Really?...most of them are going to high school, the ones who are in 8th grade next year will be looking for a full season teams...so I would think that the majority are breaking up and most of the players will be scattered looking for half season or full season teams. Most full season teams in the EHF are a mix of "elite" and tier 1, same with the E9.
Very true, went thru it last spring, if your kid might play JV or Freshman for a bad high school team, play full season club with a good coach and good core of players...better development and if your kid loves hockey its 8 months instead of 2 months of high school.
Hard to tell, U14 teams are usually the last to get formed...find a good coach first. Previous poster mentioned teams with a good core of kids who are 8th graders next year, otherwise you may have some high school kids coming in and out though out the year.