The Bethesda company ruining youth hockey

[Anonymous]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2026/05/07/lord-of-the-rinks-black-bear-youth-hockey/89503875007/

We are lucky that that Black Bear hasn’t made a bigger push in this area. A lot of our organizations play in their leagues but St. James dropped this year.

[Anonymous]

Have to give USA Today a ton of credit. You don’t see investigative reporting like that anymore.

Look…it just makes me question even more why anyone signs their kid up to play hockey. The entire system all through these junior hockey teams appears so broken and stupid.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing
Wish they investigated other sports too. Too much pay-to-play everywhere, all for the slim hope of playing D1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have to give USA Today a ton of credit. You don’t see investigative reporting like that anymore.

Look…it just makes me question even more why anyone signs their kid up to play hockey. The entire system all through these junior hockey teams appears so broken and stupid.

At least in the US. The Canadian system, while not perfect, isn't this corrupt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to give USA Today a ton of credit. You don’t see investigative reporting like that anymore.

Look…it just makes me question even more why anyone signs their kid up to play hockey. The entire system all through these junior hockey teams appears so broken and stupid.

At least in the US. The Canadian system, while not perfect, isn't this corrupt.

I always wonder…does Canada have winter youth leagues that just play on frozen ponds, or is that a crazy comment.

[Anonymous]

Dog bites man. Youth sports is all about the money now.

[Anonymous]

hes cute

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least in the US. The Canadian system, while not perfect, isn't this corrupt.

What? Do a little research. The Canadian system of billeting players aged 16-20 for Juniors has been a major problem. Corrupt, maybe not in a financial sense. The amount of players that suffer both physical and sexual abuse is well documented. The amount of billeted players that develop alcohol and drug abuse issues is documented. The fact that these kids are essentially raised without their parents in very important formative years leads to things like recent Canadian 5 hockey players rape scandal.

No the Canadian system is far, far from perfect.

[Anonymous]

Do we really need two threads on this?

[Anonymous]

Great article. Thanks for sharing, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have to give USA Today a ton of credit. You don’t see investigative reporting like that anymore.

Look…it just makes me question even more why anyone signs their kid up to play hockey. The entire system all through these junior hockey teams appears so broken and stupid.

What's weird about juniors and fake pro hockey is some of my sons' best friends were sucked into this and now they are in their late 20s still making nothing on this pseudo pro circuit in random podunk towns. Meanwhile my sons, who graduated high school with these same kids, are working professionals with five plus years of experience, promotions, wages, and retirement savings.

It's as if these hockey boys don't know when to cut their losses and begin real life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least in the US. The Canadian system, while not perfect, isn't this corrupt.

What? Do a little research. The Canadian system of billeting players aged 16-20 for Juniors has been a major problem. Corrupt, maybe not in a financial sense. The amount of players that suffer both physical and sexual abuse is well documented. The amount of billeted players that develop alcohol and drug abuse issues is documented. The fact that these kids are essentially raised without their parents in very important formative years leads to things like recent Canadian 5 hockey players rape scandal.

No the Canadian system is far, far from perfect.

Weren't those 5 hockey players just found not guilty? You're smearing an entire sport for a single bogus incident which actually happens literally dozens of times of year on *every* D1 university college campus involving violent "student"-athletes? Hockey players by and large are pretty sweet boys raised in two-parent households. I can't say the same about D1 football and basketball players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hes cute

??? He looks like Ted Koppel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to give USA Today a ton of credit. You don’t see investigative reporting like that anymore.

Look…it just makes me question even more why anyone signs their kid up to play hockey. The entire system all through these junior hockey teams appears so broken and stupid.

What's weird about juniors and fake pro hockey is some of my sons' best friends were sucked into this and now they are in their late 20s still making nothing on this pseudo pro circuit in random podunk towns. Meanwhile my sons, who graduated high school with these same kids, are working professionals with five plus years of experience, promotions, wages, and retirement savings.

It's as if these hockey boys don't know when to cut their losses and begin real life?

Perhaps the MLB Minor leagues are more transparent...I don't know...but it sounds kind of similar. I guess the difference is that most baseball players either get drafted direct into the MLB system from high school, or they start college still at like 18/19 (maybe they redshirt for one year), and then go into the Minors system usually with a college degree.

Certainly, there are many Minor league baseball players who have been knocking around for a decade making peanuts and have no college degree...with the hopes of somehow getting called up.

[Anonymous]

What caught my attention is that the businessman being profiled is a dual Harvard degree holder.

He was caught at HBS doing unethical things.

And was later involved with a company that shipped known defective bassinet products that killed babies.

Remember that the next time you're sad that your child didn't get into Harvard.