Ontario Hockey Association

Hockey Canada, its member Branches, Major Junior and registered Junior Hockey Leagues in Canada are concerned with the proliferation of leagues that operate outside the auspices of Hockey Canada.

Hockey Canada offers the best development programs worldwide. It has invested significant resources in the development of officials, coaches, administrators and players countrywide. We have a committed strategy toward a cohesive long term athlete development model.

These “Outlaw” organizations do not support the development of these programs.  Further, they operate in a vacuum, with no consideration to the impact of their programs on male and female hockey minor, junior, senior, adult recreational hockey, officiating development, coaching development or administrator development in Canada.  These Outlaw leagues instead choose to utilize the resources already developed by Hockey Canada and its member Branches.  The teams who make up these "leagues" operate in this fashion because they do not agree with the existing overall vision of Hockey Canada.  They profess to have a better program yet often operate without a constitution, by-laws, create their own rule book and do not provide adequate insurance for their participants. Further, they offer the lure of "Rep" or "Junior" level competition when this is clearly not the case.

Hockey Canada, its member Branches, Major Junior Leagues as well as registered Junior Hockey Leagues wish to be exceedingly clear with our response to these programs.

Definition:

Hockey Canada and its member branches view all leagues that operate outside the auspices/sanctioning of Hockey Canada programs to be classified as “outlaw” leagues.  For further clarity, this specifically refers to those leagues that operate programs in direct competition with those offered by Hockey Canada and its member branches. This currently does not include summer hockey leagues/teams, adult recreational hockey leagues/teams, high school hockey, and/or hockey schools.

Sanctions   
 
1) Membership in Hockey Canada from those individuals that have participated (knowingly or otherwise) in "outlaw" programs will only be accepted based on the following schedule:

Outlaw League Participation                                Length of Period of Ineligibility for HC Programs

0-5 Exhibition Games/Games                              3 months from last outlaw league participation

6-10 Exhibition Games/Games                            6 months from last outlaw league participation

More than 10 Exhibition Games/Games           12 months from last outlaw league participation

If a participant makes the choice to participate in these programs, they must understand the ramifications of that choice and whether the league/team folds, whether released/suspended/fired the individual will only be eligible to register with legitimate teams under the Hockey Canada umbrella based on the schedule above.

2)  Hockey Canada will NOT offer National or Regional Championships or any other Hockey Canada/Branch/CHL sanctioned events to those municipalities/arenas that support "outlaw" programs.

3)  Finally, Hockey Canada and its member branches across the country will make every effort to ensure that those local minor hockey associations in areas where outlaw leagues exist are not supporting these leagues in any manner whatsoever.  We will withhold tournament sanctions if need be to stress this point. To be clear Hockey Canada will not sanction any tournaments within Municipalities and facilities that support programs outside the auspices of Hockey Canada and its Branches.

This is aimed at those leagues that are operating in direct competition to established Hockey Canada, Branch and local minor hockey programs.