What time is it? It’s dying time. As we head into August, the rumors of teams folding at many levels are running rampant in North America.
An early addition to the Death Pool morgue are the Goderich Flyers of the Provincial Junior Hockey League a Junior C league in Ontario. This is a signifigant happening in Ontario as the Flyers have existed for more than twenty years, and have made the playoffs in every season they completed.
The reason? “A lack of players”.
Get prepared to hear that phrase being used a lot over the next few months. There is a lack of players for any leagues below Tier 2, and in some cases, Canadian Junior A teams are also experiencing a lack of players to fill rosters. Oh by the way, it is the end of July and usually all Tier 2 and Junior A rosters are full, or near full by now based on previous years.
TJHN is already receiving reports of more than a dozen Tier 3 teams that could not play a game if they had to in a week. AAA teams are also feeling the pinch as younger players are making more Tier 2 rosters than any of them anticipated.
While Tier 2 team camps begin to wrap up over the next week or so, many Tier 3 teams are telling players they are expecting to get players sent from Tier 2. This is an annual mass delusion that takes place at the Tier 3 level.
With massive Tier 2 expansion taking place prior to the 2025-2026 season, there will simply not be enough players to go around.
This brings on the bidding wars. Players will have their choice of locations and will hold out for discounted tuition like they did last season. Only this time, those discounts will be a lot more steep. We have already heard reports of some teams slashing tuition from 10K to 5K.
That said, billet costs have been going through the roof. With an average cost somewhere in the $700 a month range for this season.
With more Tier 2 expansion planned for the 2026-2027 season, look for more Tier 3 and AAA struggles to come.
