Hmmm, are they really the state's top Catholic? 2-1 loss.

It's all weak. And then the locals get all up in arms when a kid bails for the USHL.

Wouldn't be this way if all the disillusioned parents would stay put and play HS hockey. If your kid can go to USHL, fine, but no one is! NE Stars, Junior Rangers and the other joke "Junior" programs are just money grabs. Stay put, save your money, and have fun in high school. Go play this non-sense after you graduate.

While not addressing the team(s) mentioned, these high school coaches have to get better at finding kids opportunities after high school (In all fairness I'd guess MC has been better than average at it). Junior team coaches spend hours each week trying to find college opportunities for their kids. Find me more than 2-3 high school coaches that spend ANY time trying to find junior or college teams for their players, I'd be amazed.

And then they all bellyache when kids move on to junior teams. Spare me coaches.

Yes, he graduates from a high school usually in the town where his team is located. Is it a big deal? Not really because most of these kids have college deals in place and the ones that might worry would be the ones that don't have a college deal and they can't produce very good standardized test scores. But hey, Lake Superior State needs players too.

USHL not the problem - if a kid is good enough to play there let him go. It's the other garbage programs grabbing HS kids that are the problem as mentioned in the post. Stay in HS, play with your buddies - then play a yr or two of jr's if you want to make a run at it. Could be wrong but dont think there are lots of HS kids running to USHL - and again if they are good enough to play there go get'em.

I agree somewhat. I've seen it go various ways at the high school level. One case the kids should have stayed; another case the kid should have gone and another the kid stayed and it made no difference.

A couple kids who are very good players get sold a bill of goods from a nearby prep school coach and they make the jump. They sign-up and do a repeat year. The coach uses them to win plenty of games and to support his star player and then really doesn't do anything for them to get to the next level. The kids' junior team contacts are few, they've already fallen for their repeat year for the prep coach so the clock is ticking and once they graduate from the prep school they are scrambling trying to find a D-3 school that will take them. Would it have been different had they stayed at their local high school and found a junior team to take then at 18 years old? I can't imagine it would have been (not to mention the $75-$80k they blew supporting the team's star player).

Another kid shows up as a highly touted player his freshman year, being looked at seriously at the national level having played on top peewee & bantam teams but decides to stay at the local high school. Plays all four years but never improves. Develops bad habits, survives bad coaching, systems coaches employ are not in touch with today's game, plays with little discipline and plays well enough but never develops into a dominate player even at the high school level...many of us scouting the kid come to the conclusion the kid is worse as a senior than he was as a freshmen. He graduates at 18 and has limited options and goes off to college.

Another kid is a classic 'late bloomer' who stays with the high school, does everything the coaches ask of him, plays in the off season for some good coaches and good programs and finally gets ice time as a junior.
The kid grows into his frame and becomes one of the better local players and helps his high school win a lot of games. High school coaches have no idea and do nothing to help the kid after high school - in fact one of his coaches told me "stay away from my players!" The kid graduates at 18 and three or four of the better local junior teams are calling including a couple USHL teams and a couple Canadian junior teams based upon his play and his club team contacts. Kid isn't interested and decides to move onto college to study with no real interest in playing more hockey.

What I've learned is every kid is different and every case is different. Some should stay and some should go.

I was watching a high school game a couple years ago at Reading and a couple guys who based on what they were wearing and the notes they were taking I assumed were junior team coaches were watching the game. The visiting team had an assistant coach who kept yelling at these guys. I couldn't figure it out but eventually I could make it out and he was yelling - "get the hell out of here!" and stuff like that to these two guys. I found it really disheartening.

Is the tier 1 elite hockey league invite only or can a player try out? Just curious...

So they will still be tier 3 and just because it will be free for all of the provincial families that are afraid to travel outside of New England people think it will then compete with the USHL?

Please

For those on the South Shore who know Hinghams team well, how would they do against BA's u16 & I 18 teams?

I think Hingham would lose to both U-16 and U-18 BA teams. In fact I don't think it would even be close. The full season teams are made up of kids who know the game and specialize in hockey, are plus skaters and can move the puck effectively.

The coaches of the few kids taken for Hockey East schools will still send them out to the Midwest. USPHL will have a few D-I kids (Kings, Hitmen...) but it will still be a D-3 college league for the foreseeable future.