Which, if any, Oshawa AAA teams look like they could post .500 this year? My predictions on Bantam & Mid.

M.Bantam AAA (1995) - .500 or better
Bantam AAA (1994) - lucky to win more than 4 games all year
M.Midget AAA (1993) - same as the 94's
M.Midget AAA - will we even have a team?

Min. Bantams AAA - very small team, lots of speed up front but will be tough season for them this year.

1997 - another solid season
1998 - another building year
1999 - a big improvement

96's will be a good team as well. Grit and quite a bit of talent

Oshawa has been building a decent program for the past few seasons.
the new rinks have helped out, as has the weekly 3 zones.

The older age groups, sadly, were mismanaged , and any success is unlikely.

I like the direction this league is going in, look out in the very near future.

You must be kidding?

If the 96's dont finish in the top 3 in their division then JB should be canned. The 95"s wont the playoffs and MP 94's wont win 3 games this year.

I agree with previous poster....association has some pieces actually coming together. older age groups are a disaster, but younger ones appear to have some decent players and going to compete at .500 Now if someone could actually bring the individual people who say they are developing with their own programs (Snell, Bricknell, McCrory, etc.) and bring them together.....with ice and 3 Zones, they actually could have some serious teams. But they won't as they know more than anyone else.....this is the problem with the association. Individuals know it all, not prepared to be patient and work with association and OMHA....so close, yet so far.

you can't say that they should end up in the top 3 it all depends on the improvement idiot.

what do you mean the improvement????

haven't heard much about the '94's. Mp is coach again. So what's he going to do to make it a better team than last year?

improvement............. The act or process of improving!

the 98 team made all sorts of improvements -- a building year yes, but they will see success

We played the 97 team in a tournament last year and I thought they had a good team.If they learned to play a whole game at top speed and high intensity, this team can do well.

the 96's should improve. 4 years same coach. If he cant improve this team then can him. Send him to Clarington like the rest of the losers. They should send MP packing as well because we all know that he will win 3 games this year. Maybe????.

The whole system is a failure. THey should call it Joke MHA.

96AAA team goes to the OMHA's thru the BACK DOOR this year,but hey at least they'll be there,and remember where you read it first.

They will have to hope 5 or 6 teams drop out of the league to make the OMHA's. This team will go downhill this year. They started out last year really well but fell apart half way through the year and didnt make the playoffs. They were then ousted out of the ringette round very quickly. So unless Crosbie moves into town, this team is in trouble.

93 AAA team a total mess, just not enough kids

Crosby's on the way baby!!!!!!

1999 AAA will be top 3 this year

96's will be the most winning team in oshawa this coming season - no doubt.

it was a lot of money to spend to lose every year, but hey, my kid liked MP. The team will not do very well of course, again this year, but the kids have fun. MP has a good track record of coaching successful Oshawa kids, so let's cut the 94s some slack and give their coach a break.

LMAO

98's "another building year"- meaning - last place yet another year.

ROCKS

"93 AAA team a total mess, just not enough kids"

how many are they short? will the team fold?

93 AAA is fine.They have one import card to fill(18th player).They will be a better team than they were a year ago.
93 AA Same has last year.

agree

Oshawa Minor Hockey is definitely heading in the right direction. The younger ages are definitely beginning to look better with the extra ice time, 3-zones, and giving the teams to very good coaches or ex-players; players playing "A" or "AE" in minor atom
to minor peewee can still be playing AAA hockey at the older ages; thus the coaching positions for these ages are very very important. With the recent changes made, players
are and can still get drafted from here to the OHL even if they are on teams with losing records; coaching staffs are key and many players have went on to play Major A and NHL that were never on winning teams as kids. These kids are now being taught hockey the right way. We all wish Oshawa Minor controlled the house league as for better planting of the seeds at 5,6,7,8 and 9 yrs old. Some kids still don't come out to rep tryouts until 9 or 10 and are way way behind where they could be in other rep systems that don't have the choice of 2 house league select teams, solar bears, and
the oshawa rep system. Many parents not understanding the developement in hockey, pick the much cheaper option of keeping little johnny at the select(AE) house league level
until they are older. Thus, we have kids entering the rep system at 9,10,11 and 12 playing against kids that have been playing rep hockey in other centres since 7. The select programs don't offer the practice time or ice time to develope the SEEDS properly to
compete with what the majority of other centres are doing. 7 yr olds should be playing
Super 7 for the best ones, mid-7 for average, and basic house league for the rest. No 7 yr old plays rep unless it is AAA and he is too good to play super 7 (AAA/AA-calibre) Whitby, Clarington, Ajax, and Pickering do this now.
We are the only centre around allowing 6 and 7 yr olds to play novice rep, because we can't get all the good 8 yr olds out of the house league select teams. We had 2-3 practices all season in house league select; kids learn 11x more in a practice than a game; some kids barely touch the puck in a game, especially at the younger ages. The last step in getting Oshawa back to where it was when I was a kid is isolated ages in the houseleagues, True super 7(to prepare for rep), and getting rid of the many many options uninformed non sports parents have at the younger ages, thus eliminating the select programs forcing parents/kids to play AE or higher if Johnny wants something more than houseleague. Our houseleagues still use a 30-40 yr old system that use to work very well; hockey is way too highly developed nowadays and 8 yr olds only for rep hockey, as everyone around us does, unless he is too good for super 7, and there are very very few of those kids around. Keep puttin the pressure on the politicians oshawa minor and oshawa hockey tax payers to put on the finishing touches, so the SEEDS can be planted properly.
GO MINOR GENERALS GO

I agree, tell the house leagues to get on board for the future of
Oshawa hockey overall; forget the politics; we have been stuck in a
time warp for far too long. The taxpayers should demand the politicians
step in immediately. The right way is going on all around us, but oshawa minor
also needs to step up the pressure to the house leagues and politicians. All progressive
rep systems control the developement in the houseleagues; why has this been allowed to
rot all these years ? We have the best rinks again, progressive rep system again,
and the young population other centres only dream about. Congrats to the Leaders
who are getting us out of this mess.

and who would be the leaders we should applaud?

Improvements?? Only one kid they've chosen is an improvement - happens to be the coach's kid. Where else do you see improvement?

Everybody is entitled to an opinion, but sometimes good hockey coaches see
things the average parent doesn't. I just heard the other day the boy that made the jump from "A" that had such a great tryout is the 1st cousin of the soon to be 1st overall pick in the NHL, Steven Stamkos; not bad bloodlines.

which age group?

I will let you all know in Feb. 2009

Re:
Everybody is entitled to an opinion, but sometimes good hockey coaches see
things the average parent doesn't. I just heard the other day the boy that made the jump from "A" that had such a great tryout is the 1st cousin of the soon to be 1st overall pick in the NHL, Steven Stamkos; not bad bloodlines.

Yeah, and sometimes the coach doesn't trust that he'll spot that potential all-star at tryouts and has to write "Stamkos' cousin" on the evaluation sheet to make sure he remembers to pick him....
Not knocking the kid, heard he has talent, but what does it say that the coach had to write that down to remember?

To 11:34 Aren't you the most optimistic person? Go crawl under that rock you came from. Especially when you do not belong to Oshawa.

I think the mix of new and old coaching staff's will provide Oshawa with much more competitive teams overall, in most age groups.

OMH is going in the proper direction.

i agree...... They just need to work harder on the goalies. Not sure if the goalie parents were asked last year what they thought of the goalie program but a few people mentioned that they were not impressed. Majority were very impressed with RD and 3 zone. There is quite a bit of improvement

OMH is about 2 years away yet from respectability....however, they run great tournaments with prizes the kids like, run banquets that dont compare with anything in the area and I heard they are looking at updating their clothing/jackets to current stuff (leather jackets), have facilities that are first class....if only the teams would starting winning....when this happens, they will be a leader....not far off.

You will see improvement in ALL AAA teams this year.Not going to win any OMHA's but more wins overall.

97AAA team will definitely compete well. Could jump past Peterborough if that team keeps sliding. 98AAA team might improve? Actually, they only have one way to go. But, unless Kingston really stinkes, the 98s will still be last in the ETA east.

kkkkkkkkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbboooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! That's it....

96 AAA will be the most winning team in Oshawa this year, followed closely by 98AAA. No doubts. 93's and 94 AAA will be bottom of the barrel. 95 and up have and will continue to benefit from the development changes that came into effect a few years ago. Oshawa will soon be the power house it once was.

Who are the 96's going to beat?

Pleeeease!!!!

who are the 98s going to beat


pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

96's can beat any one in the league - will struggle with Kingston but should be able to handle all others with size & grit.
98's will be in top 4 in their division - still the second most winning age group. Will have tough time with Barrie & YSE but should be good enough.

Sorry but the 95 team got weaker!!

Won't be better

10:19 you're going to chew on those words all year.
Size is old hockey, speed and talent wins hockey games.
This is the problem with Oshawa's thinking.

10:19,The 96's will make will make the SHWA proud this year,capable of beating all with the exception of YSE and Markham,I agree speed and skill is the name of the game,but can you imagine Size,Speed,Skill,this combo = OMHA Appearance,coming very,very SOON.

1992 - excellent coach to teach the kids there how to play the game; old coach
DS had just started to really teach them properly. Had a few drafted to
O.H.L.

1993/94 - Don't know enought about them and their past coaches. May not win
that much at this pt. with the bad houseleagues(younger ages), bad coaches, and
bad infrastructure hurting them, but they can still develope some players for the O and scholarships with good hockey people coaching.
Good Luck to them.

1995 - Has put an excellent program together the last couple of years and
improved the team winning a tourament at end of the yr; Great job DC,
just improve your communication skills with parents, if you can't get mgr
or ass't coach to do it. We can all improve somewhere.

1996 - Was only 9 pts out of 1st place, and missed playoffs by only a few
points. Nice job JB. Put ass't coaches to better use and teach this team resposible
defence. Defence wins championships, not offence. Weak enough division
whereby 1st place is attainable with resposible D

1997 - team has been very well coached the last 2 yrs and was the only AAA team
to make OMHA playoffs, also winning the concolation ETA championship;
well done GL. Continue to be competitive against the better teams
night in and night out; your time will come as they get older.

1998 - Brand new coach and coaching staff with top notch credentials. Wins
will not come easy, especially with the question of goaltending. Their
best goalie last yr was cut all the way down to "A" in clarington
this yr as he moved. Will see a team that will compete hard,
and play as a team, especially after xmas. May see results by playoffs
from new staff, but this team is finally in consistent hands to really
teach the game and how to be a team, on and off the ice.

1999 - Good hockey coach who needs to continue to surround himself with
excellent hockey people to teach the young kids properly. 3 zones and
extra ice will really start to payoff in next couple of yrs for the
younger age grps, as long as teams are left with real hockey coaches
who played the game at high levels. Should have a few more wins. Good
Luck to CK and his team.

2000 - CS has had alot of these kids for a few yrs taking them out of the
bad houseleagues with no focus on developement and brining them along
1st with a TRUE super six team ( best of the best ) and then had alot
of them last yr having a great deal of success, winning a huge
tournament at xmas time. These kids have had the advantage that other
older kids in the system havn't had; great coaching and skill developement at the 6 and 7 yr old age group; where the seeds are planted, and
again this yr with a top notch coaching staff. Also have one of the
very best goalies around at this age grp, a move in from Whitby; YES
people are moving into shwa again, instead of out to get away from what
had become the worst minor hockey system anywhere. congrats to shwa
minor for leading the shwa back to repectability. Now, merge the house
leagues with isolated ages only, going to a tiered 7 yr old league
for greater developement; super 7 is the top with 2 or 3 teams that
plays in the York Simcoe Super 7 league, as all the better systems
have had in place for years. Until this final step is taken by the
politicians and house league people, with oshawa minor's direction;
you won't see the powerhouse teams oshawa use to have. Ask any real
hockey guy, and they will tell you exactly what you are reading here.

2001 - Oh ya, we don't have a real SUPER 7, some of our best 7 yr olds are
taking valuable positions on 8 yr old rep teams, not moving to minor
atom the following yr ( more holes ), or are still in the houseleagues
playing select hockey with practically no practice time, and probably
a volunteer coach that doesn't truly know how to teach these aspiring
young hockey players. If given the option, most non knowledgeable
parents take the cheaper option instead of rep, thus some kids don't
show up for rep until 9,10,11, and sometimes 12 years old; too late.
Other centres have the super 7, then 8 yr old rep, but NO houseleague
select teams to dilute the talent, and have the majority of kids get
bad coaching and no quality practice time. The good 8 yr olds need
to be playing 8 yr old rep AE thru AAA.

Definitely heding in the right direction, I am very proud to say; have you seen the new oshawa minor generals stuff to be worn this year; THE BEST !!!!
Listen up politicians, oshawa minor executive, and house league executive; do
what is best for HOCKEY in Oshawa. House leagues are running a 30-40 yr old
system thsat doesn't work in todays advanced hockey. Put the seeds in place,
so that our 5,6,7, and 8 yr olds aren't put at a disadvantage any longer.
You must not only keep in mind the pplayer that wants fun only, but also remember the higher end players that want more competitive hockey. If the SEEDS aren't planted properly, the final product won't be that GREAT.

Summary,
RIGHT DIRECTION, but some finishing touches to houseleagues.
AE took over select hockey years ago; our seven and eight yr old have far
too many choices that might not be in the best interest of hockey developement.

GO GENERALS GO

if the 98 goalie that was cut down to "A" in Clarington was the "BEST" goalie, the team should see improvements this year -- from what I can see they definitely upgraded

12:38, I don't think you've provided enough detail!

Ha, just kidding - great post!

Don't read too much into the 98 goalie going to A in Clarington.

The kid IS a AAA goalie. It's just hard to move right into a AAA Goalie spot in another city, especially when you're going from a basement team to trying out for a championship calibre team. You've got to be really good for a coach to pick you in that situation. Let's just hope he doesn't get buried in A forever.

Great post....right on...cut and paste and send it to the city councilor near you.....

DID YOU WRITE THE BIBLE?

Maybe it is the "Bible" of hockey that this city needs in order to
properly develop hockey players again; oshawa minor has taken great steps,
but I don't know about the rest of the groups involved including
the politicians.

As long as we keep taking our buddies kids and the two or three at the bottom who we are not going to develop then we are in trouble.

Who is we. What team

We will beat the toros and that little weasly guy they have coaching.

A lot of talk from a centre that produces very little in the way of winning teams. Outside of the 97s and maybe the 96s, I don't see any Shwa teams making the playoffs. But, the optimism is good I guess. Good Luck!

What centre are you with ?

Oshawa always tends to have more success with "AA", or lower.

probably because many of the good players bail out of "AAA" due to many different issues.

I think some "AA", and"A" Oshawa squads will be very good this year

If Oshawa Minor has selected a coach for the Atom A team yet?
If not why has it taken so long?
Shouldn't one be in place already to get things organized for the upcoming year????

06:16 post which member of the executive are you????? Good Luck

Combining the 3 Oshawa house leagues would make life a lot easier for the ice council. Why bother with scheduling 3 hl's, one claiming to be rep and also schedule Oshawa Minor?

Council should insist all leagues merge, anyone not wanting in doesn't get ice. Then Oshawa will have a hl system that develops rep players-the numbers would allow a tiered hl that Whitby is trying.

Another great suggestion. How long before these self serving house leagues
are allowed to ruin proper developement for hockey players. Whitby/Clarington/Ajax all have 1 HL designed at the younger ages for
specific groups such as new player/middle player/elite player, and then at
the older ages it turns more towards the fun category only and not focused on
developing future prospects. Canada is the #1 producer of proessional hockey
players. Time for the above groups to do what is right NOW; we have a huge population, alot of young families, great rinks, and alot of former top level
players roaming the rinks, all waiting for these groups to LISTEN UP.

Canada is the #1 producer of proessional hockey


This is the problem with most of you people. The kids playing NASC, OCHL and CYO are there because they are having fun. They obviously were not happy with OMH. Stop worrying about how many kids make it to the pros and worry more about whether the kids are enjoying their hockey experience which is nothing more then recreation!!!!!!!!

If it is only recreation, why are you on this site ? The point is,
the houseleagues at the younger ages need to be about MODERN developement
for the future AAA player. All these elite players start at the houseleagues
at 4,5, and 6 yrs old. Oshawa's current state of the houseleagues hasn't kept up with the changing face of hockey; it is a very well known fact by
any hockey people that truly understand how the SEEDS are planted. That being said, there is also a place for the recreational hockey player, but you
can't forget to plant the seeds properly for MODERN hockey developement. Read all the above posts before you make such a uninformed statement. I also fully support hockey for fun and recreation. Oshawa needs to be put back on the map for great hockey player developement like it use to(Dale Hawerchuk,John Maclean, Ian Fraser, Sean Brown, Jeff Daniels, Dale Degray, Chris Snell,Rob Pearson. , Jim Jackson, Dale Craigwell, Brent Grieve, Sean Williams, Jeff Madill,Peter Sidorkiwitz, Keven McCelland and a ton of OHLer's and Scholarships to the states) It can be done again but the houseleagues must be taken over and given the proper guidance by knowledgeable people combined with the recreational people for the betterment
of Oshawa hockey. Forget the Politics; it has ruined Oshawa hockey; although
Oshawa Minor are making great progressive changes in the last couple of years, the SEEDS must be planted properly or we will always be playing CATCH UP with the
other more progressive houseleagues all around us. Starting the 2008/09 season you could save the 5 and 6 yr olds, and the following season, a proper
mid and super 7 is introduced without select teams and you also now are saving the 7 and 8 y