Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
So what? It's a graduation year based system last I checked. Do you go on FCAs thread and rant about their holdbacks?


The so what is that no one thinks that the Crabs or any other team/ club is as good as they say they are because they can only do it with kids playing down a notch. It taints the wins, mocks the victories. If any team or club is as good as they say they are, has as good of coaching, is confident in their true on age players that belong in the grade, they wouldn't need to have kids playing down. Is there really glory in beating other teams when you know you can't do it in your own year or without these kids? Seems like a desperate business move to stay relevant. If the Crabs or any other teams are so strong- do it with their true age and don't stack your kids so you play down even if grade based. Might not be breaking any rules, but call a spade a spade, you will win because you play younger teams. Your kids that play down could never play hockey, they'd be laughed at for their mind set. #wherestheglory?


You're whole argument is ridiculous. Let's say for a second that the rules changed and it went to a single year age based system. And every club had to follow these same rules.

Do you really think that Crabs would struggle? Or would they just get the best kids at that age, the same way the get the best kids in each grade. Don't let the fact that Crabs has holdbacks now skew your view into thinking they are doing it because that is the only way they can compete. They have those kids because those kids want to play for Crabs. If those kids wanted to play for other clubs, they would take them too.


Nobody is saying that they would struggle, they would just be a very good club among several others. Their tremendous success is due primarily to their systematic use and encouragement of holdbacks to gain a competitive advantage. To say "we'd be just as good without holdbacks" is simply not true, the record shows that.