires, and hockey has really grown out West, but the PAC schools are hurting for money because of bad TV deals. The SEC is flush with cash and there are some ACHA club programs in the SEC with good followings. I could legitimately see some SEC schools starting D1 programs. You can only build so many football and baseball facilities. At some point you have to spend that money in order to keep your tax exempt status. I still think the Big Ten needs to really put some pressure on Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana to start D1 programs. All schools have facilities in place, under construction, or have plans for facilities in various stages.

Boise State is a completely overrated JUCO. I hope they do push the MWC and they kick them out because they'll quickly find out they have nowhere to go. They've really gotten a lot of mileage off that bowl upset of an unmotivated Oklahoma team a decade ago. Time for that bubble to burst.

Need to have conference champs get an autobid. Treat it the same way the NFL treats Division champs. If you want the regular season, and more games, to be meaningful and for every game to matter then you need to make conference races important. I disagree with the "every game matters" in the regular season crowd the way things sit right now. It's BS. Only a couple of games each season matter at all. In fact, I can list which games mattered this season: LSU v Alabama LSU v Auburn Alabama v Auburn Georgia v Florida Georgia v Notre Dame Georgia v LSU - CCG Oregon v Utah - CCG Oklahoma v Baylor Ohio State v Penn State Ohio State v Michigan Ohio State v Wisconsin - CCG That's about it. Clemson didn't play a meaningful game, at least not one where anybody reasonably expected them to be at risk of losing. Given the massive number of CFB games in a season the number of games that have an impact on the playoffs and the NC race is pitiful.

54,000 is the number for the entire Rocky Mountain District - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Utah, and New Mexico. Hockey in Utah is still pretty weak. Numbers are getting better but still a struggle.