COMMON QUESTIONS
How do you select your JHP All-Star teams?
There are three ways we select players for our teams.
- Game Evaluations-coaches will go to games throughout the fall and winter to evaluate players.
- Evaluations/tryouts - In 2005 we had our first showcase evaluation session and selected players from there as well as our game evaluations. There are so many leagues (Juniors, Prep, Selects, etc.) that we are no longer able to get to the rinks and see every team play and there are too many good players that we miss. Another reason for our evaluations is that we may only see a team play once and a player could have missed that game, been sick or had an off day. The evaluations allow players we have never seen as well as players we may have seen to get a second or third evaluation. The Evaluations also allow us to get a look at out of state players who wish to be considered for our team. Our evaluations are not like most tryout formats where players are notified if they are selected or "cut".
After our evaluations, we will do one of the following:
a) Offer a player a spot on our team.
b) Let a player know that we will put his team on our scouting schedule because we liked what we saw but need to continue to see him play more.
c) In some cases players will be notified that there will not be a spot for them with us this season.
- Recommendations - We will also (particularly for players that live out of our area that we will never be able to see and cannot make tryouts) take recommendations. We will do our due diligence and need several references to ensure the player is at the level we want.
When will your rosters be finalized?
The process of selecting players and finalizing team rosters takes 5-6 months. The process usually starts in November and continues into the late winter. Last season our teams were not fully selected till March. The same should be expected this year. We will begin selecting players in mid January.
How many players do you bring to each tournament?
At the oldest age levels (16-20 year olds) we may carry 12 forwards, 6 defensman and 2 goaltenders.
How do you manage playing time?
We feel that every player we invite is a good one and deserves to play. For the most part we "roll the lines" and try to give each player an equal amount of ice time. However, the last five-seven minutes of a game and overtime are "coaches time" and he has the latitude to "shorten" the bench and play those he feels gives the team the best chance to win. There are also situations where we have a particularly tough team to play and we will get some key players some extra ice time. The same can be said for the play-off rounds in that the bench may be shortened earlier than a round robin game.
Goalies usually split time during the round robin portion of a tournament (either splitting time in each game or alternating games). During playoff rounds the coaches have the latitude to play the goalie that he feels gives the team the best chance to win and only one goalie may play in the semi final and championship games.
How do we get to tournaments and book hotel rooms?
Families are on their own to get to and from tournaments. Players are expected to be at the tournament site/city the night before games begin. For tournaments not in the Greater Boston area we will block rooms at a hotel near the tournament rink. Once we have chosen a hotel we will post the info on each teams tournament page with directions for you to follow. Families are responsible for booking their own reservations using the rooms we have blocked and staying at the hotel with the rest of the team.
Where will practices be and am I required to make all of them?
Local practices will be at the Rockland Ice Rink (Rockland, MA). We may have practices for some teams the night before the tournament starts in the city the tournament takes place in. We have done this in the past in Toronto/Montreal and it worked well. Since everyone is at the tournament on the night before it starts we can skate as a full team before games begin the next day. Practice is not mandatory but it is STRONGLY encouraged.
We have tried a variety of different approaches to practices (two practices, one practice, split ice practices, etc.) but got poor attendance b/c players have other activities (baseball, lacrosse, or live "out of area" and can't travel to make promises, etc.) on the nights we practice. We will no longer waste the players'/parent's/coach's time to hold practices when only 7-8 players can make it.
For the 2008 season we will only schedule practices when we know we can get 90% of the team there for practice. This will most likely mean practicing in the city the tournament is at the night before.
Where/when can we see the schedule for the season and for each tournament?
Once we decide on our schedule for the season it is posted on each teams tournament page. Most tournaments post their schedule 10-14 days prior to the tournament start date. Once it is posted on the tournament web site, we will put it on our calendar.
How do you select your Regional Showcase teams?
There are three ways we select players for our showcase teams.
- Game Evaluations-coaches will go to games throughout the fall and winter to evaluate players. College, junior, midget and high school coaches will make recommendations on players that should be added to the showcase.
- Tryouts - Teams around the country may have already had their teams tryouts and want to get another look at a player and will recommend the showcae for a second evaluation.
- Recommendations - We will also (particularly for players that live out of our area that we will never be able to see and cannot make tryouts) take recommendations. We will do our due diligence and need several references to ensure the player is at the level we want.
