With the USA Hockey Tier III National Championships concluded, and the USPHL Boston Junior Bruins having defeated the NA3HL’s North Iowa Bulls, many hockey people are now talking.
Entering the tournament, many people felt the Junior Bruins were the favorite. With eight NCAA Division 1 commitments, and four NCAA Division 3 commitments on the roster, they should have been the favorites. Its really no surprise that they won, or that they went to the finals winning every game in rather convincing fashion on their way to the finals.
The North Iowa Bulls were also seen as being likely to head to the finals to defend their 2013 National Championship. They too made it through to the finals with their only close contest being against the MNJHL’s Dells Ducks.
But what are we to take from the event as a whole?
Clearly not all Tier III teams and leagues are created equal. But we all knew that going in.
The Boston Junior Bruins are clearly a very good hockey team. But is the USPHL really that much better than the NA3HL? Winning by three goals is a decisive win by all accounts. But how decisive is it if you look at the NCAA commitments between the two finalists?
The North Iowa Bulls do not have any D-1 commitments we are aware of and only a few D-3 commitments. While the Boston Junior Bruins boast 8 and 3. How much better then are the Bruins, and if they are not better by a mile, why then do they have so many D-1 commits?
Is this simply based on geography? Is it based upon traditional scouting circles in the Eastern United States? Does North Iowa have some D-1 level talent on their roster? Based on keeping the game close, one would have to assume the talent levels are comparable.
If that’s the case, what about the other teams that competed well against each other? Some teams were young, some were older in average age.
Do we need to go back to the Junior A, B and C labels? Many scouts believe those labels should be put back in place. After all they may be Tier III teams, but they are really operated under the A, B, C model in many cases.
Perhaps the most important thing to come out of this tournament is knowing that Tier III hockey is producing some very good players, many of which will have an opportunity to play NCAA hockey. That’s the real value for pay to play hockey.
Joe Hughes
