The Same Old Story In Pelham

Golden Horseshoe Jr B Hockey

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Port hockey1
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The Same Old Story In Pelham

Post by Port hockey1 »

Panthers proud of developing players during one-win season

By Bernd Franke, The Tribune
Wednesday, March 16, 2016 7:00:49 EDT PM



Tim Toffolo knows in real estate the three biggest selling points are location, location, location.



The better the address, the higher the asking price.

Similar market principles can come into play when junior hockey prospects decide where they want to take their careers. Who would want to move to a centre not known for attracting pro scouts and college recruiters when a program with a winning reputation is just down the road?

That said, back-to-back, last-place finishes in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Golden Horseshoe Conference shouldn’t leave the Pelham Panthers with little, if any, curb appeal when players are considering changing their addresses.

Not necessarily so.

Toffolo, the junior B team’s longtime owner and a real estate agent with Royal LePage, said prospects also have to think about their potential location on a team’s depth chart before deciding where to play.

“Kids want to play hockey No. 1. They want to go to a place where they can play,” said Toffolo, who has owned the Panthers and the forerunners to the franchise, the Port Colborne Sailors and Port Colborne Pirates, since 2002.

He said players interested in showcasing their skills won’t get noticed as much if they’re on the third or fourth lines on teams near the top of the standings with a nucleus of returnees.

“I believe, regardless of our record, we developed hockey players and gave them an opportunity to play this season,” said Toffolo, whose team finished last overall in the 26-team league with a 1-45-0-4 record.

This was supposed to the second year of a rebuild that started with a 5-42-0-2 last-place finish in the Golden Horseshoe in 2014-15. However, five players the Panthers were counting on as “building blocks” didn’t come back.

Key among those losses were Anthony Sorrentino, who graduated to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after earning rookie of the year honours, and Riley O’Connell who wanted to stay at home and play with the Strathroy Rockets following the death of his father.

“Those were the kids we were planning to use as building blocks, so in many ways it was back to Square 1,” said Toffolo, who is also the Panthers’ director of hockey operations.

“No question, it was a disappointing season. It’s not what we planned for, or expected, at the beginning of the year.”

A third straight losing season, and four-and-out playoff sweep at the hands of the Caledonia Corvairs for the third year in a row, was not without “some positives.” With team captain Cameron DeFazio and Hunter Swain the only players the Panthers lost to age, everyone else can return for another year of development.

Toffolo sees a big upside to having one of the youngest teams he’s had since taking over ownership of the franchise.

“We had four 16-year-olds, we never had more than two before that, and I can count on one hand the guys who had played junior hockey,” he said.

Toffolo scoffs at suggestions from nay-sayers that the Panthers should drop down to junior C by pointing out peaks and valleys are part of the cyclical nature of any age-restricted leagues. He recalled that when he bought the team Port Colborne Sailors were also in last before beginning a string of winning seasons.

“It’s not something that we haven’t done before,” he said. “We’re continuing to do the things to get back to the top.”

Whether Paul MacLean returns for a second season as head coach won’t be decided until after

MacLean returns from vacation and meets with Toffolo.

A hockey lifer who makes a living from hockey development running the Central Ontario Junior A Camp, MacLean impressed Toffolo with his work with young players on the Panthers roster and willingness to commute from Oakville for two voluntary skates every week.

“I think he did a great job developing the kids,” Toffolo said. “Paul and I get along very well.”

Rebuilding for next season began Sunday with the first of four conditioning skates. Another session took place Tuesday night at Pelham Arena with skates planned for Sunday, at 2:30 p.m., and Monday, March 28, 6 p.m.

The Panthers are hosting a rookie skate from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and 4 until 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 30, at Ridley College.

Cost is $100 which includes the main training camp starting Aug. 17. Players can register online at http://pelhampanthers.pointstreaksites. ... e-page-983.

Bfranke@postmedia.com

Twitter: @TribSportsDesk


http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2016/03/16 ... win-season
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Port hockey1
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Re: The Same Old Story In Pelham

Post by Port hockey1 »

What a load of bs. Top rookies often play on top teams for exposure. It isn't all about getting the minutes when it comes to player development.

Nice excuses for this season's huge failure. He said he's all about developing players, then say's losing the kid they actually developed hurt them. :roll: :lol:

Then he mentions the other kid who left for Strathroy, but doesn't mention these other 3 players that he claims bailed on the team. All of the other teams manage to get kids to return. This includes the bottom teams. This team seem's to be the only team that's taking steps back.

Excuses, excuses. Gave kids a chance to play... No, most of those kids shouldn't have been playing Jr.B hockey in the first place. Just like the salesmen he is. Gotta try and put that positive spin on things, no matter how big of a failure it's been!

Blaming the kids for not coming back is also a cop-out. Way to send the blame towards the kids instead of on your shoulders where it belongs. :smt023

I got a private message from the owner a few years ago saying he would bring a Championship to Port Colborne, and that I could take that to the bank. :lol: :roll: :wink:


So much for that promise. 8) How many broken promises are we at now?... I've lost count. :smt117 But who's counting... :P :oops: :smt006
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Re: The Same Old Story In Pelham

Post by Cali vairs! »

I feel bad for the players on the team. They try really hard and are set up to fail by management. Don't know toffolo personally but it doesn't take 3 years in this year to do a complete rebuild. Corvairs lost like 12 players last year and still came back strong. This year we will lose over 15. Next year it will be likely the same strong team even with the losses. I get their is different circumstances from Caledonia to Pelham ($) but shouldn't be last for 3 years in a row and getting killed by every team in the league. I hope they do become a strong team for next year. Always hope the league could get better and avoid a battle between Buffalo and Pelham for last. And toffolo "scoffs" about people calling his team a jr. C team. I Bet most teams in jr c could beat them. Would be a great game
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Port hockey1
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Re: The Same Old Story In Pelham

Post by Port hockey1 »

Cali vairs! wrote:I feel bad for the players on the team. They try really hard and are set up to fail by management. Don't know toffolo personally but it doesn't take 3 years in this year to do a complete rebuild. Corvairs lost like 12 players last year and still came back strong. This year we will lose over 15. Next year it will be likely the same strong team even with the losses. I get their is different circumstances from Caledonia to Pelham ($) but shouldn't be last for 3 years in a row and getting killed by every team in the league. I hope they do become a strong team for next year. Always hope the league could get better and avoid a battle between Buffalo and Pelham for last. And toffolo "scoffs" about people calling his team a jr. C team. I Bet most teams in jr c could beat them. Would be a great game
When he mentions the winning seasons in Port, he doesn't mention that he had the funding then. He was able to bring in players. But now the word is out, and he's burned all his bridges and has next to no funding.

Some say the smaller city's can't draw talent. But Thorold had quite the run, St.Marys was a dynasty... Even Lambton Shores is able get the players to come.

There's Jr.C markets & Jr.A markets in towns of less than 1000 people with track records of winning. It all comes down to how the players, staff & volunteers are treated. Great organizations tend to be great from the ground up. There's reasons why the bad organizations have problems all over the map.

St.Marys is improving, Lambton Shores is developing talent... Why isn't Pelham???


Don't get played, don't let your kid sign with that team, parents. It isn't worth the problems. :)
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ILuvHackey
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Re: The Same Old Story In Pelham

Post by ILuvHackey »

In his defense, what they did for Sorrentino last year was huge for him.

However, any time I get a chance to talk to coaches or GMs in the Midwest they all say the same thing about Pelham and Tim: "what a joke."
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