Player Protection Rights
To protect its rights to a player, a Team must ensure the player is, at all times, listed on one of the following protection lists, which shall be maintained by the League based on accurate information provided to it by its Members.
U18 List
Each season, Teams are permitted to reserve the rights to a maximum of 20 U18 players. To exercise this right, a Team must submit a U18 List to the Commissioner in writing on or before the Season Opening Deadline.
The rules governing each Team’s U18 List are as follows:
- Players selected in the Bantam Draft are deemed to be immediately placed on that Teams’ U18 List.
- Players who are on a Team’s U18 active roster must be placed on that Team’s U18 List.
- Players released by the U18 Team shall be removed from that Team’s U18 List and that Team will be deemed to have waived all protection rights to that player.
- At the conclusion of each season, all players on a Team’s U18 List shall be moved to the that Team’s 30-Player List for the off season, even if it results in the 30-Player List containing more than 30
- Each fall, players who are released from a Team’s selection camp and returned to U18 for a second or third season shall be placed on that Team’s U18
- Player List
Each season, Teams are also permitted to protect a maximum of thirty (30) players on the 30- Player List. To exercise this right, a Team must submit its 30-Player List to the Commissioner in writing on or before the Season Opening Deadline.
A player may only be placed on a Team’s 30-Player List if:
- The player was on the HCR of another team in a different league, but the player has signed to a Junior ‘A’ card with the Member Team and has been placed on the HCR of that Member
- The player was properly moved from one of the Team’s other protection lists recognized in this
- The player is acquired via trade from another Team in the The rules governing each Team’s 30-Player List are as follows:
- All players on the current season’s HCR for the Team must be listed on the Team’s 30- Player
- Any player who is listed on the Team’s HCR at the end of the previous season must be listed on the Team’s 30-Player List or the Team will be deemed to have waived all protection rights to that player.
- A player who is on a Team’s protection list, who is offered a Junior ‘A’ card by that Team, but refuses to sign said card can be placed on that Team’s 30-Player List and remain on said list until August 1st of that player’s 19th
- A player who has signed a Junior ‘A’ card with a Team, who does not report or make himself available to play on the Team, can remain on that Team’s 30-Player List until he is no longer eligible to play in the
Reserve List
The rules governing each Team’s Reserve List are as follows:
- A player who is on a Team’s protection list and eligible to return to the League as a player may be placed on a Team’s Reserved List if that player, for the upcoming season, signs with a team in the CHL, signs a NLOI with an NCAA team or signs with a U Sports RinkNet shall be the final authority when determining if a player is eligible for a Reserve List.
- Once placed on the Reserved List, the player shall remain on the Reserved List until one of the following occurs: 1) the player no longer meets the criteria set out in paragraph 1 above, in which case the Team must take a step to protect its rights to the player within forty-eight (48) hours of the moment in which the player failed to meet the criteria set out in paragraph 1 or the player will be deemed to be a free agent; 2) the player is transferred to one of the other protection lists; 3) the Team trades the player or waives its rights to the player by releasing the player; or 4) the player is no longer eligible to play in the
U18 Defected List
The rules governing each Team’s U18 Defected List are as follows:
- A player selected by a Team in the Bantam Draft who does not report or make himself available to play on the Team’s U18 team may be placed on the U18 Defected List.
- A player who has completed his first year of U18 who does not report or make himself available to play on the Team’s U18 team, if assigned to that team, may be placed on the U18 Defected List.
- Each player placed on a Team’s U18 Defected List shall remain on that List until that player is eligible for one of the other protection lists of a Team or that player enters his final (3rd) year of eligibility at which time the Team must either move the player to its 30- Player List or waive its rights to the player by releasing the
USA Hockey Defected List
Players who are on a protection list of a Team who transfer during the off-season to a USA hockey Team may be listed on the Team’s USA Hockey Defected List.
Once placed on the USA Hockey Defected List, the player shall remain on that list until one of the following occurs: 1) the player is transferred to one of the other protection lists; 2) the Team trades the player or waives its rights to the player by releasing the player; or 3) the player is no longer eligible to play in the League.
Non-Sanctioned Defected List
A player who is on a Team’s 30-Player List immediately after the Cut Down Date, who transfers to a team that is participating in non-sanctioned hockey may be placed on a Team’s Non- Sanctioned Defected List.
Once placed on a Team’s Non-Sanctioned Defected List, the player shall remain on that list until one of the following occurs: 1) the player is transferred to one of the other protection lists; 2) the Team trades the player or waives its rights to the player by releasing the player; or 3) the regular season in which the player is placed on the Non-Sanctioned Defected List concludes.