Building Hockey Culture thru Youth Teams

[Bart9349]

Developing any hockey culture usually requires some support of youth hockey.

I am glad the Las Vegas NHL organization is showing its willingness to lend its help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ni6G8O98w



Not wanting to embarrass anyone, I will only give you the quote from a previous post from October 2013:

Save the whole "it leads to the expansion of youth hockey" consider this: Toronto got an NBA team the year before Phoenix got the NHL, the Raptors have been equally inept. Yet next year with Wiggins being the #1 pick in the NBA draft what will be 3 top 4 picks in the NBA draft in 4 years coming out the the Toronto area and back to back #1 overall. What has all the youth hockey out of Phoenix generated?

Does Auston Matthews, the #1 draft pick from Scottsdale, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix) answer that question?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/s...t-supply-arizona-warms-up-to-hockey.html?_r=0

Good times ahead.

Click to read more...

 

[Summer Rose]

Do you guys have any youth organizations there other than the Nevada Storm? I know they have to play in the AZYHL because I guess there aren't enough Nevada teams to make their own youth league. Feel sorry for them having to come to Arizona all the time to play their games. I mean it's a breath of fresh air as a referee since their coaches are usually actually polite and always shake my hand after the game, as compared to the Arizona team coaches.

Also, do you have many rinks in Nevada? Arizona's got 6 rinks in the Phoenix area (some are multiple sheets so we have 11 sheets total); only other year-round rink is in Flagstaff. Prescott has the Tim's Toyota Center but they melt the ice after the winter season, and the same goes for the Tucson Convention Center down in Tucson, though with the addition of the AHL team this season that may change.

 

[KnishOfTheCrease]

Do you guys have any youth organizations there other than the Nevada Storm? I know they have to play in the AZYHL because I guess there aren't enough Nevada teams to make their own youth league. Feel sorry for them having to come to Arizona all the time to play their games. I mean it's a breath of fresh air as a referee since their coaches are usually actually polite and always shake my hand after the game, as compared to the Arizona team coaches.

Also, do you have many rinks in Nevada? Arizona's got 6 rinks in the Phoenix area (some are multiple sheets so we have 11 sheets total); only other year-round rink is in Flagstaff. Prescott has the Tim's Toyota Center but they melt the ice after the winter season, and the same goes for the Tucson Convention Center down in Tucson, though with the addition of the AHL team this season that may change.

There were 2 youth organizations- Fire & Storm, but they both merged under the Storm banner a few months ago.
We currently have 3 sheets. 2 at the Las Vegas Ice Center and 1 at the Sobe Arena inside the Fiesta Rancho. The new practice facility will add 2 and possibly 4 sheets.

 

[HanSolo]

Hopefully this develops some stars from Vegas.

But they've got a long way to go. California has had a large youth hockey presence for a while and the best players they can claim right now are Emerson Etem, Matt Nieto, and Beau Bennett.

 

[Bart9349]

Coming from Western Pennsylvania, it is nice to see several quality players in the NHL came from the area:

SUNRISE, Fla. — Columbus winger Brandon Saad (Gibsonia) and Anaheim goalie John Gibson (Whitehall) stepped into the spotlight when they became the first Western Pennsylvania natives to play in the NHL All-Star Game last weekend.

Yet there are two other Pittsburgh-area players who might be on more of a roll these days.

J.T. Miller (Coraopolis by way of East Palestine, Ohio) has seven goals in his past seven games. The 22-year-old is among the New York Rangers' leaders with 16 goals and 29 points this season.

Vince Trocheck (Upper St. Clair) has five goals and nine points in his past five games, including an assist against the Penguins on Saturday night. The 22-year-old winger leads the first-place Florida Panthers with 17 goals

http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/9919379-74/games-goals-penguins

Trust me, barely anyone went to the Penquin games in the earliest 80s (pre-Lemieux) and fewer kids ever imagined playing hockey at any level. At that time, the Steelers (and to a lesser extent, the Pirates) were the big game in town. The Penguins were just an amusing afterthought.

Hopefully, Las Vegas will develop a hockey culture that includes youth hockey.

 

[BattleBorn]

Coming from Western Pennsylvania, it is nice to see several quality players in the NHL came from the area:



http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/9919379-74/games-goals-penguins

Trust me, barely anyone went to the Penquin games in the earliest 80s (pre-Lemieux) and fewer kids ever imagined playing hockey at any level. (At that time, the Steelers and to a lesser extent, the Pirates were the big games in town. The Penguins were just an amusing afterthought.)

Hopefully, Las Vegas will develop a hockey culture that includes youth hockey.

I think having the first hockey players on T-Mobile Ice be a youth hockey team was a real nod to their future effort. They've made it clear that the youth hockey is going to be a large part of their community outreach.

 

[Summer Rose]

I think having the first hockey players on T-Mobile Ice be a youth hockey team was a real nod to their future effort. They've made it clear that the youth hockey is going to be a large part of their community outreach.

I'm rooting for you guys. I got to watch youth hockey explode in growth ever since the late 90's in the Phoenix area. Now we have our very own homegrown NHL star (well you never know, Matthews could end up being a draft bust, but I don't think so). Hopefully you guys get some more rinks and sheets (Knish mentioned the new practice facility could add 2-4 more sheets). Maybe a rink up in Reno too.