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Player Placement Manual

2024-25 Season

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Placement Program Objectives and Philosophy

The Knights Hockey Club placement process is a fundamental component of the overall hockey program. The Placement Program Operations Manual (the "Manual") is approved by The Knights Hockey Club in accordance with the Hockey Calgary "Return to Play" program. We recommend all members read the manual thoroughly and contact the VP of Evaluations, VP On-Ice or the Evaluations Team to answer any questions you may have.

The objective of the Placement Program is to provide each player with a fair, impartial, and consisetent process to be placed with players of like skill, resulting in the best chance to develop their hockey skills and understanding of the game. Teams will be formed which maintain a skill balance where players can develop, participate equitably, and have fun playing hockey. All placement policies and processes are developed to ensure players are given opportunity and are in the best interest of every Knights Hockey Player.

Parent Expectations

  • We have instituted a no spectator policy; however, we will not be covering the glass for the KHC player placement program for the U9 to U18 age groups. We ask that parents respect this policy and do not attempt to enter the ice surface area during the player placement skates.
  • Any spectator issues arising will be sent to the VP of Safety and Governance for review.
  • Read all communication distributed by the Evaluation Team and The Knights Hockey Club. Attend the mandatory Evaluation Town Hall.
  • Ensure you and your player understand the process. Evaluations personnel will be available at the facility to answer any questions. They will be identifiable by a lanyard that states they are a member of the evaluation team.
  • Practice proper sports etiquette and adhere to the principles outlined in Respect in Sport. Each family is required to have a complete updated RIS certification.
  • Abide by any special facility guidelines regarding pre and post ice time process and parent attendance.
  • DO NOT approach evaluators with questions about rankings or marks. Evaluations information is kept confidential.  Should you have questions, please contact your Division Age Group Evaluations Coordinator or your Director of Evaluations Director of Evaluations Jr (U7-U11) or Director of Evaluations Sr. (U13-U18). Performance testing results will be made available by request for the U9 age group.
  • Assist your player in being prepared. Ensure your player is at the rink 30 minutes before their scheduled ice time and ready 5 minutes before their ice time. This will give on-ice instructors and age group coordinators the chance to explain the session to the players.
  • Check that all equipment fits properly, and skates are sharpened before their session. Kids change sizes over the summer and their safety is important.
  • Stay positive and support your player through the process. They will perform at their best when stress is lower.

 

Due to the no spectator rink policy, KHC will have LIVEBARN available for viewing during the placement program. Livebarn videos will not be used or considered as part of placement reviews.

As per the Knights Hockey Club Electronic Device Policy, no photos or video inside the players dressing room are permitted. Photos of sign-in sheets are prohibited.

Player Expectations

  • Be prepared for evaluation skates by arriving 30 minutes early and be fully dressed on the bench inside the dressing room 5 minutes prior to the start of your ice time.
  • Be respectful to the ice staff, volunteers and other players. Demonstrate good sportsmanship on and off the ice.
  • Be respectful of the performance testing equipment. This is sensitive calibrated laser equipment. Horseplay around the equipment will not be tolerated.
  • Do YOUR best and have fun. Perform drills to the best of your ability.
  • Understand the process for your age-appropriate level. Ask questions of the on-ice team and evaluation volunteers when you need clarification.
  • No alcohol, marijuana (in any form), other illicit drugs, nicotine or vaping is permitted in the rink. Suspensions will occur if this policy is not followed.

The Process

A process will be utilized to ensure efficient and effective placement of players in all age groups. These groups provide the opportunity for evaluators to assess the players during the process. Target group sizes will be between 20-30 players. Initial group sizes will vary based on final registration numbers, and in the case of U13, U15 & U18, position declaration.

U7 Age Group

  • Skate #1
    • Players will be divided alphabetically for their initial evaluation session. (Depending on registration numbers, groups could be divided alphabetically by birth year)
    • Players will participate in various age-appropriate drills
  • Skate #2
    • Players will be separated into groups based on skill
    • Players will participate in various age-appropriate drills and small area games

 

Players will be placed on teams after skate #2 as the objective of U7 is to create parity teams for optimal development. This is in accordance with Hockey Canada and Hockey Calgary process and procedures.

U9 Age Group

  • Skate #1 - Performance testing
    • Players will be placed in groups based on birth year and division played last season. (Note: depending on registration number and group sizes there may be instances when a player is placed in a group with a different birth year.)
    • Players will participate in 1 Performance Test session 30 minutes in duration, evaluating skills with the puck. If possession of the puck is lost during the drill, the player must retrieve the puck and continue.
  • Skate #2, #3 & #4 - Game play sessions
    • Players will participate in 3 game play session sessions.
    • Upon completion of the 3 game play session sessions, players will be placed on their tiered teams.

U11 - U13 Age Groups

The U11 & U13 age groups will use the Knights Cup format for player placement. The Knights Cup is a tournament style process. The evaluation process will consist of 3 Knights Cups to ensure fair placement.

 

  • Game Play Sessions
    • Players will be assigned to a Knights Cup tournament based on the team they played last season.
    • Players will be assigned to a Knights Cup team and will remain on the same Knights Cup team throughout the tournament unless notified by the Age Group Coordinator or their Director of Evaluations.
    • Knights Cup 1 - players will participate in 5 game play sessions
    • Knights Cup 2 - players will participate in 5 game play sessions
    • Knights Cup 3 - players will participate in 3-4 game play sessions

Knights Cup 1 will consist of 6 teams (round robin). Upon completion of the 5 games, some players will be moved up to participate in Knights Cup 2. The remaining players will be placed onto their team.

Knights Cup 2 will consist of 6 teams (round robin). Upon completion of the 5 games, some players will be moved up to participate in Knights Cup 3. The remaining players will be placed onto their team.

Knights Cup 3 will consist of 4 teams (round robin). Upon completion of the 3 games, the evaluation committee may opt too remove 5-10 players to participate in an additional game.

 

Note: Knights Cup teams can be scheduled 2 games per day on Saturday and Sunday. As per the Hockey Calgary Grid, if there are two (2) teams in the same division, after all evaluation skates are completed players that are locked in the specific division may be scheduled an additional ice time.

U15 & U18 Age Groups:

U15 Body Contact (BC) divisions 1-3, Non-Body Contact (NBC) divisions 1-4. These are the Hockey Calgary divisions for this season.

U18 Body Contact (BC) divisions 1-3, Non-Body Contact (NBC) divisions 1-3. These are the Hockey Calgary divisions for this season.

 

  • This age group will use Knight's Cup for player placement. The Knights Cup is a tournament style process and will consist of 4 Knights Cup tournaments.
  • Knights Cup player placement will be based on team played last season regardless of non-contact or contact designation.
  • Knights Cup 1 & 2 tournaments will be non-body contact
  • Knights Cup 3 & 4 tournaments will be body contact.
  • This promoting upward movement
  • Not all players that choose to evaluate for body contact are guaranteed to be assigned to a body contact team.

 

Knights Cup Tournament #1 and #2 - Non-Body Checking Tournament

  • Depending on registration numbers, 4 or more evaluation teams will be formed from the players who choose to play body contact and non-body contact.
  • Each evaluation team will participate in 3 games (round robin).
  • Once the Knights Cup 1 is completed, players will be ranked and either assigned to a non-body contact team or assigned to participate in the Knights Cup 2.
  • Once the Knights Cup 2 is completed, palyers will be ranked and either assigned to the remaining non-body contact teams or assigned to participate in the Body Contact Knights Cup.

Not all players that choose to evaluate for body contact are guaranteed to be assigned to a body-checking team.

 

Knights Cup Tournament #3 & #4 - Body Contact Tournament

  • Upon completion of the U15 Knights Cup 2 tournament, 4 or more evaluation teams will be formed for the U16 Knights Cup 3 evaluations.
  • Players participating in the Knights Cup 3 will participate in 3 games.
  • Once the Knights Cup 3 is completed, players will be ranked and either assigned to a body contact team or assigned to participate in Knights Cup 4.
  • At the end of the U15 Knights Cup 4, players will be assigned to Body Contact team. If you are Playing in the Knights Cup 3 and Knights Cup 4 tournaments, you are guaranteed a spot on body contact team.

Note: Depending on registration numbers for the U15 and U18 groups, the number of teams is dictated by Hockey Calgary.

INITIAL GROUP POPULATION

Number of groups, sizes and placement are subject to change based on final registration numbers. The teams are numbered in the order groups are filled.

 

U9 Grouping

  • The performance testing sessions will determine placement in game play sessions and there will be no predetermined groupings.

 

U11-U13 Grouping

  • Players will be initially placed in Knights Cup depending on which team they played on last season.

 

U15 & U18 Grouping

  • Players must select body contact or non-body contact at registration.
  • Players who requested for the body checking stream can be placed in a non-body checking stream based on their overall rankings.
  • Players will be initially placed in groups depending on which team they played on last season.
  • Players registered for non-body checking WILL NOT be placed in the body checking stream.
  • Players evaluation rankings will determine a player's final placement. Therefore, a player can be placed in non-body checking team even fi the body checking stream is selected at registration.

Number of Sessions per age group

  • U7 - Players will participate in 2 placement skates.
  • U9 - Players will participate in 4 placement skates (1 performance testing and 3 game play sessions).
  • U11 - Players will participate in a minimum of 3 full ice game sessions.
  • U13 - Players will participate in a minimum of 3 full ice game sessions.
  • U15 - Players will participate in a minimum of 3 full ice game sessions
  • U18 - Players will participate in a minimum of 3 full ice game sessions

Pathway Skates

As per Hockey Canada guidelines, Pathway Skates will be offered to all age groups based on ice availability and placement skate ice requirements. Age group coordinators will schedule the Pathway skates for their age groups in conjunction with the ice scheduler.

Knights Hockey Club will be utilizing age-specific, pre-approved drills from the Director of Player Development, Director of Evaluations, Director of Coaches and the 3rd party evaluation team. These drills are designed to highlight a player's skills while remaining in a safe environment.

Player Ranking

  • Players are ranked according to the number of players in the age group (example: if there are 100 players in U11, the players will be ranked 1-100).
  • In U13, U15 and U18 players are ranked within the position they are evaluating for (example: Forwards: 1-60 &  Defense: 1-40)
  • Criteria: Evaluators will evaluate players using the following criteria:
    • Skating
    • Puck Handling
    • Hockey Sense
    • Compete

Movement (U9 - U13)

  • Following each evaluation session players may move up or down in their respective groups. Players are capable of movement up and down throughout the entire evaluation process. This provides players the opportunity and ability to continuously improve their final ranking and impact their final team placement.
  • It is our goal to reduce multiple or back-to-back evaluation skates. However, in some cases a player may be asked to skate more than once on the same day. The purpose of this movement is to see if player(s) in one group have similar or different skills than players in another group. Same day movements will be solely at the discretion of the Director of Evaluations in discussions with the VP On Ice and independent evaluation team.
  • Player movement is dependent on evaluation score/rankings therefore the outcomes of each evaluation session will determine the number of players moved up and down from each group. Following the completion of all sessions, evaluation scores are reviewed and the capacity for movement assessed.

Pulling Players U11-U18

At the discretion of the Evaluations Committee; top players from a group or Knights Cup team may be removed from the evaluation process. This is referred to as pulling the player/players. Players may then be asked to participate in the next skate or tournament.

Evaluators

  • Evaluators will be assigned to specific age groups by the Board of Director On Ice team.
  • This will consist of a combination of independent evaluators and coaches.
  • Evaluators will be identified after registration and assigned to a specific age group for the duration of the process.
  • Evaluators will not be permitted to evaluate their child or a relative.

Goalie Evaluations (U11 - U18)

Designation of goaltenders in the U11 - U18 age groups is mandatory on the official Hockey Canada rosters. It is important for goalies to be aware that when they elect to evaluate at the goaltender position, they will be expected to remain at that position through the balance of the year. The exception is for U11 hybrid pathway, a goalie may also participate as a player if they evaluate within one division as a goalie and player.

 

  • Process: Goalies will participate in a goalie specific technical session, at the beginning of the evaluation process. A goalie's initial group placement for game play will be determined by the technical skate. Final team placement will be based on the results from the initial skills skates, and the game play skates.
  • Skills Session: The technical session will be weighted and count for a portion of the goaltenders final ranking. Drills will be used which highlight modern goaltending techniques and attributes.
  • Evaluators: To ensure effective and optimal evaluations of goaltenders, outside accredited goalie evaluators will be utilized.
  • U11 Hybrid and Goalies - availability for the number of hybrid positions will be determined by the number of teams and full time goalies. The number of goalie positions will be determined by the number of teams (Hockey Canada dictates the number of teams based on registration numbers). Full time goalies will take priority when considering placement. Additional consideration will be taken into account by the Evaluation Committee on a case by case basis. In the event that we have more registered goalies than the number of goalie positions (with a maximum of 2 goalies per team), we may need to release goalies and, if available, offer them a spot within another association. We understand that this can be a challenging situation, and we are committed to working with each family to explore alternate options. Discussions will be held with the parents on a case-by-case basis to ensure the best possible outcome for each goalie.

Absentee / Sick Policy ALL Players

Skaters and Goaltenders are required to attend ALL their respective evaluation sessions. It is the responsibility of the player/family to notify their Evaluation Team and the VP On Ice prior to their scheduled evaluation if they are unable to attend an evaluation session. Notifications should be via email, phone or in person. Any player who misses an evaluation session will have their next placement reviewed by the VP On Ice and Evaluation Team.

 

  • When players miss an evaluation session without legitimate reason, they will receive the lowest ranking within their designated pool. This can adversely affect their overall ranking and impact their final cohort placement.

 

  • A player who misses the first evaluation session without a legitimate reason may be moved down to another group based upon receiving the lowest ranking and the movement of their peer group from the previous season. In addition, players who miss the session following movement up to a pool may be moved down based on the movement of their peer group from the previous session and their lowest ranking.

Legitimate and Excused Absence

When a player misses due to legitimate reasons, policies are followed, documentation is provided and approved by the Evaluations Committee, the VP of Evaluations and the VP On Ice, the player will not receive a score for that session. Sessions they participated in will be averaged to determine team placement.

The previous injury tag procedure has been re-modelled and will now be known as Injured Player Placement (IPP).

IPP Procedure:

  • There is no guarantee that the participant will play at the same level as the previous season.
  • In case of illness or injury, a doctor's note is required.
  • In the event of a long-term injury, requiring recovery time greater than 2 weeks, or does not permit the athlete to participate in evaluations at any capacity, the participant placement will be based on the level played in the previous season. Ultimately, placement will be based on coach reviews from the previous season and consultation from the Evaluation Committee.
  • Injury or Illness: Medical notes are required for any player missing all or any evaluations due to sickness or injury. Medical notes MUST be presented within 48 hours of a missed session (24 hours of the last evaluation skate).
  • Players who are injured during evaluations will be placed on a team based on their performance up to the point of injury and the discretion of the evaluations committee; taking into consideration last season's available data.
  • All decisions on team placement due to injury or illness will be made in collaboration with the Evaluation Team and VP On Ice.
  • Legitimate personal, family, and medical emergencies are situations that will also not count in the final player ranking. Each case will be reviewed separately by the Evaluations Team and VP On Ice.

Players Returning from Quadrant and GHC AA

Players trying out for quadrant teams must follow the registration guidelines determined by the Knights Hockey Club to be considered during the Player evaluations and placement process. Spaces may not be held and acceptance into Knights may not be guaranteed unless players are pre-registered prior to the start of the Player Placement Process. Players that are selected for quadrant teams will be reimbursed all hockey fees paid to Knights Hockey Club. Refund requests must be submitted in writing to the Administrator by email.

Evaluation Apparel

  • Evaluation jerseys will be provided for the players.
  • Knights socks or solid socks with no other team or program affiliation are required for U9 - U18 placement sessions (and can be purchased from Play It Again Sports - Shawnessy).
  • No helmet stickers from other teams (example spring hockey) or any tape or markings are permitted during placement sessions. Stickers that aren't removed will be removed by the evaluations team (this includes numbers).
  • Note: game socks will be distributed once teams are formed

Reviews U9 - U18

A Review of a player's placement can be requested 24 hours after final team placement notification. There will be a nonrefundable review fee of $500 payable before the review begins (these funds will be donated to the uKnighted Fund). A review looks at the player's progression throughout evaluations to ensure that process errors did not occur. We do not change actual evaluators rankings during a review. Feedback from Independent evaluators will also be reviewed and discussed. Video from LIVEBARN cannot be submitted and if it is submitted will not be reviewed by the player placement review group. If it is determined that an error has occurred in the player's placement, a player may be added to the correct team if there is room for an additional player following the Hockey Calgary guidelines and requirements for team sizes. In no circumstances will a player on a team be moved down a team.

Evaluation Dates and Times

  • Evaluations will commence in September and will be completed by October 5th.
  • Please refer to the website for general evaluation dates and times for each age group.
  • Parents/Players will receive emails from their Age Group Coordinator with their specific ice time closer to the start of evaluations.

 

Contact the Director of Evaluations for your age group at jrevaluations@knightshc.ca (U7-U11) or srevaluations@knightshc.ca (U13-U18) with questions and inquiries prior to and during evaluations.

This document will act as the general guidelines for all involved to ensure a consistent, integral application of the principles of evaluation are applied throughout the process.

Evaluations Committee

Comprised of 5-9 unbiased persons, including a combination of the following candidates:

  • VP Evaluations
  • Director of Evaluations Jr. and/or Director of Evaluations Sr.
  • 3-5 Coaches of the given age group
  • Evaluation Consultant
  • VP On-Ice
  • Independent Evaluators (not involved in original placement)

The committee will utilize the following tools/methods:

  • Evaluators notes from game play.
  • Verbal discussion, closed room, focused on notes and discrepancies in rank.
  • Director from Hockey Calgary, by extension, the HC affiliation procedure.
  • Consideration of where the majority of first year players are placed.

Misplacement

U9 - U18 In the event of gross misplacement, a player may be moved to a higher division, based on roster considerations.

U13-U18 In the event of gross misplacement due to positional declaration. Athletes attempting to manipulate the evaluation process by declaring themselves for defensive positions, in certain instances, may not be placed at higher tiers if it is deemed that their skill level is not on par with the other athletes in each tier. In these cases, the Evaluation Committee will assess the situation and determine the final roster by selecting the highest ranked athlete, regardless of position declaration.

Please feel free to contact the VP of Evaluations - vpevaluations@knightshc.ca or your appropriate Director of Evaluations as per your age group (Senior or Junior).

This document will act as the general guidelines and principles of evaluations are applied throughout the process. All comments, questions and concerns for improvement should be forwarded to the VP On Ice and the Evaluation Team for consideration.

Formal Appeal Process

  • Within 24 hours of team placement notification - complaint must be filed with VP Governance.
  • Payment of non-refundable revaluation review (appeal) fee must then be paid.
  • Once payment is received, complaint is forwarded to VP Evaluations and evaluation process begins.