Just saw a video on USAHockey and their assessments of players below 15U. They are waiting longer to identify best prospects due to size imbalance before puberty fully sets in. The so called "man-child" at 11u, 12u, 13u and 14u are not longer being looked at as the best players. 90% of these kids do not amount to anything. Also, teams that dominate and win at the 14U and younger ages are usually the biggest teams but not the most talented teams. They win because they are bigger, faster and shoot harder. Once 15U hits these advantages fade fast as smaller kids catch up and these elite teams players are no longer dominate. Development of skating, hard work, learning to play the game the right way and more skating are what is needed at 14U and below. Time will tell if USA Hockey is right, but for the past 5 years, they have been spot on! PHC, LF, JRF, RH and others putting super teams together is a joke. It means nothing once kids are 15 and older. This is why UDT league 15u & 17U are coming. Parents of younger kids should take this as a warning. Work on the kids game and don't caught up in stats or winning. Most of all do not get caught up in the hockey director touting how they win.
