USACHL: New Junior League?

[GoalieEd]

I’ve been following the teams/leagues on Facebook, and the public face they are indicating they are selling tickets and preparing for this weekends games like normal, except for the bees/lawmen venue change as noted above.

The key business person for the force answered a question 12 hours ago about tickets and the bees posted their schedule change yesterday as well. Someone in the USACHL fan page indicates both lawmen and bees has practice yesterday but seemed like a few less skaters then normal.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Like I've said, I want you to have a team in the valley, same in Laredo, and Wichita Falls. I hope all three of your markets can find their way into (and in the case of RGV, and Witchita Falls back into) a stable, quality league such as the NAHL. That would be the best option for having a viable level of hockey for the long term.

You're a passionate fan in the meantime supporting the league you have which is admirable on your part. But it's unfair to you because you're not getting what was advertised and perhaps equally as important the players are not getting what they were sold on either.

Anything is better than nothing. Definitely is how I see it.

As for the article or text about mass exodus why would the players leave? They aren't missing a paycheck or getting tossed to the street and its prolly too late to join another league even if they qualify..

Why not stay another week, you bought the sir care down here...

Nor really buying into that text...the players I've met absolutely love it here and the community treats them like kings...they make appearances everywhere.

Coaches? Yea they got to pay their bills but I'm sure Bill is paying them...

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

One more thing to help y'all understand here...

it NEVER SNOWS...THERE IS NO ICE....no frozen lakes....well ok once in a blue moon every 6 or 8 years we will get an inch of snow and call it 12 inches...or a blizzard...we go bananas...

That's what make this sport so unusual and unique here...it blows our minds...we're Mexicans...(well I'm not but practically am...I was born here and speak Spanish and love the Mexican people...this used to be Mexico and pretty much still is... Back to it....just the simple concept of ice hockey...y'all grew up in it and are prolly sick of ice and snow...

(The players can't believe it either...finish skating walk outside and go pls golf in 80 or 90 degree temps...they love it)

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Anything is better than nothing. Definitely is how I see it.

As for the article or text about mass exodus why would the players leave? They aren't missing a paycheck or getting tossed to the street and its prolly too late to join another league even if they qualify..

Why not stay another week, you bought the sir care down here...

Nor really buying into that text...the players I've met absolutely love it here and the community treats them like kings...they make appearances everywhere.

Coaches? Yea they got to pay their bills but I'm sure Bill is paying them...

There was probably players leaving because the entire and only purpose of juniors is to get a college commitment. Getting to fight with a halfie, be a big fish in a small pond, and leave the rink in flip flops is nice, but players understand that those things are the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake. No college coaches will look at the league, maybe some club teams. NCAA D1 and D3 Hockey teams (there’s 6/7 teams in D2 but they’re grouped into D3) are only where there’s cold weather, save for ASU, UAH, Stevenson and a handful of others, so if you commit to just about any hockey school in the nation you’ll be back in cold weather anyways.

It isn’t too late to join a pay-to-play league and the longer the season goes on the harder it would be to find a team. Heisler offered his services to players in his article release and he definitely could’ve influenced more kids leaving. There was definitely a good chunk leaving already for reasons stated in the Death Pool and Heisler’s articles. And while you balk at the pay-to-play, some leagues like the EHL are machines when it comes to getting college commits, which is the endgame for these players. So paying a couple grand is a drop in the bucket for parents if you get your kid into a good school with a good hockey team rather than, I hate to say but, waste his time in southern Texas.

 

[JungleJON]

If this league is in the toilet - why are you still running this thread???

 

[GoalieEd]

Just saw this.. Could be the end

I’m the Edward Moore on that posting. The venue after that though in Hildago has announced the friday and saturdy game move to their venue, and wichita falls is still selling tickets for friday, and according to someone down there there was practice sessions Tuesday (although the person who saw it said attendance was “lite”.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

There was probably players leaving because the entire and only purpose of juniors is to get a college commitment. Getting to fight with a halfie, be a big fish in a small pond, and leave the rink in flip flops is nice, but players understand that those things are the icing on the cake rather than the whole cake. No college coaches will look at the league, maybe some club teams. NCAA D1 and D3 Hockey teams (there’s 6/7 teams in D2 but they’re grouped into D3) are only where there’s cold weather, save for ASU, UAH, Stevenson and a handful of others, so if you commit to just about any hockey school in the nation you’ll be back in cold weather anyways.

It isn’t too late to join a pay-to-play league and the longer the season goes on the harder it would be to find a team. Heisler offered his services to players in his article release and he definitely could’ve influenced more kids leaving. There was definitely a good chunk leaving already for reasons stated in the Death Pool and Heisler’s articles. And while you balk at the pay-to-play, some leagues like the EHL are machines when it comes to getting college commits, which is the endgame for these players. So paying a couple grand is a drop in the bucket for parents if you get your kid into a good school with a good hockey team rather than, I hate to say but, waste his time in southern Texas.

Dude... You assume way way too much and that's why I take issue with your postings... With all these assumptions you project yourself as the site authority.

I guarantee not every kid is in Jr hockey to get a college scholarship many just want to advance their skills and get exposure to scouts, gain experience and whatnot.. many can't even speak english so college is even further away...
"entire and only reason" says all are there for that purpose. Not.

I promise not to go for any alcohol tolerance awards if you promise not to go for any positive assumption awards. Deal?

Funny thing tho...you and I might agree on 90% of other things and I might would be your first choice in watching your dog and house when you go on vacation. I said might so settle down...

And btw...South Texas is all about waiting time...we don't even have watches down here...well time for a siesta.

I also think there's the possibility Heisler and Bill had an advertising agreement and Bill backed out so Heisler is pissed...

Wait. There I go assuming...sucks right?

 

[PCSPounder]

If this league is in the toilet - why are you still running this thread???

Some people are so desperate that zombie hockey beats nothing. Especially out west, where sometimes the crowds are good but the margins are thin and the travel long, well, you end up with situations like the Eugene Generals (playing some sort of independent schedule and losing to AAA midget whatever teams and college club teams, but still a member of USA Hockey because the GM- whom the owner seems incapable of letting go- burned his bridges with the WSHL and doesn't really have other options... not to mention trying to exist in the USPHL last season and the EHL this season).

If the NAHL could have more teams in more distinct regions and just play within those regions, you'd stand a chance of having something viable... IF you can keep the numbers of teams alive. Therein lies the rub... not every city tolerates what a junior hockey team ends up having to do to survive. One does not simply skip rent for a month or two and expect taxpayers to be understanding. Some towns would rather support whatever school they have (I'm convinced the real "college towns" are the hardest to win over, and that's partly because the school will do their worst to undermine the "competition"). Add USA Hockey and whatever other leagues are around devaluing the product by, well, trying to sell franchises to add layer upon layer of stuff to support and turning everyone against each other.

Sigh.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Okay folks just spoke to a player on the Killer Bees who I have been texting back and forth with since his three goal hat-trick Midway through the first this weekend..

his name is Lucas I asked him if many have left he said yes there have been a few that have left but they all want to come back because it's so much fun here..also the league will be getting better and will be really good. We're not giving up at all.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Some Damm good pics from this weekend

Notice the doom and gloom in all their faces....

Ruben Cortez Photography | RGV KILLER BEES VS WICHITA FALLS FORCE | Page

 

[GoalieEd]

To me, the question remains if the critical pieces are getting paid to keep the league running. That would include the bus and travel costs, the officials whom work the games, at least 1 or two employees per team, and the arena fees and insurance coverage. So far there are not reports of the teams being locked out of the rinks so I’m hopeful this can proceed a bit longer and there is still someone out there writing checks for these things.

According to a twitter person the teams practiced yesterday and today, so the next “proof of life” would be if Laredo take the bus tomorrow up to Wichita Falls.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

Dude... You assume way way too much and that's why I take issue with your postings... With all these assumptions you project yourself as the site authority.

I guarantee not every kid is in Jr hockey to get a college scholarship many just want to advance their skills and get exposure to scouts, gain experience and whatnot.. many can't even speak english so college is even further away...
"entire and only reason" says all are there for that purpose. Not.

Every single junior hockey league in the United States and the vast majority of Tier II Canadian leagues exist to get only to get players into college hockey. The only ones that don't are the Q, the O, and the W and that's because they develop kids for the Show rather than college puck. Whether you choose to agree with that fact or not is up to you, as is thinking that I think I'm the grand authority on hockey. I am not, obviously I am not. The only reason American juniors was created is to advance kids to NCAA. If you think I'm full of it, then look at every single junior hockey league website and their ONLY is getting kids college commitments. Every single website parades their commitments around (except for the USACHL, but let's get a fully working website, stats, and regular games before we get that far). Yes, there's kids in juniors who aren't looking to go to college or are killing time until they play low, low level hockey in Europe getting paid 250 Euros per month along with working a second job. But if you have a roster of 23-25 kids like most junior teams (except for the USACHL teams), you can put your bottom dollar all but 1-2 max are clawing to get the attention of college coaches.

You're right in that not every kid is in juniors to get a scholarship, but not for the reason you think. There's 60 D1 teams with 15-18 scholarships each, and the supply is much bigger than the demand. I'll just leave this article from the NY Times here that explains it since you think it's from me it's me "assuming": College Hockey Has a Talent Glut, but Nowhere to Grow Look at the rosters right now of the top 15 D3 teams in the country. Having played against SUNY Geneseo and Utica and watched some of the Wisconsin schools, they traditionally each have a minimum of 2-3 transfers from D1 and then 3-5 kids originally committed D1 but decommit and choose to go to D3. Once again, check the rosters since I "assume" a lot or just come at me with the lame and equally weird buttclay remarks. If you're not on scholarship at D1, and there are a lot of kids in that situation, there's a good number of them that transfer to D3 at a school with a cheaper price tag, closer to home, and more playing time. There's 80 D3 teams that can't offer scholarships, although most do give out good financial aid packages. The top ACHA club teams, like U of Illinois, Lindenwood, and Ohio U are run like NCAA teams. Those are the facts. Look it up if you don't believe me, or think I'm projecting myself as site authority.

And you can go assuming all you want, that's kind of the point of HFBoards. There's people on here thinking Saskatoon will get a seat at the NHL table, which is enough to be declared innocent by reason of insanity at a trial in the province of Saskatchewan haha. You can assume, but unless you want people to take it with a grain of salt you back it up with something. But you might have lost that ability to sway people a couple of pages back in this thread.

 

[Powerstroke88]

Bucks fan here. We are beyond excited that we have hockey back in Laredo. I myself play men’s hockey so with a team back at the arena myself and others thought are chances of paying hockey in Laredo again were high, not till this day we’ve been in contacting the arena trying to get us ice time. I supported the team by buying 4 season tickets a promise that if paid in full I was guaranteed free Bucks jerseys that has yet to happen. Moving forward to opening night in Laredo the league was scrambling last minute to find off ice officials. PP and PK clocks weren’t working. Not even 5 seconds in bucks player gets 2 min for roughing (threw the gloves down) you could almost tell these players were told to play as rough as possible and fight which is the type of hockey South Texas likes. Unfortunately these kids are getting injured, training staff came out to the ice to attend multiple injured players throughout the game. If this folds mid season which is likely possible I’m out 2k because I know damn right I’m not getting a refund at this point. Lastly like I told the Bucks coach this league is ruining the Bucks name and are chances of getting hockey back after this league will probably not happen for a very long time.

Until then go bucks

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Every single junior hockey league in the United States and the vast majority of Tier II Canadian leagues exist to get players into the NCAA. The only ones that don't are the Q, the O, and the W and that's because they develop kids for the Show rather than college puck. Whether you choose to agree with that fact or not is up to you, as is thinking that I think I'm the grand authority on hockey. I am not, obviously I am not. But the point of juniors is to advance kids to college. Look at every single junior hockey league website and the thing they promote is college commitments, if you think I'm full of it then look. Every single website parades their commitments around (except for the USACHL, but let's get a fully working website, stats, and regular games before we get that far). Yes, there's kids in juniors who aren't looking to go to college or are killing time until they play low, low level hockey in Europe getting paid 250 Euros per month along with working a second job. But if you have a roster of 23-25 kids like most junior teams (except for the USACHL teams), you can put your bottom dollar all but 1-2 max are clawing to get for the attention of college coaches.

You're right in that not every kid is in juniors to get a scholarship, but not for the reason you think. There's 60 D1 teams with 15-18 scholarships each, and the supply is much bigger than the demand. I'll just leave this article from the NY Times here that explains it since if you think it's from me it's me "assuming": College Hockey Has a Talent Glut, but Nowhere to Grow Look at the rosters right now of the top 15 D3 teams in the country. Having played against SUNY Geneseo and Utica and watched some of the Wisconsin schools, they traditionally each have a minimum of 2-3 transfers from D1 since and then 3-5 kids originally committed D1 but decommit and choose to go to D3. Once again, check the rosters since I "assume" a lot or just come at me with the lame and equally weird buttclay remark. If you're not on scholarship at D1, and there are a lot of kids in that situation, there's a good number of them that transfer to D3 at a school with a cheaper price tag, closer to home, and more playing time. There's 80 D3 teams that can't offer scholarships, although most do get good financial aid packages. The top ACHA club teams are run like D3 teams and the rosters of competitive, fully funded club teams like Ohio U and U of Illinois are made up exclusively of kids from juniors. Those are the facts. Look it up if you don't believe me, or think I'm projecting myself as site authority.

And you can go assuming all you want, that's kind of the point of HFBoards. There's people on here thinking Saskatoon will get a seat at the NHL table, which is enough to be declared innocent by reason of insanity at a trial in the province of Saskatchewan haha. You can do it, but unless you want people to take it with a grain of salt you back it up with something. But you might have lost that ability to sway people a couple of pages back in this thread.

There you go hurting my feelings again now I'm gonna have to start drinking to get my confidence back up. Always something..

Anyway to your first sentence, every league exists to put kids in wadda yadda yadda dadda NCAA.

Boy I would have been waaaay off on that one. My guess the leagues would exist to be a profitable business venture for the owners.

You're right I don't know anything about hockey.

Lets see here....

Alex, give me animal husbandry for $200...

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

There you go hurting my feelings again now I'm gonna have to start drinking to get my confidence back up. Always something..

Anyway to your first sentence, every league exists to put kids in wadda yadda yadda dadda NCAA.

Boy I would have been waaaay off on that one. My guess the leagues would exist to be a profitable business venture for the owners.

You're right I don't know anything about hockey.

Lets see here....

Alex, give me animal husbandry for $200...

You do realize that most junior hockey teams don't make money, right? Major junior is a different story, but they're a different animal.

List of Tier III teams that have folded in the last 2 years: Looking back to the Tier 3 Teams that have folded in last 2 seasons

Most teams in the UShow break even, the NAHL is a mixed bag but outside of the top 5 the goal is to not be in the red. Look at all of the NAHL teams who have relocated in the last 20 years: North American Hockey League - Wikipedia

These free-to-play teams don't make money. The more you speak, the more you prove you don't know much about hockey.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

So Bill Davidson was doing this out of the goodness of his heart?

What a guy....and to think you hate him...makes perfect sense....

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Buttclay.... The more you speak the more holes I can find in your generalizing theories...

But to make you feel better here's a tip...

Never argue with stupid people, we will just drag you down to our level and beat you with experience.

Feel superior now? Hope so... Now pick up your mouthpiece...

Gawd you're negitive...no wonder you spend so much time alone locked in a dark room with a computer putting everyone and everything down....

 

[swoopster]

Stop postiing to this thread!

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

So Bill Davidson was doing this out of the goodness of his heart?

What a guy....and to think you hate him...makes perfect sense....

Bill Davidson did it because he thought he could make money out of it, obviously. He made the claim that he could put in over six figures into the league and its teams for three years without any revenue, because junior teams DON'T make money, so he probably thought he could make money in the long run. He even said he was planning on setting up programs to develop local kids to grow up and eventually play in the league.

In a way, he has made money though. Profit=Revenue-Expenses and right now he hasn't done too much with the expenses part, so he's got a nice chunk of change but also probably a couple cases of fraud on his hands. If he lived in reality, he would have realized that juniors don't make money in the long run or short run. Also explains why he's losing coaches and off-ice staff left and right because they realize he's in over his head.

As for the dark room, it's the north during the winter and there's plenty of idiots out there in hockey running around doing stupid things. Plenty of reasons to be miserable. If the league had its act together, I would be praising it. We've done the same thing when other leagues aren't doing things right, this league is nothing special.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Bill Davidson did it because he thought he could make money out of it, obviously. He made the claim that he could put in over six figures into the league and its teams for three years without any revenue, because junior teams DON'T make money, so he probably thought he could make money in the long run. He even said he was planning on setting up programs to develop local kids to grow up and eventually play in the league.

In a way, he has made money though. Profit=Revenue-Expenses and right now he hasn't done too much with the expenses part, so he's got a nice chunk of change but also probably a couple cases of fraud on his hands. If he lived in reality, he would have realized that juniors don't make money in the long run or short run. Also explains why he's losing coaches and off-ice staff left and right because they realize he's in over his head.

As for the dark room, it's the north during the winter and there's plenty of idiots out there in hockey running around doing stupid things. Plenty of reasons to be miserable. If the league had its act together, I would be praising it. We've done the same thing when other leagues aren't doing things right, this league is nothing special.[/QUOTE

"Bill Davidson did it because he thought he could make money out of it, obviously. He made the claim that he could put in over six figures into the league and its teams for three years without any revenue, because junior teams DON'T make money, so he probably thought he could make money in the long run. He even said he was planning on setting up programs to develop local kids to grow up and eventually play in the league.

In a way, he has made money though. Profit=Revenue-Expenses and right now he hasn't done too much with the expenses part"

Once again total assumptions. You place things and ideas as they were fact but they are, at this point, as with most of your authority like posts...just assumptions. He could very well be in the red...

Odds might be good they come true but you haven't been in the rooms and banks to confirm exactly what has and is transporting, nor in Bill's head, where it possibly could have had good intentions of success.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

Stop postiing to this thread!

See that ignore thread button up there to the top right?

It will set you free. Meanwhile this is in my backyard and matters to me.

 

[mk80]

Dude... You assume way way too much and that's why I take issue with your postings... With all these assumptions you project yourself as the site authority.

I guarantee not every kid is in Jr hockey to get a college scholarship many just want to advance their skills and get exposure to scouts, gain experience and whatnot.. many can't even speak english so college is even further away...
"entire and only reason" says all are there for that purpose. Not.

I will disagree with you here, getting to college (with the exception of Major Junior in Canada) is the point of playing junior hockey, and is the focus of every kid who plays.

We have 25 kids on our roster for the junior team I work for. Our entire goal as a team, league, etc. is to move our kids onto college, or higher levels of juniors (so they can increase their exposure to college scouts of higher levels). All of our players are focused on getting scholarships, busting their asses day in and day out on the ice, off the ice in workouts and in the classrooms. We have guys from Quebec, Czech Republic, Russia who all speak English as their second language, and that is not a factor stopping them from going there. Look at college rosters from NCAA D1 all the way to ACHA D3 and there guys from all over the world on most rosters.

You contradict yourself saying not every kid is playing juniors to go to college, then saying "they want to advance skills and exposure to scouts." And sure guys at the higher levels of juniors in the USHL, and NAHL also are getting plenty of looks by NHL scouts, the reason they are playing in those leagues is they have chosen to go through the NCAA route to the pros, whether they play 1 year or 4 years of college hockey, their immediate goal is to get to college hockey, otherwise they'd be throwing their college eligibility out the window in Major Junior in Canada. And even that being said most major junior players end up going to play USports in Canada if they don't immediately go to the NHL, or AHL. They'll get their degrees playing Canadian college hockey then some live normal everyday lives, or others go play minor pro in the SPHL, ECHL, AHL, or various European leagues and try to work their way up.

 

[Rgvhockeyfan]

I will disagree with you here, getting to college (with the exception of Major Junior in Canada) is the point of playing junior hockey, and is the focus of every kid who plays.

We have 25 kids on our roster for the junior team I work for. Our entire goal as a team, league, etc. is to move our kids onto college, or higher levels of juniors (so they can increase their exposure to college scouts of higher levels). All of our players are focused on getting scholarships, busting their asses day in and day out on the ice, off the ice in workouts and in the classrooms. We have guys from Quebec, Czech Republic, Russia who all speak English as their second language, and that is not a factor stopping them from going there. Look at college rosters from NCAA D1 all the way to ACHA D3 and there guys from all over the world on most rosters.

You contradict yourself saying not every kid is playing juniors to go to college, then saying "they want to advance skills and exposure to scouts." And sure guys at the higher levels of juniors in the USHL, and NAHL also are getting plenty of looks by NHL scouts, the reason they are playing in those leagues is they have chosen to go through the NCAA route to the pros, whether they play 1 year or 4 years of college hockey, their immediate goal is to get to college hockey, otherwise they'd be throwing their college eligibility out the window in Major Junior in Canada. And even that being said most major junior players end up going to play USports in Canada if they don't immediately go to the NHL, or AHL. They'll get their degrees playing Canadian college hockey then some live normal everyday lives, or others go play minor pro in the SPHL, ECHL, AHL, or various European leagues and try to work their way up.

Good post. I'm all for college and most are there because that's also a route, as well as killing 2 birds with one stone.

I'm just say not every single kid in my usachl and jr college is there for that as Barclay implies.

I know absolutely nothing about Jr hockey levels, nothing as y'all do. I'm here to get info and because people are putting down and trying to bury hockey in the valley with this new Usachl.

 

[sbkbghockey]

You do realize that most junior hockey teams don't make money, right? Major junior is a different story, but they're a different animal.

List of Tier III teams that have folded in the last 2 years: Looking back to the Tier 3 Teams that have folded in last 2 seasons

Most teams in the UShow break even, the NAHL is a mixed bag but outside of the top 5 the goal is to not be in the red. Look at all of the NAHL teams who have relocated in the last 20 years: North American Hockey League - Wikipedia

These free-to-play teams don't make money. The more you speak, the more you prove you don't know much about hockey.

That's one of the major flaws with this league, the ownership tried to bring back the old Central League but with junior players so it saves a chunk on salaries. My take is the USACHL owners thought they could throw a sub-par, unpaid talent on the ice but sell those $1 beers and pack these venues and line their pockets on tix revenue.

A true Tier I model in viable markets could be profitable for teams like in the USHL and the few NAHL teams turning profits. Those teams also make a good chunk on community sponsors too.

The issue with this plan, individual Tier I teams and top Tier II junior teams can make money but leagues are break even at best. Leagues spend a lot of money attracting college and pro scouts, hosting showcase events, and working business deals like equipment companies, teams generally pay league fees to help offset the league costs. That doesn't happen when the league and teams are single owned- meaning Billy D and owners need lots of money to keep the league going through HUGE losses in the first season. The best chance of longterm viability would then to be expansion like traditional junior leagues and sell of successful first teams. So far none of these first four teams are profitable/attractive to a potential outside owner.

At least 90% of kids playing juniors in the US are looking to advance to college hockey. And even though D3 and the varsity non-NCAA teams in the ACHA can't give athletic scholarships, those schools have other financial aid packages that help make up for it. The few guys playing in the US that aren't looking at college are elite Euros getting "North American" hockey experience to boost their résumés when they go back home.

The league is likely losing a ton because the individual teams are bleeding money. On top of all the behind the scenes business problems, the league isnt a true tier I free to play league so it makes it less attractive to any kid with legit junior league offers. Reputable pay-to-play teams often have more team equipment provided than the USACHL, and more important- advancement opportunities to higher level juniors or NCAA DI, NCAA D3/D2, NAIA, and/or funded ACHA teams.

The low level of talent in addition to all the issues myself and others have outlined make the league not viable at the current way it's being run for promotion to college or euro minors. With no stats, the only slim chance a kid from this league has is being a true walk on after he's on campus and attending. Judging that most of the players were cuts from the lowest Tier III teams, anything above ACHA d2 club would be a big reach.

 

[Barclay Donaldson]

That's one of the major flaws with this league, the ownership tried to bring back the old Central League but with junior players so it saves a chunk on salaries. My take is the USACHL owners thought they could throw a sub-par, unpaid talent on the ice but sell those $1 beers and pack these venues and line their pockets on tix revenue.

A true Tier I model in viable markets could be profitable for teams like in the USHL and the few NAHL teams turning profits. Those teams also make a good chunk on community sponsors too.

The issue with this plan, individual Tier I teams and top Tier II junior teams can make money but leagues are break even at best. Leagues spend a lot of money attracting college and pro scouts, hosting showcase events, and working business deals like equipment companies, teams generally pay league fees to help offset the league costs. That doesn't happen when the league and teams are single owned- meaning Billy D and owners need lots of money to keep the league going through HUGE losses in the first season. The best chance of longterm viability would then to be expansion like traditional junior leagues and sell of successful first teams. So far none of these first four teams are profitable/attractive to a potential outside owner.

At least 90% of kids playing juniors in the US are looking to advance to college hockey. And even though D3 and the varsity non-NCAA teams in the ACHA can't give athletic scholarships, those schools have other financial aid packages that help make up for it. The few guys playing in the US that aren't looking at college are elite Euros getting "North American" hockey experience to boost their résumés when they go back home.

The league is likely losing a ton because the individual teams are bleeding money. On top of all the behind the scenes business problems, the league isnt a true tier I free to play league so it makes it less attractive to any kid with legit junior league offers. Reputable pay-to-play teams often have more team equipment provided than the USACHL, and more important- advancement opportunities to higher level juniors or NCAA DI, NCAA D3/D2, NAIA, and/or funded ACHA teams.

The low level of talent in addition to all the issues myself and others have outlined make the league not viable at the current way it's being run for promotion to college or euro minors. With no stats, the only slim chance a kid from this league has is being a true walk on after he's on campus and attending. Judging that most of the players were cuts from the lowest Tier III teams, anything above ACHA d2 club would be a big reach.

Explain all of that to the official USACHL mouthpiece over here. @Rgvhockeyfan

I can’t think of too many junior teams where the owner or owners are even in it for the money. Wichita Falls’ NAHL owner was in the communications industry and used the team as a nice tax write off since it lost money annually. They went dormant at $30 million in the hole and he wasn’t willing to do it anymore and couldn’t find a local owner. Cedar Rapid’s owner just loves hockey and loves the city, donating a lot of money to charity and giving back to the community.

There’s many flaws going down to the basic design of the league, you’re right in that’s a big one. He can’t sell expansion teams, a good source of income, because he (the league) owns all the teams, along with everything else. Can you sell yourself an expansion team? Good in theory, but if the social media guy doesn’t get paid, then absolutely everything goes down. Maybe selling off 49% of the teams would’ve been a good idea? But having one small group of people in control of everything can’t be good.

Good post. I'm all for college and most are there because that's also a route, as well as killing 2 birds with one stone.

I'm just say not every single kid in my usachl and jr college is there for that as Barclay implies.

I know absolutely nothing about Jr hockey levels, nothing as y'all do. I'm here to get info and because people are putting down and trying to bury hockey in the valley with this new Usachl.

You have cuts from Tier III playing in the league. Maybe they’re not looking at college because they wouldn’t even be able to play at the club level. Like mk80 said, there’s some massive hypocrisy in you saying that they aren’t looking to play college puck but are in the league to improve their skills. Literally, the entire system of American juniors was invented to get kids ready to play college hockey.