They have had plenty of time to make phone calls trying to recruit players that opted to play on other teams, what gives?

Northern Edge is in Minnesota and Dallas conducting select tryouts there, so don't expect anything posted for your benefit. Why does it matter to you?

It matters if your kid tried out. 8 days is plenty of time to call and let the players know the results. Unless, the previous poster is correct and they are looking for players who didn't actually make it to the try outs.

If kids did not try out, they won't get called. I asked, and Craig said he wasn't begging anyone to come out. He said he was very happy with the turnout and talent. Obviously the 2000 numbers were a bit light, but the players were good.

Craig may have not done the begging. The begging (sorry threatening) was done by former NHLers. The word is the 2000 team is the leftovers and the 2001 team is highly diluted by delta. In other words, Stl Elite is probably the third best 2000 spring team (and would not have finished in top 4 of the fall league)and the second best 2001 team. The top 5 2001s are playing at either delta or affton. Lets see how they do in minnestota (prediction 1999s win and 2000s and 2001s go winless).

northern edge formula: players good=cash to pay

A lot of the best talent at the 01 did not even try out. Most of the returning 00's went elsewhere as did some at the 99's. Perhaps it is time that ALL of the powers that be in St. Louis got together to truly promote the best talented kids, not just their own for a reasonable un-subsidized cost without lies of compensation perks or threats of being banned of future chances. Remember, at the end of the day, we are talking about 8, 9 & 10 year old kids......

Fourteen 2000's from last year's STL team flew the coup for Cav's team and Delta kept a few good 99's and 01's. A far as STL being a third wheel to the Affton and Cavalinni programs you are way off. STL Elite is still the feeder program for AAA and they have more "elite" talent overall.

are you suggesting that the elite 2000 team would beat the 2000 selects team.

The 2000 stl team would get killed by both affton elite and the selects.

Duh, 14 former STL Elite 00's bailed for Cav's Selects team. Are you sporting wood now?

How can you accurately make that statement? Affton Elite tryouts have not even begun? Oh, I forgot where I was...... The place of mostly un-substantiated comments....

Are you saying that STL has more talent at 2000 level and 2001 level than Selects and Delta?

Are you saying that STL has more talent at 2000 level and 2001 level than Selects and Delta?

Can someone list the STL rosters? Why do I care???? As this is the AAA feeder program it is of interest. Usually squirt major team is 85% of the squirt AAA team.

1:26 - the 2000 Selects and the 2001 Delta have more talent. There now, did that make your day? Congratulations! Feel better?

To the contrary, feel the same. However, just trying to understand prior post that suggests that STL has most overall talent. To the extent talent has indeed left STL, would like to understand why has talent gone elsewhere?

I could take about 1200 guesses

Got it. Simply $$$s. I see northern Edge is doing a similar program in Dallas for $2k. Based on that, STL program is a bargain.

$400 is what I'd want to pay, as opposed to $1200. Hour for hour, the programs are comparable; STL has been getting results for 14+ years and Cavalini's have a track record of "short-term convenience" and creating programs around their own kids.

When your kid tells you he doesn't want to go back, isn't that enough reason?

Your kid doesn’t want to go back? It would be helpful to know why?

Didn’t like the Coaching?

Practice is too tough?

Doesn’t like hockey anymore?

Kids are mean?

His team had a short bench in tournaments?

Dad is to overbearing?

To compare two different teams you offer my 8 year old said he didn’t like it. THANKS

Don't have a kid involved, but why would anybody pay $1200 vs $400 for similar programs. You don't think an eight year old is going to learn plenty from the cavalini's. If they pack up in a few years, so be it. In the meantime it just looks like STL just doesn't like the competition. It is fine for them to take the best players from all the other organizations spring programs, but nobody should challenge them. Maybe STL has to be more about teaching the kids (like selects) and less about making a buck.

You mean teach ALL the kids right? Not just surround your sub-par player with the best local talent you can bribe like last years STL and this years 2000 Selects?

Let's examine the STL program for a second. 2008 was indeed a difficult year. Organizers decide that changes are needed in 2009, so they go back to what made them famous and turns program over to Northern Edge at the suggestion of current and former pros who expect the best for their kids. Cavs come along with sweet deal and all of a sudden they are saviors and STL loses kids among the disgruntled. I am willing to bet that Northern Edge brings it back and stays in for the long haul. Can Paul provide the quality and staying power of Northern Edge?

Bingo! Now you have it!

They might be in in for the long haul. But why would anybody pay $1200 instead of $400 and pass up the opportunity to play with the majority of the best kids at that age.Isn't that one of the points of the program. It is 1/3 of the price and has more good players, so I should not take advantage of the opportunity because three years from now selects may not exist. Oh, now I get it.

It appears that some daddy is bent on getting the point across that the 2000 Selects roster, which includes his son, is the best. I guess someone is not getting the attention they need at home. Poor guy. OK! OK! your son is one of the best 2000 birthyear players on the best 2000 birthyear team in the area and you are saving loads of money. Tremendous! Kudos! Congratulations to you! There, feel better?

It will be $400 plus a few hundred bucks to pay for each of three trips, then apparel. The Selects will still be around $1,000 and on top of that parents have to pay for their travel. So if you are looking strictly at the money side of things there isn't a huge disparity.

That is not what i understand. The tournament fee per tournament is $100 for the Selects. As a result, if you go to one tournament your all in cost is $500. If you go to one tournament for Elite your cost is still $1200 because they have rolled that into the cost. So the relevant comparison is $500 vs $1200. All of the apperal for Selects is also included as part of price, at least that is what i am told (jersey, helmut and pants). With the selects you can go to more than one tournament at $100 per tournament. If you go to all 3 tournaments the cost is $700. No matter what program you do you have to pay your own travel cost.

March 25 2009, 9:01 AM

With the selects you can go to more than one tournament at $100 per tournament?

STL selects web site says $175 per tournament?

Is the web site wrong????????

STL Selects $400+$175+175+175+travel cost*3 = STL ELITE $1200+travel cost*1


(STL Selects)$925 plus six more nights in a hotel and two more air fares than STL Elite.


STL Elite birth year 99 also gets a home tournament.


COST CAME FROM BOTH WEB SITES

PLEASE STOP MAKING UP COST NUMBERS

The web site refers to an "expected cost". The team members were informed that the actual cost would be $100 per tournament. So the $1200 vs $500 is still the correct comparison. Further, any incremental cost (including method of travel) regarding tournamnets is a personal decision

what is your point? you passed 2nd grade math or did you? your summation does not equal. 3 tournamnets on one side of the equation vs one on the other do not equal. so lets do it the right way: selects $700 (3 tourneys) < elite $1200 (1 tourney). oh and great point that people have to pay to travel. so lets try this for those who only want to go to one tourney: selects $500 < elite $1200. i assume we can agree that travel expenses would essentially be the same.

Thank you for the clarification on the Select tournament cost. That information is not stated on the site.

People can’t complain about cost of a program and not see total cost after spring is over.

Fact is traveling three times is more than one no matter what method of travel. / Car, bus, train, plane, or feet.

As far as what team I would choose for my son. If my son was a 2000 it would be STL Selects. I like watching games, so for us we would choose the tournaments. The 2000 are a special case.

STL Elite is a feeder program for AAA and offers a different spring experience with skills development in mind. I don’t see it as a wrong decision for any age group.

Someone said something about two Midget M still playing from mite.

What does this have to do with anything? Are you saying kids can’t move on and have other interests from mite spring hockey? If a kid has a drive to compete at a high level wouldn’t it be true for other things in his or her life? Things like focusing on college…..

Northern Edge does have a number of solid sponsorships and endorsements (see their website). STL Elite will reap that benefit down the road. Craig is charging less in St. Louis than he does in other markets where he runs similar programs. His instructor-to-student ratios are very good, as is the quality of the program, so you will pay a little more. Compare NE's instructors to Cav's. How much would Cav be charging without Big Dave's contribution? Cav certainly isn't doing this for free, even though he makes it appear that way.

He is doing it because his kid wouldn't make STL, so he takes the Money and buys the best kids?

Apparently the benefactor's kid would not have made STL either.

DO NOT TALK ABOUT KIDS ON THIS POST

When you say the 2000 Selects have assembled the "best talent" in the area, what are you saying about the other kids? That they don't quite measure up? So apparently you can trash kids on here. It all depends on whose kid is getting trashed. Right?

1 maybe 2 of the original 2000 will be playing aaa hockey by the time they are Midget Majors. Take a look at the team this year. I think somnebody just posted that 2 kids are still on that team from the beginning.

4:24 I think what the previous poster was trying to state was that a lot of those kids have moved on to bigger and better not that they aren't capable of playing at that level if that was your point.

4:24's point is that the stars of todays little 2000 team will be nowhere to be found when the team is MM.

Bigger and better in whose opinion? Yes, money better, but program better?

Again it is a spring team! how much is it going to hurt anyone who is playing with most of the top 2000's in st louis? It is 2 months of hockey

March 25 2009, 9:01 AM

With the selects you can go to more than one tournament at $100 per tournament?

STL selects web site says $175 per tournament?

Is the web site wrong????????

STL Selects $400+$175+175+175+travel cost*3 = STL ELITE $1200+travel cost*1


(STL Selects)$925 plus six more nights in a hotel and two more air fares than STL Elite.


STL Elite birth year 99 also gets a home tournament.


COST CAME FROM BOTH WEB SITES

PLEASE STOP MAKING UP COST NUMBERS

The web site refers to an "expected cost". The team members were informed that the actual cost would be $100 per tournament. So the $1200 vs $500 is still the correct comparison. Further, any incremental cost (including method of travel) regarding tournamnets is a personal decision.

Thank you for the clarification on the Select tournament cost. That information is not stated on the site.

People can’t complain about cost of a program and not see total cost after spring is over.

Fact is traveling three times is more than one no matter what method of travel. / Car, bus, train, plane, or feet.

As far as what team I would choose for my son. If my son was a 2000 it would be STL Selects. I like watching games, so for us we would choose the tournaments.

STL Elite is a feeder program for AAA and offers a different spring experience with skills development in mind. I don’t see it as a wrong decision for any age group.

Someone said something about two Midget M still playing from mite.

What does this have to do with anything? Are you saying kids can’t move on and have other interests from mite spring hockey? If a kid has a drive to compete at a high level wouldn’t it be true for other things in his or her life? Things like focusing on college…..

alright STL Elite enough...post the teams on your website. We need to see what the next wave of AAA'ers looks like. especially the 99's and the 01's

These kids obviously know who they are, since they are already practicing. Tough doing your armchair analysis and N54 critique without it? Why don't you go to one of their practices and conduct a live analysis?

Rosters are announced:

#1.....$
#2.....$
#3.....$
#4.....$
#5.....$
#6.....$
#7.....$
#8.....$
#9.....$
#10....$
#11....$
#12....$
#13....$
#14....$
#15....$

It is the best roster Northern Edge continutes to have every year!

STL Selects Roster

Sugar Daddie 2000 Selects


1...$/2
2...$/2
3...$/2
4...$/2
5...$/2
6...$/2
7...$/2
8...$/2
9...$/2
10..$/2
11..$/2
12..$/2
13..$/2
14..$/2
15..$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Thanks DAD

WHATS UP WITH THE SUGAR DADDIE STUFF?

8:05 if you had a child tryout you have already received a phone call. If not I suggest you go to www.stlelitehockey.com and under the "contact us" tab it will list a phone number, pick up the phone and call them.

Heres a news flash, if 800 dollars matters to you, Tier 1 is not for you.

Ridiculous comment. People want value for their money. Doesn't matter if they are spending $800 or $8,000. Fact is that there is a need to contain costs in youth hockey. STL decided to increase cost in a challenging economic market so that more profit is made.

I agree with you. My wife lost her job and money is tight. I wish the cavellini program was for more bithyears.

We want our kids to play at the highest level but cost is an issue. If kids can benefit thru reduced fees because of sponsorships

that is a great thing.

Everyone expects a bargain and I guarantee that the Cavs wouldn't have gotten one STL kid without a great sponsorship. If you realized how much these programs DON'T make for the organizers you wouldn't be so quick to criticize. Do you think Craig is making that much money on STL? If so why didn't the so-called greedy managers of the past stay in it? I know that those guys could use the money and if it was so great they would have stayed in. I know for a fact that it was all taxable income after expenses and I know that they just broke even after taking losses last year. Several unhappy customers didn't pay so would you blame them for pulling out? They walked away from a program that they poured their lives into for 14 years, without their own kids in it for most of those years. I hope that Craig can survive the attitudes of the "what have you done for me lately" parental attitudes that resonate on this forum. Although they'd be smart to not listen to us idiots on N54.

Maybe STL Elite should pull out of Chesterfield and find some cheaper ice.

The Northern Edge guys run incredible camps and are really good guys, but to suggest they are doing this for any reason other than to make money is silly. All power to them, this is what puts food on the table for them. But don't be surprised when people don't want to spend $1200 for spring hockey. The base fee increased about $100 -- $150 this year, depending on whether you sign up for the "optional" camp. $100 * 23 kids * 3 teams ain't a bad litle payoff for 6 weeks of work, and that assumes the previous guys were just breaking even and the previous coaches weren't getting paid out of the fees.

Each team had a $4,000 coaching budget. That a 12G!

STL Elite has posted their teams.

Can't wait for the adults to start ripping the kids. Sad.

Not a whole lot to rip. 99's got a few studs, 00's are OK and the 01's are your future AAA'ers plus 2 or 3 kids.

Thank you for imparting your wisdom, almighty messiah of N54.