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Category: Girls Hockey

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2024 Girls Hockey Hockey Tryouts Minor Hockey Player Development Youth Hockey

10 Tips for Youth Hockey Tryouts

Tryout season has begun in both the United States and Canada. Having now gone through the process from 10U all the way up to 19U now, I have seen many of the different situations that occur at this time of year. The entire process was non-linear with lots of bumps along the way. Things didn’t always work out perfectly in the short term, but it all worked out in the long term. Based on our family’s experience, here are some tips for this year’s tryout season:

1. Player development is more important than winning games

Regardless of what age or level of youth hockey you play, it is 100% more important for your player to improve as much as possible rather than winning games.  Now, losing sucks and winning championships can certainly help with exposure.  But unless you are old enough to be recruited to the next level, given a choice between playing on a winning team, but not getting better or losing but taking major steps in your development – it should be a no-brainer which one to take. 

2. The best coach should be the highest priority in deciding where to play

There are many many factors in deciding where to try out and play, including distance from home, cost, practice and game schedule etc. But the most important should be to find the best coach that will develop your player the most. 

3. Try not to be the best or worst player on the team

All things being equal, you want to be in the middle of the pack player on a team  – not the top or the bottom. Although or one season it is okay to be at the top or the bottom. Being the best means you may not be challenged as much as you are capable of. And being the worst can cause lots of frustrations. If you are in the middle, that is a great opportunity to work your way up the lineup if you can.  Of course all players want to be on the power play and penalty kill.  A good coach will cycle through all the lines on a team. 

4. Politics is a fact of life

Like it or not, there is politics in tryouts.  Just accept it for what it is and recognize that it may or may not work in your favor. Wasting energy on why a player was put ahead of yours is not going to be productive. The reality is that there is politics at every level of hockey especially at the district/provincial and national level. Just try to be the best player you can be and let the chips fall where they may. If you are that close to making or not making a team, then that is something that is within your control for next time by just getting better.

5. The most important training has already taken place

The last week of training before tryouts won’t likely be the difference between making a team and not. While there are small things that can help a player succeed at tryouts – the things that will most impact their level of play and success at tryouts will have taken place during the months leading up to tryouts. There shouldn’t be a need to spend 3 hours each night at the rink the week before tryouts.

6. Coaches are also evaluating the parents

Many coaches are judging parents as much as the kids. Nothing wrong with getting to know the coaching staff and how they plan to run the team. Also, it is important to make sure that you share the same philosophies on how the coach plans to run the team. But be aware that the coach is also evaluating if you will be a “high maintenance” parent.

7. Tryouts may not actually be tryouts

As kids get older (i.e. U14 and above), it’s okay that the coach already decided on many if not all of the players who will make the team. Tryouts are just a point in time.  Depending on the club, many coaches run “development camps” leading up to tryouts. This way they can review players over an extended period of time.  In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with them using that evaluation period to already decide if they want a player on their team or not.

8. Many clubs make money on tryouts – don’t waste yours

Be wary of some clubs who use tryouts as a way to make money.   There are many clubs who charge several hundred dollars for players to tryouts and will accepts 3-4 times as many players to try out as they have spots.  While occasionally trying out for the “experience” or “getting more ice time” might make sense, you should know if your player has a real chance of making the team before you show up.  Don’t waste your money on attending a tryout when that money would be better spent on a lesson or two with a skills coach.

9. Coaches aren’t perfect

Don’t expect perfection from coaches.  Your player isn’t perfect and neither are coaches.  Each club has a different way of evaluating players – some as a group with  “objective” observers and some with just the coaching staff for a team.  No method is perfect, however some are more sophisticated than others.  Know before you show up what to expect and realize just like players and referees, coaches don’t always get everything exactly right. If you don’t what to expect before you show up to a tryout and know the pros and cons of how a club conducts tryouts, then you share some of the blame too.

10. Feedback is a gift

Ask for feedback in a professional manner after tryouts if you didn’t make the team.  If an organization really cares about youth hockey development they would be happy to provide additional insights as to why a specific player didn’t make the cut.  Take the feedback as a gift even if you disagree with the feedback.  Do not argue or make your case as to why you saw things differently. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you at least know why and could potentially take action on the feedback. Get better for your next tryout and try out for a team where your player would not be so close to making or not making the team.

Bonus: Hockey makes players better people

Not making a team can be very emotional and challenging.  But I guarantee, if you have a resilient player, it will all work out fine.  Both my kids did not make teams in youth hockey, but they still ended up playing at the highest level of hockey for their age group when they got older.  Take is as an good life lesson.

ICYMI: Watch this Episode on Girls Tryouts with Alyssa Gagliardi

Champs App Messaging 

You can easily select a coach & email template and the message automatically populates the coach’s info, school and your personal information from your Champs App profile.  Pick the Upcoming Events template and the Messaging tool with magically insert your upcoming games or events into the message.

Watch the demo (Desktop Version) (Mobile Version) and try it out today!

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2024 2024 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey Team Coach Directory Women's College Hockey Youth Hockey

How the Champ App Messaging Tool Works

Available Coaches 

We currently have 3 sets of coaches that you can send emails to:

·         Division I Women’s Hockey Coaches (all coaches)

·         Division III Women’s Hockey Coaches (all head coaches and several assistants

·         U Sports (Canada) Women’s Hockey Coaches (head coaches only)

Champs App Messaging sends real emails to coaches (regardless of whether or not they have an active Champs account).  Coaches will receive the emails at their regular school email address (not within Champs App).

Send Yourself a Test Email

You have the ability to send messages by email address. So if you want to test the tool by sending an email to yourself you can. Or if you want to send an email to a non-college coach, you just need to put in their email address in the Step 1 box.

Message Templates

There are currently 4 templates that you can use to send emails to coaches.  Just pick the template that is right for your situation.  We will be adding more templates and features in the near future.

Note: The Subject line and the contents of the email can all be customized even after you select a template. This way you can ensure sending a unique message to a coach.

Make Sure Your Player Profile is Up-To-Date

Every template automatically populates with information from your Player Profile into the email. So if you want to save yourself time from entering the same information multiple times, make sure your current team, graduation year, jersey #, upcoming schedule etc. are up-to-date.

Email Details

Please note that the actual email gets sent via Champs App on a player’s behalf (with your name appearing as the Sender). Specifically, it is sent from a generic Champs email address.  BUT, the “reply-to” email address is your own email address.  In addition, your email address is included in the template by default. Most coaches probably won’t notice where it is sent from (they will focus on the name not the sender’s email address), but it is important for users to know exactly how it works.

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2024 2024 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey USA Hockey Nationals Women's College Hockey

Part II – USA Hockey Nationals Team Selection & Seedings – Girls U16 Tier I

This is Part II about the analysis of USA Hockey 2024 Nationals Girls Tier I Hockey playoffs taking place in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Here is Part I – Girls Tier I 14U

This analysis look at the teams selected for the Girls Tier I U16 playoffs. Given the importance of being seen at Nationals from recruiting perspective, I examined the at-large team selections and the seedings.

As a reminder: If you are heading to the Tier 2 girls playoffs, you can still be scouted by DI coaches. This week I spoke with a DI coach who will be in East Lansing and will be looking for the top players from smaller regions that can’t easily play for a Tier I team.

Girls 16U Selections

Below you can see the ranking of the 16 teams who will be playing at the 16U Tier I Nationals. The 3 highlighted teams (Minnesota Magazine, Massachusetts Spitfires and Minnesota Hardware) are the at-large invitations, then there is the host team (Florida Alliance) and the other 12 are the district champions.

The USA Hockey 2024 National Guidebook provides the following description for how they decide on the at-large teams and seedings:

Unlike the U14 Tier 1 Selections, all of the at-large teams made sense since they were the 3 highest ranked teams on My Hockey Rankings that didn’t win their district. The only thing which is confusing to me is that lack of consistency of Minnesota Elite League teams accepting at-large invitations. It seems that some highly ranked teams do and some don’t attend nationals. I will need to research this further.

As far as the last team to miss the playoffs, the Mid Fairfield CT Stars had a 95.57 which was 0.93 below the last at-large team, Minnesota Hardware. Similar to the U14s, that is a pretty large difference in ratings (in other age groups I’ve seen a rating difference of only 0.01 or 0.02 between bubble teams) and thus there shouldn’t be much concern about the Stars not being selected based on their rating.

Girls 16U Seedings

For the U16 age groups, the seedings are non-controversial. They match identically to the MyHockeyRankings sorting of the 16 qualified teams.

However, if the selection committee looked at the last 10 games for each of the top 10 teams (as they appear to do in other age groups), there is a reasonable argument to be made for a re-arranging of the Top 8 teams. Specifically, two of the at-large teams could have been seeded higher. The same for Belle Tire. Especially since those teams’ full-year ratings were so close to the teams above them in the rankings.

The next posts will discuss the USA Hockey Nationals Girls U19 selections and seedings.

Want to be scouted at Nationals? Use Champs App Messaging to quickly & easily let coaches know your game schedule

Let NCAA coaches know you’ll be at Nationals and your game schedule. The Champs App Messaging tool is the fast, easy way to send error-free messages to coaches before and during the event.

You can easily select a coach & email template and the message automatically populates the coach’s info, school and your personal information from your Champs App profile.  Pick the Upcoming Events template and the Messaging tool with magically insert your upcoming games at Nationals into the message.

Watch the demo (Desktop Version) (Mobile Version) and try it out today!

Categories
2024 2024 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey USA Hockey Nationals Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

Part III – USA Hockey Nationals Team Selection & Seedings – Girls U19 Tier I

This is Part III about the analysis of USA Hockey 2024 Nationals Girls Tier I Hockey playoffs taking place in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Here is Part I for U14 and Part II for U16

This analysis look at the teams selected for the Girls Tier I U19 playoffs. Given the importance of being seen at Nationals from recruiting perspective, I examined the at-large team selections and the seedings.

As a reminder: If you are heading to the Tier 2 girls playoffs, you can still be scouted by DI coaches. This week I spoke with a DI coach who will be in East Lansing and will be looking for the top players from smaller regions that can’t easily play for a Tier I team.

Girls 19U Selections

Below you can see the ranking of the 16 teams who will be playing at the 19U Tier I Nationals. The 4 highlighted teams (East Coast Wizards, NAHA, Team Wisconsin and the Connecticut Polar Bears) are the at-large invitations. Unlike other age groups, there is no U19 team from the Northern Plains district – thus the 4th at-large team. Then there is the host team (Florida Alliance) and the other 11 are the district champions.

The USA Hockey 2024 National Guidebook provides the following description for how they decide on the at-large teams and seedings:

Similar to the the U14 Tier 1 at-large Selections, it is unclear why the Minnesota Empowers and Tradition teams are not at-large teams. Maybe they opted out due to the higher priority of the Minnesota High School hockey playoffs. There is a lack of consistency of Minnesota Elite League teams accepting at-large invitations.

As far as the last team to miss the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Pens Elite has a 95.20 rating which is only 0.24 below the last at-large team, the Connecticut Polar Bears. But it seems this is large enough to make the Polar Bears the at-large selection.

Girls 19U Seedings

For the U19 age groups, the seedings do not match the rankings. Shattuck St Mary’s is ranked #1, but seeded #2 behind Bishop Kearney Selects. East Coast Wizards are ranked higher, but seeded lower than the Boston Jr Eagles. And NAHA is ranked higher than the Mid Fairfield Stars, but seeded lower. As described in the USA Hockey Guide above, it is likely a combination of head-to-head and Last 10 Games that were factors in these seedings.

Specifically, BK Selects beat Shattuck in their only game back in October, and but Shattuck still had a much higher rank in their last 10 games (see below). In addition, S-SM has a 0.65 higher rating than BK, which is quite large. So it seems the head-to-head was the primary factor in the flipping of positions. I suspect this will have impact the motivations of both teams should they meet in the playoff round.

The Boston Jr Eagles won the Massachusetts district, so it seems to make sense that they would be higher than the Boston Jr Eagles.

For NAHA and Mid Fairfield, being seeded #8 vs #9 doesn’t really make a material difference, since they will be in the same division. It just impacts the order of games and who is the home team when they play each other. The two teams never played each other during the season, but Mid Fairfield has the higher rating over the last 10 games.

Here are the links to Part I – Tier I Girls 14U and Part II – Tier I Girls 16U

Want to be scouted at Nationals? Use Champs App Messaging to quickly & easily let coaches know your game schedule

Let NCAA coaches know you’ll be at Nationals and your game schedule. The Champs App Messaging tool is the fast, easy way to send error-free messages to coaches before and during the event.

You can easily select a coach & email template and the message automatically populates the coach’s info, school and your personal information from your Champs App profile.  Pick the Upcoming Events template and the Messaging tool with magically insert your upcoming games at Nationals into the message.

Watch the demo (Desktop Version) (Mobile Version) and try it out today!

Categories
2024 2024 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey USA Hockey Nationals Women's College Hockey

USA Hockey Nationals Team Selection & Seedings – U14 Tier I Girls

Being selected to go to Tier I Nationals is a big deal beyond just competing in the national playoffs to win a championship. Almost every NCAA DI women’s hockey program sends at least one coach to scout players and watch the best teams compete against each other. It gives U.S. players another great opportunity to be seen. While there are many elite players that play for teams that don’t end up qualifying for Nationals – it isn’t the end of the world for them, there are still many other opportunities to be seen (e.g. showcases, USA Hockey camps etc.).  However, playing at Nationals is an excellent opportunity and timing to get seen. While the process to make Nationals for District winners and the host team is clear, the at-large selection process is a little murkier. This analysis looks at the at-large selections and how the teams were seeded.

I recently wrote about the selections for the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey playoffs and how the selections and seedings compared to their MyHockeyRankings ratings.  Unlike the NCAA, the USA Hockey National Playoffs actually uses MyHockeyRankings to help select the at-large teams for both youth and girls divisions. On the youth side, in addition to the 12 district winners, there are typically 4 at-large teams selected for Tier I (AAA). On the girl’s side, they also have 12 district winners. However, this is the final year where the girls host team gets an automatic spot in addition to that districts winner. So there are two teams from the Southeast district this year.  Next year there will also be 4 at-large teams for Tier I girls.

Candidly, I haven’t taken the time to learn how the Tier II selections are made for Nationals. And I certainly don’t understand how the High School Girls teams are selected – because the last couple of winners have not really played high school hockey teams for their regular schedule, but mostly against other Tier I (AAA) classified teams.  So this 3-part analysis will focus solely on the 14U, 16U and 19U Girls Tier I selection and seeds for next week’s USA Hockey 2024 Nationals taking place in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Note: If you are heading to the Tier 2 girls playoffs, you can still be scouted by DI coaches. This week I spoke with a DI coach who will be in East Lansing and will be looking for the top players from smaller regions that can’t easily play for a Tier I team.

Girls 14U Selections

Below you can see the ranking of the 16 teams who will be playing at the 14U Tier I Nationals. The 3 highlighted teams (Minnestota Walleye, Assabet Valley and Chicago Mission) are the at-large invitations, then there is the host team (Florida Alliance) and the other 12 are the district champions.

The USA Hockey 2024 National Guidebook provides the following description for how they decide on the at-large teams and seedings:

From a selection standpoint, the only team which is not clear is the Minnesota Lakers not being selected for an at-large spot. The two reasons I can think of are a) the first at-large spot already went to a Minnesota district team (Walleye) so maybe the committee didn’t want to take two at-large teams from the same district. The other might be that I have heard Minnesota players care more about their High School playoffs than USA Nationals, therefore getting re-organized (after their High School season ends_ and the cost to play in Florida may not be appealing to some teams. If someone has more information on these decisions, please feel free to provide more information.

As far as the last team to miss the playoffs (excluding the Lakers), the Bay State Breakers were had a 95.48 which was 0.77 below the last at-large team, Chicago Mission. In my experience, that is a pretty large difference in ratings (in other age groups I’ve seen a rating difference of only 0.01 or 0.02 between bubble teams) and thus there shouldn’t be much concern about the Breakers not being selected based on their rating.

Girls 14U Seedings

Pretty much all the seedings make sense with 2 exceptions:

  1. Minnesota Walleye were ranked #1 according to MHR, but Lovell Academy was given the #1 seed.  The two teams never played each other during the season, so that could not be a factor.  However, when looking at just the last 10 games for each team, it seems Lovell Academy had a higher rating by 0.3 goals – so that may have been the determining factor in giving Lovell Academy the #1 seed.

2. The Minnesota Green Giants and Philadelphia Jr Flyers were ranked #5 and #6 respectively according to MHR. But the Jr Flyers were given the higher seed. But looking closer, both teams had an identical 95.81 rating. And the Jr Flyers had a 0.3 higher rating over their last 10 games – so this could likely be the determining factor for promoting the Jr Flyers.

The next posts will discuss the USA Hockey Nationals Girls U16 and U19 selections and seedings.

Want to be scouted at Nationals? Use Champs App Messaging to quickly & easily let coaches know your game schedule

Let NCAA coaches know you’ll be at Nationals and your game schedule. The Champs App Messaging tool is the fast, easy way to send error-free messages to coaches before and during the event.

You can easily select a coach & email template and the message automatically populates the coach’s info, school and your personal information from your Champs App profile.  Pick the Upcoming Events template and the Messaging tool with magically insert your upcoming games at Nationals into the message.

Watch the demo (Desktop Version) (Mobile Version) and try it out today!

Categories
College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey Hockey Tryouts Parents Player Development Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey Youth Hockey

Top 5 Life Skills Developed  from the Hockey Recruiting Process

As a parent, I have now gone through multiple “hockey recruiting” processes.  Beyond just club team tryouts, we have been through hockey academy recruiting, college hockey recruiting and even the beginnings of junior hockey tryouts.  No matter how things worked out with each team/school being considered, I have repeatedly been pleased with the life skills my kids have learned from the experience.  When I look back when I was their age, it would be several years into my college days before I would get exposure to many of these important life events.

I thought I would codify my Top 5 life skills kids can learn from the recruiting process.

1. Sales & Marketing

Even if you are a top talent player, you still need to let teams and coaches know you are interested in their program.  Sending “cold emails” is a great skill to learn at any age – but getting this experience as a teenager is a pretty amazing opportunity.  Learning how to introduce and promote yourself is not easy, especially in writing.  Then to also persuade the audience/coach with a “call-to-action”  (e.g. set-up a call, come watch me play, look at my video) is about as real-life as it gets in the sales and marketing world.

Furthermore, taking some swings when you know you will likely strike out is another great lesson.  I know of a few players who reached out to coaches when they thought the teams wouldn’t be interested, only to find out they were interested and there were other reasons for them not contacting the player.  You never know if you don’t ask!

2. The recruiting process is imperfect

The last company I worked at focused on the corporate recruiting process.  Very few companies are great at delivering a great candidate experience.  Most organizations have flaws because of the complexity and coordination challenges in organizations that are considering dozens of potential employees.   The same holds true for hockey recruiting.  It is unfortunate the number of times I have heard from parents and seen first-hand a bad candidate experience.  Everything from never getting a response from a team, a coach ghosting a player after having a call and agreeing to next steps or just not being transparent/candid  happens all the time. The college recruiting process isn’t perfect because coaches aren’t perfect.  Many have not had regular company experience, so they may not be well-trained in hiring best practices unless someone taught them how. Not all of them care about closing the loop with players they won’t be making offers to.  Good thing to learn for a teenager to learn at this age, because it reflects the real world.

3. Rejection 

Every player gets rejected at some point. Whether it is not making a team or not getting an offer from a school.  All the best companies (Google, Apple, Amazon etc.) attract the best people and reject the significant majority of folks who want to work at these companies.  So even if your dream was to play at Wisconsin, or if you set very realistic goals as your top choice school, sometime there isn’t a match.  However, things almost always work out in the end. You end up where you were supposed to be.  Dealing with a major “hockey career” rejection in your teen years is not only something you will recover from, it will also make you stronger.

4. The importance of references and a good reputation

In the real world corporate recruiting process, hiring teams do reference checks.  This is even more important in a team sport like hockey. Coaches will find folks they trust who really know the players they are considering.  Once again, I can think of multiple examples where a connection to the coach (former coach or teammate, parent etc.) helped  create opportunities or finalize an offer.  As a player, having a good character and ensuring people of influence at every level can vouch for you, is a big deal.

5. Decision making – Having lots of good options

Finally, if things go well on both the hockey development and recruiting side, you will have options. Sometimes it will be easy to pick where you want to go.  But sometimes, you will be in the fortunate position to have many great options.  Figuring out all the different factors and prioritizing them across multiple opportunities can be both difficult and stressful.  You may be afraid to make a life-impacting mistake. Learning how to make these types of decisions is probably the most important skill to develop.  These types of situations come up all the time and figuring out which one-way door to choose is a phenomenal experience to learn at such a young age.

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2024 2025 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey Women's College Hockey

Q4 2023 DI Women’s College Hockey Commitment Rate Update

This is an update to our quarterly posts which track the number of publicly announced commitments in DI women’s college hockey.

We’ve Changed our Commit Tracking Methodology

For this update, we have significantly changed our data collection methodology on tracking women’s college hockey commits.  In previous quarterly updates, we primarily relied on data from the Women’s College Commitments (WCC) tracking page. Using their data we were able to track announcements on a monthly bases and show trends month-over-month and year-over-year:

Q3 2023 DI Women’s College Hockey Commitment Rate Update

However, we always knew that their data only represented a percentage of all commits for a given year (and relied on the data to be “consistently incomplete” year over year).   For example, for the 2023-24 NCAA DI women’s college hockey season, there are 284 first-year players.  While WCC only recorded 185 of those commits – so, only about 65% of all commits.  While it is almost impossible to track every commit, since many players don’t make public announcements & it is much harder to track European commits, we have endeavored to be more holistic in data collection.

Our new method includes not just WCC, but also information from Elite Prospects, social media posts by players and teams, youth team website rosters and any other public information we can find.  As a result, we have redesigned how we present the data and will only present the data from a quarterly perspective going forward.

As a result, we believe we are closer to tracking ~90% of all commits which is much higher than our previous tracking of ~65%.

Q4 Commitment Details

We recently published the status of women’s college hockey DI commits by position and discussed our analysis on “where and why” about the numbers:

Forward Recruits: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Analyzing the Defensive Lineups: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Navigating the Tight Goalie Market: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Below is how the overall data is trending for commits & by position. As discussed in the previous posts, the incoming class of 2024 is almost full, but there seems to be many spots still open (especially at NEWHA schools) for 2025.

However, it appears that the total size of the incoming 2024 class will be smaller than previous years – mostly due to 5th year Covid eligibility for many student-athletes reducing the number of available spots. For 2025, it is a little too early to tell, but it looks like it will be a regular sized class with over 280 commits – especially with the addition of new DI women’s hockey team, the Delware Blue Hens.

By-Position Year-Over-Year Commit Rate Comparison

Here is the same data as above, but broken out by position in comparison to previous years.

Comparing Q4 to Q3 2023 Total Commits for the Class of 2025

While not apples-to-apples, below is a table comparing the number of commits for the Class of 2025 from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023. As you can see about 125 commits have been announced during the last 3 months.

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2024 College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

Analyzing the Defensive Lineups: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Updated Dec. 21, 2023

This is the third of 3 posts about where things stand for each position – Goalies, Forwards and Defense – for the incoming classes of 2024 and 2025.

Read Part I of this series here: Navigating the Tight Goalie Market: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Read Part II of this series here: Forward Recruits: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Women’s DI College Hockey Total Defensive Players & Commits by Year

as of December, 2023

With 44 DI women’s ice hockey teams now in the NCAA, having 88 first-year D is pretty much exactly what you would expect if each team carries an average of 8 defenders on their roster. While there are some puts and takes (e.g. Assumption adding 7 freshmen D and 35 5th year/grad students) the 2023-24 season seemed to be an above-average recruiting class on defense. With the large number of current players with a 5th year of eligibility still available to them, it is likely that the incoming 2024 class will be small than this year’s group of D recruits.

Our current analysis shows that the Class of 2024 already has at least 74 commits – and we are likely missing a few European players from our list. Therefore, there are likely a small handful of spots still open or become available because of the transfer portal, but pretty much it seems the recruiting door for 2024 defenders has pretty much closed.

For the Class of 2025, only ~50 spots have been filled. With Delaware announcing their new DI team starting in the 2025-26 season there should be several spots available for that team. In addition, there are certainly some openings on several other teams and certainly most of the NEWHA schools – with only 4 roster spots publicly announced across those 8 teams.

Women’s DI College Hockey Defense and Commits by School & Year

as of December, 2023

A few quick thoughts:

  • Ohio State and Bemidji State only have 6 defenders listed on their roster. Would be interesting to see how they would handle not having 1 or 2 of them for a period of time (injury, playing on national teams). Clearly a F would need to move back to help out, but that would still likely have the team at a disadvantage.
  • 11 teams have 9 or more D on their rosters. For players being recruited to schools with such large rosters, they need to seriously consider the implications of being healthy scratched if they aren’t clearly in the top 6.
  • The next post will analyze the overall rosters of DI teams – including showing how many players each school has. There is a pretty big range in roster sizes (from 20 – 33 players).
Categories
2024 College Hockey Recruiting Development Camp Girl's Showcase Girls Hockey

2024 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

2024 Girls Hockey Event Calendar

Here is a list of 2024 Girls Hockey Tournaments, Showcases, Development Camps and Summer Camps.

This is a partial list. Feel free to submit a new event using our Feedback Form

OrganizationEventStart DateEnd DateLocationCityAges
200x85 TournamentsCCM MLK Girls1/14/20241/16/2024Massachusetts12U - 19U AAA/AA
Premier Ice ProspectsGreat Lakes Girls Fest2/2/20242/4/2024Detroit, MI19U through 10U Tier II
Premier Ice ProspectsMotor City Girls Fest2/2/20242/4/2024Detroit, MI19U through 10U Tier I
JWHLChallenge Cup 20242/17/20242/20/2024Rockville/Arlington, VA14U, 16U, 19U
OneHockeyOneHockey Connecticut GIRLS3/8/20243/10/2024DANBURY ICEDanbury, CTGirls Tier II (AA) 19U, 16U, 14U, 12U, 10U Girls Tier III (A) 19U, 16U, 14U, 12U, 10U
Pony Tail Tournament Pony Tail Tournament 3/15/20243/17/2024Baltimore, MDU10, U12A, U12B, U14A, U14B, U16A, U16B, U19
OS Hockey2024 OS SPRING FESTIVAL3/16/20243/19/2024Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MN
St Cloud State UniversitySt. Cloud State Women's Hockey Camps3/29/20243/30/2024Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, MinnesotaAges 6-16
RINK Hockey Academy KelownaFemale University Showcase 20244/4/20244/7/2024Winfield Arena & RINK Kelowna Training Centre Kelowna, BC2005-2009 YOB
Delta Hockey AcademyDHA Female University Showcase4/9/20244/10/2024Planet IceDelta, B.C2006-2011 YOB
College Hockey ShowcasesSpring Break Showcase4/13/20245/15/2024Fort Meyers, FL2004-2010 Birth Years
The Rose SeriesCowgirl Shootout4/18/20244/21/2024Nashville, TN2012 Birth Years
Showcase Hockey2024 Minnesota Meltdown AAA Tournament4/19/20244/21/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
200x85 TournamentsCCM CHI-TOWN SHUFFLE4/19/20244/21/2024Chicago, ILGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RINK Hockey Academy WinnipegFemale University Showcase 20244/19/20244/21/2024Rink Training CenterWinnipeg, MB2005-2009 (2010) YOB
Premier Ice ProspectsHockey Hall of Fame Future Legends4/24/20244/27/2024Toronto, ON2012 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRush Spring Showcase (Florida)4/26/20244/28/2024Palm Beach Skate ZoneWest Palm Beach, FL2004-2012 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPIPs American Dream5/3/20245/5/2024American DreamEast Rutherford, NJ2010- 2013 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsCCM Selects Training Camp - Notre Dame (Girls)5/3/20245/5/2024South Bend, IN2010-2016
OS Hockey2024 WHITECAPS CUP (HS)5/3/20245/5/2024MInneapolis, MNHigh School
Premier Ice ProspectsPremier Prospects Boston5/8/20245/10/2024The Edge Sports CenterBoston, MA2009-2010 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPremier Prep Prospects5/9/20245/12/2024The Edge Sports CenterBoston, MA2009-2012 Birth Years
The Rose SeriesLow Country Classic5/9/20245/12/2024Charleston, SC2011 Birth Year
The Rose SeriesThe Battle at the Beach5/9/20245/12/2024Fort Meyers, FL2010 Birth Year
Premier Ice ProspectsTop Prospects5/17/20245/19/2024Jacksonville, FL2010 - 2013 Birth Year
Showcase Hockey2024 Independent Classic5/17/20245/19/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Goalie Clinic5/17/2024York, PA2006 - 2010 Birth Years
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Exposure Clinic5/18/20245/19/2024York, PA2006 - 2010 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRUSH RISING STARS PRE-COLLEGE SHOWCASE5/31/20246/2/2024CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2010 and 2011 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRUSH ATOMIC CHALLENGE5/31/20246/2/2024CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2012 and 2013 Birth Years
OS HockeyPROSPECTS/FUTURES WEEKEND 1 Camp5/31/20246/3/2024Bloomington Ice GardensMinneapolis, MN
Premier Ice ProspectsWestern Prospects Camp6/1/20246/3/2024Kraken Community IceplexSeattle, WA2007-2013 Birth Years
Fierce Edge AthleticsFierce ID Series - SHOWCASE EVENT6/2024Canlan OshawaOshawa, ON2010-2011 ; 2009-2007 + 06* (GRADUATION YEAR 2025) DIVISION
Ohio State UniversityMINNESOTA CAMP6/3/20246/7/2024St. Louis Park Rec Center St. Louis Park, MNGrad Years: 2026-2030
RinkSportSCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA Development Camp6/4/20246/7/2024
Premier Ice Prospects585 PIP Showcase6/7/20246/10/2024Tim Horton's IceplexRochester, NY2007-2009 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyRush College Showcase6/7/20246/10/2024CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ON2006 - 2009 Birth Years
Showcase Hockey2024 AAA Summer Showdown6/7/20246/9/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Exposure Camp in Newington, CT6/8/20246/9/2024Newington, CT2006 - 2010 Birth Years
Ohio State UniversityYOUTH CAMP6/10/20246/13/2024OSU Ice RinkColumbus, OHU8/U10 and U12 age level
Premier Ice ProspectsPREMIER PROSPECTS COMBINE6/11/20246/14/2024UPMC Sports ComplexCranberry, PA2010 - 2013 Birth Years
North American Female Elite ShowcaseThe Orion Top Prospects6/13/20246/16/2024Blaine, MN2007 - 2012 Birth Years
Fierce Edge AthleticsFIERCE FEMALE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT 20246/14/20246/16/2024Canlan OshawaOshawa, ONU9/ U11 (Tier 1 & Tier 2)/ U13 (Tier 1,Tier 2)
RinkSportRinkSport College Development Camp 6/15/20246/20/2024Babson CollegeBoston, MA2029 High School graduates or earlier
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPS6/17/20246/21/2024Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MN​​High School/ Varsity Camp #1 & #2
RinkSportBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Development Camp6/20/20246/23/2024
Premier Ice ProspectsPIPs Rochester Tournament6/21/20246/23/2024Tim Horton's IceplexRochester, NY2010 - 2013 Birth Years Tier I (AAA)
North American Premier Women's ShowcaseNorth American Premier Women's Showcase College Division6/21/20246/23/2024Merrimack College Athletics ComplexNorth Andover, MABirth Years 2007-2011 (PG's also Allowed)
Princeton UniversityGIRLS ICE HOCKEY ELITE CAMP6/21/20246/23/2024Baker RinkPrinceton, NJEntering grades 10-12
Premier Ice ProspectsGIRLS ELITE PROSPECTS CAMP6/23/20246/27/2024Tim Horton's IceplexRochester, NY2011-2013 Birth Years
Premier Ice Prospects14U PROSPECTS CAMP6/23/20246/27/2024Tim Horton's IceplexRochester, NY2010 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsPROSPECTS GOALIE CAMP6/23/20246/27/2024Tim Horton's IceplexRochester, NY2008-2013 Birth Years
College Development ShowcaseGirls Camp6/23/20246/25/2024Ice DenHooksett, NHPlayers with birth years 2005-2010
The Rose SeriesBIOSTEEL WORLD INVITE6/24/20246/30/2024Toronto, ON2009 Birth Year
University of Wisconsin13 and Under Camp6/24/20246/28/2024LaBahn ArenaMadison, WI13 and under
RinkSportWASHINGTON , D. C. Development Camp6/24/20246/28/2024
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPS6/24/20246/26/2024Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MN10U &12U Camp
Ohio State UniversityHIGH SCHOOL ELITE CAMPS6/27/20246/29/2024OSU Ice RinkColumbus, OHGrad Years: 2026-2028
University of MinnesotaMINNESOTA GIRLS HOCKEY CAMPS6/27/20246/28/2024Mariucci ArenaMinneapolis, MNExposure Camp (ages 13,14)
RinkSportANCHORAGE, ALASKA Development Camp6/28/20246/30/2024
Premier Ice Prospects617 PIP SHOWCASE - BOSTON HARBOR STYLE7/1/20247/2/2024The Edge Sports CenterBedford, MA2025, '26. '27 Grad Years
Premier Ice ProspectsNORTHEAST PROSPECTS CAMP7/1/20247/2/2024The Edge Sports CenterBedford, MA2012 - 2015 Birth Years
Sacred Heart University PioneersGirls Ice Hockey High School Prospect Camp7/1/20247/3/2024Martire Family ArenaFairfield, CT Girls: 9th to 12th Grade
Princeton UniversityGIRLS ICE HOCKEY EXPOSURE ID CAMP7/6/20247/8/2024Baker RinkPrinceton, NJEntering grades 7-9
College Hockey ShowcasesCHS Cergy, France7/7/20247/11/2024Cergy, France2008-2013 Birth Years
Colgate University2024 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | PRE-CAMP GOALIE'S ONLY7/7/20247/9/2024Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYGoalies Only. All Female players born between 2005-2009
The Rose SeriesWar for the Roses7/8/20247/13/2024Edmonton, Alberta2011 Birth Year
RinkSportEurope Camp7/8/20247/11/2024Madrid, Spain
Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Girls Camp 7/8/20247/12/2024M&T Bank ArenaHamden, ConnAges: 6-13
Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac Women's Ice Hockey Girls Elite Clinic7/8/20247/12/2024M&T Bank ArenaHamden, ConnAges: rising 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade
The Rose SeriesQueens of Vegas7/9/20247/12/2024Las Vegas, NV2013 Birth Year
Colgate University2024 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | SESSION 17/9/20247/11/2024Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYAll Female players born between 2005-2009
University of Maine Women's Prospect Clinic7/10/20247/11/2024University of MaineOrono, MEGrades 8-12
The Rose SeriesPARK CITY SHOWDOWN7/11/20247/14/2024Park City, Utah2014 Birth Year
NAHANAHA COLLEGE SHOWCASE7/12/20247/14/2024Boston Sports InstituteWellesley, MA2025, '26, '27, '28 Grad Years
Colgate University2024 COLGATE EXPOSURE CAMP | SESSION 27/12/20247/14/2024Colgate UniversityHamilton, NYAll Female players born between 2005-2009
College Hockey ShowcasesSweden Girls High Performance Camp7/15/20247/26/2024Nyköpings Arenor RosvallaNyköping, Sweden2004-2011 Birth Years
University of Maine U16/19 High School Girls' Hockey Camp7/15/20247/18/2024University of MaineOrono, MEGrades 8-12
University of Maine U8/U10/U12 Girls' Hockey Day Camp7/15/20247/18/2024University of MaineOrono, MEU8/U10/U12 Skaters
Premier Ice ProspectsSOUTHERN PROSPECTS CAMP7/18/20247/21/2024Community First IglooJacksonville, FL2012 - 2015 Birth Years
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSIC7/19/20247/21/2024New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2009 (08) - 2014 Birth Years,
200x85 TournamentsCCM Selects Beantown Women's Classic7/19/20247/21/2024Boston2008 - 2013
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls 16/17's Player Development Camp7/19/20247/24/2024Miami University Oxford, Ohio2007 & 2008 Birth Year
USA HockeyGirls National 2006 Training Camp (2006)7/19/20247/22/2024Miami University Oxford, Ohio2006 Birth Year
Clarkson UniversityClarkson Golden Knight Women's Hockey Prospect Camp 20247/21/20247/22/2024Cheel Campus Center and ArenaPotsdam, NY2007-2010 Birth Years
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls 15's Player Development Camp7/25/20247/30/2024Miami University Oxford, Ohio2009 Birth Year
RUSH HockeyBEANTOWN CLASSIC7/26/20247/28/2024New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MAU19, College / Super Series
OS HockeyPROSPECTS/FUTURES WEEKEND 2 Camp7/28/20247/30/2024Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MN
Mercyhurst UniversityDIVISION I WOMEN'S HOCKEY ELITE CAMP7/30/20247/31/2024Mercyhurst UniversityErie, PA2006 to 2009 birth year
USA Hockey2024 Women's National Festival8/2024TBD
Pre-Prep ShowcasePre-Prep Showcase8/1/20248/4/2024New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MABirth Years: 2009, 2010 & 2011
University of Minnesota DuluthMinnesota Duluth High School Elite Camp8/1/20248/4/2024Amsoil ArenaDuluth, MNAny and all high school girls (grad years 2025-2028) are invited
Showcase Hockey2024 International Cup8/2/20248/4/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
OS Hockey2024 TRADITION CUP8/2/20248/4/2024Braemar ArenaMInneapolis, MNCollege Level
RinkSportLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Development Camp8/2/20248/5/2024
USA HockeyUSA Hockey Girls Under 18 Player Development Camp8/4/20248/9/2024Miami University Oxford, Ohio2007, 2008, 2009 Birth Year
University of WisconsinHigh School Elite Camp8/4/20248/8/2024LaBahn ArenaMadison, WIHigh School
NCD CampsGIRLS NCDC COLLEGE DEVELOPMENT CAMP8/5/20248/7/2024New England Sports CenterMarlborough, MA2025, '26, '27, '28 Grad Years
Brown UniversityBROWN WOMEN’S HOCKEY ELITE SUMMER CAMP8/5/20248/7/2024Brown UniversityProvidence, RIHigh school students entering grades 9-12. Therefore, 2025, 2026, 2027 and 2028 high school graduates.
RUSH HockeyRUSH Hockey High Performance8/9/20248/11/2024CAA Centre BramptonBrampton, ONU11 - U22 AA
OS Hockey2024 OS SHOOTOUT8/10/20248/13/2024Bloomington Ice Garden and Braemar Ice ArenaMInneapolis, MNU8-U19
Showcase Hockey2024 Easton AAA Cup Tournament8/16/20248/18/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL NCAA Clinic8/22/2024Northford, CT2006 - 2010 Birth Years
College of the Holy CrossHoly Cross Women's Ice Hockey Clinics8/22/20248/23/2024Hart CenterWorcester, MA14-19 Years Old
Showcase Hockey2024 Summer Finale8/23/20248/25/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueDawg Days of Summer - Red8/23/20248/25/2024Northford, CT12U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueDawg Days of Summer - Futures8/23/20248/22/2024Newington, CT12U
Premier Ice ProspectsLabor Day Girls Fest8/30/20249/1/2024Pittsburgh, PA14U, 16U/17U and 19U Tier I (AAA)/Canadian AA
The National Girls Hockey LeagueLabor Day Challenge - Futures8/30/20249/1/2024Cromwell, CT12U
OneHockeyOneHockey Sacred Heart University8/30/20249/2/2024Sacred Heart University Martire Family ArenaFairfield, CT Girls 12U Tier I & II
NAHANAHA Labor Day Tournament8/30/20249/1/2024Boston, MAU14, U16, U19
The National Girls Hockey LeagueLabor Day Challenge - Blue8/31/20249/2/2024Cromwell, CT12U-19U
Premier Ice ProspectsFrieda Falcon Girls Fest9/6/20249/8/2024Slater Family Ice ArenaBowling Green, OH12U USA Tier I / CAN A
RUSH HockeyNORTH HALTON RUSH9/6/20249/8/2024CAA Centre BramptonNorth Halton, ONU11-U18 AA/A/BB/B
Showcase Hockey2024 Warrior Cup AAA9/6/20249/8/2024MinnesotaGirls AAA (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
Stoney CreekU18 AA Showcase9/6/20249/8/2024Hamilton, ONU18 AA
Stoney CreekUniversity Showcase9/13/20249/15/2025Hamilton, ONU22 AA
Stoney CreekU15 AA Showcase9/20/20249/22/2024Hamilton, ONU15 AA
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic - Futures East9/27/20249/29/2024Syracuse, NY10U & 12U
Premier Ice ProspectsCapital Cup Girls Fest10/12/202410/14/2024Northern VA19U through 10U Tier II
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic - Red10/12/202410/14/2024Syracuse, NY14U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueColumbus Day Showcase10/12/202410/14/2024Pittsburgh, PA14U-19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall Classic - Futures West10/12/202410/14/2024Chicago, IL10U & 12U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFall In CT, Futures10/12/202410/14/2024Connecticut10U & 12U
Girls Elite Hockey2024 TRADITION NIT10/18/202410/20/2024Blaine, MNU16 and U19
Premier Ice ProspectsRoc City Girls Fest10/25/202410/27/2024Rochester, NY19U through 10U
RUSH HockeyTWO NATIONS COLLEGE PREP SERIES10/25/202410/27/2024Detroit, MI19U through 12U Tier 1; U13-U21 AA
Premier Ice ProspectsRoc City Girls Fest11/1/202411/3/2024Rochester, NY19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
RUSH HockeyBUFFALO RUSH HOCKEY INFERNO11/1/202411/3/2024Buffalo, NYGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
RUSH HockeyArizona RUSH Matt Shott Memorial11/8/202411/10/2024Arizona, USAGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
National Sports CenterAll American Girls Hockey Tournament11/8/202411/10/2024NSC-Super Rink (Blaine)Blaine, MNGirls U10A,B U12A,B U15A
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNGHL Ann Arbor11/15/202411/17/2024Ann Arbor, MI14U - 19U Tier 1
Premier Ice ProspectsBurgh Thanksgiving Girls Fest11/22/202411/24/2024Pittsburgh, PA19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
Premier Ice ProspectsSmashville Girls Fest11/22/202411/24/2024Nashville, TN19U through 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA), Tier III (A)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueNorthern Classic11/22/202411/24/2024Utica, NY10U, 12U, 14U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMile High Invitational - Blue11/29/202412/1/2024Denver, CO12U-19U
RUSH HockeyTWO NATIONS COLLEGE PREP SERIES12/6/202412/8/2024Brampton, ON19U through 12U Tier 1; U13-U21 AA
College Hockey ShowcasesBoise Breakaway Showcase12/13/202412/15/2024Boise, Idaho2007-2011 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsErie White Out Weekend12/13/202412/15/2024Erie, PA12U and 10U Tier I (AAA), Tier II (AA)
Youth Hockey Hub2024 DANGLEFEST12/28/202412/31/2024NSC-Super Rink (Blaine)Blaine, MNGirls U10A, U10B, U12A, U12B, U15A, & U15B
The National Girls Hockey LeagueWinter Classic, Futures1/3/20251/5/2025Princeton, NJ10U & 12U
Premier Ice ProspectsMrs. Hockey® Invite1/17/20251/20/2025Ft Lauderdale, FL12U Girls - Tier 1 & Tier 2
Premier Ice ProspectsFort Laudy Daudy Showcase1/17/20251/20/2025Ft Lauderdale, FL19U through 14U Tier 1
RUSH HockeyFlorida RUSH1/17/20251/20/2025Palm Beach Skate ZoneWest Palm Beach, FLGirls Tier 1/Tier 2/ Tier 3 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter Classic - Blue1/18/20251/20/2025Haverhill, MA12U, 14U, 16U, and 19U
The National Girls Hockey LeagueMLK Winter Classic - Red1/18/20251/20/2025Philadelphia, PA14-19U Tier 1
The National Girls Hockey LeagueRed Division Champsionship1/31/20252/2/2025Rockland, MA14-19U Tier 1
RUSH HockeyTEXAS RUSH2/7/20252/9/2025StarCenter Valley Ranch Ice RinkDallas, TXGirls Tier 1/Tier 2 (12U, 14U, 16U, 19U)
The National Girls Hockey LeagueFutures Championship2/7/20252/9/2025Hershey, PA10U & 12U
Stoney CreekSweetheart Tournament2/7/20252/10/2025Hamilton, ONU9 through U22
The National Girls Hockey LeagueBlue Division Champsionship2/15/20252/17/2025St. Louis, MO14-19U Tier 1
Midwest Womem's Collegiate HockeyExposure Camp6/14/20256/15/2025Cornerstone Ice ArenaDePere, WisconsinGrade 10, Grade 11, or Grade 12
Premier Ice Prospects480 SHOWCASE - DESERT STYLE7/12/20257/24/2025Mullett ArenaTempe, AZ2007 - 2009 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsSOUTHWEST PROSPECTS7/13/20257/15/2025Mullett ArenaTempe, AZ2010- 2013 Birth Year
Premier Ice ProspectsCCM Futures Camp7/19/20257/21/2025East Lansing, MI2011 Birth Year
Premier Ice ProspectsCCM Girls 68 (14U)8/7/20258/11/2025Chicago, IL2010 Birth Year
Premier Ice Prospects615 PIP SHOWCASE - MUSIC CITY STYLE8/8/20258/11/2025Predators' Ford Ice CenterBellevue, TN2010 - 2011 Birth Years
Premier Ice ProspectsCCM Futures Camp8/16/20258/18/2025Niagara Falls, ON2011 Birth Year
Premier Ice ProspectsNIAGARA FALLS PROPSPECTS CAMP8/16/20258/18/2025Gale Centre ArenaNiagara Falls, ON2007 - 2011 Birth Years
Merrimack CollegeMerrimack Womens Ice Hockey ClinicsLawler ArenaNorth Andover, MAEntering grades 9-12
Categories
College Hockey Recruiting Girls Hockey Women's College Hockey Women's Hockey

Forward Recruits: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Updated Dec. 19, 2023

This is the second of 3 posts about where things stand for each position – Goalies, Forwards and Defense – for the incoming classes of 2024 and 2025.

Read Part I of this series here: Navigating the Tight Goalie Market: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Read Part III of this series here: Analyzing the Defensive Lineups: The Current State of Division I Women’s College Hockey Recruiting for the Class of 2024 & 2025

Women’s DI College Hockey Total Forward Players & Commits by Year

as of December, 2023

At first glance things seemed to have returned to normal for forwards with respect to the DI women’s college hockey recruiting class of 2023. There are 157 first-year players across all the Division I rosters this season. However, 18 of those spots are freshmen players at either Assumption or Robert Morris (“new” programs for both these schools), so the number is a little inflated compared to the 152 sophomore players playing DI hockey.

For the incoming Class of 2024, it seems almost all schools have finalized their rosters by now. Most schools have been announcing on social media their inbound players after the signing day earlier this month. Other than a few spots at NEWHA schools and maybe the odd player at other schools filling in a final roster spot, there are likely only a handful of opportunities remaining for forwards. Our 2024 F analysis now has 166 players, but there are likely some European and other commits who haven’t been publicly announced.

In addition, without knowing the plans for individual players, it is unclear how many of the 105 Seniors (granted an extra year of eligibility due to Covid) will decide to return for a 5th year either at their current school or find another school for their grad year. If all of them continue to play for the 2024-25 season then there may not be any spots open to 2024 high school graduates.

As for the incoming Class of 2025, there are certainly many spots still open. While most of the Top 10 schools have snagged the best players in the country, there are openings at many other programs. Until recently, many of the NEWHA schools have been focused on filling their 2024 rosters, so they will likely only shift their attention over the next month or two for their 2025 forwards.

Women’s DI College Hockey Forwards and Commits by School & Year

as of December, 2023

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