what level of hockey is ohl

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; French: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League

. The league is for players aged 16–21. There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; seventeen in Ontario, two in Michigan, and one in Pennsylvania.

Full Answer

How many teams are in the OHL?

There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; seventeen in Ontario, two in Michigan, and one in Pennsylvania . The league was founded in 1980 when its predecessor, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League, formally split away from the Ontario Hockey Association, joining the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League and its direct affiliation with Hockey Canada.

What is the age range for the OHL?

The league is for players aged 16–21. There are currently 20 teams in the OHL; seventeen in Ontario, two in Michigan, and one in Pennsylvania .

How does the OHL compare to other CHL leagues?

Aside from comparing the number of NHL players this league has produced and the number of Memorial Cup victories for the OHL, there is no great comparison of it’s level of play to other CHL leagues. Any program that competes in the CHL in Canada is an elite program capable of sending players to the NHL and professional ranks.

What are the youth hockey levels?

What are the youth hockey levels? New hockey parents have probably heard the terms Midget, Squirt, Peewee, and a host of other words that may or may not indicate what level of youth ice hockey their child is supposed to join. "Tyke," for example, is a term often used to size youth ice skates but was never an age classification.

Is OHL the same as junior A?

The early 1970s sparked a vast reorganization of Canadian hockey right across the country. The OHL was born out of this, as well was the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in other parts of Canada. The new tier was known as Major Junior "A" hockey.

What level is Junior A hockey?

Tier 2What are the levels of Junior Hockey? An easy way to remember which level of Junior Hockey a league is in, is to break them down in this order. Tier 2 – though there are some leagues within the CJHL, Canadien Junior A, that would be considered Tier 2 level, the main league in Tier 2 is the NAHL or Canadien Junior “B”.

Is OHL considered pro?

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is regarded one of the top player development Leagues in the world, and continues to be a leading supplier of talent to both the National Hockey League and Canada's National teams at all levels as well as U SPORTS (Canadian University) hockey.

What league is under the OHL?

The CHL currently oversees the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), with the OHL and WHL having teams in both Canada and the United States. Each league plays individual regular season schedules, and playoffs.

What is C level hockey?

Level C (Intermediate) At the C level, players have good control on the ice. They have developed the basic skills required for the game like passing, shooting, and positional awareness, but are not experts in those skills.

What are the levels of hockey in Ontario?

Their classifications are:Hockey 1 to 4: Age 6-9.Atom: Age 9-10.Pee Wee: Age 11-12.Bantam: Age 13-14.Midget: Age 15-17.Juvenile: Age 18-19.

What are the levels of hockey in Canada?

These are the levels of Minor Hockey in Canada.Hockey 1 to 4: Age 6-9.Atom: Age 9-10.Pee Wee: Age 11-12.Bantam: Age 13-14.Midget: Age 15-17.Juvenile: Age 18-19.

What are the levels of professional hockey?

Contents Major league professional hockey. Minor league professional hockey. International play. College hockey. Junior and major junior hockey. High school hockey. Minor hockey. References.

Is Tier 3 junior hockey worth it?

In my opinion yes, just because you play Tier Three Hockey does not mean you're not any good. Some players just want to play competitive hockey for a few more years and there is nothing wrong with it at all.

Is OHL a AAA?

“The Ontario Hockey League is very proud to be a part of presenting a championship tournament of this magnitude to the U14 AAA category.”

Do OHL hockey players get paid?

This being said, teams routinely offer players one year of schooling paid upon signing, an additional year paid for the first exhibition game played, and a subsequent year paid for a regular season game played in each following calendar year; for a maximum of 5 years paid.

What is the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 hockey?

At each youth hockey age group, there are three distinct classifications: B/BB, A/AA and AAA. B or BB (House) is a recreational level with the following requirements. A or AA (Tier 2) is a competitive level with the following requirements. AAA (Tier 1) is a competitive level with the following requirements.

Why did USA Hockey require rote learning?

It required a certain amount of rote learning to master the classifications because there was no obvious correlation between the name and the age group. Now USA Hockey has boldly broken with tradition and made the classifications more rational.

What age is 14U hockey?

Note that the youth hockey levels are based on age—everyone in 14U is 14 or under. But kids’ hockey equipment categories are based on size—a player on a 14 U team might wear junior, intermediate, or senior skates.

What is junior B hockey?

Today's youth hockey is a highly organized and competitive pursuit, particularly at the upper levels.

Is youth hockey competitive?

Today's youth hockey is a highly organized and competitive pursuit, particularly at the upper levels. It's not any less competitive thanks to USA Hockey's classification changes, but now parents should have a much easier time signing up their child for the correct age division.

Is the level classification of youth hockey changed?

Level classifications are not changed from the previous system. What the new system loses in color, it gains in clarity. And clarity is a good thing, particularly in the world of youth ice hockey and youth sports generally that have grown increasingly complex and professionalized. Note that the youth hockey levels are based on age—everyone in 14U ...

How many levels are there in junior hockey?

An easy way to remember which level of Junior Hockey a league is in, is to break them down in this order. Major Junior – the “CHL” contains three leagues, the Western Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

What is the best junior hockey league?

Typically, the best junior hockey leagues are those that fall under USA Hockey or Hockey Canada. This isn’t to say that a league not sanctioned by either is a bad league (see, Adam Vay, Minnesota Wild Prospect of the WSHL), but as a rule of thumb the baseline for how “good” a league is, is based off of it’s sanctioned counterpart. USA Hockey and Hockey Canada sanction the best leagues on the higher end.

What is the difference between the CHL and the CJHL?

The CHL is labeled as “Major Junior” hockey and the CJHL is “Junior Hockey”.

What is the tier 1 of the USHL?

Tier 1 – technically, Canadien Junior “A” leagues fall into this category, also, the USHL is Tier 1. Tier 2 – though there are some leagues within the CJHL, Canadien Junior A, that would be considered Tier 2 level, the main league in Tier 2 is the NAHL or Canadien Junior “B”. Tier 3 – leagues like the NA3HL.

How to determine if a junior hockey team is legit?

If your son or daughter has been approached by a junior hockey team, the number one thing you can do to determine the leagues legitimacy is looking up advancement. Never heard of the league? That’s fine. For those unfamiliar, you may not have heard of a league like the SIJHL (Canadian Junior A, good league). Leagues that consistently send it’s ex-players to the CHL / NCAA / CIS / ECHL ranks and beyond are generally pretty quality leagues. As a rule of thumb, the advancement of players to leagues “above” their level of play is always a good thing.

What does it mean when a player is under 20 in the NHL?

What it means is, if a player is under 20 does not make the NHL club, they must be sent back to the CHL team they’re currently with.

How many teams are there in the WHL?

Comprised of 22 teams currently, the WHL was actually considered an “outlaw” league at first. The WHL, as you can imagine, holds most of it’s teams in Western Canada and the Northwest United States. Teams in the WHL play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving to the Memorial Cup playoffs.

Why Were the Traditional Age Group Names Changed?

The traditional age group names such as Mite, Squirt, Peewee etc. were barely distinguishable. The names had a fancy connotation to them, but they were purely ornamental as they did nothing to represent the particular age groups of the levels.

Current Names of the USA Youth Hockey Levels

The current names for the males’ levels of the USA Youth Hockey are as follows:

At What Age are Hockey Players Scouted?

This depends on the skill level of the players and the area as well. In the Ontario League, scouts observe players when they are 14 years old and come back next year to see if they have progressed enough to be scouted.

What Were the Minor Hockey Levels in Canada (Pre-2021)?

Canada retained the use of traditional names for the minor hockey levels till the 2020-2021 season. The names are slightly different from the ones of the pre-2016 USA levels.

What are the Names of the Current Minor Hockey Levels in Canada?

The traditional names for the minor hockey levels started getting reconsidered when Regina Scott, whose son has dwarfism, came across the term “midget” on a banner at a mall, after which she went to the youth basketball association in Guelph, Ontario to urge upon them to review the term.

Can Two Levels be Combined in One Team?

In smaller towns and communities, where there is a lack of enough members for each level, the Mite, Mini Mite, Tiny Mite, and Squirts may be combined into one Initiation team.

What are the levels of hockey in Sweden?

In the country of Sweden, youth hockey is divided up as follows: U11 (ages 11 and younger) U12 (ages 12 and younger) U13 (ages 13 and younger) U14 (ages 14 and younger) U15 (ages 15 and younger) U16 (ages 16 and younger) J18 (Juniors 18 and younger)

When do kids start playing hockey?

In a hockey friendly country like Canada, children typically start playing organized hockey at age five.

How old is a minor hockey player in Canada?

In Canada, Minor Hockey is described as amateur hockey played by athletes who are 20 years old and younger. Traditionally players are divided into playing levels according to age. In Canada, minor hockey levels and associated ages are:

What is AAA hockey?

AAA is the highest caliber of minor hockey. Additionally, teams are categorized as either Tier 1, 2, 3, or 4 for district, and provincial championship playoffs based on the enrollment sizes of their associations.

What is a select league?

Select Leagues – higher skilled players who participate in additional practices and games.

What is the USA Hockey group?

Since 2016, USA Hockey has re-named it’s groups of Youth Hockey by age levels. This means, instead of kids playing Mites, Squirts, PeeWees, Bantams, and so on, they now get classed by age range. This actually makes things quite a bit easier. USA Hockey follows the ADM, or American Development Model, designed to develop youth players at scale.

How old do you have to be to play midget hockey?

Major Midget hockey in the USA is from the ages of 15 to 18. Players can choose to play Minor or Major Midgets. It’s also known as 18U.

What age is mini mite hockey?

Mini Mite hockey is from the ages of 5 to 6. When USA Hockey released their new nomenclature for Youth Hockey in 2016, Mini Mite hockey was grouped into 8U’s age range.

How old are squirrels in hockey?

Squirt hockey in the USA is from ages 9 to 10. Squirts in the USA are also referred to as 10U.

Do youth hockey players go on to play junior hockey?

In both the USA and Canada, elite youth hockey players often go on to play Junior Hockey after their association hockey days are over.

Overview

History

Leagues for ice hockey in Ontario were first organized in 1890 by the newly created Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). In 1892 the OHA recognized junior hockey - referring to skill rather than age. In 1896 the OHA moved to the modern age-limited junior hockey concept, distinct from senior and intermediate divisions. Since then the evolution to the Ontario Hockey League has developed through four distinct eras of junior-aged non-professional hockey in Ontario. In 1933, …

Member teams

Schedule

Priority selection

See also

External links