Athletic Guide Publishing
Junior Hockey Guide
The Junior Hockey Guide from Athletic Guide Publishing includes detailed information on all United States Tier I Junior, Tier II Junior A, and Tier III Junior A, B and C leagues and teams as well as Canadian Junior A and B leagues and teams. If your goal is to play hockey at the college level many of these teams provide excellent development and recruiting exposure that will increase your opportunities for playing college hockey.
The US teams in this guide fall into five main categories; Tier I Junior; Tier II Junior A; Tier III Junior A, B and C. Just as the NCAA classifications of Division I, II and III do not necessarily provide an accurate description of the competitive level of a specific college team, these classifications don’t always provide an accurate breakdown of the competitive level of a specific junior team. Junior hockey is at the top of the hockey pyramid of development and is structured so the best players advance to Tier I Junior where there is no fee to play and the recruiting exposure is greater with advanced competition. Tier I Junior teams generally attract larger audiences and operate at a different fiscal level than Tier II Junior A, and Tier III Junior A, B and C teams.
Canadian Major Junior A teams play in the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League or the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Although these leagues are a source for professional players, they are not in any way college developmental leagues. In fact, players that either attend a Major Junior Training or Tryout Camp for more than 48 hours, or play in a Major Junior game are denied a minimum of one year of NCAA eligibility. Every year the NCAA is asked to reinstate the eligibility of players that have played Major Junior A and want to play college hockey. In reading the NCAA News recaps of these requests, I can’t recall any that reinstated NCAA eligibility. Players declared ineligible by the NCAA are also unable to participate at the ACHA level as they follow NCAA eligibility guidelines. If you want to play in college, we suggest that you avoid all Canadian Major Junior A leagues and teams.
United States Tier I Junior teams operate within the NCAA eligibility requirements. United States Tier I Junior teams are governed by USA Hockey and all teams in the United States Hockey League (USHL) are now in this category which allows you to play Tier I Junior and maintain your college hockey eligibility.
United States Tier II Junior A teams are governed by USA Hockey and play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
These teams are big business with individual team franchise fees of low six figures for the NAHL, and high six figures for the USHL. Players generally live with host families and pay a reasonable billet fee each month to insure that their amateur status is maintained. They attend high school or junior college in the team’s community, travel to and from games by charter coach or plane and play in front of large crowds of fans, passionate about their team. Both leagues provide excellent exposure and experience for participants.
These leagues actually draft players and have protected lists so that a prospective player will find that a particular team may “own” his rights in the USHL and another team may “own” his rights in the NAHL. Players and player’s rights are traded from team to team just as professional players are traded from team to team. If, as a prospective player, you want to play for a team in your geographic area and find that your rights are owned by a team in another state, you might be able to initiate a trade of your rights to the team in your area.
Canadian Junior A teams are governed by the Canadian Hockey Association and are also members of the Canadian Junior ‘A’ Hockey League. This level operates like the United States Tier II Junior A level and the two countries have worked out equitable transfer rules which allow players to move between teams and countries within an approved structure which is equitable for both bodies.
United States Tier I and II and Canadian Junior A Leagues place significant numbers of players in US College Hockey programs. When you begin evaluating these programs, we suggest that you get detailed information regarding their “alumni”. How many of their former players have gone on to play college hockey? This information is available and is one valid means for comparing different organizations. Would you prefer to play for a team which places one or two players in NCAA Division I hockey every year, or one which places six to eight players in NCAA Division I hockey every year? There are many other factors that you should consider but success in placing recruits in college programs is an important one.
United States Tier III Junior A, B and C teams are also governed by USA Hockey and primarily play in the Atlantic Metropolitan Junior Hockey League (AtJHL), Continental Hockey Association (CHA), Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL), Central States Hockey League (CSHL), Empire Junior Hockey League (EmJHL), Metropolitan Junior Hockey League, (MJHL), Minnesota Junior Hockey League (MnJHL), Northern Pacific Junior Hockey League (NPJHL) or Western States Hockey League (WSHL). These leagues are also big business although they will generally attract smaller audiences and often will act as feeder teams for the Tier I and II Junior teams. Every year, however, quite a few Tier III Junior players make the jump to NCAA Division I, II and III.
The Eastern Junior Hockey League actually rivals the Tier I and II leagues in overall college placement.
Canadian Junior B is governed by the Canadian Hockey Association and is similar to US Tier III Junior. Here again the top teams will place players in NCAA Division I, II and III.
United States Tier III Junior C is not normally a feeder for NCAA Division I. Most Tier III Junior C programs are a developmental affiliate of a Junior A or B team or an extension of a youth organization.
The Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League and the World Hockey Association have organized under the auspices of the National Junior Hockey Alliance. Both leagues have developed some early credibility based upon player development and exposure. Much more information will become available over time.
This guide is intended to provide you with some basic information about the various leagues and teams to assist you as you investigate your junior hockey options. You should contact the leagues and teams for much more detailed information. Since there are many leagues and teams that offer you the opportunity to develop and showcase your talents prior to playing college hockey, we recommend that you investigate your junior hockey options just as you would your college options. You will probably spend the entire season, or more, with one team so you should make sure that you will be happy and successful in the situation. Talk to others that have played for the organization and the coach. Will the team provide the development and exposure which you desire, or are they interested only in winning the league, provincial or national championship? Does the team have a record of promoting all players, or only those in their last year of junior eligibility? Does your style of play fit with that of the coach?
If you hope to attend a specific college, talk to the college coaching staff and get their recommendation regarding your development. If the college coaches have a real interest in you, they have a vested interest in getting you into a junior environment that provides appropriate development. A specific league or team may be recommended for a variety of reasons including development of skating, stickhandling, strength, etc.