California Rubber

California’s and Nevada’s Authoritative Voice of Hockey

Eastern Hockey League announces Tier II status

 

The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is proud to announce its re-classification as a Tier II junior hockey league.

For over a decade the EHL has strived and succeeded in developing, promoting, and advancing our players to NCAA Division II and III programs. Having mastered the process with over 1900 players taking their next respective steps by committing to NCAA programs, the EHL is ready to take its next step: becoming the top Tier II junior hockey league on the east coast. Our teams have set a standard throughout each season, and now it’s time to raise them even higher.

The EHL will work to be the best Tier II option in junior hockey, continuing to put our players needs at the forefront. Without a draft selection process our players are free to play for the team that fits them best, because the EHL is Where Players Come First.

Landscape

Without question, the junior hockey landscape is ever-changing, and that was especially the case in 2024. With change comes the need to adapt, and it is the belief of the EHL and its member organizations that the league is stronger than ever and is prepared to elevate itself even further.

“Highlighted by the NCAA granting CHL players the opportunity to commit to Division I programs, 2024 was undoubtedly as unique a year as the junior hockey world has ever seen,” said Neil Ravin, the Commissioner of the EHL. “We [the EHL] have always focused solely on who we are, and by re-classifying ourselves, we are in a stronger position to deliver on what our identity has always been: placing players into college and providing them with the best opportunities available.”

“We’ve always viewed the USHL as a ‘Major Junior’ level league, the NAHL as a Tier I league, and ourselves as a Tier II league. Now we’re just making it official, ” continued Ravin. “We know there may be questions and we look forward to answering them by showing why the EHL is Tier II junior hockey.”

Develop

With our reclassification as Tier II, the EHL will be raising its standards in an effort to elevate our league even higher. Our programs have always been focused on providing an abundance of resources to all of our players to develop their game, and now, we raise the bar.

All EHL teams will hit the ice for 50 regular season games in the 2025-26 season, including the new ‘Crossover Series’. Similar to other junior leagues, our previous schedules have been division-balanced based on the different regions our footprint covers. While that will continue to be the core of the 2025-26 schedule, the EHL will also be introducing our new ‘Crossover Series’, which will feature matchups between the New England Conference and Mid-Atlantic Conference, outside of showcase play. While playing divisional and regional opponents offers the chance to develop rivalries and fierce competition, the chance to provide schedule disparity also offers players the ability to develop further by facing different competition while enjoying one of the rites of passage of junior hockey, traveling.

We will continue to provide our players with countless hours of on-ice and off-ice instruction, including gym, video, and individual player meetings and feedback. Our teams’ professional coaching staffs are comprised of head coaches, assistants, goaltending coaches, and trainers. With playing experience in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, European, and NCAA, these highly experienced groups will be developing our players each and every day, starting from the moment they arrive in September.

Promote

In regards to the league’s promotion of its players, look no further than the media coverage the EHL has displayed throughout its history. With our media presence increasing each year in both quantity and quality, we are prepared to take it even further with an expansion of the league’s marketing initiatives, highlighted by next season’s ‘Preseason Media Days’, which will allow us to dedicate time learning about and creating content centered around our players.

The more coverage we give our players leads to more exposure, while allowing them to gain valuable experience with on-camera public speaking.

In-person game coverage will increase, allowing for more player interviews and highlights from around the entire leagues footprint, while new features will debut throughout the season highlighting individual players’ personalities, goals and accomplishments.

Adding the Preseason Media Days to the Showcase Series, College Series, Regional Finals, and Frozen Finals, will only elevate an already robust group of annual events that the EHL provides to its players.

Every time our teams hit the ice, the focus is on shining the spotlight on our players, all in an unmatched effort to promote these individuals to the levels they are aspiring to reach.

Advance

As for those levels, we know that when players come to the EHL, they arrive with aspirations of reaching the next level. We’ve proven our ability to help these players reach those levels with over 1900 NCAA Commitments and counting, more than many Canadian Tier II leagues since our inaugural season in 2013-14. However, the most important part of the advancement process is placing the players in places where they will succeed. Each and every week, the alumni of the EHL claim honors in their respective conferences, displaying how our players are placed in spots where they will contribute and thrive.

Moving forward, the EHL will be focused on continuing to expand the reach of schools where its players commit to. The prime example is Jack Boschert, an alumni of the Express Hockey Club, and current goaltender for nationally-ranked University of Wisconsin-Superior. Boschert owns a record of 7-1-0 to go along with a 1.57 GAA and a .942 save percentage for the season.

He credits his time in the EHL for helping him grow as a person and athlete, saying “I developed skills such as teamwork, resilience, and the ability to play the game at a high pace, which prepared me to play at the collegiate level, as well as the knowledge that shaped me into who I am today. The EHL has an unmatched ability to promote its players, hosting multiple showcases in different locations throughout the year. My advancement from the Eastern Hockey League to the University of Wisconsin-Superior wouldn’t have been possible without the support and promotion from the league and Coach Cota at the Express Hockey Club. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity I was given to play in the Eastern Hockey League.”

As we continue to advance our players at an unprecedented rate, an average of eight players per team per season, we will be pushing ourselves internally to spread our reach further, knowing the success that our alumni have displayed throughout the country.

Your Next Step

By signing with an EHL team next season, players will be given a package not offered in any other junior league. This includes a pair of CCM player sticks, a cut-resistant undershirt from our partners at Duzter Hockey, hydration options from CWENCH, and more.

We have always been the league Where Players Come First, and when you play in the EHL, you see the return.

The EHL is hosting an individual combine this spring, May 16th through 18th in Wellesley, MA. Prospective players should sign up for their chance to play Tier II hockey, starting this upcoming September.

— EHL Staff

(February 5, 2025)

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