U11- Season Pathway Outline

By lmhoffice | September 11, 2026 | Comments Off on U11- Season Pathway Outline
Good evening hockey parents,
I hope everyone’s child was able to take part in some of the development skates offered by LMHA to get the season started off.
Currently we have +165 players registered for U11 hockey between both the male and female.
The current anticipated breakdown for U11 teams this year is:
  • 1 Team – AA
  • 1 Team – Tier 1 – Playing in NEAHL
  • 1 Team – Tier 2 – Playing in NEAHL
  • 8 Team City Development League
    • 4 Boys Teams
    • 4 Girls Teams
Teams are anticipated to have 13 to 15 players (not including goalies) across all team types.
 As previously emailed out by the LMHA office, Mainstream evaluations will take place during the September 18-20 weekend.
This is a very busy time for LMHA as U11, U13 and U15 evaluations all take place on the same weekend. Outside evaluators will be used to evaluate the kid’s hockey skills amongst their peers.
There will be three ice times per player:
  • One skills session
  • Two scrimmages
There will also be a separate goalie session.
The U11 AA tryouts will have no connection or bearing on the outcomes of the mainstream evaluation weekend.
Prior to evaluation weekend, grouping and times will be sent out for all players
  • Male players will be grouped into similar skill category to help with evaluations. If a player is found to be in the wrong category, they will be moved throughout the weekend to the proper group to ensure representative evaluations
  • Female groups will be balanced by size to allow for necessary scrimmage roster sizes
These evaluations will require volunteers. We will need someone to hand out jerseys and check the kids in, a few volunteers to run the skills session, the scrimmages will require bench staff, and we will need one parent from each evaluation team to take home the jerseys and wash them at the end of the weekend. I will be posting a sign-up link for these positions the week of the evaluations, so please keep an eye out for it.
After the initial Mainstream evaluations are completed a confirmation skate for the tier teams will take place which will help finalize the rosters of both the T1/T2 teams.
  • Not all players on the T1/T2 teams will skate in this skate, some players will have rated high enough out of mainstream evaluations and not be required to skate
  • Evaluations of this skate will be completed by volunteer outside evaluators, LMHA executive members, and myself
  • Final teams will be made after this skate with players not being selected for the T1/T2 team being transitioned into the City Development League
  • If you wish for your child to not play tier hockey please reach out so I can make a note
Note: Team rosters will not be posted before or during school hours to ensure parents have an opportunity to talk to their child first.
T1 / T2 – NEAHL
For those that are unfamiliar with the NEAHL league and Tier hockey, a few keys points of the commitment level are below:
  • ~25 game season with half games being on the road
    • Road games can be upwards +400km away from Lloydminster
      • Several hotel weekends are common for league games and or playoffs
  • Team fees typically are $450 or greater
  • Off ice activities like dryland or skill sessions are common
  • Historically, teams play 2 games every weekend + travel tournament weekends
City Development League
After the Tier teams are selected, we will begin with development league team selection. Team selection will be based on Mainstream Evaluations initially.
Both boy and girl players will be split into rosters and then 1 hour balancing skate games will be played to ensure we have even teams across both the boys’ and girls’ teams.
These skates will take place over a few weekends – I expect each group to play 3-5 games to ensure even team construction. There will be player movement during this phase as it is important to get the teams as balanced as possible to ensure a competitive season.
During this time I hope to establish both coaches and managers for all teams.
For those that are unfamiliar with the City Development League
  • 8 team league – 4 Boys & 4 Girls
  • ~20 game season with all games being played in Lloydminster
  • Players and Team stats will be kept similar to the NEAHL
  • Team fees typically are ~$250
I have personally had two children play in the City Development League and have found that it is an excellent bridge for players coming out of U9 to improve both their individual and team skills. Last season we had City Development teams which had competitive games with NEAHL Tier 3 teams.
The expectation with City Development League is still to have active player dedication and attendance to practices, games and tournaments.
In addition to the Tier Teams and City Development League LMHA continues to offer our Pond Hockey Program.
  • Pond hockey offers a flexible way for your child to stay on the ice and build their skills.
  • Pond Hockey Program runs twice a week—Wednesday and Friday evenings—with one-hour sessions designed to balance development and enjoyment.
  • Running from early November through early March.
  • LMHA offer age-based groups from 9 to 18, and players are placed where they’ll develop best, with flexibility to move between groups based on skill level.
  • Each session blends structured skill work with plenty of scrimmage time. Younger players focus more on fundamentals, while older groups shift toward fast-paced, game-style play.
  • What really sets this program apart is its flexibility—there are no weekend commitments and no expectation to travel.
Please reach out if this is of interest
If you have any questions or concerns about the information above please feel free to reach out.
Regards,
Tyler Mercier
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