Select

When do we play?

Scheduling for all the Leaside Flames in Select can be found on the North York Hockey League website.

What is the NYHL?
Leaside Select teams compete in the North York Hockey League (NYHL) which is part of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The NYHL runs the Select League for approximately 32 GTA hockey clubs.

When does the NYHL season start and end?
The timing for the 2022/23 season is not yet known. The 2021/22 NYHL season began on November 1, 2021. Playoffs follow the end of the regular season and occur in March and April.

Will there be games on holidays?
The NYHL does not schedule games over the following holidays: Thanksgiving Weekend, Christmas Break, or Easter Weekend. Games are scheduled over Family Day weekend and March Break (playoffs) and players are expected to be available for these games.

How much does Select cost?
The Select program typically costs $1,500–$2,000 per season. Team budgets are managed by each team’s parent group and are influenced by the amount of fundraising and sponsorship each team secures. The bulk of a team’s expenses goes towards ice costs and NYHL registration. The Select fee is in addition to the House League fee and does not include extra costs for team events or tournaments. The LHA is a not-for-profit organization and any remaining team funds at the end of a season are returned to the families of each team.

What is the time commitment?
In addition to the House League time commitment, our Select teams hold 1-2 practices per week plus participate in NYHL Select games (approximately 18-20 games per season excluding playoffs). Additionally, most teams participate in 2-3 tournaments per season.

How many Select Teams does Leaside have?
Leaside typically has 18 competing teams: 2 teams each from U10 to U18.

Is there body checking?
Select is non-contact at all levels.

At what age can you start playing select?
For the 2022/23 Season, our Select program begins with U10 for children born in 2013.

Do I need to be registered in House League to play Select?
Yes. Participation in House League is a mandatory requirement to play Select. For all NYHL organizations, Select is an extension of House League. Players are only allowed to miss 3 HL games for tournaments and a maximum of 6 HL games total, including tournaments, for illness. House League is monitored, and if you miss you will be removed from your Select Team. This is a NYHL rule.

Are teams selected or spots offered prior to tryouts?
No teams are selected or spots offered prior to tryouts, with the exception of (1) the player of the Head Coach, and (2) the player of one other team staff member as designated by the Head Coach. For further clarity, Head Coaches are prohibited from recruiting or offering spots to players prior to the tryout evaluation.

How does the LHA select and evaluate coaches?
All LHA Select teams are staffed with dedicated volunteers from the LHA community. Each year the LHA completes an anonymous survey to assess the staff of each team. This survey is used to evaluate our coaches and programs to determine coaching appointments for the following season.

We have a variety of forms and resources set up to support our coaches and managers. Log in to access this information here or find the "log in" button in the footer from any page (other than news pages) on the site.

Leaside Hockey Association 2022 / 2023 Refund Policy

The LHA may be required to modify or suspend our programming as a result of circumstances beyond our control, including but not limited to:

• Directives from local, provincial, or federal governments or corresponding health authorities;
• An outbreak of COVID-19 within the Leaside Hockey community (players, families, arena staff, external service providers, etc.);
• Changes in rules, regulations, insurance coverage, and other issues by our governing hockey bodies;
• Ice facilities becoming unusable temporarily or permanently due to COVID-19 related closures, fires, mechanical failure, labour disruption, or weather-related events

The LHA will make every effort to respond to and mitigate the impact of any unforeseen circumstances as they arise.  To the extent that a cancellation, suspension, reduction or variation in programming is required the LHA will make best efforts to provide refunds to the extent it is practicable* and commits to at all times act on a good faith basis.

Players and families will be required to follow certain mandated protocols designed to promote safety in our LHA programs, which might include (but are not limited to) thermal scans, self-reporting/quarantine, medical questionnaires, etc. Failure to adhere to the required protocols may result in a prohibition from participating in LHA programming. In such circumstances, players may not be eligible for a refund.

Refunds will not be provided for injury or illness-related reasons.