Deep Thoughts • 22/06/2021
Deep Thoughts - June 22 2021 - State of Sudbury Hockey & Suggestions
DEEP THOUGHTS
With
Mark Seidel
It is time to fix the AAA Hockey System
As a comparison, in these same 4 drafts, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has had eight draft picks, including three 1st round picks while the City of North Bay has had 7 players selected. Historically, this city has produced three draft picks in ONE ROUND but those days are gone.
Does anyone really believe that these sister cities have better hockey players? I can guarantee you that the answer is no.
Is it because this city has stopped producing players with the ability to play at the next level? Absolutely not!
Have there been players that should have been selected but got bypassed? Absolutely!
The problem is that our AAA system is severely broken, and it needs to be fixed
For those unaware, we have 2 Minor Hockey associations in this City and each has a AAA hockey program. Furthermore, people may know that there was a AAA Co-Operation Committee that was formed ago to try and alleviate some of these issues (Full Disclosure: I, along with a number of dedicated hockey people made up this Committee) and it had advanced to the point where we began to develop and write a Constitution/Terms of Reference so that the group could have autonomy to correct the myriad of issues confronting our AAA Teams. Unfortunately, a combination of emboldened/upset Parents and some Board Members swooped in and eliminated the Co-Operation Committee so that AAA hockey was back in their hands and making decisions based on what was good for their Associations.
Let me break the news to everybody. This ISN’T working.
One of the ramifications of this disfunction is that families are choosing to send their kids to play in the south and leave our city when they are 14 or 15 years old. Think about that. Smart, intelligent parents who love their children dearly are opting to have them move south, live with a billet, go to a different school & leave their friends and family just so they can participate in a AAA Program that gives their kids the best opportunity for success. Just this year, Pharand started the year in Barrie while McCue chose to play all year for the Colts. That has been a trend lately with players like Oliver Smith, Sam Assinewai and Wilson Farrow all moving away and becoming OHL Draft picks. I have spent my career trying to fight against kids leaving because I do not think it is the right choice but at some point, I feel like we are swimming upstream because people have lost faith in the system and the results.
These 2 Minor Hockey associations in this city do yeoman’s work with House League/A/AA hockey and as I said, they each have historically run their own AAA hockey programs. I know and revere many of the people on both Boards and I admire their commitment and appreciate their willingness to get involved but having to deal with all the issues these days with House League, A and AA hockey ALONG with the complexities and nuances of AAA hockey is too much to demand from these volunteer community members.
With all that anecdotal evidence, I would ask that the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association & the Nickel City Minor Hockey Association look at taking the following steps:
Those are my Deep Thoughts for June…
Mark Seidel
With
Mark Seidel
It is time to fix the AAA Hockey System
As a comparison, in these same 4 drafts, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has had eight draft picks, including three 1st round picks while the City of North Bay has had 7 players selected. Historically, this city has produced three draft picks in ONE ROUND but those days are gone.
Does anyone really believe that these sister cities have better hockey players? I can guarantee you that the answer is no.
Is it because this city has stopped producing players with the ability to play at the next level? Absolutely not!
Have there been players that should have been selected but got bypassed? Absolutely!
The problem is that our AAA system is severely broken, and it needs to be fixed
For those unaware, we have 2 Minor Hockey associations in this City and each has a AAA hockey program. Furthermore, people may know that there was a AAA Co-Operation Committee that was formed ago to try and alleviate some of these issues (Full Disclosure: I, along with a number of dedicated hockey people made up this Committee) and it had advanced to the point where we began to develop and write a Constitution/Terms of Reference so that the group could have autonomy to correct the myriad of issues confronting our AAA Teams. Unfortunately, a combination of emboldened/upset Parents and some Board Members swooped in and eliminated the Co-Operation Committee so that AAA hockey was back in their hands and making decisions based on what was good for their Associations.
Let me break the news to everybody. This ISN’T working.
One of the ramifications of this disfunction is that families are choosing to send their kids to play in the south and leave our city when they are 14 or 15 years old. Think about that. Smart, intelligent parents who love their children dearly are opting to have them move south, live with a billet, go to a different school & leave their friends and family just so they can participate in a AAA Program that gives their kids the best opportunity for success. Just this year, Pharand started the year in Barrie while McCue chose to play all year for the Colts. That has been a trend lately with players like Oliver Smith, Sam Assinewai and Wilson Farrow all moving away and becoming OHL Draft picks. I have spent my career trying to fight against kids leaving because I do not think it is the right choice but at some point, I feel like we are swimming upstream because people have lost faith in the system and the results.
These 2 Minor Hockey associations in this city do yeoman’s work with House League/A/AA hockey and as I said, they each have historically run their own AAA hockey programs. I know and revere many of the people on both Boards and I admire their commitment and appreciate their willingness to get involved but having to deal with all the issues these days with House League, A and AA hockey ALONG with the complexities and nuances of AAA hockey is too much to demand from these volunteer community members.
With all that anecdotal evidence, I would ask that the Sudbury Minor Hockey Association & the Nickel City Minor Hockey Association look at taking the following steps:
- Look at jointly creating a separate Board that deals exclusively with the AAA issues & works toward improving the AAA experience in this city. Let us call it the “AAA Co-Operation Committee”
- This Board should have 7 members with each Association getting 1 spot each. The remaining 5 spots should be filled by volunteers from the community with some interest & experience in AAA/Elite hockey/Junior hockey. An important caveat is that no parents with kids in AAA hockey should be permitted to serve on the Committee. This will ensure impartialness and the potential for a conflict of interest.
- This Committee should be tasked with creating a Terms of Reference and Constitution to lay out a roadmap for the operation of the Committee.
- This Committee has complete autonomy over the AAA Teams in the city and is tasked with improving all facets of the AAA experience, including reducing the costs, player promotion & helping the elite players reach their ceiling.
- Part of the mandate of this Committee would be provide more support and tools for the Coaches such as Skill Development, Positional Specialists & Off-Ice training.
- It would be up to the Committee, but I feel strongly that we need to eliminate having 2 AAA teams in each division up to midget because it prevents all the best players from playing with each other & research has shown that elite players need to practice and play with other elite players for them to reach their maximum ceiling. The elimination of these AAA teams will improve & enhance the A/AA teams in this city. As a bonus, the players that have been at the bottom of a AAA roster can gain confidence by being given the opportunity to improve and reach their ceiling.
- We should have AAA starting in Minor Atom with 1 team all the way up, including Major Midget. Players that show passion, ability and strive to be elite should begin that process in Minor Atom and be allowed to compete against the best in Ontario at that age.
Those are my Deep Thoughts for June…
Mark Seidel
Sports. Stories. Honesty. Unbiased.
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