Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America , the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey , while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and the highest age groups in Canada and USA also participate in national championships.
23-694: The Alberta Elite Hockey League or AEHL (formerly the Alberta Midget Hockey League ) is the provincial U18 "AAA" ice hockey league for Alberta , Canada . The league consists of 17 teams split into the North and South Divisions. League champions go on to compete with the BC Elite Hockey League champions to represent the Pacific at the annual Telus Cup , Canada's national U18 championship. The Calgary Buffaloes are
46-584: A few games, mainly due to verbal abuse from parents, coaches and players. The other issue faced by young referees is a reluctance from older officials to give them more advanced games. In the US and Canada, news stories pop up from now and then that describes physical abuse on youth officials, in addition to verbal abuse. These problems were addressed in Hockey Canada's "Relax, it's just a game" campaign, which started in 2002. A youth official can usually move up
69-577: A subscription to USA Hockey Magazine. The Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) was founded on October 29, 1937, in New York City by Tommy Lockhart . When he first started operating AHAUS, the paperwork fit into a shoebox in his apartment. The need for a national governing body for hockey came from the desire to efficiently manage the growing game of ice hockey, rather than having several different groups which included
92-771: Is a national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation . Before June 1991, the organization was known as the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS). The organization
115-481: Is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado . Its mission is to promote the growth of ice hockey in the U.S. USA Hockey programs support and develop players, coaches, officials, and facilities. USA Hockey also has junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey programs, and supports a disabled ice hockey program. USA Hockey provides certification programs for coaches and officials. Members of the organization receive
138-487: Is especially true in "AAA". Some leagues separate players six years old and younger into their own group, often referred to using names like "Mini-Mites", "Mosquitoes", or "Microns." USA Hockey designates four skill levels: The Amateur Athletic Union has returned to licensing the sport of ice hockey. AAU began licensing scholastic ice hockey programs at the HS Varsity and JV classifications about 2009. Then during
161-469: Is licensing playing opportunities at all youth age classifications, as well as scholastic, junior, collegiate and adult levels. Although some AAU clubs still use classification terms such as "mites" or "midgets", the official AAU youth designations indicate the age group with the format "xU", where "x" is the maximum age number and the "U" indicates "and under". Officials for youth hockey are often youth players themselves, calling games in lower levels than
184-510: Is not to be confused with minor league professional hockey . In Canada, the age categories are designated by each provincial hockey governing body based on Hockey Canada 's guidelines, and each category may have multiple tiers based on skill. In November 2019, Hockey Canada announced that beginning in 2020 (officially taking effect in the 2020–21 season), it would refer to its age categories by their age limits (with "midget" being renamed "U18", for example) rather than by names. It stated that
207-847: The Amateur Athletic Union . In September 1938, Lockhart reached signed an agreement with W. G. Hardy of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) which regulated international games in North America, set out provisions for transfer of players between the organizations, and recognized of each other's authority. In 1940, he led AHAUS into a union with the CAHA by establishing the International Ice Hockey Association , and served as its vice-president. AHAUS
230-698: The 2011–2012 season the AAU began licensing junior and youth leagues as well. The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) moved their operations from USA Hockey into AAU and Hockey Michigan was formed, providing traditional full-ice playing opportunities at the 7U and 8U age classifications (aka mites) in the face of cross-ice mandates adopted by the USA Hockey district affiliate. During the 2012–2013 season, AAU junior and youth operations expanded rapidly and currently span coast to coast. More recently, AAU hockey has expanded their youth and Junior programs into Canada. Today, AAU
253-525: The NTDP. In 2007 , four NTDP members were selected in the first round, with Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk going 1st and 2nd overall respectively. Through 2013, some 228 NTDP players had been selected in the NHL Entry Draft. The NTDP plays home games at USA Hockey Arena . USA Hockey has conducted the country’s ice hockey national championship tournaments since 1938, with teams from all across
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#1732776421928276-785: The U.S. National Under-18 Team, and the U.S. National Under-17 Team. The teams compete in the United States Hockey League in addition to playing NCAA colleges and in International competition. Until 2009, the NTDP competed in the North American Hockey League . Numerous NTDP alumni have gone on to play in the NHL. In the 2012–13 season, 60 former NTDP players suited up for NHL teams. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft , six first-round selections (including no. 1 pick Erik Johnson ) were former members of
299-403: The current league champions. Red Deer is the last AEHL team to win a national title, having won in 2012 & 2013 . The Calgary Northstars (1991 and 2003), Calgary Buffaloes (1989), and Red Deer Optimist Rebels/Chiefs (2012 & 2013), represent the only AMHL teams to have won the national midget title . The AMHL has represented the Pacific at the tournament every year since 1985, with
322-920: The exceptions of 1986, 1992, 2007, and 2012, when British Columbian teams won representation. Alberta has hosted the national championship three times: 1991 in Calgary , 2007 in Red Deer , and 2012 in Leduc . Many players move on from the AEHL to play Junior A or Major Junior in Western Canada. The league's National Hockey League (NHL) alumni include Jarome Iginla , Dany Heatley , Jason Smith , Trent Hunter , Joffery Lupul , Trevor Linden , Geoff Sanderson , Scottie Upshall , Brian Sutherby , Mike Comrie , Nick Tarnasky , Jonathan Filewich and Bryan McCabe . Minor hockey#Canada Minor hockey
345-544: The following levels: The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels: Some levels (especially J18 and J20) are directly administered by the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, while lower divisions of the Juniors and below are administered by the respective sub-federation in each landskap . The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation designates the following levels : using terms from
368-451: The ladder to juniors after about 2 years of officiating, and after a few years move up to senior hockey. This is, as with players, different for each individual as their skill-curves are differently shaped. Many current and former officials feel that their officiating career has aided them in their professional life as well as being more comfortable with handling critical decisions and upset individuals. USA Hockey USA Hockey
391-763: The national languages of Switzerland. This has nevertheless evolve recently to U9, U11 so this has to be updated. In the United States, USA Hockey designates the following levels: Girls hockey operates under their own age classifications, namely 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and 19U. Many organizations and leagues that have larger numbers of registered players tend to delineate within the two-year window allowed for each age group. In these situations, teams composed entirely or primarily of players in their second year of eligibility are designated 'major' teams, while those with players in their 1st year of eligibility are designated "minor" teams. (For example, ten-year-olds would be "squirt majors" while nine-year-olds would be "squirt minors".) This
414-567: The new names would be more concise, while there had also been concerns over use of the term " midget " in this context—as the word is now considered a pejorative towards dwarfism . To qualify in a category, the player must be under the age limit as of December 31 of the current season. In Finland , the Finnish Ice Hockey Association roughly categorizes minor hockey players to under school-ages and school-ages . Children over 16 are considered as juniors , although
437-568: The oldest age in the group. USA Hockey has divided its control into geographical youth districts as follows: USA Hockey also operates the National Team Development Program (NTDP), based in Plymouth, Michigan . The program's goal is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. national teams and continued success throughout their future hockey careers. The NTDP consists of two teams;
460-403: The one they participate in themselves. As with players who start out playing youth hockey, officials start their officiating career by officiating youth hockey, making it up through the ranks as their officiating skill increases. USA Hockey defines certain levels of their officials and so does Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation . Currently, many youth officials quit after
483-457: The town of Eveleth, Minnesota . Lockhart was succeeded as president by William Thayer Tutt in 1972. Presidents Executive directors Director of hockey operations Coaching directors Chief medical officers Until 2016, USA Hockey used division names such as Mite, Squirt, and Peewee in their youth levels and to indicate the age level of the players. Starting with the 2016–17 season, USA Hockey started using divisions labeled with
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#1732776421928506-413: The youngest juniors are still at the school-age. Starting of season 2020-21 names of the minor and junior levels has been changed to represent the standards used in international competitions and other minor hockey leagues. New minor and junior hockey levels, reference to old level in parentheses:. In France , hockey teams use the following levels: In Germany, German Ice Hockey Federation designates
529-734: Was admitted as a member of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace in 1947, being recognized as the international governing body of hockey in the United States instead of the Amateur Athletic Union which was previously recognized by the IIHF. Lockhart established the first national ice hockey tournaments for pre-high school boys in 1949. He announced the establishment of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame on May 19, 1968, to be located in
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