It appears the Major ADM Squirt team will be forced to endure its first hockey disappointment without even stepping on the ice for the Chicago Cup Tournament the weekend of Feb. 17 - 20.
Because of an apparent registration error by the tournament production company Hockey Time Productions, the team rostered for the tournament has been excluded from the competition. As a result, the squirt-aged players who have spent nearly an entire season simply scrimmaging among themselves and with the older ADM Major players will have to wait yet another month -- until the tournament scheduled for March 23 to 25 -- before they get the opportunity to play a team not also wearing Jaguar uniforms.
Actually, it appears as if the error actually was multi-faceted as the Jaguar Squirt 2 team was excluded completely (as was the Jaguar Pee Wee 1 team), while the Jaguar ADM Squirt team was bracketed at a level that would have had them matched against far-more-experienced players. As a result, it was decided -- rightfully so, in my opinion -- to have the Squirt 2 team take the provided slot (which was more appropriate for the Bronze-level teams' skill and experience level) and leave the ADM Squirt kids on the sidelines, instead of allowing them to be discouraged in their first truly competitive foray into the sport.
"This is an egregious error that in my 6 plus years of travel hockey is a first," wrote Dave Guseman, vice president of development for the Jaguar Hockey Club, in an email to the parents of the affected players on Wednesday. "What makes it worse, it that another Jaguar team was left off of the final schedule as well."
Guseman went on to note that he is recommending to Cristi White, president of the Jaguar Hockey Club, that the Jaguars reconsider their relationship with Hockey Time Productions and, instead, participate in future seasons in tournaments produced by other organizations.
It is very respectable that the Jaguar Hockey Club will be providing a reduction in spring program fees for the affected players to offset the fact the club was going to cover the cost of the second tournament in March from fees already paid for season play by the ADM Major players. However, it seems that rather than applying the fees parents paid for this tournament to the next one, the club should be able to refund those fees or double that spring fee reduction because Hockey Time Productions, it seems to me, should acknowledge its error by stepping up and providing entry into the March tournament free of charge for both the ADM Major Squirts and Pee Wee 1.
It seems that such a make-good by the tournament producers, however, is not very likely. In fact, I would be surprised if Hockey Time were to even go so far as to issue the letter of apology and explanation to parents that the Jaguar Hockey Club has requested.
The one fortunate reality that should help ease the disappointment the ADM Major Squirts feel about being deprived of their chance to play in this tournament is the fact they will still have the opportunity on Sunday, Feb. 19, to participate in a shootout between the first and second periods of the Chicago Blackhawks game.
While the cheers of their parents, siblings, families and friends as they took the ice for the Chicago Cup would have buoyed their spirits and given them a thrill, the roar of that crowd would still pale in comparison by the cheers they will hear as they take the ice at the United Center in front of 20,000 rabid Blackhawks fans to shoot the puck into the same nets that Patrick Kane shoots at and Duncan Keith defends. Now that will be a thrill.
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