Hockey Levels And Ages 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. AGE REFERENCE CHART 2025.
Minor ice hockey or 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.
Youth Hockey Age Levels and Birth Year Teams
In North America, the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, while local hockey. Hockey Canada and its 13 members have ratified age division names changes for all levels of minor hockey. The changes create a simpler and more consistent reference for parents registering their children.
Unlike Junior Hockey, where there are multiple different leagues and varying levels of play, Youth Hockey in North America is relatively straightforward. Youth Hockey, generally referred to as association hockey, is organized by age. In Canada, Youth Hockey is referred to as Minor Hockey.
Statistics & History
While USA Hockey changed how they identify levels of youth hockey after 2016, most associations refer to. CANADIAN YOUTH HOCKEY LEVELS Our neighbors to the north take their hockey seriously, too. Their classification system, like USA Hockey, has been updated in recent years to be more age specific, with some provinces, like Quebec, using their own classifications.
MINOR HOCKEY Minor hockey is for every child who plays for a local association. The move by Hockey Canada away from names like Atom, Peewee, Bantam to names like U11, U13, U15 has added a bit of confusion for many as we start the season. Below is a link to a reference table by birth year.
While youth hockey participation in Canada shrinks, the US is seeing ...
Please note that Major (older) & Minor (younger) are subdivisions of an age category for Hockey Canada and where multiple ages are combined such as AE it will always go by the oldest age. Hockey Canada Changes Names Of Age Levels To Introduce More InclusivenessAs for HS hockey, in most of the US it is not even remotely comparable to Tier 1. Regarding giving USAH dictatorial power over where to play, I fail to see how depriving players of the right to decide for themselves is an improvement.
No sport on any level is improved by hyperactive, meddlesome regulation. Canadian Youth Hockey Levels Canada also takes minor hockey seriously. It is for each child that plays for a local association, with the following classifications: Hockey 1 to 4: from age 6-9 Atom: from age 9-10 Pee Wee: between ages 11-12 Bantam: age 13-14 Midget: between the ages of 15-17 Juvenile: age 18.
