So what the heck is P2P hockey? Allow me to explain. In the last 10 years I have been to many national ice hockey tournaments. These are put on by major companies like CANAM Hockey, CA Hockey Productions, Hockey North America, Global Sports Vacations, to name a few. Link up to any one of these sites and look at the Adult Tournament schedule and you’ll get all the info that you need. (or contact a local hockey ambassador to get on an organized team!) These are all package deals with hockey and hotel fees included in the cost (and a few cold beers in the locker room). These fill up quick with teams that are returning from the previous year and already know the inner workings of the tourney.
Ok so back to the main topic, P2P hockey. This is where one of you get in contact with an “ambassador” in a given city and coordinate directly with them to have a game or two locally. For example, a friend of mine from Vancouver wanted to come to San Diego (where the GM currently resides), play a few fun yet competitive games, then enjoy the beaches and all the other great things San Diego has to offer. As a local, I can recommend hotels based on where the Vancouver team was looking to stay. This is not some lame review that someone wrote on TripAdvisor but actual insight from someone that knows the lay of the land. Now think about what was accomplished here:
1. Vancouver team can dictate what weekend they want to play and the days they want to travel and play hockey (ie Fri night and Sat Afternoon)
2. The get valuable insight on where to stay based on what they want to do. (sightsee, nightclubs, beach etc..)
3. Cut down some major expenses and overhead that the tour companies charge. Although its justified for the work they do, most of these tournament companies need the rosters and hotel rooming lists way in advance which usually is inconvenient since you dont know who is “in or out” till late.
4. Give your team more free time to actually enjoy the destination. With the major tourneys you usually play Friday night (after flying in that day), the two games on Sat, with the finals Sunday morning (usually a little hungover..)then fly out that afternoon. But with P2P you have a game vs Local team #1 fri night, then play Sat afternoon maybe vs Local team #2 and then have a bbq afterwards then hit the bars!
5. Flexibilty- you dont need to have you entire roster commited months in advance. if you go with 10-14 guys great. book you airfare in advance then pay for hotels when you get there. Use miles or rewards if you want! If you only have 7-9 guys then maybe have your Local contact spot you a few players.
To conclude, after years of trekking to Chicago, Montreal, Vegas, Phoenix and on and on I truely believe the future (at least for our team) resides in trips to cities like Austin, or Anchorage, or New Orleans for example. Play a few games with some local teams, nothing too serious (besides playing for first round at the bar) and then hitting the town with all it has to offer with some new “wingmen”.
If you have a team and would like to come to San Diego look me up at jtimdyer@gmail.com. Or if you have a local event and you want to invite us to your city look us up!
SIGNED,
THE GM
The San Diego Nationals, distinguishd team of the ProLeisureTour, invaded Scottsdale Arizona over the Memorial day holiday. After a full weekend of action both on and off the ice.. the team won the championship, defeating a very tenacious team from Colorado in the finals.
Highlights include Marty Guerin taking time out from the East Coast league to bedazzle poor defenseman, or Jason Courtemanche letting the howitzer go from the blue line. And talk about goaltending, Charlie Effinger was just sick in net, all world baby!
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