February 4, 2025

JOINT PRESS RELEASE – FUTURE OF AA HOCKEY IN AMHA

The Airdrie Minor Hockey Association (AMHA) through the Airdrie Elite Hockey Committee (AEHC) runs the destination elite hockey program in southern Alberta, currently featuring the U18 AAA CFR Chemicals Bisons, the U17AAA Airdrie Avalanche and the U15AAA Airdrie Xtreme. The teams have all helped us to achieve our vision of becoming the destination program for elite hockey players and the leading development hub for personal, academic and athletic success. With the outstanding success of the program including graduating players to the WHL, various Jr leagues, Universities on both sides of the border, and eventually pro hockey leagues including the NHL and professional leagues in Europe, the model of player development is recognized across western Canada as one of excellence.

“With Hockey Alberta bringing the Provincial AA program into the Alberta Elite Hockey stream, the time is right to move Airdrie’s AA program into the AEHC”, said Kelsey Brockway, the President of the AMHA. She stated that with the ever-evolving landscape of the Elite hockey stream, including Spring tryouts and commitments, a potential move to a daytime program for the U17AAA’s and the introduction of new teams into the AAA stream, the route to continued success is in a focused group that can concentrate on making our draw zone the envy of the hockey community. By bringing into the program the U11 AA’s, the proposed U13 AAA’s and AA’s, the U15’s the U16’s and U18AA’s, the AEHC can create a superior succession path for both players and the coaching staff that guide these young athletes. “Bringing elite coaches to the next level is a paramount consideration as evidenced by all three AAA coaches from the 2023/2024 season graduating to full time coaching careers in professional organizations” said Jack Lumley the Chairman of the AEHC. We hire the best and they run the best programs said Lumley, “and that’s an exciting proposition”!

With the explosive growth of female hockey, Brockway is equally excited about the ever more explosive opportunities in the female realm. “By bringing the Female Elite stream into the AEHC with the boy’s program we’ll have an established model to bring the same elevated level of success that the boys have seen, and build strongly on the Female program that we’ve been nurturing” said Brockway. “I’m excited for the next steps”.

For further information please contact Kelsey Brockway at President@airdriehockey.com or Jack Lumley at aehcchair@airdriehockey.com.

Regards,

Kelsey Brockway
President, Airdrie Minor Hockey Association
president@airdriehockey.com

Jack Lumley
Committee Chair, Airdrie Elite Hockey Committee
aehcchair@airdriehockey.com

• Download the Press Release PDF

As we transition to Spring tryouts, we’d like to send a friendly reminder about the importance of registering early for the tryout process. Early registration will ensure that you don’t miss the opportunity to be considered for an Elite team in Airdrie (AAA and AA). This is a new process for everyone and represents a significant change in how teams will be selected, with Spring tryouts serving as the primary method for player evaluation.

To safeguard the financial interests of the Association, it is essential that we secure ice commitments by March 1. Failure to do so may result in paying for unused ice. In addition to the Spring registration, it is crucial that we provide the city with accurate participation numbers. This will enable us to request additional ice if available or release unused ice in the event of lower-than-expected enrollment in specific programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I’ve signed up for both AAA and AA. What happens to my money if my player makes AAA?

   If your player makes the higher-level team, we will do a credit against your Fall fees. For instance, if your player tries out for AAA and is offered a commitment, they no longer need to attend the AA tryouts, and your AA tryout fees will be applied as a credit towards your team fees in the fall.

2. How will Spring Commitments work?

   1. From the AAA Spring Tryouts – We will commit up to 15 players for the U13AAA, U15AAA and U18AAA teams, and up to 15 invites to go straight to the Fall Main Camp for each of the teams. For U17AAA we will commit up to 6 players who will also get an invitation to the Fall Main U18AAA Camp.

   2. There will be a AAA Last Chance camp in the Fall - "open tryouts" with up to 10 invited to Fall Main Camp to join the 30 from spring camp. There will be no Tier minimums for this camp. Due to Ice availability restrictions the registration numbers for these camps will be capped so please when they open, get your registrations in early so you won’t be disappointed.

   3. AAA Fall Main Camp - will be made up of the committed players, invited from spring tryout players and invited from the last chance camp players.

   4. AA commitments – in the Spring we will commit up to six players to AA (or the number of eligible returning players if more than 6), and those players will be invited to the AAA Fall Main Camp with an opportunity to make the AAA team (this does not apply to U16AA committed players, but U16AA committed players will have an opportunity for U18AAA through the Last Chance Camp option).

   5. For returning AA players, if your player is a “veteran” (played on the same AA team in 2024/25) we recognize that the original communication indicated that you don’t HAVE to sign up for Spring. However, we strongly encourage you to sign up for Spring Tryouts as this is the only way that he/she will have the opportunity to be presented with a commitment offer for the team. If veterans don’t attend Spring Tryouts, they will still be invited to the Fall tryouts, but the reality is that some spots will already be spoken for, from those that attended Spring tryouts and received 2 commitment offers.

   6. For those divisions that do not have a AAA team (U11 and the female divisions), the AA team will be treated similarly to the divisions with AAA teams, meaning those teams can commit up to 15 players from the Spring Tryouts.

   7. For any players attending one of the Hockey Alberta Showcase tournaments during the same timeframe as their tryouts, they may be considered for signing without attending the AEHC Spring Tryouts.

Revised Tryout Dates (Including the changes of February 5, 2025)

• U18 AAA (April 3-6, 2025)

• U17 AAA (April 3-6, 2025)

• U18 AA (May 1-4, 2025)

• U16 AA (May 8-11, 2025)

• U18 AA Female (April 10-13, 2025)

• U15 AAA (April 3-6, 2025)

• U15 AA (May 1-4, 2025)

• U15 AA Female (May 1-4, 2025)

• U13 AAA (April 10-13, 2025)

• U13 AA (May 1-4, 2025)

• U13 AA Female (May 8-11, 2025)

• U11 (AA April 10-13, 2025)

Regards,
Jack Lumley, Committee Chair (AEHC)

Dear Members,

We have recieved multiple concerns from our membership regarding the schduling of spring tryouts during the spring break holiday. In response, your executive committee, with the support of our office staff, have worked diligently to secure additional ice times to better accommodate our athletes.

As a result, we have rescheduled the following tryouts:

• U13AA, U15AA, U18AA and U15AA Female; Moved from Apr. 24-27 to May 1-4.

• U13AA Female and U16AA; Moved from May 1-4 to May 8-11.

We believe this will provide more high performance players with the opportunity to participate in tryouts, ensuring a more inclusive competitive process.

We appreciate your feedback and patience as we strive to support our athletes and their development.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our program.

Best regards,
Pat Stachniak
VP, High Performance

Hockey Alberta is developing a new model for the 2025 Tryout season which greatly impacts all AAA and AA level tryouts, both Mainstream and Female. In anticipation of this announcement, AMHA is proactively planning to utilize this new process, as ice availability in fall 2025 is greatly reduced by the Ron Ebbesen Arena closure for renovation.

Click here for more information.