Some people are upset with our take on the NA3HL. Sorry? No, not really.
The problem with the NA3HL is not that they exist, but how they exist. The twisting of facts to make it appear that something incredible and special is happening for the league when in fact it is simply one of the rules.
This twisting of facts and events to fit their own marketing narrative is business. Its completely legal, and technically their claims are factual.
The way the information is presented though leads unsuspecting parents to believe the league is something that it is not. Or leads them to believe things are taking place because of the leagues existence that are really just things designed to happen.
A long time ago I made the suggestion to the NAHL’s Commissioner that they should follow the USHL lead and have two drafts. One where they draft any prospects they want, and one exclusively for NA3HL and NAHPL prospects. That would be legitimate.
I suggested the elimination of mandatory NA3HL tenders. That would make the tendering system more legitimate as well.
The NA3HL “exclusive” tendering system is a completely misleading statement. It is “exclusive” only in that every NAHL team is required to tender an NA3HL player. They spend the MAJORITY OF TENDERS on players not in the NA3HL. That’s not so “exclusive”.
Clearly these suggestions fell on deaf ears. Some coaches then told me that it wouldn’t pass because the NAHL coaches don’t want the NA3HL players to begin with.
My friend on the other site doesn’t like what I have to say. Ok. He has his opinion I have mine, and we actually talked about this. We don’t have to like each others opinions, or the groups that we support. That’s the beauty of a free market economy and free thought, as well as the freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
I actually agree with my friend on the other side. The NAHL needs to stick to its own. The competition should too. Lets see who has a better record of internal development after about 5 years of this.
We don’t cover the NA3HL any more because of the way its presented.
We cover the NAHL when we have time, and we really don’t want to cover what the other publication covers. They have their league of choice and we have ours.
As for the NAHL or NA3HL Board of Governors, they all know how to reach me to complain or to talk. They all have my email address and phone number. Easy to call like my friend from the other site did on Tuesday.
Us and them. Like the Times and the Post in NYC. There’s a reason why these opposing opinions are important. It lets the readers decide.
Joseph Kolodziej – Publisher
