Post #129 – 8/31/23 – Get Set, Go!
Ready or Not, The Youth and NCAA Season Is Here.
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Pipeline Schedule Change
First, a scheduling note. Your inboxes will be a little less cluttered as I make a change to my Pipeline posting schedule. Now that my season has begun at Yale, (we got on the ice yesterday for the first time), I’ll be dialing back the frequency of my posts – to once per week, perhaps a second(?) dependent on news etc., of course. I’m shooting to get these out for Wednesday’s.
That said, I hope everyone enjoyed the frequency of posts in the summer and shorter format. I’ll pick that type of schedule back up in December as more time allows, then again after the season concludes.
On to today’s post!
Busy Weeks Ahead, NCAA Coaching and Pro Women’s Hockey News
Labor Day weekend is usually the unofficial start to the youth hockey and fall NCAA recruiting season – and it’s here!
Major recruiting events are taking place this weekend in Massachusetts with the NAHA Labor Day Showcase, Pittsburgh with the PIP Labor Day Girls Fest, and in Ontario – the Etobicoke Dolphins Labor Day Exhibition Series. Close to 150 teams are taking part and many more are hitting the ice with training camps to begin their seasons.
NCAA D-I programs have begun to hit the ice as well, at least for those who have started classes as per NCAA rules. Some D-I schools won’t begin class the 2nd full week into September.
Recruiting for NCAA coaches in the Fall is like NASCAR. For years the first few weeks of the month have been dominated by the same key events in the same locations, around the same weekends. Although the move to Boston for the NAHA showcase is a major change. It’s a month strait of hitting the road almost every weekend for coaches if they wanted to. Next on the calendar after Labor Day will be back-to-back Stoney Creek Showcase weekends in Hamilton, Ontario. First up is the Midget U18/U16 event next weekend and then their ‘University’ U22/U19 showcase the following one. Out in MN the Girls Upper Mid-West High School Elite League kicks off. And out in Calgary is the Firestarter U18AAA Weekend, the same weekend of the Stoney Creek University showcase.
Coaching News
The school year has begun for many, but positions still remain open and some still to be filled. Here is what I have for this week.
Colgate… Has hired former Colgate captain Breanne Wilson-Bennett ’18 as an Assistant Coach and Dir. of Operations.
Maine… Has hired former Dartmouth Assistant Coach Nina Rogers for the same role.
Plymouth State Univ… Has hired Ben Chipman, a 2022 Plymouth State men’s hockey alum.
At D-III, Head Coaches have yet to be announced at Hamilton, Marian, Potsdam, and St. Mary’s.
PWHL Announcement
On Tuesday the Professional Women’s Hockey League or PWHL announced its plans for 6 teams, a 15-round player selection draft, and free agency.
Here is what was announced:
Teams will be based in 3 Canadian cities–Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto and 3 in the US–Boston, New York, and Minneapolis for a 6-team league to start. 23-24 will consist of a 24-game schedule, with 32 in future years. Around Jan 1 is the purposed start date.
There will be a 10-day Free-Agency signing period beginning Sept. 1 where teams may sign up to 3 players. NCAA/USPORTS players with eligibility are not eligible to sign.
There will be a 15-Round player draft in Toronto on Sept. 18. Players wishing to play in the 23-24 season must declare for the draft by Sept. 3. Draft order will be determined by a lottery (details not known yet).
Teams can only sign 20 players to ‘standard contract agreements’ in advance to training camp, with a minimum 28 players at camp. 23 players must be on it’s active roster by a ‘compliance date’ which is TBD. The league minimum standard player contract will be $35K per year and no more than 9 players may be paid the minimum. 6 players on each team will be signed to 3-year contracts of no less than 80K per year.
Training camps open the week of Nov. 15
Facilities for each team have not been named yet.
I am trying to understand all that is in play for the draft and how NCAA players (or even younger) may or may not be eligible. More to come on that…
Needless to say these are exciting time for the grow of the sport. For more, be sure to follow Hailey Salvain of The Athletic HERE.
See you all next Wednesday…
Until Next Time Everyone… Be Well and Take Care,
-Streams for games in the ECAC can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in the WCHA can be found HERE. Subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams in Hockey East this year can be found HERE. Hockey East once again is streaming all game live and for FREE.
-Streams for CHA games with the exception of Penn St. can be found HERE. Paid subscriptions will be necessary to watch games.
-Streams for NEWHA games can be found at each teams’ website. Subscriptions may be necessary to watch games.
NCAA Coaching Changes… Keep up with all the coaching changes across D-I and D-III HERE.
Recruiting Events/League Online Directory… Find all the recruiting events on WCH.org right HERE. Want to add your event? Click HERE to fill out our WCH.org event form.
Grant Kimball is founder and contributing writer at Women’s College Hockey.org and beginning his 4th season as an Assistant Coach with the Yale University women’s hockey program. Grant has developed an experienced perspective in the world of women’s ice hockey, having coached and recruited players from across the globe during his 25+ year amateur and NCAA coaching career. He has coached at 6 NCAA DIII and DI programs in the NCHA (D3), the CHA, WCHA, Hockey East, ECAC, and the Ivy League (DI). Beyond coaching, Grant served as a site representative for the 2019 NCAA quarterfinal of the D-I NCAA Tournament. He also currently serves as an Officer with the American Hockey Coaches Association as Vice President of Membership and sits on the AHCA’s Women’s Hockey Executive Committee.
