All players listed on the 2007-2008 Fall Roster on the upper right side of this webpage must bring a check with them for $330 which will include a $250 deposit towards their fall season ice bill and $80 to cover the costs of the team's July practice ice.
All players attending July practices as non-roster invitees (i.e. players not listed on the fall roster) should bring a check or cash in the amount of $20 to each skate they attend.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
James Poston Starts Strong At USA Hockey Select 16 National Festival
Belle Tire Wizards 1991 birthyear forward James Poston is off to a good start at the USA Hockey Select 16 National Festival in Rochester, New York.
Poston's Royal team is 4-0 and in first place at the time of this blog entry and James has tallied 2 goals so far in the four games played.
You can follow James as he plays in Rochester by pasting the following link into your web browser: http://www.oswebs.com/usah/public/report.asp?lg=USA+Hockey+Select+16&k=1&t=1&tm=10
Poston's Royal team is 4-0 and in first place at the time of this blog entry and James has tallied 2 goals so far in the four games played.
You can follow James as he plays in Rochester by pasting the following link into your web browser: http://www.oswebs.com/usah/public/report.asp?lg=USA+Hockey+Select+16&k=1&t=1&tm=10
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Schedule Announced For Fall Training Camp
Our 2-Week Fall Training Camp will be held at Hazel Park Ice Arena on Monday to Friday (August 6-10 / August 13-17) from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM each day.
The on-ice portion of each training camp day will be 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM with the last 30 minutes being designated for the 10 game scrimmage series.
The Dryland Training portion of each training camp day will be 11:45 AM to 12:30 PM.
Players are advised to bring a small snack and beverage with them each day to consume between the ice and dryland sessions.
The on-ice portion of each training camp day will be 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM with the last 30 minutes being designated for the 10 game scrimmage series.
The Dryland Training portion of each training camp day will be 11:45 AM to 12:30 PM.
Players are advised to bring a small snack and beverage with them each day to consume between the ice and dryland sessions.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Be Prepared - Then Seize Your Opportunity
Succeeding in sports at a high level almost always comes down to two things: (1) dedication to your preparation, and (2) taking advantage of an opportunity.
As legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was fond of telling his younger players and non-starters "be prepared and then perhaps your chance will come."
Alex Frere and Austin Czarnik were both given last minute opportunities to attend the second round of selects as alternates - finding out a spot was available for them in the Soo only one day before the selects camp began - and both players cashed in their opportunity big time when they became two of only three non-2006 National Selects Festival returnees from district 2-3-4 to make it to the 2007 National Selects Festival.
This same type of scenario plays out on all levels in hockey in many different ways as our players, and all players, at certain times in their careers become subjected to disapointing circumstances that are out of their control.
Another recent example of this is Thomas Greiss a client of my agent firm Eclipse Sports Management and the top minor league goalie prospect for the San Jose Sharks.
Before the 2006-07 season, Thomas was expected to make the jump to the NHL as the Sharks backup goalie as soon as they completed a pending trade of one of their two star goalies Vesa Toskala or Evgeni Nabakov.
Unfortunately for Thomas the Sharks never pulled the trigger on a trade deciding instead to keep both goalies which meant Thomas would spend the entire 2006-07 season with the Sharks AHL minor league affiliate preparing, waiting, and waiting some more for his chance to come.
Yesterday that opportunity arrived when the Sharks traded Toskala to the Toronto Maple Leafs thus clearing a roster spot for Thomas to finally realize his dream of playing in the NHL.
Albeit on much different levels, the above stories are inspirational examples of not allowing disapointing circumstances that are out of your control to interfere with your preparation and your taking advantage of an opportunity when one finally presents itself.
As legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was fond of telling his younger players and non-starters "be prepared and then perhaps your chance will come."
Alex Frere and Austin Czarnik were both given last minute opportunities to attend the second round of selects as alternates - finding out a spot was available for them in the Soo only one day before the selects camp began - and both players cashed in their opportunity big time when they became two of only three non-2006 National Selects Festival returnees from district 2-3-4 to make it to the 2007 National Selects Festival.
This same type of scenario plays out on all levels in hockey in many different ways as our players, and all players, at certain times in their careers become subjected to disapointing circumstances that are out of their control.
Another recent example of this is Thomas Greiss a client of my agent firm Eclipse Sports Management and the top minor league goalie prospect for the San Jose Sharks.
Before the 2006-07 season, Thomas was expected to make the jump to the NHL as the Sharks backup goalie as soon as they completed a pending trade of one of their two star goalies Vesa Toskala or Evgeni Nabakov.
Unfortunately for Thomas the Sharks never pulled the trigger on a trade deciding instead to keep both goalies which meant Thomas would spend the entire 2006-07 season with the Sharks AHL minor league affiliate preparing, waiting, and waiting some more for his chance to come.
Yesterday that opportunity arrived when the Sharks traded Toskala to the Toronto Maple Leafs thus clearing a roster spot for Thomas to finally realize his dream of playing in the NHL.
Albeit on much different levels, the above stories are inspirational examples of not allowing disapointing circumstances that are out of your control to interfere with your preparation and your taking advantage of an opportunity when one finally presents itself.
3 Belle Tire Wizards Make USA National Select Festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota
Congratulations to forwards Alex Frere, Garret Ross, and Austin Czarnik who were selected from the second round of selects in the Soo to move on to the USA Hockey National Selects Festival in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
On the whole, we were very happy with the performance of our players in the Soo who represented our team very well.
Brent Formosa, Nick Paluch and DJ Hasting joined Frere and Czarnik on the Championship Black team that won the 4 team round robin series of games played at the selects camp.
Note: 93 goalie Jonathan Lacoste from last seasons 92 Belle Tire Wizards team was selected at the 1993 age level to attend the USA National Selects Festival in Rochester, New York.
On the whole, we were very happy with the performance of our players in the Soo who represented our team very well.
Brent Formosa, Nick Paluch and DJ Hasting joined Frere and Czarnik on the Championship Black team that won the 4 team round robin series of games played at the selects camp.
Note: 93 goalie Jonathan Lacoste from last seasons 92 Belle Tire Wizards team was selected at the 1993 age level to attend the USA National Selects Festival in Rochester, New York.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Updated: Our 92's Prepare For The Soo Selects
Starting Sunday is the second round of USA Hockey Michigan District Selects at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (the Soo).
As of this moment 16 of the 1992 birthdates who will be attending our team's fall training camp in August will be in attendance at the Soo, with the possibility of at least one more being added before Sunday.
Which means that exactly one of every four players from the 64 players participating in the second round of selects will be at our fall team training camp.
It would be remiss for us not to mention that the 3 other 1992 birthdates from Michigan attending our fall team training camp, who are not participating in the Soo, are no doubt good enough to be there with their peers as well.
Best of luck to all our 92 players attending.
As of this moment 16 of the 1992 birthdates who will be attending our team's fall training camp in August will be in attendance at the Soo, with the possibility of at least one more being added before Sunday.
Which means that exactly one of every four players from the 64 players participating in the second round of selects will be at our fall team training camp.
It would be remiss for us not to mention that the 3 other 1992 birthdates from Michigan attending our fall team training camp, who are not participating in the Soo, are no doubt good enough to be there with their peers as well.
Best of luck to all our 92 players attending.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Fall Training Camp Details
Our Fall Training Camp in early August will feature two weeks (Monday thru Friday) of intense training and competition both on and off the ice.
The Arena location and daily time schedule will be announced shortly. The total cost per player is $300 for the two week camp.
The daily sessions will include 2 and 1/2 hours of on-ice training followed by 45 minutes of dryland training.
Each on-ice session will conclude with a 30 minute scrimmage which will comprise a best-of-ten-game-series for the two weeks. In the event of a five games to five games tie at the end of the ten games, the team with the fewest goals allowed for all games played combined will win the series.
We are inviting 30 players to the Fall camp which will include 18 forwards, 10 defensemen, and 2 goalies. Invited players will include all those on the 20-Man Active Roster plus 10 non-rostered invitees.
The players will be divided into two teams of 15 players for the purposes of the scrimmage games. The preliminary rosters which are subject to change are as follows:
Red/Dark Team
Forwards
Paluch
Ross
Formosa
White
Stemkoski
Johnston
Gaydayenko
Ahlgren
Barr
Defensemen
Shatter
Lalonde
Barile
Lander
Sisk
Goalie
Laslo
White/Light Team
Forwards
Frere
Poston
Cesarz
Pawlaczyk
Hastings
Czarnik
Globke
Gruse
Booth
Defensemen
Hafner
Donnay
Wiese
Powell
Kello
Goalie
Tiller
The Arena location and daily time schedule will be announced shortly. The total cost per player is $300 for the two week camp.
The daily sessions will include 2 and 1/2 hours of on-ice training followed by 45 minutes of dryland training.
Each on-ice session will conclude with a 30 minute scrimmage which will comprise a best-of-ten-game-series for the two weeks. In the event of a five games to five games tie at the end of the ten games, the team with the fewest goals allowed for all games played combined will win the series.
We are inviting 30 players to the Fall camp which will include 18 forwards, 10 defensemen, and 2 goalies. Invited players will include all those on the 20-Man Active Roster plus 10 non-rostered invitees.
The players will be divided into two teams of 15 players for the purposes of the scrimmage games. The preliminary rosters which are subject to change are as follows:
Red/Dark Team
Forwards
Paluch
Ross
Formosa
White
Stemkoski
Johnston
Gaydayenko
Ahlgren
Barr
Defensemen
Shatter
Lalonde
Barile
Lander
Sisk
Goalie
Laslo
White/Light Team
Forwards
Frere
Poston
Cesarz
Pawlaczyk
Hastings
Czarnik
Globke
Gruse
Booth
Defensemen
Hafner
Donnay
Wiese
Powell
Kello
Goalie
Tiller
Saturday, June 9, 2007
NEW: Updated Canadian Tournaments and 91 Players
As many of you know the Canadian Midget Minor tournaments that we are participating in for 2007-2008 will not allow 91 players to participate or limit the number of 91's that a team can have on their roster (usually limited to between 2-5 players).
The International Silver Sticks Finals in Whitby has notified us that we will not be allowed to bring any of our 91 players.
The Border City Cup in Windsor has notified us that we are permitted to bring five 91 players to their tournament.
Toronto Marlboros Holiday Tournament rules on 91's have yet to be determined but will be announced here when the information becomes available.
The International Silver Sticks Finals in Whitby has notified us that we will not be allowed to bring any of our 91 players.
The Border City Cup in Windsor has notified us that we are permitted to bring five 91 players to their tournament.
Toronto Marlboros Holiday Tournament rules on 91's have yet to be determined but will be announced here when the information becomes available.
Exit Meetings and Dryland Training Programs
Coach Jabar will conduct spring exit meetings and set up each player with a summer dryland training program via one-on-one phone calls beginning Monday and continuing through early next week.
Each player on the Fall Roster should expect a phone call from Coach Jabar next week.
Each player on the Fall Roster should expect a phone call from Coach Jabar next week.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
2007-08 Schedule Of Tournaments and Showcases
Below is the preliminary list of Tournaments and Showcases our team will be attending for the 2007-08 Fall Season.
The Canadian Tournaments generally place a limit on the number of 91's that can attend which will affect the roster composition for those tournaments.
Border City Cup
October 5-7
Windsor Ontario
MWEHL Showcase #1
October 12-14
Taylor Michigan
Nike/Bauer International Invite
November 2-5
Chicago, Illinois
MWEHL Showcase #2
November 16-18
Taylor, Michigan
International Silver Sticks Final
November 23-25
Whitby, Ontario
Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic
December 27-30
Toronto, Ontario
MWEHL Showcase #3
February 16-18
Chicago, Illinois
The Canadian Tournaments generally place a limit on the number of 91's that can attend which will affect the roster composition for those tournaments.
Border City Cup
October 5-7
Windsor Ontario
MWEHL Showcase #1
October 12-14
Taylor Michigan
Nike/Bauer International Invite
November 2-5
Chicago, Illinois
MWEHL Showcase #2
November 16-18
Taylor, Michigan
International Silver Sticks Final
November 23-25
Whitby, Ontario
Toronto Marlboros Holiday Classic
December 27-30
Toronto, Ontario
MWEHL Showcase #3
February 16-18
Chicago, Illinois
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Spring Training Program Wrap-Up; 20-Man Active Roster Announced
Forward Evan Johnston was added to the 20-Man Active Roster which currently includes 2 goalies, 7 defensemen, and 11 forwards.
Though we are limited to 20 players on the 20-Man Active Roster at any one time, there is no limit to the number of players we can carry on our team as non-rostered players. In addition, the final team roster, for the purposes of the postseason, does not need to be set until December 31st.
Invitations will be given to additional players to attend our July Practice Skates each Monday Evening in July, and our Fall Training Camp the first two weeks of August.
At the conclusion of the Fall Camp we will extend offers to some of these players to join our team. While these players may, or may not, be on the 20-Man Active Roster at the start of the season, they will be on the team and in a great position to compete for active roster status and take advantage of various opportunities to make the 20-Man Active Roster.
Here is our alphabetical list of non-rostered players receiving invitations to attend our July Practice Skates and Fall Training Camp as non-rostered invitees: Players offered these positions must confirm acceptance by e-mail or phone call by Wednesday, June 6th or their spot will be opened up to another player.
Ahlgren, Brandon (confirmed)
Barr, Johnny (confirmed)
#17 Czarnik, Austin* (confirmed)
Davis, Christian (confirmed)
#6 Gaydayenko, Ivan* (confirmed)
Kassner, Garth
Powell, Kyle (confirmed)
*Indicates player has made the fall team but not currently on 20-Man Active Roster.
To all players who did not receive a spot on the 20-Man Active Roster, or an Invitation to attend our July Practices and Fall Training Camp as a non-rostered invitee, thank you for attending our Spring Training Program and we wish you the very best of luck in your future hockey endeavors.
Though we are limited to 20 players on the 20-Man Active Roster at any one time, there is no limit to the number of players we can carry on our team as non-rostered players. In addition, the final team roster, for the purposes of the postseason, does not need to be set until December 31st.
Invitations will be given to additional players to attend our July Practice Skates each Monday Evening in July, and our Fall Training Camp the first two weeks of August.
At the conclusion of the Fall Camp we will extend offers to some of these players to join our team. While these players may, or may not, be on the 20-Man Active Roster at the start of the season, they will be on the team and in a great position to compete for active roster status and take advantage of various opportunities to make the 20-Man Active Roster.
Here is our alphabetical list of non-rostered players receiving invitations to attend our July Practice Skates and Fall Training Camp as non-rostered invitees: Players offered these positions must confirm acceptance by e-mail or phone call by Wednesday, June 6th or their spot will be opened up to another player.
Ahlgren, Brandon (confirmed)
Barr, Johnny (confirmed)
#17 Czarnik, Austin* (confirmed)
Davis, Christian (confirmed)
#6 Gaydayenko, Ivan* (confirmed)
Kassner, Garth
Powell, Kyle (confirmed)
*Indicates player has made the fall team but not currently on 20-Man Active Roster.
To all players who did not receive a spot on the 20-Man Active Roster, or an Invitation to attend our July Practices and Fall Training Camp as a non-rostered invitee, thank you for attending our Spring Training Program and we wish you the very best of luck in your future hockey endeavors.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Updated Intrasquad Scrimmage Game #3 Lineups
Here are the lineups for Sunday's Intrasquad Scrimmage Game #3 at Great Lakes Ice Arena at 1:25 PM.
Any player who has been in our Training Program this spring but is not listed below is welcomed to participate and will be placed on one of the two teams when he arrives at the rink.
White Team
Forwards
Pawlaczyk
Poston
Ross
Frere
Barr
Gaydayenko
Kassner
Peltier
Ahlgren
Cotton
Moggell
Defensemen
Donnay
Lalonde
Shatter
Powell
Sisk
Goalies
Tiller
Davis
Red Team
Forwards
Hastings
Johnston
Formosa
Paluch
Czarnik
Cesarz
Stemkoski
White
Egbert
Bunch
McMahon
Portillo
Defensemen
Hafner
Lander
Wiese
Barile
Dennis
Goalies
Smolarek
Lacoste
Any player who has been in our Training Program this spring but is not listed below is welcomed to participate and will be placed on one of the two teams when he arrives at the rink.
White Team
Forwards
Pawlaczyk
Poston
Ross
Frere
Barr
Gaydayenko
Kassner
Peltier
Ahlgren
Cotton
Moggell
Defensemen
Donnay
Lalonde
Shatter
Powell
Sisk
Goalies
Tiller
Davis
Red Team
Forwards
Hastings
Johnston
Formosa
Paluch
Czarnik
Cesarz
Stemkoski
White
Egbert
Bunch
McMahon
Portillo
Defensemen
Hafner
Lander
Wiese
Barile
Dennis
Goalies
Smolarek
Lacoste
Friday, June 1, 2007
Sammy Pahlsson Takes Center Stage In Stanley Cup Finals
Here is the link to a great article written about Sammy Pahlsson a client of my athlete representation firm, Eclipse Sports Management.
Sammy scored the game winning goal in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to knock the Red Wings out of the playoffs, and then came up big in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals scoring the only goal in the Ducks 1-0 victory over the Senators.
While he's scored big goals in the playoffs its defense, not scoring, that is Sammy's forte as he is among the world's best defensive players and one of three finalists this season for the Selke Award as the NHL's Best Defensive Forward.
Sammy provides an excellent example to young players of the importance of players who can bring different skill sets to their teams and make substantial contributions at both ends of the ice.
Sammy scored the game winning goal in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals to knock the Red Wings out of the playoffs, and then came up big in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals scoring the only goal in the Ducks 1-0 victory over the Senators.
While he's scored big goals in the playoffs its defense, not scoring, that is Sammy's forte as he is among the world's best defensive players and one of three finalists this season for the Selke Award as the NHL's Best Defensive Forward.
Sammy provides an excellent example to young players of the importance of players who can bring different skill sets to their teams and make substantial contributions at both ends of the ice.
Forwards Roster Spot Updated
Forward, DJ Hastings, has accepted a fall roster spot for the 2007-08 fall season.
The commitment of Hastings leaves two open roster spots for the fall season for forwards heading into the Intrasquad Scrimmage Game #3 on Sunday.
The commitment of Hastings leaves two open roster spots for the fall season for forwards heading into the Intrasquad Scrimmage Game #3 on Sunday.
Final Goalie Roster Spot Update
Goaltender, Brach Tiller, has just re-affirmed his commitment to our team and will join Kyle Laslo as our goaltenders for the Fall 2007-08 season.
Following a very competitive two month process of evaluating over 20 goaltenders from the time of our initial tryouts through the end of May, Brach emerged as the top goaltender who participated in our Spring Training Camp.
We believe that the 1991 Tiller and 1992 Laslo have the makings of one of the best U-16 goaltending tandems in the nation.
Our coaches and team management applaud the tremendous efforts of the other goaltenders who participated in our Spring Training Program.
We wish all of you the best of luck and hope to see you Sunday for the final Intrasquad Scimmage Game. Coaches Blake and Jabar along with myself would be very happy to speak with you on Sunday to provide further evaluation and assistance with finding a team for you for the fall.
Following a very competitive two month process of evaluating over 20 goaltenders from the time of our initial tryouts through the end of May, Brach emerged as the top goaltender who participated in our Spring Training Camp.
We believe that the 1991 Tiller and 1992 Laslo have the makings of one of the best U-16 goaltending tandems in the nation.
Our coaches and team management applaud the tremendous efforts of the other goaltenders who participated in our Spring Training Program.
We wish all of you the best of luck and hope to see you Sunday for the final Intrasquad Scimmage Game. Coaches Blake and Jabar along with myself would be very happy to speak with you on Sunday to provide further evaluation and assistance with finding a team for you for the fall.
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