On December 17th the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), the governing body of Ontario Minor Hockey, announced historic changes to its Player Movement Regulations to take affect during the 2025-2026 season for all players at the Representative level from U10-U18.
We understand this is a monumental change – one of the biggest changes ever for minor hockey in Ontario, driven by a desire to make things fair, consistent, fun and to give our players all the options and opportunities they desire.
Hockey leaders are sometimes accused of being resistant or slow to change. Here the Ontario Hockey Federation and its four minor hockey members are showing we are just like any other business. We are listening to what hockey’s core customers want – this is what many of our Players and Hockey Families have been telling us they want – freedom of choice like they have in many other parts of their lives. In our 2023-24 Player Experience Survey, 87 per cent of respondents said they would be in favour of having an option for additional player movement.
At the OMHA, one of the goals of our strategic plan is to be player focused. That’s the fundamental reason we support this move; to give more access, more opportunities, more options to all categories of competition and the choice to select the programming model that best suits the Player and Family which could include travel, schedule and cost.
In addition to growing our game by attracting new Players/Families, we want to retain the players currently participating in our programs and draw back players who for one reason or another may have decided to leave our programming. If a player doesn’t make a team in their area for instance, they now have an option to try somewhere else.
Change isn’t always easy. There will certainly be growing pains.
The OHF began the conversation around residency rules in 2022, leading to the formation of a Player Movement Committee in March 2024. The Committee includes representatives from all four Minor Member Partners, including the OMHA.
This is a work in progress. We will be at the table while the Player Movement Committee continues to meet to make improvements based on the feedback we receive from our Associations and Hockey Families.
We will need to re-define hometown hockey. We’ll be working with our associations who might have concerns. We believe our associations will continue to thrive by providing quality programming where kids have fun and can’t wait to lace up their skates.
The reality is that Recreational Hockey already has had open player movement, and an overwhelming majority of players have continued to participate in their community Association.
Associations will still be able to have limits on the number of non-resident players, especially if the Association receives a subsidy in their area to cover ice time.
There is a moratorium on the number of Representative teams and increased penalties for tampering.
We will continue to work with our associations and leagues to identify areas to improve including regional or geographical leagues.
We encourage you to review the Frequently Asked Questions on the OHF website and ask questions through the feedback form.
Thank you for choosing to be part of our game where Hockey Is Fun. Happy holidays to you and your families.
Peter Harmsen
President