The 98 ETA league is going to be even more competitive this year. Some teams catching the better teams. But, the better teams should still be on top?

Here is how it should end up (great, talking about how it should end up, and we are 2 months away from starting!). Anyway, that's what this site is for right!!

So, here it goes:
West
YSE
Markham
RH
Barrie
Ajax/Pickering
North Central

East
Clarington
Peterborough
Quinte
COW
Whitby
Kingston
Oshawa

Let the contradictions begin!!!

Whitby ahead of COW

Look out for Barrie 98's. They have made 8 changes and will challenge Markham and Y/S for top spot in the West!

Peterboro and Quinte ahead of Calrintron.

It's at least fun to think of almost every game being competitive and many teams being surprises perhaps.

why Peterb. so strong, they lost there best goalie, did they add many players?

Quinte is definitely not ahead of Clarington. Clarington beat up on Quinte 9-1 during the preseason.

Quinte is so overrated it is unbelievable. I have heard a ton of chatter for a team that hasn't even played a game yet. Let Quinte play a few games play before predictions are made...chances are they are not that good.

Clarington still the best in the east and Petes a close second. There is actually a pretty big gap between those 2 and the rest of the east. Why Whitby ahead of COW? They weren't as good as COW last year and COW have made some good additions.

Quinte is the only one rating themselves high based on a couple of exhibition games. They are in for a rude awakening.

Dan Daoust taking over coaching duties in Markham

since when??

Speaking as a Quinte parent, I don't believe we are rating ourselves "high" because we haven't played a game yet (you are right). It's just that we believe we will be competitive because we have a talented group of kids and that's all anyone can ask.

1:21 PM

"Why Whitby ahead of COW? They weren't as good as COW last year and COW have made some good additions."

Interesting comment about Whitby and COW. COW won the middle three games and Whitby won the first and last game. What makes you think Whiby didn't also make good additions? Clearly one of them wasn't the AE player that COW picked up.

Ouch, COW picked up an AE kid from Whitby? What gives there?

The one thing I did notice about these 2 teams last year is that COW had way better goaltending and defense. Whitby also had trouble stopping the one line that COW has. So, hopefully Whitby upgraded in net and on D?

422....How about some facts? COW gave up 98 goals whereas Whitby gave up 94. Looks like we can pretty much throw out your observations.

COW AE kid while not strong will hopefully improve and be a useful addition to COW.

Good luck to both teams.

Looks like you're on here touting your boy. Go you loser!

What are you doing responding to this then?

You're a bigger loser if you have nothing to do but go on this thread.

You Houseleague loser!!

Give the Quinte folks a break. This is the first year of AAA for most of 'em and they don't yet realize that most teams at this level have some talent, some lots of it. They haven't yet seen enough hockey at this level to know what a truly talented team looks like.

Good luck to all '98 teams, it will be an interesting season to see where everyone fits in.

I agree. Quinte has a good mix of talent but to say they are going to compete with the likes of Markham, Clarington and Peterborough might be a stretch. It is always tough to bring a bunch of great individual players from smaller home centres and have them adapt to the quicker, more structured AAA game. Hopefully they will improve as the year goes on. Good luck to all ETA teams!!

I agree. Quinte has a good mix of talent but to say they are going to compete with the likes of Markham, Clarington and Peterborough might be a stretch. It is always tough to bring a bunch of great individual players from smaller home centres and have them adapt to the quicker, more structured AAA game. Hopefully they will improve as the year goes on. Good luck to all ETA teams!!

lets look at this with a little common sense

Quinte 98 ( belleville) for all intense purposes we'll say

now Bellville minor atom had a good record in A hockey last year

however they were playing teams who had already lost there top 25 to 30 players in that there was a AAA team and a AA team in that age group already from those centers

similarliy Coburg as well would be the same boat as Belleville

so the only teams that really know what they have are the ones that had a AAA team at Minor atom last year and can develop from there


all the other 98 teams will be playing catch up this year and evaluating IMO

so to rank teams now is simply ridiculous unless you have last years team as the top and then the rest

You are right. This whole site is ridiculous though. So, predicting outcomes now is just part of the Net54 world. It really means nothing and is meant to mean nothing. The people on here that take everything to heart, get mad and start spouting off about kids, coaches, other teams and other parents are the ones that should take a look in the mirror.

Ranking teams is just for discussion, interest and argument. If anyone really takes it to heart, they are not all that bright. The standings will eventually do the ranking for us all. I don't believe though, that ranking is ridiculous - you just have to keep it in perspective.

That is exactly what I meant 12:36! I was more trying to point out the fact that too many people on here take rankings, predictions and most of the chatter, waaaaaaay too seriously. That is the "ridiculous" part.

Then I would say we are in complete agreement!

I am in total disagreement!! Everything on N54 is the Gospel truth!!!! You know it, I know it and TS knows it!! There is nothing more serious than anonymous people making irresponsible comments about whatever they want! At a time not long ago, we looked to teachers, books and the wisdom of our elders for knowledge - now we turn on our computer and take whatever N54 is spewing that day!! Truly enlightening!!

Haha! Well said, with tongue firmly in cheek!! Looks like 3 of us are on the same page! Now lets see if we can get TS and all of the Whitby parents to agree with us?

Speaking of TS, Clarington coaching will drop them to 3rd, maybe 4th, way too many personal issues to deal with.

Roughly speaking of course, what are these personal issues? They must be pretty bad to affect the performance of a minor hockey team?

Not even TS can make that team bad. They have too many good players that have been taught well by BK. Toros will still be the team to beat in the ETA.

Whitby lost a couple of good players as well, but brought up an A player.

How will A/P look this year with a whole new coaching staff?

A/P will be the same, couple of players that look good at tryouts but in a game not as good.

Clarington will still be at the top of the East, closely followed by Peterborough. Will take Quinte a year to adapt to AAA hockey but will follow at 3rd, Whitby will be alot better with 2nd yr of new coach and some good player changes, COW will challenge Whitby for 4th with a very good hockey coach, oshawa has improved players and coaching but won't see improvement til end of season, and kingston is a ????, and could fit in anywhere; they have a big drawing area and population. Other teams will slowly catch up to clarington in future years as new coach that is taking over is well known to run good teams into the ground;he never played the game.
In the West, YSE will have all there players playing finally from their MASSIVE area and population and will secure 1st plus their fantastic coaching, Markham good again at close 2nd, followed by Barrie, new coach in A/P should keep them competitive as he knows hockey having played the game himself, Richmond Hill will compete on any given day but won't be consistent again as they lose too many players to the GTHL, and North Central is ????
Good Luck to all teams and a more competitive league to rival the much stronger SCTA.

i love how people make the comment hasnt played the game

Scotty Bowman never played either i do believe but some would say he's a pretty good coach

you dont have to play to know the game you have to be a good teacher first and foremost

Not sure what you mean by "never played the game" but, Bowman played minor league hockey with Montreal Junior Canadiens until a head injury ended his playing career.

Any big losses of players who were with their OMHA team last year and have now joined a GTHL team??

new coach in A/P should keep them competitive as he knows hockey having played the game himself

not every hockey player is a good coach or going to be

some have never played at top levels doesnt mean they arent a good coach hence the bowman reference you say he played minor hockey for the junior candiens until a injury

if we use the reference from a previous poster only ex-NHL players should coach in the NHL etc all the way down

I think with Kingston's amalgamation they could suprise everyone.

"I think with Kingston's amalgamation they could suprise everyone."


What are you talking about. the amalgamation is for AA and A.

It has no effect at AAA. It stays the same

To coach top AAA players at the highest calibre, you need to have at least played the game at a fairly high level yourself; i.e. rep hockey or higher. The very best minor hockey coaches played AAA and in most cases junior/pro. There are many many players that know the game and played the game at a very high level, but didn't play professional as they lost interest in teenaged years or the timing wasn't right. If you haven't "played the game" at a reasonably high level, you shouldn't be the Head Coach of any AAA or AA team, PERIOD. The pretenders can usually barely skate, can't show the kids how to perform skating drills,shooting drills, can't relate to what it is like to be an elite player in key situations on the ice. Unfortunately these pretenders are rampant in minor hockey circles, forming their own "boy's club", and rarely surround themselves with top quality "hockey" people, as they would be intimidated by someone that has forgotten more than they know. The OHL has recognized the BRUTAL coaching and developement taking place int he smaller AAA and AA centers, and has brought in NEW under
15 and under 14 programs for the very elite AAA players, to make up for the lack of HOCKEY coaching and proper developement to prepare them for post minor hockey. It is very hard to teach, which you could never do yourself.
These pretenders love the POWER and monopolize executives
and the nepotism is ridiculous. The PRETENDERS know who they are, and often only take teams 12 and under, as the kids get older, they see that this pretender is a joke. We live in Ontario and Canada where the majority of the best players come from. Move aside pretenders, and let the REAL hockey people coach our youngsters, especially at the AAA and AA levels.

Great point 10:19 alot of ego Dad's out there!

10.19
SC you never quit do you.

Probably is SC and his big ego making the point above? But, he is right that bad coaches need to get moved to the side so real coaches can teach our kids.

Absolutely is Sc, but what he failed to mention the many other qualities needed to make a good coach. Qualities which he doesn`t have & the reason he was over whelmingly rejected for the Clarington team.

I don't care who made the above post, but it couldn't be truer. These unqualified people coaching AAA need to live their dream and boys club somewhere else, just because they weren't good enough to play rep/AAA themselves. Us parents spend alot of money and time, and should be able to have a proper teacher coaching our children; not some wanna be giving his ego a stroke when they could never play the game themselves. I've always wondered why so many ex players can never get teams, so they usually stop applying. Is it because they aren't yes men to the boys clubs. Outside of Toronto, we can't leave our team if a bad coach has the team beacause of their connections; this is wrong !!! These so called pretenders would never get teams if they knew people would go to the next town over. This is why the GTHL has all exceptionally qualified coaches; they wouldn't keep their players.

SOME validity to your points here, but the fact is that in most centres, people who have lots of high level playing experience AND would be good with the kids AND want to coach are few and far between. That is why you have some of the people who lack experience in some of the positions at AAA.

#1 quality you want in a AAA coach is experience at what he is trying to teach these high end athletes; if he hasn't done it himself, there is a problem and he should probably be coaching at his own calibe or something else he knows. To the other poster; alot of the qualified experienced ex-players don't apply any more, as they have been rejected by the boys club, and most of the ex players don't have the personalities to kiss #@#$. Coach doesn't have to be well liked by parents and/or association, but needs to be able to teach and relate to these aspiring hockey players. Looks like some of the above posts hit a nerve out there???? Kids not taught the finer details of hockey will get lost, and not develop properly. There are many many kids that fall into this category because of the brutal coaching by unqualified people. In the small AAA centes's, take a look who is on the executive, and you will probably see some familiar last names as Head Coaches and spouses. Sad, really sad.

You write as if all areas are just full of ex-NHL or Junior players who want to coach at the AAA level and have been rejected by the establishment. That just isn't the case. In fact, I think that assumption is just plain silly. 95% of the time, if this were the case and there was a great candidate available with lots of experience, the person would be hired. I don't go for the theory that the existing executive just wants to keep it in the family. It happens but it's just not the norm.

I believe this is just more complaining from people who have been wronged (in their mind anyway) by the executive. These people also would never put in their own name to coach, they just want to complain about others.

This being a '98 thread, I consider it a big stretch to call the kids "high end" athletes. Let's be honest, they are simply good hockey players for their age and happen to want to commit to hockey. If they are still excelling at the AAA level in five years, then that would be closer to a true statement.

Basic hockey skills are not rocket science. At the younger levels, you need to know the basics of the game and be a good motivator with the kids. You need to have played the game and still be decent at demonstrating skating and puck drills. But you absolutely do not need to have played in the NHL or the OHL to be a very good coach.

and some would be coaches wont coach becasue parents dont know enough to keep quiet

you dont tell a piano teacher how to or a football coach but we all know how to coach hockey or can do a better job than the one we have and criticize him for what he's trying to do

but i have seen some ex high level players who arent willing to push the kids like they were either

so we need a happy medium

I have seen some ex high level players that don't know how to deal with younger kids from a motivating and personal perspective, even though they know a ton about hockey. My take is that is just as bad as not knowing the most about the game itself.

What makes you think that just because you played jr. hockey, you automatically would be a good coach. Thats ridiculous. It takes communication skills, motivational skills , patience as well as hockey knowledge. The guy that started this garbage was rejected by 1 team, so he went to another team & took his kid ( against his will). As a result of the rejection he has been spewing negatives about his son`s former teams new coach, & his lack of experience. His son will never leave the ice under his coaching & there will be a comlplete team melt down by xmas.

I know who you are talking about 4:19. Good points and well said. BTW, I doubt the team he is going to coach and bring all of his great hockey knowledge to, will be any better than last place in the ETA east!

I am going to use a technical term here people to describe all of you and your posts - RETARDS - I think all of you give yourselves too much credit. Are you purposely trying to sabotage this team? Oh that’s right the team was so much better before he took over? The other coaching staff? He obviously has fooled them as well. Oshawa Minor - obviously he pulled one over the executive when they kept him on as a coach (remember he was with a peewee team last year)
If you think you have valid concerns you owe it to yourselves to act on it not whine about it on a website!

1. Pull your child out of the program - you and your wonderboy obviously are needed elsewhere and do not need to be on this team.
2. Why would you expose your child to this person - by all descriptions posted here we should be hiding all the children and womenfolk!
3. Contact OMH immediately and demand that he not be allowed near your child and be prepared to have actual proof - not gossip from the "Ladies of Network 54"
4. Decide which one of you "Super Dads" should be the coach - then be prepared to have one of your cronies lynch you anonymously - all for the "love of the game"

I guess that is why the OHL and OHF have started a joint project to get better coaching ,by people that have played the game at a reasonably decent level and can demonstrate drills without falling over. Lol The OHL is sadly disappointed with the calibre of coaching their draft picks are coming from, especially in the smaller AAA centres where the "boys clubs" and nepotism is extreme. These kids that have played AAA for years aren't being taught the finer details, that only ex players(AAA or higher) can teach. Sometimes later in minor hockey the imposters go by the way side and they bring in a real hockey coach that will surround himself will a very qualified hockey staff, and expect this ex player to perform miracles and try and do in a few short years what should have become 2nd nature, by this point. This is where alot of the good kids that don't come from a family with a hockey background get lost, and it is too late. It is no coincidence that alot of the ex players children excel at that particular sport. The imposters are good at the book and internet drills they can look up, but lack the experience and knowledge to pass on the finer points and bench coaching. Players that don't get this or from their Dad/family will go by the wayside and all they will ever play is AAA or maybe be a low calibre tier 2 player. Naming your ?#@$ kissing buddies, your family members, or executive naming themselves as coaches must stop as it is a conflict of interest; unless they are truly hockey people and it can be substantiated. I know of one hockey organization that has a phantom selection committee as a cover-up, then the executive name who they want to parachute in there, and it is usually one of their bumboys or naming themselves. This comes from one of the impartial guys on the selection committee that is disgusted with this very flawed process. There is another coach who is very successful in this organization now, that only a few years ago couldn't get a team from the imposters at the younger ages. Thank goodness the OHL/OHF are addressing this huge problem in the smaller minor hockey centres with the under 15 and under 14 programs; soon to bring in under 12 and under 13 too. I've seen alot of very very talented kids, in novice-peewee AAA get very bad coaching in these early years, and not be from a family that knows the finer points of the game with proper developement; go completely downhill in their developement to be successful in later years and post minor hockey; these kids are the true losers in all of this. Winning is fun and is a part of the developement process, but something even more important is a "True" hockey coach and staff that aren't yes men to the imposter !!!!!

If you don't want to hear the truth, don't read the posts, there will be less whining. Let's get back to discussing the league and how it is shaping up with 13 teams this season. I agree clarington wasn't as dominant last yr, and they are ripe for the pickings by us lesser teams. Go Whitby Go

Kingston could be the sleeper nobody is aware of. They have a big area to pick from and a very good developement
program at the younger ages. Their select 8 team a few years ago did very well in a couple of AAA tournaments.

I agree about Kingston - good centre - and you have to be pretty serious about your hockey to take on that kind of a travelling schedule AAA or not.

I agree that TS will drag this team down. Good news is the parents will have him replaced after 2 bad seasons, History will repeat itself with this guy. He is worse then LA for coaching and having problems. Major Problems. Just be very careful

9:37pm - Agree with who? You're the only one who mentioned TS and probably the same moron who does it on every 98 thread on here. Listen carefully...NO ONE CARES!

Oh and by the way we all agree, you're an idiot.

lol

kingston will be the dark horse in the 98 division however

COW,Peterborough,Whitby,Clarington top teams

Kingston,Oshawa,Quinte next grouping

maybe not this particular order but will be close

chk back in January

Your wrong about quinte. They have one of the best 1998 goalies around and will be a very strong team. 2nd yr in whitby with new coach, took him all last season to reteach the kids; they will finally show a dramatic improvement in the standings vying for that 4th playoff spot out of 7 teams.

time will tell about Quinte and that statement

I'm a Whitby parent and I disagree about Whitby being in the top 4. 2nd year coach is good and experienced but there are 5 new players in the mix. Will they win more than 5 games? Sure but only because of the new teams in the loop.

well based on last years results where witby seemed to compete in alomost every game was close in the east a goal or two and adding 5 new players then i would say yes you should be in the top 4

Whitby's goaltending has always seemed to be an issue. We have still not solved it! Here we go again this year.