Ringers...

[BenderHockey 127]

Well, maybe he knew a guy on the other team and the guy was complaining about being beat 12-3 in a D league game. When you embarrass someone, you have to expect some kind of payback.

I agree, but to a point. I would completely understand if we did that to a team, and the next game they just came out and stomped on our throats (figuratively speaking, of course). But to bring in a guy who has played in the Show, even if it was for only a cup of coffee, in a low-level Men's league game is WAY overstepping things.

[hunterphfr 12]

quoted wrong post.

[mattisoffside 0]

Just to chime in, the house league rules at our rink dictate a player has to have played at least half of the games in a season with a team in order to be eligible to join them in the playoffs. Seems pretty fair to me.

[Chadd 916]

Just to chime in, the house league rules at our rink dictate a player has to have played at least half of the games in a season with a team in order to be eligible to join them in the playoffs. Seems pretty fair to me.

Our league requires 10 out of 23 regular season games to qualify.

Tonight a kid on the other team shut down 10 breakaways from behind and had three points in a 3-2 win. Frustrating as hell.

[iceNsteel 0]

In my experience parity in beer leagues is a myth, even when teams aren't bringing in flat out ringers. Regardless of the size of the league and number of skill divisions you have a lot of players that fall into grey areas. A team could easily end up with a few of these grey area players that might be good enough to be lower level players in the division above, but they play in the lower division. Which creates a dominate team that is regarded by the opposition has being too skilled for the lower division, but if you moved them up a level they'd become a marginal team. The solution would seem to be doing what some leagues already are, which is creating mixed talent teams.

[IPv6Freely 2085]

I completely understand that some teams are going to be better than others, but when you have a team with players who can barely skate and are falling down all over the ice (myself included) playing against teams who show up with their college hockey logos on their helmets and pant legs, you start to wonder if they might be in the wrong league. Boy they must be pretty proud of themselves when they win.

[hunterphfr 12]

Just to chime in, the house league rules at our rink dictate a player has to have played at least half of the games in a season with a team in order to be eligible to join them in the playoffs. Seems pretty fair to me.

Our adult leagues have had similar rules in various forms over the years. Unfortunately enforcement has been non-existant.

[hunt3rsean 44]

We have two rinks here that use the same rule for rosters. All players must be paid for and listed on the roster before the 1st game of each season. And, if a certain player is obviously a ringer they won't allow him to play in that league level again next time. Teams can't add players mid-season just because they want to make a "run" during playoffs.

[Half 2]

We have two rinks here that use the same rule for rosters. All players must be paid for and listed on the roster before the 1st game of each season. And, if a certain player is obviously a ringer they won't allow him to play in that league level again next time. Teams can't add players mid-season just because they want to make a "run" during playoffs.

Except for Summer League, then John just doesn't care.

[Chadd 916]

We just had our league meeting for the fall-winter season and it got a bit frisky. A team full of Amish guys wanted to play at the same level they did last fall despite having two guys that scored 2.5 points per game and every other one of the top 5 or 6 scorers from last fall have been moved to higher levels of play.

[mattisoffside 0]

I've always thought that a guy who gets to the point in his playing skill where he can move up to the next league/level, he should move up. Every so often we get new players at the rink and since they haven't played in a while, they're really rusty when they're evaluated, and end up starting out in, say, D league when they really ought to be in C or C-. Then they get moved up the following season, things happen, fair enough.

There are some guys who are willing to move up when they're ready, because they're ready for a better challenge - or - just tired of being around lower skilled guys who don't skate or pass well enough. More often than not, though, some of the guys refuse to move up because they want to keep playing with their less-skilled buddies and "help out" their lower level team. I think my rink's hockey director has this philosophy that it's better to keep these guys together with their old teams to develop the whole team together and eventually move them up, rather than continuously moving up players individually. While that's a nice idea, I have to sort of disagree because it's a beer league and it's not like every team practices together 2 or 3 times a week, and maybe only a couple of guys from each team have the time or motivation to show up at a skills class or powerskating class to improve their play.

This may not be the case at everyone's rink, but it's something I've noticed at mine. We have a couple of guys in each league that play one to two levels down from where they actually belong.

[Chadd 916]

There's a difference between someone being able to play in a higher division and someone that doesn't belong in a lower division. A bunch of guys on any team can usually play up a level and play a reduced role.

[IPv6Freely 2085]

Right. I think many people would say they'd rather be a good player in the league they're in than a marginal player in the league above them. The problem is when you have somebody who would be a good player in two leagues above them playing in the lowest league.

[MyBoxersSayJoe 132]

I'm usually the ringer neutralizer on my lower team. But I don't do much otherwise.

[IniNew 51]

I'm usually the ringer neutralizer on my lower team. But I don't do much otherwise.

That's what they all say.

[Chadd 916]

That's what they all say.

My favorite is when they say they only step up if the team is down. Evidently, it isn't ok for the team to lose.

[troy 12]

If a team has a ringer, the whole point is to avoid losing at whatever cost. Also, that is certainly the first time I've read Amish and frisky in a sentence.

[mattisoffside 0]

If a team has a ringer, the whole point is to avoid losing at whatever cost. Also, that is certainly the first time I've read Amish and frisky in a sentence.

Actually, if you re-read it, it's two separate sentences, but I get what you're saying. I had a good chuckle at it myself.

[Chadd 916]

The funny thing is that they're all really polite and good guys, they just go balls out every second they're on the ice.

[troy 12]

It's that work ethic, do they take a "car service" to the games?

[Chadd 916]

In this case, they are actually mennonite. Though, there is a time when the Amish go out and live in the "real world" for a while before they settle down.

[mack 44]

I bet they have awesome playoff beards but ugly jerseys.

[iceNsteel 0]

I completely understand that some teams are going to be better than others, but when you have a team with players who can barely skate and are falling down all over the ice (myself included) playing against teams who show up with their college hockey logos on their helmets and pant legs, you start to wonder if they might be in the wrong league. Boy they must be pretty proud of themselves when they win.

I completely agree that stuff happens. I've reffed enough beer leagues to have seen just about everything. I just think mixed talent teams would:

1.address bringing in flat out ringers because there would no longer be a point in doing so

2.address the myth that is parity in adult league hockey

3.actually help less skilled players get better. Maybe you aren't going to score 20 goals a season if you're on the lower end of a mixed talent team. But having a chance to gain skill by playing against people that can teach you something I think is a lot more beneficial than feeling good because everyone else on the ice is the same skill level that you are.

[IniNew 51]

I completely agree that stuff happens. I've reffed enough beer leagues to have seen just about everything. I just think mixed talent teams would:

1.address bringing in flat out ringers because there would no longer be a point in doing so

2.address the myth that is parity in adult league hockey

3.actually help less skilled players get better. Maybe you aren't going to score 20 goals a season if you're on the lower end of a mixed talent team. But having a chance to gain skill by playing against people that can teach you something I think is a lot more beneficial than feeling good because everyone else on the ice is the same skill level that you are.

And as someone that has reffed mixed leagues (35+ League covered everyone from beginners to Al Secord, and several current pro CHL players during the off season.) Know what I noticed? The lower skilled players never touched the puck. They couldn't keep up with the faster guys and it turned into 2v2 with a few pylons out there.

[Chadd 916]

I completely agree that stuff happens. I've reffed enough beer leagues to have seen just about everything. I just think mixed talent teams would:

1.address bringing in flat out ringers because there would no longer be a point in doing so

2.address the myth that is parity in adult league hockey

3.actually help less skilled players get better. Maybe you aren't going to score 20 goals a season if you're on the lower end of a mixed talent team. But having a chance to gain skill by playing against people that can teach you something I think is a lot more beneficial than feeling good because everyone else on the ice is the same skill level that you are.

In my experience mixed talent levels create a lot of "us and them" type of issues. The guys with talent get frustrated that they don't have people that can play at their level and have to do it all themselves. Meanwhile, the lower talent level folks get frustrated that the other guys don't pass and the good players on the other team make them look foolish. If you have good people, you won't have a problem with the league, no matter how it is set up.