Signing contracts is a big part of junior hockey — it can get complicated, so you need to know the full picture before you commit to a team via tenders. This guide is here to help you better understand the entire landscape!
Signing a Tender
- In Junior Hockey, signing a tender means a team acquires your playing rights. Depending on the league, this will effectively remove you from the pool of free agents either within that league and/or other leagues as well.
- Tenders allow teams to lock in players they believe will be key contributors to their program and prevent other teams from recruiting them.
- Does not ensure a spot on the team roster or guaranteed playing time. Performance, team needs, and otherfactors influence actual participation.
- Tenders are contracts that a player can choose to sign or not sign.
Tendering Leagues: Sanctioned
- Tendering In Sanctioned Leagues (USHL & NAHL):
- USHL:
- Each team can issue up to 2 tenders per season for top talent before the USHL Phase I Draft but in doing so, forfeit their first and second-round picks in the upcoming draft.
- Tendered players are required to participate in at least 55% of the team’s regular season games during their first season.
Tendering Leagues: Unsanctioned
- Tendering In Unsanctioned Leagues (NCDC, USPHL, EHL):
- Tendering in unsanctioned leagues is similar to sanctioned ones, but the difference is you are only tendered in that given league.
- If you want to move to another team within the same league after being tendered, your rights must be traded or released.
- Even if tendered, doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a spot or playing time. You could be a healthy scratch.
- If you are unhappy or not getting enough playing time, you can move to another unsanctioned or sanctioned league (time constraints apply).
Letter Of Intent (LOI)
- In Canadian sanctioned CJHL leagues, an LOI is a preliminary agreement from a team to sign you before signing the official Hockey Canada card.
- After signing, no other sanctioned team can contact that player.
- To move to another league after signing a LOI, a player will need to be released or traded from their current team (after June 1st).
- Even with an LOI, a spot on the team is not guaranteed.
- If a player is not signed to a full Hockey Canada Card by a certain deadline, the LOI may expire or be voided.
Letter Of Consent (LOC)
- Letter of Consent (LOC):
- Formal document used in Hockey Canada-sanctioned leagues to facilitate a player’s movement between teams, leagues, or organizations.
- Serves as official permission for a player to engage in specific actions, such as trying out for a team or transferring to a different organization.
- Types of Letters of Consent in Hockey
- Tryout Permission
- Required when a player wants to attend a tryout for a team outside their home association or region(referred to as a Letter of Permission).
- Player Movement Between Leagues (Junior Hockey):
- Used when a player wants to leave a team and join another in a different Hockey Canada-sanctioned league.
- Ensures that both teams and leagues approve of the transfer.
- International Transfers:
- Required when a player is moving between Hockey Canada and another federation like USA Hockey.
- This process must be approved by both Hockey Canada and the IIHF.
- Tryout Permission
CHL Drafts
- The CHL uses a draft system per Major Junior League to allocate players’ rights, they don’t use tenders.
- Holds an annual draft where players are selected based on their birth year and regional eligibility rules from each Major Junior league.
- Drafted players can only move to another major junior team if their rights are released/traded.
- Undrafted players can sign with any major junior team as free agents.
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