The trick will be keeping them in the sport (which is what Dunedin risked losing if they did not get the Thunder and there was a very good chance that a lot of our good players would move on and leave the sport).
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It’s become increasingly apparent from my position that we don’t have good structures for players to bridge the gap from our U16s, which provides a fairly good platform for our up-and-coming players, to Thunder. Despite the fact that some players are having to make the leap (Tom and Reagan Wilson have done this this year) it’s not ideal. Some players are good enough to make that leap, there needs to be somewhere for the rest to go and stay in competitive hockey. Currently Southern, despite some good efforts this year, isn’t working for our U19s.

DIHA will be looking at two things to try and support Thunder in this. One will be a Dunedin Junior league. This possibly might be linked to high schools, or run separately. I’d argue it should be checking, but we’ll have to work through that. If we can get three teams up and running in that, then we’re providing a base for midgets to flow into when they get up to the right skill level, and we’re raising the vision of older youth hockey to a higher standard. Someone might come out of U16s and not be ready for Thunder, but a couple of years of work and they might.

The second will be a prem league, probably pre-NZIHL season. I’d suggest that we’d have enough players to have three solid contact teams, between Thunder, better juniors, a whole bunch of contact people that aren’t playing Thunder, and some SNC guys that have recently being trying to bridge the gap to contact hockey. Potentially there could be a 4th non-checking team for oldtimers, women etc (so each round there would be a non-checking game).

Talking to a couple of Thunder guys their squad will likely be providing some leadership for both these leagues – coaching the junior teams for example – and the club will be providing the structure into which the whole thing falls.

Actual decision-making and work on making this happen would begin over the summer.

I think one will be a tie, IBs will take the other one. This is largely the same IB team that came together well at the world champs, and they’re playing a couple of sydney teams mashed together. A full strength Aussie team would be different.

If the IBs are within a goal at the beginning of the third I think they’ll win the game, they always finished strong at world champs as their work in the first two periods paid back. Parry to get a start.
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I just want to point out how accurate my pick here was. Where’s my prize?

Kyle one point of note is that the only NZ team to have success against the Australians was the U18 team from two years back, and a few of those boys are coming through now.
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That was the U20 team from last year. But you got the names right ” title=”Smiley” />