BHL 2026 Fall Season
BEGINNER HOCKEY LEAGUE
💗💜💙 WE PLAY HOCKEY • WE FORGE FRIENDSHIPS 💙💜💗
Everybody Starts Somewhere. Start Here.
Whether you’re brand new to hockey, getting back on the ice after years away, or still building your confidence and game, BHL was created for you.
BHL is about learning the game, getting better, competing, meeting great people, and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it.
🚨 FALL 2026 IS COMING
🏒 PLAYER EVALUATIONS & INSTRUCTION
Tuesday • August 25, 2026 - 830pm-11pm
All Fall BHL players are invited to participate in our preseason Evaluation & Instruction Night.
🚫 THIS IS NOT A TRYOUT
Nobody is getting cut.
Nobody needs to impress anybody.
The night is designed to do two things:
1. EVALUATE PLAYERS
So BHL can create the most competitive and balanced teams possible for the Fall Draft.
2. HELP PLAYERS IMPROVE
With on-ice instruction covering:
🏒 Skating
🏒 Positioning
🏒 Passing
🏒 Puck Movement
🏒 Game Awareness
🏒 Hockey Fundamentals
Think of it as:
PART HOCKEY CLINIC + PART EVALUATION + PART PRESEASON SKATE
💗 LEARN • IMPROVE • GET EVALUATED • GET READY FOR FALL 💙
📋 BHL CAPTAINS DRAFT
DATE: TBD
For Fall 2026, BHL returns to its traditional captains draft format.
Captains will draft from the evaluated player pool with the goal of creating balanced teams and spreading experience, developing players, and newer players throughout the league.
🚫 No stacked teams
🚫 No super teams
✅ Balanced rosters
✅ Competitive games
✅ New teammates
✅ New friendships
JUST COMPETITIVE BEGINNER HOCKEY.
🔥 OPENING NIGHT
TueSDAY • SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
The evaluations are done.
The draft is complete.
The teams are set.
Then we drop the puck.
NEW TEAMS.
NEW TEAMMATES.
NEW RIVALRIES.
SAME BHL.
💗💜💙 WELCOME TO FALL 2026 💙💜💗
🤔 SO… WHAT EXACTLY IS BHL?
BHL = BEGINNER HOCKEY LEAGUE
Beginner hockey doesn’t mean every player has exactly the same ability.
Some can skate.
Some can shoot.
Some can do both
But we ALL compete within the spirit of beginner hockey.
Every team may have a few stronger or more experienced players that"s ok we need a few to help keep the game moving, support developing players and provide leadership and structure on the ice.
The most experienced BHL players aren't there to show off their skill they are there to shwhat a great teammate looks like.
THEY MAKE THEIR TEAMMATES BETTER.
They move the puck.
They communicate.
They help players with positioning.
They set teammates up.
They encourage newer players.
They help make the game better.
That’s leadership. That’s hockey. That’s BHL.
BHL is not designed to be another traditional competitive hockey league disguised as beginner hockey.
It's the place to:
LEARN HOW TO PLAY HOCKEY BY ACTUALLY PLAYING HOCKEY with players of similar skill.
🎓 HOCKEY SCHOOL WITH A SCOREBOARD
You’re going to make mistakes.
You’re going to miss passes.
You’re going to whiff on shots.
You’re going to fall down.
You might even accidentally pass the puck directly to somebody wearing the completely wrong color jersey.
Perfect. 😂
Because eventually…
You make that pass.
You win that puck battle.
You finally understand where you’re supposed to be.
You score your first goal.
You make a play you couldn’t have made six months earlier.
THAT’S THE best PART.
Clinics can teach hockey.
Practice can teach hockey.
But eventually you have to play hockey to learn hockey!
BHL gives developing players real game repetitions, real situations, real teammates,and real competition.
📈 GET BETTER — THAT’S THE POINT
Something pretty cool happens when people keep playing hockey.
THEY GET BETTER.
We’ve watched players come into BHL with very little hockey experience and develop into extremely capable players.
That’s something BHL should be proud of.
But BHL is also a developmental league.
When a player’s ability progresses significantly beyond the level BHL was created for, there eventually comes a time for that player to move up.
🎓 YOU GRADUATE.
That’s not punishment.
It means you accomplished exactly what you came here to accomplish.
YOU GOT BETTER.
That’s success.
And it opens a spot for the next player beginning their hockey journey.
⚖️ BALANCED TEAMS MATTER
One of the most important parts of creating a great beginner hockey experience is drafting balanced teams.
BHL includes players at different stages of development. Some are brand new to the game, some are gaining confidence, and others have enough experience to help provide structure and leadership on the ice.
The goal is to spread that experience throughout the league as evenly as possible.
Balanced teams create:
🏒 More competitive games
🤝 Better opportunities for newer players to get involved
📈 More meaningful player development
🎯 More puck touches and learning opportunities
💪 Fewer games dominated by one or two players
😄 A better overall experience for everyone
That is why BHL uses player evaluations and a draft each new season.
The purpose is not to rank players or label anyone.
The purpose is to give BHL the information needed to build teams that are as fair, competitive, and enjoyable as possible.
WHEN THE TEAMS ARE BALANCED, EVERYONE GETS BETTER.
Stronger players have an opportunity to lead.
Developing players get more opportunities to participate.
Newer players gain confidence.
And games become more competitive from start to finish.
Balanced Rosters • Better Games • Better Development • Better BHL
The Rule of 13
👥 WHY 13 PLAYERS — AND WHY SUBS?
BHL makes every effort to build teams with 13 regular players because the goal isn’t to maximize revenue — it’s to maximize the hockey experience.
Hockey is a game of shifts, lines, rest, and opportunities. Having enough players keeps the pace of the game where it should be, gives everyone reasonable recovery time between shifts, and helps teams stay competitive when regular players miss games because of work, family, vacations, injuries, or everyday life.
And when those openings occur, that is where subs become an important part of the BHL model.
🏒 BHL USES UNIQUE SUBS
BHL does not double up players from other BHL teams.
A player does not finish one BHL game and then jump onto another team simply because that team is short.
Instead, BHL uses unique subs — players who are not already playing for another BHL team that night.
These subs often come from Learn To Play, recent LTP graduates, and developing players who want an opportunity to experience BHL before committing to a full season.
That gives new players a chance to:
🏒 Experience a real BHL game
🏒 Meet players and captains
🏒 Build confidence
🏒 See if league hockey is right for them
🏒 Put themselves in position for a future full-time roster spot
So when a regular player calls out, that opening isn’t simply something BHL needs to fill.
It can become someone else’s first BHL game.
That is an important part of how BHL grows.
Learn To Play → Unique Sub → Full-Time BHL Player
A 13-player roster gives teams the proper foundation.
Unique subs give new players an opportunity to enter the league.
Together, they help us maintain the quality of the games while continuing to introduce new people to hockey.
13 PLAYERS ISN’T ABOUT MAXIMIZING PROFITS.
IT’S ABOUT MAXIMIZING THE EXPERIENCE AND GROWING THE GAME.
13 Players • Unique Subs • No Doubling Up • More Opportunities • Stronger BHL
🧭 KNOW THE SPIRIT OF BHL
Make no mistake.
WE WANT YOU TO COMPETE.
We want close games.
We want rivalries.
We want you battling for the puck.
We want you trying to score.
We want you trying to win.
That’s hockey.
But there is a difference between:
COMPETITIVE HOCKEY
and
SELFISH HOCKEY.
If you’re one of the stronger players on the ice, your responsibility is bigger.
Move the puck.
Get your teammates involved.
Communicate.
Help newer players.
Create opportunities.
Make the players around you better.
If somebody’s only objective is to dominate beginner players…
BHL probably isn’t the right league for them.
Players who don’t understand or respect the spirit of BHL will be addressed because protecting the beginner experience is one of the most important responsibilities BHL has.
🏒 THE BHL PATH
1️⃣ SHOW UP
Everybody has a first night.
↓
2️⃣ LEARN
Ask questions. Listen. Watch. Practice.
↓
3️⃣ PLAY
Get into real hockey situations.
↓
4️⃣ GET BETTER
And you will.
↓
5️⃣ HELP THE NEXT NEW PLAYER
Remember what your first game felt like?
Help somebody else through theirs.
↓
6️⃣ GRADUATE
Eventually you may become too good for us.
And we’ll consider that a job well done.
💗💜💙 WE PLAY HOCKEY 💙💜💗
🏒 WE FORGE FRIENDSHIPS 🏒
You don’t need to be great at hockey to start playing hockey.
You don’t need to know everything.
You don’t need to worry about making mistakes.