Welcome to Hockey Saint-Laurent’s 2022-2023 season! As we shift into fall, we are excited to get the kids back on the ice and get the season going.

This year, with the re-opening of Arena Raymond Bourque we are looking forward to providing your children with a full schedule of hockey to develop their skills, keep them active and provide many fun and memorable moments.

As such, this communication is meant to provide you with all the information that you will need to know to be ready for the start of the season.

Single-letter program pre-season:
The single letter preseason development period will start September 6th and run through mid-October.

During this period, players will be assigned to groups and participate in development practices and inter-group games (scrimmages) to allow them to get ready for the season and practice new skills. Parents should expect 1-2 practices per week plus at least one game. Please check your Team Snap for the schedule.

In addition, this year an independent professional evaluation team has been contracted to create and balance player levels / team assignment. This team will be on the ice with your children to directly evaluate their skills based on standardized criteria and are fully responsible for assigning them to the appropriate level.

This approach will ensure your children are well positioned to develop and have fun playing at a level that is appropriate for them. We ask for your support and understanding as we implement this new approach.

Player level assignment and single letter teams will be finalized in early October.

Double-letter program pre-season:
The double letter EHL North Stars main try-out camp will start September 6th. Double letter selections will be made starting September 9th and team rosters will be finalized by September 26th. Please note that double letter team fees are due once the teams have been finalized.

More information and the try-out camp schedule are available on the EHL North Stars website.

Note, players taking part in the try-out camp are also encouraged to take part in the single letter evaluation (see above). Efforts will be made to avoid overlap as best as possible between double letter camp and single letter evaluation (double letter camp is priority). All players released from the North Stars should return to their respective minor hockey association.

Hockey sur Mesure:
We are excited to introduce our new Hockey sur Mesure program! This program will allow Hockey Saint-Laurent to provide a new opportunity for your children to enjoy hockey through a mix of player development sessions and friendly games.

Hockey sur Mesure registration is still ongoing and groups / schedules will be finalized by the end of September. The season will start at the end of September with the target to schedule all sessions on Tuesday evenings.

Parents of registered children will be contacted directly with more information later in September.

Skills development and special clinics:
With the re-opening of Arena Raymond Bourque, Hockey Saint-Laurent will be offering additional optional development opportunities throughout the year.

This includes:

  • Player and goalie skills clinics with a certified developer
  • First Shift introduction to hockey clinics for new players (both boys and girls)
  • Coaching clinics for parents interested in learning or improving their coaching skills

All clinics will be taught by certified developers. More information will be provided In October

Volunteers:
Volunteers who are able to donate their time to support our kids is key to making the season a success!

Please note that all volunteers including coaches, assistant coaches, managers, assistant managers are now required to register on Hockey Canada Registry (“HCR”) (https://account.spordle.com/login). There is no cost to do so.

This is a new feature in HCR that permits all volunteers to submit required information and sign the code of ethics. It is also mandatory to be completed in order to participate in tournaments.

Season start and key dates:
Please take note of the following important dates:

  • Single Letters Preseason & Double Letters Camp Start: September 6th
  • Single Letters Regular Season start: U13-U18 (October 15th), U11 (October 22nd), U9 (December 3rd)
  • Double letters Regular Season start: Please consult the North Stars website
  • Holiday break: December 23rd to January 8th
  • End of Regular Season: March 3rd
  • Playoffs Start: March 3rd
  • Regionals Start: March 15th
  • End of Playoffs: April 6th

Jerseys:
This year, Hockey Saint-Laurent is taking steps to minimize our environmental impact by reducing the amount of waste produced each season through the production of our practice and game jerseys. Each year Hockey Saint-Laurent produces over a thousand jerseys and most of which are not used for more than one season.

This year with the support of our sponsors, we are initiating a game / practice jersey program to maximize the useful life of our kids jerseys to last approximately 2-3 seasons. This measure is aligned to best practices found in most hockey associations across Canada and promotes the environmentally friendly approach of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

This will also help Hockey Saint-Laurent to continue to expand our programs by focusing funding on development opportunities for our children.

We ask your support to help us make this program a success by taking care of the jerseys assigned to your children and ensuring their prompt return at the end of the season.

Lastly we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our generous sponsors whose contributions allowed us to implement this new program:

Sami Fruits

Crevier

Metrospec

Mantra Pharma

IGA Extra (Famille Duchemin)

Village Apartments

PRO – Produits de Patisserie Orientale

Big Daddy Fitness

Marc Harroch (ReMax Real Estate)

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