View from Section 8 - Views on the local minor hockey front

"View from Section 8" returns! It's a popular column written by Don "Butch" Turcotte. The former Trappers Junior "A" coach and father of former NHLer and Lakers assistant coach Darren Turcotte will be chiming in with his thoughts here on BayToday.ca. Enjoy!

Since my grandson Devan has decided to play for the Midget Trappers, I have found myself at the local rinks a little more frequent than in previous years. I have been in more discussions about our regional minor hockey systems and how they are working or not working.

I would like to express my thoughts on this highly debatable front. It is difficult to please everyone and keep the players and parents happy of course. I recently made a road trip with the Midget Trappers to my home town Kapuskasing. I am overly impressed with what is going on with their program and the volunteers that are running it. I have attended several of their training sessions and there is not a minute loss in their ice sessions. All players are highly involved and the drills and the tempo is unreal. Catch one of their workouts and you will see what I mean! The program is winning except on the scoreboard. If the wins start coming I will consider it a total package.

I believe that the main reason for their dismal W-L record is in the play and competition that the team members were subject to in their previous minor hockey years. It is difficult to subject a gifted athlete to an advanced level of play at the Bantam level when you are competing against teams and communities that have exposed their players to this high level for a number of years. Rob Ladouceur and staff gave most of the current midget players a first rate program at the Bantam level. But you have to start exposing these lads to this higher level of play at an earlier age. The District Peewee Trappers will help.

As a parent, would you accept enrolling your son/daughter at a general or basic level school program when he/she is capable of suceeding at an advanced level?

I firmly believe, as in my past North Bay Minor Hockey years, that an advanced program (AAA) should begin at the Atom level right up to the major Midget program. Not all of the younger advanced level athletes will be able to remain at this level for the complete program but if a system can be set up where all of these AAA programs are on the same page that would be the answer. Back in my AAA days, we had monthly meetings of all team representatives to discuss our goals to success. The coaching staffs were supportive and helpful of each other. The ultimate would be to set a AAA program for the minor and major levels of Atoms, Peewees, Bantam and Midget levels under one umbrella and maybe call it the North Bay and Regional Minor Hockey Association.

I think it is time to get back to the good 'old days' of hockey. Do you remember the Mcdonald's (later the Wingate) AAA tournaments that were held in November of those years? I could print out a list of participants in those tournaments that moved on to the highest level of the sport. And the Detroit Compuware and Little Ceasars teams from Detroit that were frequent participants at various levels of competition. I could go on and on about these great week-ends where teams were staying as far east as Mattawa, south in Sundridge and west in Sturgeon Falls. Those were the years. Can we bring them back. I think so.

West Ferris Minor Hockey can continue to offer their general (AA and A) and basic levels (House League) programs and hopefully the NBRMHA (North Bay Regional Minor Hockey Association) can handle the advanced programs.

The key man that can make this happen is the current President of the Major Midget program Scott Kile. I am sure he can find the right people to get the ball rolling and I would be the first-in-line to help out.