Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association Selection Process for AA Rep & Development Teams This Directive outlines the AA Rep & Development Teams selection process for the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association. This process will be followed by the Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget AA teams. In the case of female hockey, if there will be more than one team in a division, this directive will be utilized by the Female Director(s) as appropriate; specifically modifications to the process will be reviewed and agreed upon by the Female Director(s) and the President. Coordination of Rep Try-outs The VP Operations -Wood Buffalo Ice Hockey Athletic Club (WBIHAC), hereafter VP Ops coordinates and oversees the evaluation and selection of players for the AA teams. Concerns or complaints over the process shall be directed to the VP Ops s attention. The exception will be in circumstances where the VP Ops has children involved in the selection process. In the applicable division(s), another FMMHA member with experience in rep team selection will be appointed by the President to avoid any real or perceived conflicts of interest by the membership. Appeals Members not satisfied with a decision of VP Ops on a complaint submitted to his/her attention on the selection process may submit an appeal to the President of the Association in accordance with the by-laws. Eligibility Try-outs for the AA teams are open to all registered members of the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association as authorized in the Hockey Alberta Rules and Regulations. Cost A non-refundable try-out fee of $50 shall be payable at the start of the try-out irrespective of the number of sessions attended. Payment shall be collected at the arena prior to the try-out session. The try-out fees will be kept by the Rep Teams to pay for the ice rental costs of the try-outs. It is the Head Coach s responsibility to arrange for collection of try-out fees.
Schedule The try-outs will coincide with the beginning of the school year, or as close as possible and will be conducted at Frank Lacroix Arena. The try-out schedule will be posted on the FMMHA Web Site at least 4 days prior to the first try-out session. All eligible and interested players will be provided a minimum of one ice time for evaluation. Late arrival / Inability to participate in Try-out Process Players MUST attend at least one open evaluation session to be eligible to move on in the selection process. Depending on player numbers there will be a minimum of 2 open evaluation sessions offered. Extenuating circumstances beyond a player s control MAY be considered on a case by case basis. These extenuating circumstances will be required to be reviewed by the Head Coach and VP Ops as well as approved by the President. Players trying out for the Bantam and Midget AAA Zone 2 teams in Fort Saskatchewan will not be penalized and shall be added to the try-out list if they are released from the AAA team. Coaches will ensure regular player positions are left vacant up to the final selection date of the AAA teams to allow for the return of players to the Fort McMurray AA teams. Process Evaluations will follow the following process (Midget AA and U16 are exempt from this process): Open: First ice session is open to all eligible players. Evaluations will focus on basic individual skills (skating, stick-handling, shooting and passing). Evaluations are done by team coaching staff. The ice sessions will be split into two groups, A-L & M-Z. Top 30: Top thirty (30) players and six (6) goaltenders invited to the next ice session. The Top 30 selections are to be forwarded to the VP Ops, or appointed delegate for review and agreement a minimum of one day prior to the next ice time. Players not chosen inside top 30 will be invited to attend their respective WBHL Divisional Evaluations. Evaluations to focus on basic individual skills. Top 24: Top twenty four (24) players and four (4) goaltenders invited for remaining try-outs (one practice and two games). The Top 24 selections are to be forwarded to the VP Ops, or appointed delegate for review and agreement a minimum of one day prior to the next ice time. Players not chosen to the top 24 will be required to attend the WBHL evaluations to be tiered in their division, with the exception of Midget. Goaltenders who are no selected to the final roster will be required to attend the WBHL goaltender evaluations to be tiered in their division, with the exception of Midget.
Practice tempo and complexity increase. Additional factors added to evaluation such as work ethic, ability to work on team, discipline and responding to direction. Top 24 evaluations are completed by team coaching staff in consultation and agreement with the VP Ops, or appointed delegate. Blue vs Gold Games: Team to be finalized to maximum permitted roster after three scheduled Blue vs Gold games. An evaluation committee consisting of at least three (3) independent individuals who have limited or no knowledge of the team being evaluated, appointed by the President, and the Head Coach will evaluate players during the three Blue vs Gold Games. Evaluations will include basic skills plus game playing abilities. For the Bantam and Midget Divisions, the games will be played with body checking. The following basic requirements will apply during the Blue-Gold games: Line changes will occur approximately every 60 seconds. Lines and positions will be juggled to ensure players continually play with and against different players. This does not apply to juggling forwards and defense. Returning rep players (i.e. players that made the team the previous season as a first year player) may not be required to play in the second or third game and may be selected to the team. Following the first game, the evaluation committee will meet and may agree on up to the 4 highest ranked players not including the returning rep players specified above. These players (up to four) will play but will not be evaluated in the second or third game and the evaluators will focus on the remaining players. The number of players selected, up to four, is at the discretion and agreement of the Head Coach and the evaluation committee. The exclusion of returning rep players for the second game is a new initiative that began in 2012 season. The premise behind this is that all players play in the first game with the returning rep players providing the benchmark for the level of play required. Having the second and third game without the returning rep players, the remaining players will have more opportunity to showcase their skills, they will have more ice time and more puck time. This will provide a higher quality and more thorough evaluation of each individual player in the team selection decisions by the Head Coach and the evaluation committee.
Team Selection Following the conclusion of the Blue vs Gold Games, the VP Operations or appointed delegate will compile the results of the evaluations. The VP Ops or appointed delegate will chair a meeting of the evaluation committee at the conclusion of all Blue-Gold games to discuss and resolve any discrepancies in the ranking and to take into consideration intangible factors. A final ranking will be produced of all players and goaltenders. The final ranking will be approved by the VP Ops or appointed delegate prior to posting on the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association website. Any postings on the website will be done in alphabetical order so as not to indicate ranking. Initially, 19 players (17 skaters and 2 goalies, or upon the VP Ops (or appointed designate) approval, 16 skaters and 3 goalies) will be selected to the team. For Atom through Midget the team size may be reduced to a minimum of 15 skaters and 2 goalies after the first weekend of exhibition/pre-season games, following approval of the Head Coach s recommendations by the VP Ops or appointed delegate. For Atom, if unable to arrange exhibition games in the required timeframe, the team size may be reduced to a minimum of 15 skaters and 2 goalies at anytime after one week from initial selection upon approval of the Head Coach s recommendation by the VP Ops or appointed delegate. Note players may be added to the maximum permitted roster or deleted from the roster at anytime up to January 10, 2017, the Hockey Alberta deadline. Any roster changes from the team selection timelines above after September 17, 2016 until January 10, 2017 have to be approved by the President. A minimum of 15 skaters and 2 goalies will be selected to a team, however additional players may also be kept at the Head Coach s discretion up to the maximum roster permitted by Hockey Alberta. Should a Head Coach wish to select less than this minimum amount of players, approval of the President prior to roster changes is required. A rationale of the benefits of a smaller team considering one of the development goals of the Association, to give all FMMHA participants maximum development opportunity, must be satisfied in the recommendation submitted by the Head Coach to the President. Confidentiality The result of the evaluations will be confidential at all time. Any list of invitees or selected players list shall be published in alphabetic order. Any participants to the selection committee meeting shall abide with the confidentiality of the proceedings. Evaluation results will only be provided as part of the appeals process outlined in this Directive and results, other than the results for the requesting member s child, will not be provided. Conflict of Interest
Where a conflict of interest occurs, between a Board member having their children, grandchildren or family members trying out for one or more of the rep or development teams, they will recuse themselves from any and all interactions with the evaluation process for that division. A member of the Board will be appointed to take their position during the entirety of the process. Discipline A player may be suspended from the try-outs for the following reasons: Behavior in arena (on or off the ice) that is disrespectful of Association, team, teammates or coaches; Attempt to injure or injuring another player in a practice or game due to obvious disrespect of rules and regulations or directives provided by coaching staff Any use or possession of banned substances including alcohol Bullying incidents at or off-ice related to try-outs or Minor Hockey A parent may be suspended from attending try-outs session for behavior not in accordance with the parent code of conduct including: Abuse of on ice team official, evaluators or other member of the Association Failure to abide and accept the try-out process and procedures Severe or repeated violation of the Parent s Code of Conduct may lead to the exclusion of a player from the team Body Checking Body checking will not be permitted: For all Divisions: during the first evaluation sessions; For the Peewee Division: at all times Atom AA: at all times
Evaluation Criteria The following criteria will be part of the evaluation and selection process: Skating o Quickness, Acceleration, Agility, Balance, Mobility o Front, Back, Pivots, Turns, Strides Hockey Skills o Puck control, Passing, Receiving, Puck Protection, Puck movement o Shooting: Accuracy, variety, quick release, goes to net, accuracy o Checking: angling, stick check, Body Check & Pins, Physical Presence o Hockey sense: Positioning, playmaking, understanding of game, read and react Work Ethics & Fitness o Effort, desire to win, competitive, concentration, motivation, intensity Coachability o Attitude, Motivation, Effort, Team Cohesion, Team first attitude o Mental toughness, Pressure situations, Leadership o Cooperation, Learning skills, Character Intangibles The following intangible factors shall be considered in the final selection of the team in comparing players that are considered to have the same skills level. In such circumstances, preference will be given to:
Second year players in the Division (and 3rd year for Midget); Players that do not have a recorded history of recurring and frequent suspensions and other discipline incidents. A top 19 player having a recorded history of recurring and frequent suspensions, Player Code of Conduct infractions and other discipline incidents may be added to the affiliated list and be given an opportunity to clearly demonstrate positive changes in their behavior. However, the player may be excluded from the team selection altogether if it becomes obvious during the try-outs that no changes in behavior have occurred. Underage Players Players are permitted to try-out for a Division above their age group. However, an underage player may only be selected for a AA team if he/she is considered an impact player. More specifically, a player would need to be ranked as one of the top 3 forwards or top 2 defensemen. An underage goaltender would only be considered if he/she is the top goaltender of the Division by a wide margin. At the time of selection of the Top 24, should an underage player not be ranked in the top 6 forwards or top 4 defense or the top 2 goaltenders, this player will not be selected to the Top 24 and will return to the rep evaluations of their age group or WBHL evaluations at the discretion of the player and his/her parents. The selection of an underage player selection must be approved by the President of the Association upon joint recommendation by the Head Coach, evaluation committee and VP Ops, or appointed delegate.