HNO Player Movement Flow Chart
HNO Player Movement Guide
Preamble
There have oftentimes been lots of questions and uncertainty with regards to player movement policies and procedures at the U15-U18 levels in Hockey Northwestern Ontario. As HNO is a member partner of Hockey Canada all player movement procedures fall under Hockey Canadas Transfer Regulations.
HNO recognizes the geographical barriers that come with our region and have passed two motions to help reduce these barriers. These motions are most easily understood if they are broken into separate age groups.
U15 eligible players:
Players who are eligible for U15 must follow the transfer regulations (H. Transfers) outlined in Hockey Canada’s By-Laws, Regulations, and History.
U16 eligible players:
Players who are eligible for U16 must follow the transfer regulations (H. Transfers) outlined in Hockey Canada’s By-Laws, Regulations, and History.
Regardless of a player’s draft status to an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) club, should they desire to depart from the branch, they are obligated to undergo the appeals process with the National Appeals Committee as stipulated under Hockey Canada Regulation H.1.
In February 2022, the HNO Board of Directors adopted a motion to issue a letter of support for any player drafted to the OHL seeking to transfer branches for participation in Junior hockey within Ontario. It is crucial to note that this letter of support is merely one component of the comprehensive appeal process and does not guarantee approval from the National Appeals Committee.
U18 eligible players:
Players who are not in their final year of U18 eligibility must follow the transfer regulations (H. Transfers) outlined in Hockey Canada’s By-Laws, Regulations, and History. As per Hockey Canada Regulation H.1 (b), branches may enter into agreements with other branches to authorize inter-branch for players in their last year of U18 eligibility, given they will be playing Junior Hockey.
In February 2022, the HNO Board of Directors passed a motion to allow HNO President and Executive Director authority to enter into agreements with Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO) and the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) respectively. These agreements are revisited each season and may be terminated at the end of each playing season by either party.
For the 2024/2025 season, HNO has entered into two separate agreements with HEO and OHF respectively, to allow players in their final year of U18 eligibility to transfer between HNO and HEO/OHF to play Junior Hockey.
This agreement does not pertain to players wishing to transfer from HEO to OHF or vice versa.
You can view all of Hockey Canada’s By-Laws, Regulations, and History here: https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Downloads/2022-23-bylaws-e.pdf
