Feb 11, 2014 | SCorrigan | 633 views
Questions about Major Atom
A number of questions arose this weekend and, if history tells me anything, it is that if one person asks a question there is a good chance someone else is wondering the same thing. On that basis I will share several of the questions and my answers with everyone.
The most common question has been whether there are playoff games? The answer is that this season will be no different than in prior years. Practices in March are basically replaced by games. ALL TEAMS MAKE THE PLAYOFF ROUND ROBIN. This is the same as it was in Novice and Minor Atom. The weekend of 3/22 is semi finals weekend. Based solely on round robin results, 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 and a consolation game for 5 vs 6. The following weekend would be the finals and the weekend after that is the Alliance HL championship in Kitchener. The winner of our finals gets to move on to the Alliance championship on the April 5th weekend - this did not happen last season simply because the minor age divisions have no Alliance championships whereas the major ones do. The playoff round robin games are not on the calendar yet as they have not been scheduled. But they will be soon enough.
While the playoffs are under way the players on the Select team are to be focused on their HL clubs, so there are no Select games in March.
A number of people were curious about substitutes and how this works in regular season versus the playoffs. First, substitutes are permitted in the regular season. This was discussed among the coaches at the start of the season and in light of the thin rosters (10-11 skaters) it just made sense. It was decided that a coach needs to ask the convenor for permission, since it is the responsibility of the convenor to ensure teams are not stacked and that a competitive balance is maintained for HL games. If there is approval then a player can be approached. Surprisingly, this has not been necessary save a handful of instances. Knock on wood, but we have been a very healthy division this year.
As for tournaments, with 5 out of the 6 teams participating, it comes down to the host convenor's discretion usually with our division convenor's approval. In most cases this year tournaments have been flexible due to our thin rosters. A few tournament convenors have not. This is in large part why our 6th HL team was unable to register for a tournament as they did not have enough players commit from their own roster but could not find a tournament that would permit substitutes.
When it comes to the HL playoff round robin, semi finals and finals, there are no substitutes. This includes goalies. If a team has one spare then that is what they must play with. If they find themselves without a goalie then they must dress one of the skaters on their roster or call up a HL goalie from Minor Atom. This has always been the case.
Someone this weekend asked about line matching and stacking lines and implied that it was being done unfairly by a couple of teams. First, with only 10-11 skaters per team and basically only 2 lines each game for a team it is really a case of coaches just rolling the lines and ensuring equal playing time. Second, if a coach decides to put say his top five players out at once and then follow with his five remaining players, there is nothing that forbids it. I would not call it altogether wise, but it is perfectly legal. Still, I haven't seen this happen once all year! The are stronger and their are weaker lines, thanks to skill or chemistry or both, but I don't know off any coach who places all their eggs in one basket. When I watch the games I think all 6 HL coaches strive for a degree of balance. Third, if a coach wants a designated player on the ice to face a specific opposing player, say a shut down defender versus a scoring forward, that is just part of hockey, and you might argue good coaching. As long as the playing time is equal, I have no concern.
The refereeing is always a concern. There is some good advice a friend of mine, who happens to be a referee, once offered: "A referee may not be right, but he is never wrong". From my vantage this year the officiating has been good, and has improved as the season has wore on just as the players have improved. The referees for this age group are learning just like our kids. Do they make mistakes? Sure, but we all do. Most of them have done an excellent job explaining their calls to coaches and by maintaining a dialogue with the players. However, yelling at the referees from the stands is never going to make them change their call. I offer this caution before the playoffs since tensions naturally rise when the games actually become meaningful.
Finally many of you have asked about spring and summer hockey. CMHA does not have a summer HL program. And many of the spring and summer programs are bloated with travel players so I appreciate the concerns about how this hinders development for HL players. I have agreed to look in to ice times and will try to organize something since there seems to be enough interest among players and families. The key, naturally, will be ice time as it is rather limited over the summer.