Read Part II: More Thoughts on the 2023 USA Hockey 16/17 Girls Development Camp here
- The new location at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio is superb. Arena is outstanding, campus is beautiful and facilities are all close to each other. Big upgrade from St Cloud.
- Camp seems very well organized and excellent use of technology to keep players and parents informed
- Parent meeting with Kristen (Wright) Sagaert discussing the process of player feedback and letter grades sounded very promising. Hopefully the execution delivers on the expectations that were set.
- Jerseys are pretty nice. Still no names on the girls jerseys, but boys 17s camp going on concurrently have them
- Playing on NHL sized rink this year – noticeable difference in time and space for players compared to the Olympic sized rinks in St Cloud
- Quality of hockey is a little more team oriented and a slightly higher pace than what I saw last week at the showcase in Rochester.
- Different experience watching in person than via streaming, games seems much faster in person.
- Many college coaches watching the first day, but not as many as I expected.
- Saw at least a couple of DI head coaches who don’t normally go to tournaments or showcases, but are here.
- At least 5 coaches were previous Champs App podcast guests 🙂
- Delayed offsides were permitted on the first day. Interesting that they aren’t following USA Hockey rules.
- First day averaged a little under 5 minutes of penalties per game, which is only about 10% of the game time (46 minutes). So far that seems quite reasonable compared to past years
Note: The details of the camp are very similar to the 15’s Player Development Camp that I previous wrote about in two parts
Update: Forgot to mention that the in-arena DJ is very good. Not the same music as every other rink. Plus the penalty-specific tunes are spot on.
Read Part II: More Thoughts on the 2023 USA Hockey 16/17 Girls Development Camp here
Also: Analyzing the USA Hockey Girls 16/17 Camp Defense Selections for the U18 Camp – Champs App