Club Affiliation - Am Penguins

Affiliation

To better understand how the Jr and Am Pens are affiliated; think of the Am and Jr Penguins as two separate corporations operating four groups of teams (they are just that).

The Am Pens operate two of these groups.  The first group includes several teams that compete at the Tier II recreational level.  These teams range in age from Mite through Midgets that play in the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League (aka PAHL).  These teams are identified by their own moniker which is the vegas gold, black & white circular logo with Amateur Penguins in script over-striking the center triangle.

The Am Pens also operate elite Birth Year teams from Squirt Minor through Pee-Wee Major and sometimes Bantams.  For the coming season, these are their 2002, 2001, 2000 and 1999 birth year teams.  The Jr Penguins allow these four elite teams to use the Jr Penguin Logo to give them an identity different than the AM Pens recreational teams.  Their logo is light blue, vegas gold, black and white with Junior Penguins in script over-striking the center triangle.

Similar to the Am Pens, the Jr Penguins operate two distinct groups.  They include the Tier I Midget U16 and U18’s plus our Flagship Jr A Penguin team.  The Pittsburgh Jr Penguins and both are groups are a Division of K&B Outfitters, Inc. who also own and operate Pittsburgh Teamwear a Sports Retail outlet for Team Projects and Signature FLags, a wholesale sports applique shop.

The Jr Penguins recently designed new logos for these Tier I Midget Teams and the Jr A Penguin Team that separate them from the teams managed and operated by their affiliate Am Pens while also providing them with their own separate identify for the Tier I Midgets and different than the Jr A Penguin team.  While the logo design is the same for these two Jr groups, their colors are different (black, white & vegas for Midgets and navy, white & light blue for the Jr A Penguins).

The Jr Penguins work closely with the Am Pens in several areas.  In addition to sharing a significant ice contract which allows us flexibility in scheduling, they also look to the Am Pens to develop their elite birth year players so that they will eventually become Jr Penguins when they reach the Midget Level.  The Am Pens also register the Tier I Midget teams with USAH so they may compete in Districts (as directed by Mid-Am) and they also allow the Jr Penguin members to share in their fundraising opportunities.

While the affiliation goes much deeper than what is mentioned here, these are the points of interest that would affect the members most.  The Am and Jr Penguins desire to be transparent to all their members about the way we operate.