A new Tier I level Junior Hockey League is expected to be announced today and slated to begin play in the 2023-2024 season.
Rumors of the new league began circulating last week, and today it has been confirmed that the yet to be named league is spearheaded by Ben Robert, a Montreal native, currently living in California. Robert, is the managing and founding partner of West Coast Hockey Sports and Entertainment. Robert whose previous stops include working for the Los Angeles Kings on the business side and as co-owner of the USHL’s Omaha Lancers along with Hall of Famers Luc Robitaille and Mario Lemieux.
The NHL supports this project with the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights having already signed a joint statement endorsing the project. The letter stated:
“As the game of hockey continues to enjoy unprecedented growth, this is a significant step forward to not only help retain the top players from many of these areas, but to provide them with the best opportunities and resources to pursue their hockey dreams,” read the statement. “We are pleased to help support this new venture and we are excited to see how the league evolves and develops.”
The footprint being based on the west coast will not likely provide much overlap with recruiting in the USHL. It will however definitely impact recruiting in the WHL in short order.
The WHL holds many events annually in California in order to identify west coast talent and recruits heavily in the U18 and U16 circuits.
Having the ability to keep American players closer to home on the west coast will be a strong recruiting tool while having the support of NHL teams assures a great mentoring environment.
The impact of this new leagues development will also likely play a role in the development of NCAA hockey in the Western United States as rumors have swirled for years that schools are interested in developing these programs.
Look for more news and developments to be announced in coming days and weeks.
