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{{One source|date=December 2009}} |
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{{rcat shell|{{r with history}} |
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The '''United States ice hockey structure''' includes elements from traditional American scholastic ] and ] athletics, affiliated and independent ]s, and the unique "]" leagues. |
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{{r to section}}}} |
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== Minor hockey == |
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{{Main|Minor ice hockey}} |
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Minor hockey in the United States is played below the junior age level (16 years old). 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. Unlike most American sports, athletes participate as part of clubs as opposed to schools. |
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== Junior and Major Junior hockey == |
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{{Main|Junior ice hockey}} |
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Junior hockey is played by athletes between 16 and 20 years old. The leagues are normally organized on a franchise system, and can play many more games than are normally played at the ] or ] level. ] hockey is organized into three leagues run by the ] with most teams in Canada, but with teams in the states of ], ], ], ] and ]. Major Junior players lose ] eligibility because they have agents, sign contracts and are given stipends.<ref>http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/633771</ref> Two "Junior A" leagues based in the United States, ] and ], are run in a similar fashion to the Major Junior teams except that the players keep NCAA eligibility. The majority of current ] players played Major Junior hockey. For a while, some NHL teams had agreements with amateur teams to help them develop players that would later play professionally, however this practice was stopped when the NHL expanded in 1967. |
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== High school hockey == |
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]s in some states compete in sanctioned ice hockey leagues sponsored by ] while other state compete in leagues not sponsored by their State High School Association. Typically, sponsored leagues exist in regions where ice hockey is traditionally popular, such as the ] (e.g., ], ], ], and ]) and the ] (e.g., ], ], ], and ]) while non-sponsored leagues typically exist in less traditional ice hockey regions, such as the ] and ]. However, some exceptions do exist, such as ] having a sponsored league and ] having a non-sponsored league.<ref>http://www.ushsho.com/stateinf.htm</ref> |
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== College hockey == |
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{{Main|College ice hockey}} |
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Ice hockey's role within the United States ] system is closest to ] in that most ] hockey players play ] hockey, and so aren't eligible for NCAA play. The ] currently has two divisions for ice hockey, Division I and Division III. There are multiple Division I leagues (], ], ] Association, ] and ]) which sponsor only ice hockey. The Big Ten Conference is currently the only traditional multi-sport conference to sponsor ice hockey. With ] joining NCAA Division I hockey, the ] elected to sponsor an men's ice hockey league since it attained the NCAA mandated minimum six members for a sport. However, six of the eight ]schools sponsor Division I ice hockey for both sexes, but the conference does not directly operate a hockey league. The Ivy League's hockey programs compete along with those of six other schools in ], with the Ivy League crowning its own champion based on performance in games involving Ivy League teams. |
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The separate ] was formed in 1991 in order to support uniform standards for college and university non-varsity club teams. |
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== Minor league professional hockey == |
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{{Main|Minor league hockey#Ice hockey}} |
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There have been professional ice hockey leagues of varying levels since the invention of the sport, and over time the leagues have settled into an informal hierarchy. Today, the 30 teams of the ] have affiliation agreements with ] teams, so it is considered to be the highest-level minor league. Most of the teams of the ] have affiliation agreements with NHL and AHL teams, and some of the ] teams are affiliated. Players are often sent from an NHL team to an AHL team, but teams are never ]. |
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== National Hockey League == |
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{{Main|NHL}} |
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The ] is widely considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major North American professional sports leagues. The ], the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. |
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==References== |
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<references/> |
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{{League systems}} |
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] |
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