The Mississauga Hockey League and its’ six Area Association Partners have, for several months, been working with the Greater Toronto Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada, and the City of Mississauga on a return to hockey plan. To that end, the GTHL (the MHL’s governing body) released their Game Plan (Return to Hockey Framework) that we have used to create our MHL Game Plan.
Our plan (subject to adjustments required by the Province, our local Health Authorities, the City, or the GTHL) is as follows. It should be noted that these dates are target dates, based upon moving into Period 1, then to 2, then 3, then Overtime as outlined in the GTHL Game Plan.
Rep Hockey (i.e. “A” & Gold)
- On-ice activities scheduled to commence on October 7th
- “Split squad” 3on3/4on4 hockey commencing October 26th
- 1.5 games per week for 5 weeks (i.e. 8 games over 5 weeks)
- “Normal” 5on5 hockey, 2 games per week, commencing December 1st
- U8 Gold will continue to play 3on3/4on4 for the entire season (on modified ice)
- U9 Gold will move to 5on5 if/when they move from modified ice to full ice
House League - U8/U9
- Half-ice 3on3 hockey; 7-player rosters
- On-ice activities scheduled to commence on October 26th
- 1 game per week commencing October 31st
House League - U10 & up
- Full-ice 3on3 hockey; 10-player rosters
- On-ice activities scheduled to commence on October 26th
- 1 game per week commencing October 31st
Tyke (U7 & below)
- Being administered at the Association level. All 6 of the MHL Area Associations plan to run U7 programs… Please visit the website of your local Association for specifics. (Start date likely Saturday, October 17th.)
As there are no tryouts or evaluations this season, players will be assigned to teams based upon their past history. This process will be handled by the many experienced coaches and administrators within the League and the Associations.
As in prior years, we won’t have any games during the Christmas Break or during March Break. As to Playoffs, we hope to plan a Championship Weekend after March Break, but nothing has been finalized at this point.
As to costs, the Associations are working out their Registration Fees and should have them posted shortly (if not already). Rest assured that we/they are doing our utmost to keep our costs as low as possible but give the players the best experience that we can.
Regarding safety, the League and each Association have designated Safety Reps, and each Team will have a Team Safety Rep, who will be trained to deal with COVID-related issues and will work with the City Staff to ensure as safe a hockey environment as possible. No players, volunteers, or game officials can commence on-ice activities unless they are registered, and team activities will not be allowed to proceed until a Team Safety Rep has been identified, registered, and completed the requisite training.
That’s “the plan”… we’ll stick as closely to it as possible and seek your patience and support during the coming weeks and months.
