AAU Ice Hockey Sports for all, Forever December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 9 Editor Keith Kloock 21220 Wellington Woodhaven, MI 48183 (734) 692-5158 Published monthly for the benefit and interest of AAU Ice Hockey participants. AAU Leagues, Administrators, as well as Team Coaches and/ or Managers are encouraged to submit articles and notices to: [email protected] Coming soon to aauicehockey.org the AAU Nationals application package The application package for the AAU National Championships is still being developed as this newsletter is going to press. However, the entire package will be available very soon (on or before December 15th) and will be found on the aauicehockey.org website. AAU teams may apply for entrance into the National tournament. As a formality, even teams that have already won their berths through National Qualifier tournaments, State Championship tournaments, Regional Championship tournaments and/or as their League Representative will still need to apply, in order to show that their team does in fact wish to participate within Nationals. However, teams who have already qualified will be accepted and seeded rather quickly. Please be aware that teams who have not already qualified may still be selected for participation based upon such factors as, their region, their records in leagues or tournaments, etc. Detailed information is already available at: aauicehockey.org/doc/mite-squirt-2014-nationals#content The Mite classification will include several separate competition levels. The numbers of competition levels for the Squirt and PeeWee classifications will be announced on the website on or before December 15th as well. Teams interested in participating at Nationals are asked to continue checking the website. AAU Ice Hockey Page 2 December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 9 AAU Hockey Welcomes former NHL player Mike Hartman as National Hockey Development Director The AAU National Hockey Program is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Mike Hartman as the “’AAU National Hockey Development Director”’. Mike Hartman, former professional athlete, is the founder of BetterLifeTraining.com, a Certified Aniological Practitioner, life coach, success coach, a member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and author of ‘100 Ways To Become Your Personal Best’. Mike is also a former professional hockey player who played with the Buffalo Sabres, Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Stanley Cup Champion New York Rangers. AAU National Hockey Chair, Keith Noll commented, “AAU Hockey is honored to have someone of Mike Hartman’s knowledge and background join the AAU sports family”. Noll went on to state, “Hartman’s philosophy fits in with AAU President Henry Forrest and the AAU’s leaderships position for all athletes.” When asked about his appointment, Mr Hartman stated, “I’m very excited to be the AAU National Development Director.” “My vision is to help hockey players become their personal best on and off the ice.” www.BetterLifeTraining.com Hartman commented further, “I believe that amateur sports is all sbout the kids, building relationships, proper skill development and most importantly having fun!” AAU Ice Hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in the AAU that currently features 650,000 athletes and coaches in over 35 sports. To learn more about the AAU sports program and Ice Hockey go to: www.aausports.org and for additional information on Mike Hartman’s professional background go to: www.aauicehockey.org Keith Noll, AAU Nationals Hockey Chairperson - See more AAU Ice Hockey appointments on page 7 - AAU Ice Hockey Page 3 December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 9 Motown Showcase The inaugural Motown Showcase results are now in the books. This Veterans Day weekend (Remembrance Day in Canada) brought 12 Mite Major and 6 Squirt Open AAU teams together in suburban Detroit from as far away as the Colorado, Texas, New York and Ontario. The Showcase provided a great opportunity for fans to compare competition levels, which will be valuable for seeding AAU Nationals. Mite Major (Novice) At the Mite Major level, the Illinois Steel made an early statement by going 3 and 0 during their round- robin play, with 20-20 hindsight having arguably one of the toughest schedules of the tournament. The Steel followed up with a 5-1 semi-final victory over the Ice Hogs (a very tough Michigan team). Ice Hogs #19 Logan Barnes scored what turned out to be the only goal against the Steel during the tournament at 3:39 of the second period. The Illinois Steel 4 goal effort of #27 Jacob Jastrzebski’s was simply too much for the Ice Hogs to overcome on this day. Handing the Hogs their only loss of the tournament. The win advanced the Steel into a rematch with the DSC Revolution (another strong Michigan team) for the showcase Gold Medal game. Earning the playmaker was #88 Ryan Morgan who dealt out assists to his teammates in route to the Gold (his 7th assist of the tournament). While #90 Jeffery Dublo earned his 4th shutout of the tournament. Squirt Major (Atom) The Squirt division was big success for the Rocky Mountain Snow Kings based out of Aspen, Colorado. The mixed-age Squirt team (2003-2004s) went 5 and 0 on the weekend. Defeating Detroit area International Stars, Burlington Griffins White, Burlington Griffins Black, Barrie Dragons, and the Wheatfield Blades in the final. Each of the Snow Kings players registered points throughout the weekend, making their undefeated status a total team effort. "The tournament was well run and a great experience for the kids to compete against kids from other states and Canada. Great that AAU is providing kids an opportunity to compete nationally as well" said Craig Furstenau who coaches the Kings. Of course, due to the Gold Medal wins of both the Illinois Steel and Rocky Mountain Snow Kings they are awarded berths to their respective AAU Nationals Championships on the March 6-9, 2014 weekend in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Watch for the next Motown Showcase on the MLK holiday weekend of January 17-19, 2015. AAU Ice Hockey Page 4 December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 9 SLCYHL excited with new AAU partnership written by Matt Mackinder of RubberHockey.com In life, change is inevitable, sometimes it’s embraced and other times it’s fought. In the case of the Salt Lake County Youth Hockey League (SLCYHL), major changes this season have been welcomed by all involved in the organization. For the 2013-14 campaign, the SLCYHL decided to affiliate itself with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) this year and to leave USA Hockey. The AAU, founded in 1888, is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States and is dedicated to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. According to County Ice Center hockey coordinator Joe Bernardy, affiliating with the AAU was an easy decision. ”We did it principally because the philosophies of USA Hockey and Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation hockey program began to diverge,” explained Bernardy. On what the AAU can offer the SLCYHL, Bernardy stresses autonomy. “The AAU basically allows an organization to run its own program how it believes is in the best interests of its participants and coaches, as well as the organization itself.” Bernardy said, “That’s what’s most important from our perspective.” Out west, the Western States Hockey League is an AAU-sanctioned league, as is the Midwest Junior Hockey League and Northern States Hockey League, so the organization is beginning to establish its footprint in hockey. “As a recreational-level hockey program, the AAU fits the model of recreational level of play we want to accomplish in our program.” he said. As an AAU-based program, Bernardy hopes to see the SLCYHL continue to improve on its registration statistics. - continued on page 5 - AAU Ice Hockey Page 5 December 1, 2013 Volume 1, Issue 9 “Our youth program has somewhat leveled off,” explained Bernardy. “Girls hockey, although small, is showing an increase. Our adult hockey is also experiencing growth and close to maxing out. Youth hockey in this area has various competing factions for the same pot if kids, it’s a numbers game.” That’s said, the sport appears to be gaining cautious momentum across the state. “Hockey overall is growing slightly or has leveled off a bit,” Bernardy said. “Adult hockey continues to grow and a new program is attempting to start up and evolve in Cedar City (just north of St. George in the southern part of the state), but it’s at a high elevation, so it gets the winter Utah climate.” “If they can get the university involved (Southern Utah University), I think it’ll take off. Maybe St. George will come back with a rink. It had a temporary one a couple years back.” But like many other regions around the country, attracting players to the game is an uphill endeavor considering all the other sporting options people have at their disposal. “Utah, with its large families, look for inexpensive entertainment and participation, so soccer is huge,” said Bernardy. “Basketball is huge with the NBA’s Utah Jazz at the pinnacle, and every LDS ward house has a basketball floor in the church facilities. College football also takes center stage, so coverage of our ECHL pro team (the Utah Grizzlies) is very, very limited.” “There are things that need to be done to increase hockey awareness, but that all takes time and money. All the state organizations are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.” What is Bernardy’s outlook on the immediate and distant future of the SLCYHL? “We’ll be her,” said Bernardy.