This Just In: New Management = Changes

So, the Sharks are in charge. They held a Captain's meeting Tuesday night to discuss how things will operate going forward. To many captains' surpise things will be different! No! Really!?! Uh, yeah.

(1) Everyone needs to be a USA Hockey member. Oh the humanity! Management wants an easy way to prove that everyone is insured! What is the world coming to?

(2) Every team has to pay the full team fee. The whole fee!?! No more friendly discounts? Appalling.

(3) At some point in the season, free-subbing of players has to stop, even if the team is shorthanded. You mean we can't bring in ringers from the Platinum league game that just ended because we only have eight of our own guys? Oh, the tragedy of it all! Where's the flexibility?

Frankly, I can't think of a single thing the new management discussed that isn't a welcome change. In addition to the three things listed above, the referees will now all be trained and certified. USA Hockey standards of play will be enforced, regularly. There will be actual league record keeping. Teams will have to play with their own players, but will be allowed to create sub lists. Players will only be eligible for the post-season if they played regularly in the regular season.

Some things there are no changes to: the fee for the season is exactly as advertised by the prior management and the teams will play the same basic schedule they have been playing (which is good for most leagues, not so good for my league, but there is a chance they will remedy that).

Some of the grumbling was ridiculous, if you ask me (and by reading this, you implicitly are). Seriously, how hard is it to maintain a basic roster and a set group of subs that are all level-appropriate? Isn't it time to end the arbitrary practice of allowing friendly discounts to some teams, while others pay the full freight.

All in all, players should remember two things: management of the league has been arbitrary and practically non-existent over the last few years; and there's a reason the City (the owners of the rink) replaced the old management team: their policies weren't any good. So, in comes a team with a good reputation (a reputation that is actually at stake in the community at large) and lots of practice running great leagues. I'm all for it.