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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. The ] of the ice hockey league system forms a pyramid with a large number of regional minor and development leagues making up the base of the pyramid and a linear progression through the professional minor leagues leading to the National Hockey League at the top of the pyramid. |
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{{rcat shell|{{r with history}} |
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{{r to section}}}} |
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== Major league professional hockey== |
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{{Main article|National Hockey League}} |
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The ] (NHL) is widely considered to be the premier ] ice hockey league in the world with top players from multiple countries participating in the league.<ref name=PuckWorlds>{{cite web|title= The North American Hockey System |url=http://www.puckworlds.com/2011/6/10/2212875/the-north-american-hockey-system |author= Bruce Peter |date= Jun 10, 2011 |publisher= PuckWorlds.com }}</ref> It is one of the major North American professional sports leagues along with ], ], and ].<ref name=HandbookEconSports>{{cite book|title=Handbook on the Economics of Sport |author=Marc Lavoie |editor1=Wladimir Andreff |editor2=Stefan Szymanski |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |year=2005 |pp=542–551 |isbn=9781847204073 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PGRkblShhU8C&pg=PA542&lpg=PA542&source=bl&ots=EC8Juoud-R&sig=nOX3kbxa2MMeG10SS75eRgpx0-4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YSQoVfSVONfroASg1oGABA&ved=0CGUQ6AEwCQ}}</ref> The NHL is a 'closed' league, meaning that teams are neither promoted nor relegated to other leagues, based on a ]. There are presently 31 teams in the NHL, with 24 located in the United States and 7 located in Canada. 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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== Minor league professional hockey == |
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{{Main article|Minor league#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 in North America settled into an unofficial hierarchy. The top of this hierarchy, however, was codified in the most recent ]. In the top two minor leagues, the American Hockey League and the ECHL, teams act as a development ] for the major league and the players are represented by the ]. While players are often sent between major and minor league teams, the teams themselves are never ]. As professional leagues these minor leagues pay their players a salary. As with all minor leagues, the salaries are often much less than what the NHL pays, but in the AHL, compensation is higher than the overall median U.S. annual income, and accounting for room and board, ECHL compensation is comparable to the national average.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Lowest Paid Athletes in All of Professional Sports |author=Evan Grossman |publisher=Men's Journal |url=http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/races-sports/the-lowest-paid-athletes-in-all-of-professional-sports-20141125}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=How Much Do Minor League Hockey Players Make? |date=Oct 10, 2011 |publisher=Artfulpuck | url=https://artfulpuck.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/how-much-do-minor-league-hockey-players-make/}}</ref> |
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Today, the 30 teams of the ] (AHL) are considered to be the highest-level minor league, the 'AAA' minor league.<ref name=PuckWorlds/> Most AHL teams have affiliation agreements with NHL teams, and many are owned by the same owners.<ref>{{cite web|title=AHL announces new Pacific Division — who could go west next? |author=Jason Brough |date=Jan 29, 2015 |url=http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/29/ahl-announces-new-pacific-division-who-could-go-west-next/ |publisher=NBCSports}}</ref> Most prospective NHL players will enter into a 'two-way contract' in which players can be sent back and forth between the NHL and AHL at will. Many AHL players enter the league after being ] from juniors or after being scouted and signed by an NHL team and being assigned to the affiliated team to develop as a player. The AHL also recognizes a 'standard contract', which signs a player directly to the AHL though the affiliated NHL team has negotiating rights and can upgrade a player to a two-way contract if they so desire. |
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The ], formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League, is considered a 'AA' minor league with 27 of the league's 28 teams residing within the United States.<ref name=PuckWorlds/> Most of the teams of the ECHL have affiliation agreements with NHL and AHL teams though generally players will be promoted to the AHL before moving on the NHL and non-entry level NHL players must consent to being relegated to the ECHL.<ref name=NHL-CBA>{{cite web|title=Collective Bargaining Agreement Between National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association |url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/en/v3/ext/CBA2012/NHL_NHLPA_2013_CBA.pdf |date = Feb 15, 2013}}</ref> |
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In addition there are three class 'A' minor leagues, the ] (FHL), the ] (NLAH), and the ] (SPHL). The FHL has 7 teams in the ] and considers itself a development league feeding into the ECHL, AHL and European leagues.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Federal Hockey League |url=https://www.facebook.com/TheFHL/info/?tab=page_info| publisher=Federal Hockey League}}</ref> The NLAH is professional minor league in the Canadian province of ] consisting of 8 teams. The league stipulates that only players from Quebec or who played junior hockey there are eligible and the league boasts many ex-NHL players.<ref name=NYTimes>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/sports/hockey/01hockey.html |title=A Place for Pro Hockey Players Fighting to Stay in the Game|publisher= ]|accessdate= 2011-03-01|author= Jeff Z. Klein|date= 2011-03-01}}</ref> The SPHL is a development league comprising ten teams in the ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|title=TEAMS {{pipe}} SPHL Southern Professional Hockey League - Pointstreak Sites |url=http://www.thesphl.com/view/thesphl/teams-357 |date= Mar 22, 2016}}</ref> |
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== International play == |
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{{Main article|USA Hockey}} |
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] is recognized by the ] and the ] as the ] for amateur organized ice hockey in the ] and is a member of the ]. Its mission is to promote the growth of hockey in America and provide the best possible experience for all participants and its programs support and develop players, coaches, officials, and facilities. The ] is based in ] and is composed of American-born ice hockey players from college through the NHL level. The ] hosts various training camps around the United States and is composed of American-born ice hockey players. |
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] also operates the ], based in ]. The program's goal is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. national teams and continued success throughout their future hockey careers. The NTDP consists of two teams; the U.S. National Under-18 Team, and the U.S. National Under-17 Team.<ref name="USAHockey">{{Cite web|url=http://www.usahockey.com/USANTDP/default.aspx|title=USA Hockey's National Team Development Program|accessdate=2009-05-04|publisher=USAHockey.com|year=2009}}</ref> These teams compete in the ] in addition to playing ] colleges and in international competition. |
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== College hockey == |
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{{Main article|College ice hockey}} |
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College ice hockey is ice hockey played between colleges with their teams composed of enrolled students. In the United States, college hockey is played between colleges and universities with the competitive governance structure established by the ] (NCAA) and the ] (ACHA). |
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association has conducted national championships for men's ice hockey since 1948, and women's ice hockey since 2001. U.S. college hockey players must be deemed eligible for NCAA competition by the NCAA Eligibility Center, a process that examines a student-athlete's academic qualifications and amateur status. Players who have participated in ] or any professional hockey league are considered ineligible to play in the NCAA.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegehockeyinc.com/pages/ncaa-college-hockey-vs-chl-major-junior|title=NCAA College Hockey vs. CHL Major Junior|date=January 9, 2015|website=College Hockey inc.|publisher=NCAA}}</ref> The ] currently has three divisions for ice hockey, Division I, Division II and Division III. Of the three divisions only Division I and Division III have a championship sponsored by the NCAA. The NCAA's top level, Division I, has 59 teams in six conferences: ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The ] is a 16-team, single-elimination tournament, divided into four, 4-team regional tournaments. The winner of each regional advances to the ] to compete for the national championship. In Division III hockey there are 74 programs in 9 conferences. The current ] format is an 11-team, single-elimination bracket. |
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The separate ] was formed in 1991 and is a chartered non-profit corporation that governs non-] or ] college ice hockey in the United States. The organization provides structure and regulations, promotes the quality of play, and sponsors National Awards and National Tournaments. The ACHA's policies cover team and player eligibility, rules of play, ranking procedures, national tournament procedures, and other administrative issues, although the ACHA parallels the NCAA Division III with most eligibility requirements, gameplay rules, etc. The ACHA currently has three men's and two women's divisions and includes approximately 450 teams from across the United States. Teams offer no athletic scholarships and typically receive far less university funding.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=394182|title = This club is ultra-competitive|date = 26 November 2008|accessdate = |website = NHL.com|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref> The ACHA offers an opportunity for college hockey programs that struggle with large budgets and ] issues, as an alternative to the NCAA structure.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2005/10/14_kennesaw.php|title = Kennesaw State DOA|date = 14 October 2005|accessdate = |website = College Hockey News|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref> Many schools field separate teams in both the NCAA and ACHA. |
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Men's U.S. college hockey is a feeder system to the ] and collegiate athletes who meet eligibility requirements can enter the ]. As of the 2010–11 season, 30 percent of NHL players (a total of 294) had U.S. college hockey experience prior to turning professional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegehockeyinc.com/view/ncaa/news/news_25488|title=College Hockey, Inc. - Your NCAA Hockey Resource|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref> |
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== Junior and Major Junior hockey == |
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{{Main article|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 ]. These three leagues are the ], ], and ]. Most of these teams are in Canada, but there are also teams in the American states of ], ], ], ] and ]. Major Junior players lose ] eligibility because they have agents, sign contracts and are given stipends.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/633771|title=Your online newspaper for Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and area|first=The|last=Record|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref> Two "Junior A" leagues based in the United States, the ] (USHL) and the ] (NAHL), 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 states 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>{{cite web|url=http://www.ushsho.com/stateinf.htm|title=State HS Hockey Profiles|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2017}}</ref> |
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== Minor hockey == |
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{{Main article|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 in minor ice hockey as part of clubs as opposed to schools. |
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==References== |
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<references/> |
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{{NAProHockey}} |
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{{League systems}} |
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] |
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