We have been getting a number of emails asking us to put up a preliminary list to open up discussion on who are the (current) top teams heading in to the 2012-2013 bantam season. Although we will be previewing each league in depth, in the coming newsletters, here is how we see things right now in western Canada.
Top 10 Team Rankings - Western Canada
1. BWC Bruins
2. Sherwood Park Flyers
3. SSAC Southgate Lions
4. Winnipeg Hawks
5. POE
6. Calgary Bisons
7. Notre Dame Hounds
8. Lloydminster Heat
9. OHA
10. NSWC Winterhawks
Honourable Mention
Abbotsford Heat
Langles Eagles
Winnipeg Monarchs
Calgary Northstar Sabres
42 comments:
Westerns are in Saskatchewan and they have no good teams. Bwc. Sherwood park and hawks should make it there
Yes Saskatchewan you suck your awful why let the kids even play. oops that is right only 1 milion people which means we should have only 4-6 teams according to BC and Alberta ratios, you really want to see who would win those games lol..
#blowouts
speaking from BC:
I think NSWC will be stronger then the WEHP stated pre season rankings.
Langley will be in tough against Abbotsford and Semi, followed up by Vancouver Thunderbirds and Coquitlam.
After that, it will be an intersting fight for placement in the lower 8-10.
(Surrey, Seafair, Chillwhack and Mission will be scrapping it out to stay alive in the top flight)
Tier Two will be interesting and probably very tight
Have Fun boys.
In Saskatchewan they have no AAA until Midget. That's why they suck at westerns.Sask's Midget AAA league has 8 teams, so if they switched to that they would have a better chance at westerns.
Being from MB I dont know the other teams that well, but I would put all my money on Winnipeg Hawks representing MB (and no, I dont have a kid playing on that team)
Saskatchewan Midget AAA has 12 teams.
The Hawks should repeat in MB but have lost their top Dman. Monarchs are adding a top player so maybe they will be able to challenge the Hawks. Perhaps there is a rural team that can compete in provincials?
BWC looks to have the top team on paper.
I wonder if they can dominate like they think they will?
Langley is over rated , they will brag on games they win and cry excuses when they are defeated.
banking on the possible one hit wonder
NSWC is the silent giant, lots of skill, offensive talent, and great coaching. The D and goaltending will be the deciding factors on how they will do throughout the year.
Abbotsford on the other hand should be the work horse, some size, and 3 deep lines.
Oh this will be an exciting year for all the PCAHA BC Bantam teams.
4:14 Do you know why they don't have a AAA. Why don't all the Western programs follow the same guidelines.
Sask does have very good players.
Its not fair that just by living in certain areas your get more benefits.
Hawks have no one to play against, The boys from Winnipeg did not match up well the NAHC at with the teams from Alberta,BC. They did fine against the teams from Sask. But the Hitmen made it look easy.
Alberta is going to be in for some good hockey with SP,LH,SSAC,Bisons, Not sure how the Royals or CAC will do this year.
NSWC still needs Def and a Goalies.
Langley added a few strong 98 it looks like, NSWC was small last year and form this web site have not added anyone.
The burnaby winter club have 3 guys ranked in western elites top 15
How about the Kamloops Jardine Blazers? Anyone have any thoughts?
I agree NSWC is silent but deadly..with power upfront from Dante Hannoun and Tak Anholt give them good power and on D poliout and Kwan..it will be a big change for peewees such as Bellerive,Kneen,Almeida,Leas,Crookshank
Johnson?
OHA is not a top 10 team and POE is not a top 5 , but you will see that soon.
Hockey Manitoba's new playdown format for Western Bantam Championship may have some surprises.
Bwc has better offense than NSWC and waaaaaaay better D && G
11:22 - the academies always rise fast with more intense development programs. Both programs have some very talented recruits and 2nd years. It'll be decided on the ice!!!!!
Watch for Red Deer Black have a good season this year. I think they will play for south title. I'm not from Red Deer
Calgary comments here-
Bisons - Very strong base here. Philips will be best F in Calgary. D will probably be best in AB as a whole, let by mckinstry. Same coach, another year that they will be very strong.
Royals - Same coach, same story - wont be able to beat the Bisons. 1 returning player (montgomery) and average the rest of way. Will probably be very hard working like last year, but look what happened at the end.
Sabres - Aucoin will have a great year. Yewchuk big d-man who could turn into Strand type d-man by years end. New coach who will have a fairly good year this year and compete
Bronks - Kingpin is Cziakowski. This kid will turn heads this year. Outside of this, team will be average, but will have spurts of greatness.
Thoughts on Calgary? Will Bisons win South again? Will Royals repeat presidents? Will Sabres/Bronks pass either team?
3:57. Red deer black & white draft so you have no idea who will even be on that team??
What about the 99's playing out of Okotoks? They look very strong @ the 99 year for players! Steer-Pprich-Romashenko-Nagy-Borbely-Betinol!
Who r the top teams from sask?
By the looks of Player movement ND will be the strong one of out Sask.
Alberta North has 3 or 4 strong teams
South maybe 1.
SP Flyers, Lloyd Heat, SSAC will be the top three from Alberta. Maybe a Southern Alberta can take the 4th spot. This will be a long season fro the teams from Winnipeg ( Hawks and Monarchs) just don't have it this year.
Out of BC NSWC has 1 strong 98 with the two from that Viper program.
They did have a few big 97 Def players but for the 98 they are very small. as for the 99 players , they are going to get a big welcome in bantam in Alberta.
BWC is BWC has been and well be strong. Medicine Hat will be opening round.
Who do you guys think is better from nswc- Staplay or Leas
De Jong or Leas
Stapley or Almeida
Crookshank or De Jong?
No doubt the NSWC peewee team had some great players...Bellerive was a force and I believe he will continue this in Bantam...as to the remaining Almeida would have to be the next top ranked NSWC player moving to bantam..this kid has an Hockey IQ scouts will drool over
Leas and Stapley.. No one has really seen Leas play that much do far...when I was watching the NSWC camp I actually had no idea who Leas was until I saw a small player who was fearless. He and Justin Almeida were the only Forwards in the game that weren't backing down from the big hits from the older players. Leas finished with 1 goal 2 assist as Almeida on the opposing team tallied 1 goal 3 assists. Watching the practice also both players are phenomenal hard workers. After Bellerive who wasn't in the camp I would put Almeida followed by Leas as top 99 born NSWC forwards
the Calgary sabers will be a top 5 team come December, They will be scary. SABRE DANGER
Good comments on the Royals. Very week group this year with too much strength moving up to Midget, no one of substance returning and very little to nothing coming in from the feedr communities.
@454...give your head a shake. Sabers have nothing after their returning players especially with Drohan leaving the NE. Bison and Bronks will be the top Calgary teams. Royals Sabres and Okotoks will battle for the last 2 spots and all 3 teams may be under.500
The royals 98 group is just as strong as the 97s
Notre Dame AAA Bantams play in the AA Midget league. They only get to play bantam in the 2 or 3 big tournaments. In the end, the only way they can be first in anything is by winning a bantam tournament, or being ranked first in WEHP ranking. Pretty tough for 14 yr olds playing against their own ages, let alone playing against 17 yr olds in the midget league. I am sure they learned some lessons last year, and I expect this years Hounds to be even more competitive in the Midget league, and give the other top bantam teams in the west a pretty good run for their money in the big tournaments.
What about all the sbaahl teams this year who will be good there?
Sabres will be better than you think. Drohan is a good hockey player but is not a difference maker. He will make the already strong Bisons deeper though and they should easily win the division. Can't wait for the puck to drop.
Drohan will be a top Dman in the South division and you can ask any scout at any rink. Sabers do have 3 studs with Aucoin Dunn Yewchuk....like someone said previously they have absolutely nothing after those 3...
Why in none of these blogs is anyone speaking about Semiahmoo? Better goaltending than ever this year with the addition of Kelleway. Regush stayed. Still have Westgaurd, Berry, Stuart, Alcock, Evanich, Cameron, Keremidchiff, Smith - all 98's that have played at the top levels. Plus have 99 Rasmussen - top pick for that age group.May be a better team than getting credit for now that they will finally have some top level coaching instead of a dad running the bench that is consumed with his own son.
8:29 AM I believe the goalies last year were very good.
Semi with the likes of Seafair,Cloverdale,Surrey did not have alot of 98 players on the A1 team last season.
Langley,Abbotsford,BWC and NSWC all had 4 or 5. This does make a difference. While these players you mentioned are good players, they will strongly tested in MH or St Albert. No disrespect to the Semi group. But only 1 player is coming back to the A1 team. Its alot to ask.
The parent Coach does not work at any level.
Seafair had 6 first years on their team last year, also had 3 non parent coaches.
Semi will be a good team, their parent coaching has been top notch over the past couple years, sounds like a sour grapes parent commenting
who coaching semiamhoo?
Problems associated with parent coaches shouldn't be equated to mere "sour grapes"! This is how they become issues in the first place. Granted every team has their wing nuts but the power given to coaches by brown nosers is equally problematic. If associations aren't actively seeking volunteer coaches then they should ensure strong open lines of communication between parents and managers, directors, supervisors etc.
Standing up for your child is your RIGHT and old boys clubs have no place in minor hockey! If your coaches child isn't in the top 5 but still receives the lions share of the ice time than speak up! Also be aware of spot light stealers who purposely place their child in more favourable situations over you child.
There's nothing else I'd like to see more than players provided opportunities based on achievement rather than what Daddy has given them! I'm guessing the following is a common sight in many associations:
1). Coaches kid is floating around the ice knowing he is already on the team.
2). Coach is an evaluator, surrounded by other evaluators (his friends) and able to influence their decisions.
3). The coach has suddenly become the Dos Equis guy with many admirers who are eager to please.
4). Coach's friends acquire new swagger since their bud has assured them they're covered.
5). You as paying parents witness this debauchery but cannot comment because you will thus be black listed.
Any of this sound familiar?
Now...protectors of the status quo...speak up...I'm curious to hear your rationale.
A good association will allow hockey people to make hockey decisions. Ensure hockey people are making these choices!!! Your coaching selection committee should be qualified to select a coach that would be best suited for that program. It doesn't matter if it's parent or non parent as long it's the best for all the kids. A good coach will run the program as he see fit without brown nosers in his ear or having to receive phone calls from directors, parents ect. to influence his season plan or specific kids ice time. At this age, parents should have no say what hockey decisions the coach makes even if you don't like it. They are at the age now where you have to cut the cord and be a fan and supporter.
Hey 4:54 Great response!!!!
Hey 10:34 PM... cat got your tongue???
You sound like a parent with a lot of complaints and unwilling to accept where your son / daughter is at. It probably a good thing that this is anonymous. People would know who is making these stupid comments and realize how little you know about hockey !!! It's people like you that don"t allow coaches to coach to make you kid better!
Some advise for you: stop blogging and making yourself sound foolish... get a good coach and developer and let your kid have some fun!!!
sabres are nothing without Aucoin and Dunn. Seriously, nothing! Royals wait for Bisons, Okotoks have nothing. NW are similar to Royals, but Kreitz for the Royals is better than Dumba. Tonight 2_1 Royals over Flames .
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