Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
There were 70+ at Preds but they were spread across two age groups on the turf field. A 3rd age group on the grass with 40ish.

The first night at Preds tryouts there were lots of Looney's, Iroquois National, and Team USA helmets on the field.

They all got cut because they couldn't hang with the returning Preds.

#TalkOfTheTown

LOL! You do know that the guys who run Preds tried to negotiate the entire Looneys team coming to them, right? The better Looneys players didn't want to go to Preds, so it fell apart. Plan was to move the existing Preds 2026 down to make a B team. The 2026 Preds went, what, 3-4 in single A at Hoco? Yep, talk of the town alright. Lmao...

Close, but let's make a few things clear.

This Spring, the future of the Looney's 2026 team began to look uncertain. A number of things led the parents to worry about the team and the club - no new uniforms, no off-season training, no position training, an AWOL director who didn't communicate with the teams/players/families, a loss of key players and a resulting decline in the performance of the team (lost players = lost games), coaches missing practices and games, etc..

In May, in an attempt to allow the boys to keep playing together, a Looney's team parent reached out to the Predators club directors to ask if the team could move over intact. The Preds directors did not approach the Looney's team, and they didn't really "negotiate" anything.

Preds held an info session for the Looney's 2026 families in June and offered to accept the team into their club. It was a kind and considerate offer, but several boys had already been looking/guest playing elsewhere, so the team began to disperse to other clubs. Although the director was made aware of the parents' concerns, nothing was done. Some of the families are now scrambling to find a roster spot for their son, unfortunately in a year with multiple other teams folding or in turmoil.

Yes, some of the boys (and parents) were concerned about moving from a formerly Elite HoCo team to a newer club that played at a lower level in HoCo. Others believe the Preds will improve and will likely join the club.

If there is anything to be learned, it is that poor leadership can doom a solid team with good players. The Looney's 2026 team went from winning the NXT Platinum Cup and HoCo Elite in the Fall of 2020 to disbanding a short 20 months later.

It is a shame, and a failure of what was supposed to be adult leadership by paid professionals. The boys deserved better.