On Tue, 18 Feb 1997, Lowell King wrote:
 
> Although I mostly agree with you said in your post, it seems that this
> problem is universal throughout North America. One would think exactly
> opposite with the increased interest in the game, better training,
> additional teams, and so forth. Wonder why?
 
If we are talking about the general quality of play, then I think
additional teams would have the effect of diluting it. Right now, the
talent pool hasn't caught up with the bodies available for it. The growth
in numbers of teams in all levels has been large in the last decade.
There are around 10 more schools playing D-I, and 10 more Major Junior
teams. That's before we get into the fact that minor-pro
leagues are popping up and bursting out all over the countryside.
The fact that more schools want to be D-I also worries me a bit, for this
reason. There's no real way to stop a school from going D-I if it wants,
but some consideration has to be made for the talent pool.
 
One hopes that the growth of hockey in the US will help to make up for
it, but it is too soon for that to have taken effect. The latest boom has
only been going for a couple of years. Hopefully, Minor Hockey
registration is up in the States, but even if it is, it will take nearly
10 years for that effect to show up at the College level. Do we know if
registrations have gone up at the minor levels?
 
In the meantime, we are left with the apparently diluted product.
Hopefully this is simply a low ebb in the cycle, but we'll see.
 
See you later,
John
 
John Edwards                       Minister of Chasing Wild Geese (DNRC)  O-
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