2000: Only a fool picks aGAINst the 2000 Machine.  And I’m no fool. This team is loaded with high end talent.  They play well within a system and have great goaltending.  It doesn’t matter what country your from, that combination wins a lot.  The defending champs will win their pool and then beat in-state rival the MN Blades in the semis and the Manitoba Selects in the Final.

2001: This is a very large field, 16 teams with four evenly balanced pools. We like both MN team chances in this tournament.  We think the final four will be Blades, BC Bears (defending champ), South Sask Selects, and the Machine. We see the Machine Orange, led by scoring wiz Drew Helleson beating both the South Sask Selects in the semis and the BC Bears in the finals.

2002: This is a great field as well, only eight teams chose to face the Super Elite gauntlet this year.  The year after a Brick year, AAA teams tend to get a little unpredictable.  New players, new team names, etc.  One constant this year has been the play of the ’02 Blades and the 2K2 Warriors, these two teams have played very well. The Warriors are essentially last year’s Winnipeg Jr. Jets who won the NAHC last year. They are returning to the NAHC with leading scorers Ty Smilanic and Ty Thorpe and brick wall goalie Dante Giannuzzi. In the same bracket are the ’02 Blades.  The Blades bring only 13 skaters to the ‘Peg which, if healthy, could be a good thing. They also bring in a new goalie, Matteo Lalama, from St. Catherine’s, Ontario – Niagra Ice Dogs. On the other side of the bracket, the Machine line up nicely to advance out of their mysterious bracket – the ’02 Oilers can mean just about anything. Based on what we know, the Blades and Warriors will meet twice, once in Pool Play and once in the finals.  We will take the homer pick and go with the Blades.

2003: The ’03 level should be an interesting one to watch.  The Brick year NAC field is always loaded with the top teams in what many call a great tune up for July. Two teams to look for are the Winnipeg Jr. Jets, who we presume are made up of a lot of the same members of the defending champ Manitoba Xtreme. And Minnesota’s finest, the Blades. Featuring 5 Brick teams and the talented Rockford IceHogs (the Blades first opponent Thursday), this will be some great hockey. Each team will play five games and the top two team play for the Championship on Sunday afternoon. Picking the winner of this level will be the hardest by far, Team Minnesota (i.e. the Blades) is a great team with what we think is one of the better Brick teams the Blades have assembled, they will be tough to beat.

2004: The ’04 Division is filled with a lot of YHH unknowns.  Here’s what we know.  Manitoba Team Xtreme has won the tournament the last two years. The ST Selects are not the Miracle Gold, but have several Miracle Gold players and their entire coaching staff. Not knowing what ST stands for we are going with Sticky Tape.  The Blades and Machine are both in the field.  The Blades are missing a few key players and are now being coached by Minnesota coaching icon, Greg Dornbach. The Machine is paired in a very tough bracket with three strong teams. The Xtreme will win the NAHC again, choosing the runner up is the hard part.

For complete scores, brackets and individual statistics go to the NAHC site (search for Super Elite Male).

The Four Majors of Spring/Summer AAA hockey (from a MN hockey writer’s perspective)

1. Chi Town Shuffle

2. Stars and Stripes

3. North American Hockey Classic

4. Caribou Cup