2013-14 Week #32 Rankings Released
As I tweeted this week, congratulations to the Prince Albert Mintos Midget AAA boys team and the Weyburn Gold Wings Midget AAA girls team for capturing their respective Canada National Championships this past weekend. Per capita, Saskatchewan might be the best producer of top notch hockey talent, but with a population that is not much more than Mississauga, this isn't a likely or frequent accomplishment. Still, they pulled off a nice double header this past weekend and deserve a load of credit.
If you look at the rankings, you will see both teams down around the 20th spot. Before you think this proves that the rankings are worthless, take a close look. Neither team finished first in their respective regular season leagues. The Weyburn Gold Wings played in three quality tournaments around Canada (Stoney Creek, Pembina Valley & Notre Dame), but was unable to finish better than .500 hockey in any of these events (much less win one). The Prince Albert Mintos finished third in their SK league. They lost in the semi-finals of the provincial tournament, but hosted the West Regional qualifier and found a way to win. Similarly, they traveled down to Moose Jaw for the Telus Cup and again, found a way to win.
MYHockey ratings (and thus rankings) are based on a mathematically computed average performance rating. Neither team had dominating seasons. By the time the new year rolled around, neither team had done anything that made them look like eminent provincial champions, much less national champs. I might be off-base here, but it sure looks to me like these teams either 1) rode hot goaltending to titles (always one path to a championship) or 2) they focused on long-term development during the course of the season and hoped to peak at the end or 3) they have awesome coaching staffs that found a way to get every last ounce of energy and/or nugget of skill out of their teams when it mattered most. Probably a combination of all three, but whatever the case, congrats!
Please note that I have updated all Canada girls and boys midget scores and rankings from all parts of the country. There may be some tournaments that were missed, but most of the scores have been posted. Please feel free to add any missing scores over the next couple weeks before we archive the 2013-14 season. Speaking of that, the RBC cup, Canada's Junior A National Championship will be played up through May 18th. I will keep the 2013-14 season alive thru this date when I'll post the final rankings of the 2013-14 season. Again, feel free to correct or update any missing scores until this time.
If you look at the rankings, you will see both teams down around the 20th spot. Before you think this proves that the rankings are worthless, take a close look. Neither team finished first in their respective regular season leagues. The Weyburn Gold Wings played in three quality tournaments around Canada (Stoney Creek, Pembina Valley & Notre Dame), but was unable to finish better than .500 hockey in any of these events (much less win one). The Prince Albert Mintos finished third in their SK league. They lost in the semi-finals of the provincial tournament, but hosted the West Regional qualifier and found a way to win. Similarly, they traveled down to Moose Jaw for the Telus Cup and again, found a way to win.
MYHockey ratings (and thus rankings) are based on a mathematically computed average performance rating. Neither team had dominating seasons. By the time the new year rolled around, neither team had done anything that made them look like eminent provincial champions, much less national champs. I might be off-base here, but it sure looks to me like these teams either 1) rode hot goaltending to titles (always one path to a championship) or 2) they focused on long-term development during the course of the season and hoped to peak at the end or 3) they have awesome coaching staffs that found a way to get every last ounce of energy and/or nugget of skill out of their teams when it mattered most. Probably a combination of all three, but whatever the case, congrats!
Please note that I have updated all Canada girls and boys midget scores and rankings from all parts of the country. There may be some tournaments that were missed, but most of the scores have been posted. Please feel free to add any missing scores over the next couple weeks before we archive the 2013-14 season. Speaking of that, the RBC cup, Canada's Junior A National Championship will be played up through May 18th. I will keep the 2013-14 season alive thru this date when I'll post the final rankings of the 2013-14 season. Again, feel free to correct or update any missing scores until this time.
