Hey kids, its another beautiful morning. The sun is shining, the birds are coming back, and more bone heads are opening up their check books to buy pay to play franchises across North America.
So lets review….
Last year about two dozen teams either folded part way through the season, or before the season even started. Yep just about two dozen. Hell, those stories were so widely read on this site and other you would have thought people might have just gotten a little clue that there aren’t enough players to fill every roster on these pay to play teams.
So now we got about another two dozen pay to play expansion teams in the United States and Canada getting ready to set up shop. Yep, people just cant help themselves.
Now, lets keep in mind USA Hockey is increasing the import player limits for Tier III this year to at least three players and maybe four. Couple that with Hockey Canada not increasing import limits for their teams, and you get a little bit of a tipping point dead ahead.
Now I am not even talking about the differences between the sanctioned and unsanctioned expansion in this story. Even though players always look at sanctioned hockey first.
So, when you add in the rumored NAHL expansion and at least one expansion Junior A team in Canada, what do you think is gonna happen?
The players that would have been top end Tier III players can go to the NAHL and fill those rosters. That’s a good thing. More free to play is simply good for hockey families. That’s fifty players out of the pay to play pool.
Then you got, expansion in Canada. Though not free to play, it is less expensive to play. Families are always looking to save money at the highest levels, and that’s a good thing.
But what people aren’t thinking about, that I listened to the boss talk about for hours over the weekend, is the USPHL Mid West. What happens when all these Mid West kids decide to stay home and sleep in their own beds at night instead of traveling out of the state or out of the country to pay to play?
What happens is families save money, and the better players stay home.
The end result for these expansion teams is more watered down talent. Less talent available to sign, and more teams either failing to launch or folding mid season.
See the player pool isn’t growing as fast as leagues can sell franchises, and no one is paying attention to the numbers. What happens then? Teams go under, parents and players lose money and get pissed off, and people get hurt.
Isnt it time that the people in charge of the leagues got a clue? Nahhhhhhh, who cares right? Those franchise fee’s are always non refundable.
David Wagner – The Angel Of Death – For Those Who Live Stupidly I salute You
*The Death Pool is a mix of comedy, and satire in connection with recent events. It is not an official report of current events although it may look as though the news is so accurate that it could one day happen or may be happening.
