I agree with almost everything Mike had to say last Friday about Massachusetts hockey. Here are a couple points of my own: * If folks from other parts of the country feel there is any provincialism about my contentions about the Mass development program, in particular the Metro Boston Hockey League, let me pass on the following incident that happened this weekend. A parent from New Jersey flew up with his nine/ten year old kid for a tryout with another Metro team (not the one I'm with). His intention was to try to make a Metro All-Star team that does tournaments in the summer (the coach of the All-Star team was also the coach of the team having the tryout), & also to propose having his kid play on a Metro team and miss all the practices but fly up each weekend for the games. (And I thought *I* was a Get-A-Lifer! Perhaps that's what I'd be like if I had that guy's money.) He commented that there were more elite players at that one tryout than there was in all of New Jersey. This is NOT a slam at any other regions' developmental programs, but will perhaps show why there is such a terrific feeder system for the Mass High Schools and as a result Mass talent for the colleges. Virtually every HS Freshman/Sophomore player that was named to All-Star teams this year (TC Harris at Matignon, Mike Souza at Wakefield) developed their skills in the Metro league. The same is true if you look at the local Select-16 camps. * When comparing the Catholics vs. the publics, I don't think money has *that* much to do with the Catholics success. Your average Public, to my knowledge, has roughly comparable ice time, which to my mind is the one area where $$ can differentiate. The other factor that Mike mentions, being able to draw from any city, is *the* single overriding factor IMO. For example, last year ('92-'93) CM did *not* have its usual supply of blue-chippers, yet they still beat a Medford (pronounced Meh-fuh) team that included Shawn Bates, who was the leading local scorer, was drafted by the Broons, and looks like he'll be a pretty good college player based on his freshman year at BU. Yet even though CM did not have any dominant seniors they still beat Medford by neutralizing Medford's first line and dominating the other lines. CM, because they could pull in talent from other towns, can go four lines deep, and when matching up against publics could probably boast players on their JV squad that would make second or third lines on public teams. They can attract the elite and also the level a notch below so that publics cannot match their depth. Not only does the can-take-from-any-place factor help the Catholics (and by extension the prep/privates), it decimates the Publics. If I had a dollar for every mournful face from a Public parent or coach that recites the talent from that town that has chosen to go Catholic or prep/private, I'd have a full wallet indeed. So not only does it fatten the Catholic's depth, it also thins (sometimes drastically) the depth of the Publics. It's with the prep/privates that money becomes a bigger issue. Most of the ones I'm familiar with have their own rink, so I'd be surprised if there isn't more ice time. Also, most of the preps offer scholarships worth $15K to attract the top talent. Not that the Catholics don't offer scholarships but they are worth less in terms of dollars and also because *some* of the Catholics are not overwhelming in terms of the education they provide. For example, Catholic Memorial does not have an elite academic reputation that would make a hockey scholarship something an academically-minded parent would salivate over. Other Catholics like St. John's Prep *are* viewed in a stronger academic light. I've heard that Austin Prep is also very strong academically with the exception of one instructor named Biscardi, who has brought disrepute to his institution by waving T-shirts at BU games. :-) ***************************************************** ,-******-, * Dave Hendrickson "Robo" [log in to unmask] * *' ## '* * A Hockey Polygamist and Get-A-Lifer * *## ___##___ ##* * GO BROONS!!! Go Red Wings!! Go LA Kings! * * ##| ___ \## * * GO UMASS-LOWELL!!! Go Maine!! Go BU! * * | |___) | * * --------------------------------------------------* *######| ___ <######* * Although I can't remember ever having an original * * | |___) | * * thought, and am certainly parroting someone who * * ##|________/## * * actually has a brain, these opinions are mine, * *## ## ##* * not Hewlett-Packard's. * *, ## ,* ***************************************************** '-*******-'