Hockey Canada has announced some changes that come into effect in the 2020-2021 season. Age levels will no longer be called Initiation, Novice, Atom, Peewee, Bantam, and Midget.
They have now been changed to U7, U9, U11, U13, U15, and U18. Tyler Carefoot, President of the Dauphin Minor Hockey Association says it is just easier this way.
"The rationale was just to simplify the system for new families," said Carefoot. "It's very easy now for families when they're registering their kids to play the game."
Here's an in-depth look at what will start next season
| 2014 and before | 6 and under | Under-7 (U7) |
| 2012-2013 | 7-8 | Under-9 (U9) |
| 2010-2011 | 9-10 | Under-11 (U11) |
| 2008-2009 | 11-12 | Under-13 (U13) |
| 2006-2007 | 13-14 | Under-15 (U15) |
| 2003-2004-2005 | 15-16-17 | Under-18 (U18) |
On a different note, the DMHA is still looking to wrap up this season and of course, prepare for the 2020-2021 season. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed things back; however, Tyler does confirm they will wrap things up.
"In the next week or two, we'll find a way to get everyone together and that might be using a teleconference or something like that," concluded Carefoot. "Then we'll want to open up registration for next season in June, so we'll do what needs to be done to achieve that."
