The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) will now be competing as a Tier II hockey league. The twenty-eight team league voted at its annual meeting to seek the tier II classification and the move was granted by the UHU, the league’s governing body.
How do you justify Tier II status?
• Number of teams: With programs in Texas, Washington, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, we have considerable exposure to other tier II and tier III hockey leagues in North America. We know our neighbors and Tier II is the correct classification of our level of play and service.
• Exposure: We play a 52 game regular season schedule, including four during our annual college placement showcase in Las Vegas. All of our games are broadcast on FastHockey. All off our programs are committed to moving players onward and upward and to doing the considerable work necessary to accomplish that goal.
• Development: The Wolverines are on the ice for up to seven practices per week. We are in the gym as a team every day. We have hockey classroom with video twice per week. We offer individual video review every week. This is tier II level service.
• Caliber of play: We are permitted an unlimited number of Canadian players on our rosters. We are permitted up to 14 Euros. The WSHL is an attractive option for a very talented collection of players who are being denied the access and exposure to North American hockey based on country of origin and roster restrictions. These are tier II or higher level players.
Advancement and Development
The WSHL is arguably the most progressive and growth-oriented junior league in the world. The on-ice product, the business model, and the player advancement success has all increased exponentially. The WSHL has two main focal points behind this major transition: parity and player advancement/development. The other Tier-II leagues in North America will not be surpassed by the WSHL in 2015-2016; make no mistake about it. Our success and growth curve is escalated because of the ability to sign a dozen top-end European and Canadian players. For your child, this raises the level of competition every time they step on the ice, into the gym, or into a video review session.
Age Classifications
The Whitefish Wolverines incorporate younger players into our roster. We feel younger players can greatly accelerate their development by playing with and against 20 year-olds, some of whom have donned their country’s national team sweater. As the league continues to grow, more players will be advancing to higher levels of hockey, which means more scouts, both collegiate and professional, will be interested in the WSHL talented rosters.
I thought Tier II was “free-to-play”?
With the cost of travel and ice, player tuition is absolutely necessary to offer a quality program. Each team will now play 24 home games, 24 road games, in addition to 4 games at the Western States Hockey League's Las Vegas Showcase. Many of the WSHL venues only accommodate a few hundred spectators, and their fan base is not at a level to generate enough income to facilitate a “non-pay-to-play' business model.
