So I am going to apologize to all the EHF Tier 1 White, BHL National, MPDHL Elite and EMHL parents as this honest information will undoubtably bruise the ego a bit. I'm also going to apologize to the Fed elite parents, tier 1 black parents, e9 elite and BHL American parents.

1) Fed Elite and e9. Your children are not "elite". There is no such thing in hockey. Simply put, they are AAA or Tier 1. Sorry, your kid is not elite.

2) Fed tier 1 Black and BHL American, your kids are not AAA hockey players. They are AA, or by USA hockey classifications, Tier 2. Please don't refer to your players as "AAA". They are not. They are AA. For a few of you MPDHL teams, you are free to call yourself AA. Only for a few though. In the US that is the same classification as Town A. Sorry but while talking by the water cooler at work please tell everyone you have an A or a AA player not a AAA player.

3) Fed tier 1 white, BHL National, MPDHL elite, and EMHL, your kids are not AAA let alone AA hockey players. They are B players. Some teams should be classified as tier 2 but honestly, most should be classified as tier 3, or Town B. You are the third level of your program so by USA and Canadian hockey standards your tier 3. I know, I know. This stings. All the money spent on the bags and the jackets and telling your buddies at work about your little All-Star that can't skate backwards. If you look at it this way, B is only one letter removed from the first letter in the alphabet. Really not that bad. Could be on the D or E team? That would be really tough to explain though.

So there we have it folks. No elite. Just AAA. Then AA, then A or B. Please, please use the correct terminology. Please also educate your children on this. You are misleading them when you tell them they are a AAA player and they are in the EMHL.

And yes EMHL or fed white or BHL national parent, classifications and proper terminology does matter.