The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada, alongside the Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The SPHL is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midwestern United States.
The North Dakota Fighting Hawks are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Summit League. With 17 varsity teams, North Dakota is best known for its Ice Hockey team and American Football team. North Dakota's main rivalries are with the North Dakota State Bison and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Before June 1991, the organization was known as the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS).
The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterloo, Iowa.
Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 15- to 20-year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
The National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) is a set of semi-professional ice hockey leagues administered by the English Ice Hockey Association. It is currently the second tier of British ice hockey, below the Elite Ice Hockey League. Formerly called the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL), it was renamed in 2012 to recognise the inclusion of several teams from Scotland and Wales.
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams played approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level. As of January 2022, there are no active teams in the league following the creation of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League by former WSHL teams.
The Phoenix Polar Bears were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior A Tier III ice hockey team based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Their host facility was the Desert Schools Coyotes Center in Chandler, Arizona. The Polar Bears were a member of the Western States Hockey League but vacated their membership in the league when the WSHL moved away from USA Hockey sanctioning in 2011.
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Sanctioned by USA Hockey, for most of the league's existence, the winner of the NA3HL playoffs would advance to play for the Tier III National Championship, however, this has not been held since 2015.
The Boston Junior Bruins are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in Marlborough, Massachusetts. They currently field three junior and a number of youth teams in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).
The Rochester Grizzlies are a Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the 2,600-seat Rochester Recreation Center, located in Rochester, Minnesota. The team typically plays more than 45 regular season games, in addition to showcase and postseason games.
The Valencia Flyers were an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-sanctioned junior ice hockey team based in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California. The team played in the Western Division of the Western States Hockey League at the Ice Station Valencia.
The San Diego Sabers are a junior ice hockey team and are a member of United States Premier Hockey League. The team is based in Carlsbad, California, and plays at the Carlsbad Icetown. The team was the fourth team to be known as the San Diego Gulls from 2008 to 2015 until it gave up the nickname to the American Hockey League San Diego Gulls before the 2015–16 season.
The Bakersfield Jr. Condors were a USA Hockey-sanctioned Junior A Tier III ice hockey team based out of Bakersfield, California. Their host facility was the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center. The Jr. Condors were members of the Western States Hockey League and played in the Western Division of the WSHL. The team joined the WSHL as an expansion team for the 2009–10 season along with the Fresno Monsters, Arizona RedHawks, and Idaho Jr. Steelheads. The team would be moved to Ogden, Utah as the Mustangs in 2011. Junior hockey would return to Bakersfield in 2022 with the Bakersfield Roughnecks of the USPHL.
The Peoria Mustangs are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Owens Center in Peoria, Illinois. The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior ice hockey in the United States and Canada, Canadian major junior, collegiate, and eventually professional teams.
Nick Schmaltz is an American professional ice hockey forward and alternate captain for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.
Phoenix Knights were an Amateur Athletic Union-sanctioned Tier II junior ice hockey team based out of Gilbert, Arizona. The Knights were a part of the Western States Hockey League and played in the Western Division. Their home games were played at AZ Ice Gilbert in Gilbert, Arizona. The organization was operated by Arizona Hockey Club, Inc, which also runs a local youth hockey program.
The Oklahoma City Ice Hawks, formerly the Oklahoma City Jr. Blazers, were a Tier III junior ice hockey team, based in Edmond, Oklahoma, in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The Ice Hawks competed in the USA Hockey-sanctioned North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) after playing as a member of the United Hockey Union-sanctioned Western States Hockey League (WSHL) from 2014 to 2020. Their home games were played at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.
Robert Lowes is a Canadian ice hockey executive, and former ice hockey coach. He has worked as the assistant director of player personnel for the Vegas Golden Knights since 2016. Lowes led the Nipawin Hawks to the 1990 ANAVET Cup championship, before being a head coach in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for 12 seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and the Regina Pats. He twice won the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy as the WHL Coach of the Year, and twice won the CHL Coach of the Year Award. Lowes also coached the Canada men's national under-18 ice hockey team, and later became director of amateur scouting for the Ottawa Senators.
