Program Information

Players registered with the HAC are grouped by age into categories determined by the guidelines of Hockey Edmonton.  The age of the player as of December 31 determines the category where they are placed.

• U7 - DISCOVERY
  Discovery is a learn to skate program, for players learning to move and skate while wearing hockey equipment. For 4 year old's as of December 31. Sessions occur on weekends, once per week.
• U7 - JUNIOR TIMBITS
  Jr. Timbits is an Introduction to Hockey Skill Development. For 5 year old's as of December 31, or by ability/development level. Sessions occur on weekends, once per week.
• U7 - SENIOR TIMBITS
  Sr. Timbits is an Introduction to Cross-Ice Hockey. For 6 year old's as of December 31, or by ability/development level. Sessions occur on weekends, twice per week.
• U9  (Formerly NOVICE)
  Novice Hockey is the Introduction to Half Ice Hockey.  For 7 and 8 year old's as of December 31.  Sixteen half-ice games, 30 half-ice practices. 
• U11 (Formerly ATOM)
  Atom hockey continues with the formation of tiered teams that play city-wide. The players will still vary from beginners that are learning basic hockey skills to those that have more experience. For 9 and 10 year old's as of December 31.
• U13 (Formerly PEEWEE)
  Peewee hockey continues with the formation of tiered teams that play city-wide. The players will still vary from beginners that are learning basic hockey skills to those that have more experience. For 11 and 12 year old's as of December 31.

Each team in U11 and U13 typically receives 20 games and 20 one-hour practices over the course of the season. The regular season consists of three rounds of games with re-tiering occurring after the first and second rounds. The regular season is then followed by a playoff round. In addition, each team plays a minimum of 2 games during Minor Hockey Week held in January. Teams may also seek additional exhibition or tournament games, at an extra cost to parents.

Evaluations (held in September)

Hockey players may vary considerably in their individual skills. In general, players have a more enjoyable experience when playing with other players of similar abilities. In order to provide this, an evaluation process is necessary.

In the Hawks Athletics Club, all Novice, Atom and Peewee players will participate in evaluations, based on the player's age category and direct observation of hockey skills with a strong emphasis on skating. The purpose of evaluations is to create teams consisting of players with similar abilities. See our EVALUATIONS section for more information.

Team Formation (end of September)

When evaluations are completed, the Evaluation and Hockey committees will place players on teams based on the evaluation results. Each team will typically consist of 12 to 17 players, depending on on the number of registrants. The maximum number of players permitted on a team is 19 (2 of which are goalies). Most teams will consist of 3 forward lines, 4 to 6 defencemen and 1 or 2 goaltenders. After completion of the evaluations, the head coach of your team will contact you.

Tiering

The Federation Hockey Council organizes a tiering committee with a chairperson and representatives from each of the operating programs in the City. The committee is responsible for placing teams in divisions of approximately equal abilities. This committee meets prior to the start of the season and prior to round two and round three. Teams can be moved to higher or lower divisions depending on their level of play. The purpose of tiering is to group teams at similar competitive levels.

Please remember that Tier (division) numbers and Team numbers are not the same. For example, if you child is placed on Team 3, he/she may not necessarily play in Tier (division) 3 for league play.

Team Funding

Your registration fees provide practice, game, playoff and Minor Hockey Week ice times as outlined as a basic season by the Federation Hockey Council.

Individual teams may want to:

• obtain additional practice ice,
• play exhibition games,
• enter tournaments,
• buy team apparel,
• have team-building events.

These activities are extras and are funded by the individual teams.  The source of the necessary money, to the limits the parental majority may set, is the parent group of that team and can be generated via a cash call, or fundraising, or most commonly, some combination of both.  All parents should consider fundraising as part of their commitment to their child's hockey season and expect the top 2 or 3 teams in any age category to be very aggressive. It is the coach and manager's responsibility to organize and meet with the parents and assistant coaches to discuss and set a seasonal course of action for the team. Parents with players in the top tiered teams should consider the fundraising requirements before committing their child to the team.