OT: Boston Area Hockey Tournaments

[Neely2005]

I was hoping that some of you may be able to recommend some good Boston area hockey tournaments.

One of my sons teams is looking for an away tournament to participate in for the upcoming season.

They are Minor Atom A (2004 birth year).

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

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[Coach C]

What month/time of the season?

Greater Boston area okay? Are you trying to stay closest to the city?

 

[Bruwinz37]

A lot of great tournaments.

04's are Atom Majors next season though, right? My son is an 03.

Check out www.nes.com

This is a 6 rink tourney monster and if you go under tournaments you will find the listing. Just check each tournament for levels (elite, AAA, AA, A, etc). If you want any feedack about a specific tournament just PM me...I think we have done them all at this point.

 

[Neely2005]

What month/time of the season?

Greater Boston area okay? Are you trying to stay closest to the city?

Our preseason starts in August.
Our regular season runs from September until the end of January.
Our playoffs run from February until as late as the end of April.

So it would have to be during our regular season.

The Greater Boston Area is fine but closer to Boston is better as we hope to go to a Bruins game while we're here.

 

[Neely2005]

A lot of great tournaments.

04's are Atom Majors next season though, right? My son is an 03.

Check out www.nes.com

This is a 6 rink tourney monster and if you go under tournaments you will find the listing. Just check each tournament for levels (elite, AAA, AA, A, etc). If you want any feedack about a specific tournament just PM me...I think we have done them all at this point.

We're in the OMHA so for us 2004 birth year will be Minor Atom for the upcoming season.

Thank you for the information I'll check it out and get back to you if I have any questions.

 

[Coach C]

Our preseason starts in August.
Our regular season runs from September until the end of January.
Our playoffs run from February until as late as the end of April.

So it would have to be during our regular season.

The Greater Boston Area is fine but closer to Boston is better as we hope to go to a Bruins game while we're here.

The JWK tournament is great, really good competition, but they also have several divisions now and do a better job of making sure teams are in the right division. If you want to play the best competition, I would recommend this.

http://jwkhockey.com/

Check out the Warriors tournaments too, they are usually good.

http://www.jrwarriors.com/content.php?sect=33&catid=275&navid=33

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the tournaments at NES. The complex is nice, but they are not known for running great tournaments. I always get the feeling from them that they want people in and out and games to just end on time so they can make as much money as possible. There also always seems to be 1 team in every tournament that clearly does not belong there. IMO, making sure the competition is always good/competitive is a huge part of running a tournament and I think they lack there.

There are a ton others in the area and a bunch more if you get closer to NH.

If you end up in the area and want to pick up an extra game or two while in the area, let me know. I don't coach at that level, but know some who do who are always looking for more games/new opponents.

 

[Neely2005]

The JWK tournament is great, really good competition, but they also have several divisions now and do a better job of making sure teams are in the right division. If you want to play the best competition, I would recommend this.

http://jwkhockey.com/

Check out the Warriors tournaments too, they are usually good.

http://www.jrwarriors.com/content.php?sect=33&catid=275&navid=33

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the tournaments at NES. The complex is nice, but they are not known for running great tournaments. I always get the feeling from them that they want people in and out and games to just end on time so they can make as much money as possible. There also always seems to be 1 team in every tournament that clearly does not belong there. IMO, making sure the competition is always good/competitive is a huge part of running a tournament and I think they lack there.

There are a ton others in the area and a bunch more if you get closer to NH.

If you end up in the area and want to pick up an extra game or two while in the area, let me know. I don't coach at that level, but know some who do who are always looking for more games/new opponents.

Thanks for the information and I agree that having balanced competition is key. The worst is when teams are getting blown out by large margins.

 

[GinoCyber*]

Boston Icemen and the Chowder Cup are pretty good. We've been to the Icemen twice and will be going to the Chowder cup for the first time this year.

 

[Bruwinz37]

We're in the OMHA so for us 2004 birth year will be Minor Atom for the upcoming season.

Thank you for the information I'll check it out and get back to you if I have any questions.

I had a few too many beers last night.....and confused atoms, mites, squirts, etc.

Not Boston, but if you are looking for a Christmas tournament in a nice location look at Newport Youth hockey in RI. They run a great Christmas tournament.

ncyha.org

 

[Bruwinz37]

The JWK tournament is great, really good competition, but they also have several divisions now and do a better job of making sure teams are in the right division. If you want to play the best competition, I would recommend this.

http://jwkhockey.com/

Check out the Warriors tournaments too, they are usually good.

http://www.jrwarriors.com/content.php?sect=33&catid=275&navid=33

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the tournaments at NES. The complex is nice, but they are not known for running great tournaments. I always get the feeling from them that they want people in and out and games to just end on time so they can make as much money as possible. There also always seems to be 1 team in every tournament that clearly does not belong there. IMO, making sure the competition is always good/competitive is a huge part of running a tournament and I think they lack there.

There are a ton others in the area and a bunch more if you get closer to NH.

If you end up in the area and want to pick up an extra game or two while in the area, let me know. I don't coach at that level, but know some who do who are always looking for more games/new opponents.

Agreed overall, but the one benefit of NES compared to the tournaments you mentioned is that all the rinks are in one location. JWK is good, overall, in terms of quality but you may have to go to rinks all over RI and SE Mass. Ditto Warriros...you could be in Haverhill down to Saugus.

I also gave the NES website because you mentioned you play at the A level and that gives more options.

 

[HockeyMomx2]

A lot of great tournaments.

04's are Atom Majors next season though, right? My son is an 03.

Check out www.nes.com

This is a 6 rink tourney monster and if you go under tournaments you will find the listing. Just check each tournament for levels (elite, AAA, AA, A, etc). If you want any feedack about a specific tournament just PM me...I think we have done them all at this point.

Tournaments at NES are awful more often than not. The ice is terrible unless you get lucky enough to get all or most of your games on Rink 1. Watching games in Rink 6 or 5 is brutal to say the least, the ref's have got to be the bottom of the barrel. The only decent tournaments there where the competition is not only good but rosters are verified are the ones run by outside sources, i.e. Beantown Classic has over taken every single other showcase type tournament in this area. HNIB, Chowder Cup, etc. have maybe a half dozen to a dozen coaches from preps or collegs at them now. It's all about the Beantown now. The kiddie tournaments run by NES themselves are a money grab where you'll find AAA teams entered into Town B level tournaments every week. On the positive side, if you're in Rink 1 or two, you can have a few beers while watching your kid play LOL

 

[Bruwinz37]

Tournaments at NES are awful more often than not. The ice is terrible unless you get lucky enough to get all or most of your games on Rink 1. Watching games in Rink 6 or 5 is brutal to say the least, the ref's have got to be the bottom of the barrel. The only decent tournaments there where the competition is not only good but rosters are verified are the ones run by outside sources, i.e. Beantown Classic has over taken every single other showcase type tournament in this area. HNIB, Chowder Cup, etc. have maybe a half dozen to a dozen coaches from preps or collegs at them now. It's all about the Beantown now. The kiddie tournaments run by NES themselves are a money grab where you'll find AAA teams entered into Town B level tournaments every week. On the positive side, if you're in Rink 1 or two, you can have a few beers while watching your kid play LOL

Agreed overall...I gave him the link so he could ask us about specific tournaments because there are a few good ones. He also mentioned his kid is 9 so I doubt prep coaches make much of a difference as there are NO prep coaches at even the best of the best tournaments at this age.

And lets face it...they are all a money grab....you just have to choose the best one.

 

[HockeyMomx2]

Agreed overall...I gave him the link so he could ask us about specific tournaments because there are a few good ones. He also mentioned his kid is 9 so I doubt prep coaches make much of a difference as there are NO prep coaches at even the best of the best tournaments at this age.

And lets face it...they are all a money grab....you just have to choose the best one.

True, true. I guess after 18 years of going to tournaments with 3 different kids from kiddie hockey to college level I've grown a bit biased in my opinion. The best tournaments any of mine played in were unfortunately all out of state/country.