CROSS BORDER HOCKEY
Over the history of the ORHL, we've been proud to host and share the ice with many excellent clubs at our various events. The upcoming 2023-2024 season will be no different! Americans, Canadians, contact us to register for our FULL ICE (U9) Novice/Squirt division! The birth years playing in this division will be 2015 and 2016.
USA: TEAM inquiries only at this time.
CANADA: Teams & Individuals are welcomed
This is going to be another exciting year!
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
ORHL CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 31st to April 2nd
Canlan Sports
2300 Cornwall Rd, Oakville, ON
We are excited to be heading back to Oakville’s Canlan Arena this year to host the ORHL Championship Tournament. As our regular season winds down, seeds are locked and teams start to look ahead at the possible matchups for this exciting tournament format finale to our season. We look forward to seeing nearly 700 ORHL players and their families March 31st to April 2nd in Oakville!
Tournament info and the schedule at the link on the top of the page.
Checkout our ORHL Championship Tournament page for more information.
Looking forward to one last great weekend of hockey to wrap up the ORHL 2022-23 season!
CAA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT
The annual CAA Classic Tournament takes place November 25th to November 27th at the CAA Centre in Brampton. This year's tournament will see some great hockey action as we welcome U15, U16 and U18 teams from Ontario and the US. The CAA Centre is an unbelievable venue for a youth tournament with 4 NHL size rinks, including a spectator bowl with a seating capacity of 5,000 and a full service 250-seat restaurant that overlooks the three community rinks.
Our next ORHL Tournament is the 2022 Buffalo Outdoor Air Tournament held December 29-31 for U9 & U11 age groups at the Fabulous Buffalo Riverworks located minutes from the Canada/US border. To register for this tournament please contact Diane@ORHL.net
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMISSIONER
With kids now signed up playing spring hockey, lacrosse, ball hockey, baseball, soccer etc., etc., and the school year winding down, there’s no better time then the present. Most organizations have already held tryouts, and some still need to hold theirs. If you are looking at inquiring about INDIVIDUAL registration, tryouts, cost etc., please reach out to the individual teams for all these answers. If you are inquiring about a TEAM registration, please contact me at kevin@orhl.net and I can walk you through the process. The excitement for the 2022-23 season is ramping up. We have new organizations coming on board, ice permits being confirmed, working on finalizing dates and destinations in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements.
We have made some changes to the 2022-23 season. Some are listed below:
- Midget U18 division will be splitting and will now consist of a Minor Midget U17 division for 2007’s and a maximum of 3 x 2006’s. As well as a Major Midget U18 division for 2005 & 2006 and a maximum of 2 x 2004’s.
- Bantam U15 game times will be 3 x 15 minute periods with a flood after 2nd period mirroring the Midget division.
- Seeding teams, after the regular season starts. We will attempt to seed teams of similar skill for the second half of the schedule while trying to keep all games as competitive as possible.
- We will continue to use Gamesheet Inc and all its functionality to bring stability and consistency to team rosters, game scoring and reporting.
Enjoy your summer activities, get some exercise, work hard and have FUN!
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMISSIONER
After what was a unique and unusual 2021-22 season, we managed to execute all 28 league play games and the ORHL Championship weekend, all while finishing the season on schedule. Congratulations to all participants and a special congratulations to all the Champions. The Finals on Sunday were the best showing of hockey in the 11 years we have been around. Everyone represented in showing incredible sportsmanship from puck drop on Friday to the final buzzer on Sunday.
We are already excited about this coming season. We have many irons in the fire during the off-season and have made some changes to the 2022-23 season. Some are listed below:
- Midget U18 division will be splitting and will now consist of a Minor Midget U17 division for 2007’s and a maximum of 3 x 2006’s. As well as a Major Midget U18 division for 2005 & 2006 and a maximum of 2 x 2004’s.
- Bantam U15 game times will be 3 x 15 minute periods with a flood after 2nd period mirroring the Midget division.
- Seeding teams, after the regular season starts. We will attempt to seed teams of similar skill for the second half of the schedule while trying to keep all games as competitive as possible.
- We will continue to use Gamesheet Inc and all its functionality to bring stability and consistency to team rosters, game scoring and reporting.
- A return to Buffalo Riverworks for the Outdoor Air Tourney – divisions still TBD
Stay tuned for more exciting updates after our summer meetings.
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
WE'RE BACK!
We are so excited to be hitting the ice this weekend at the Mid-Winter Classic Showcase in Brampton! We've all persevered and made it through another pause in play. It's time to see our teammates, our coaches and friends, and get back to the game we LOVE.
Make sure to take tons of photos, share your stories with us all, and have more fun than should be allowed. This game brings us together, and we can't wait to share more experiences with you.
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
Welcome to October, everyone! With the new month, the deadline for EXPANSION TEAM application has passed. The ORHL will not be accepting any further teams for the 2021-22 season. We are extremely grateful for the new clubs who have joined us this year, and we are elated to have kicked-off the season this weekend in London with so many familiar faces and teams.
There are still ORHL teams that are looking for individual players, and we’d love you to find a home in our league. Using the contact pages in our Teams tab, ***contact these clubs, not the league*** FOR ALL INQUIRIES RELATED TO:
- Tryouts
- Roster spots remaining
- Pricing and fees per club
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
Announcement from the Commissioner
Hello All,
Since the announcement from the OMHA the other day I have been overwhelmed with inquiries. As I continue to reach out to every individual, more and more inquiries are coming in. I feel the best way to communicate with you all is by posting this message. I understand the passion of each and everyone of you with your children playing organized hockey. I will do my best here to assist you with the necessary steps to ensure the best experience with the ORHL. If you are inquiring about an individual registration please see the team tab and click on the logo, this will take you directly to the teams website. Here you can reach and contact the people who can assist you with try out dates, roster spot availability and any other questions you may have. Should you be interested in entering a team, you MUST have access to ice to accommodate your program. I will continue to try and follow up on every inquiry but for a quicker response please reach out to the teams directly. I wish everyone success in finding a home in the ORHL, we are simply another option for kids to play hockey. We have no borders, no boundaries and no releases necessary. Team inquiries please note that there’s a process before being accepted and any acceptance into the ORHL the deadline is no later than Oct 1st.
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
Announcement from the Commissioner
Hello All,
We are pleased to announce some exciting news...it has been a long time coming.
Early Bird Tournament
On Friday Oct 1st – Sunday Oct 3rd at the Western Fair in London, ON. The ORHL will be hosting an optional early bird tournament (Kickoff Classic) for Novice – Midget divisions. Guest teams are welcome. Novice plays FULL ice. All inquiries please contact kevin@orhl.net or diane@orhl.net
Regular Season
Games will commence on Saturday, Oct 9th.
First ORHL Showcase Event
Due to the anticipated increase in number of teams this year, we have chosen to split our first showcase event over two weekends. Our first event, The Halloween Hattrick Showcase will take place at the CAA Centre in Brampton, ON - Friday, Oct 29th – Sunday, Oct 31st.
The second weekend will be held at a new venue to the ORHL, in Dorchester, ON. The Remembrance Day Showcase will run Friday, Nov 5th- Sunday, Nov 7th.
**Division participation for each weekend will be determined well in advance.
As you can all imagine, it has been extremely difficult planning a season with the pandemic, the ongoing challenges with different zones, colours, stages etc in securing ice. We have made significant strides in the last month and we anticipate a more concrete schedule in the coming weeks.
We thank all of you for your patience. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we can see it! I will be sharing new venues, dates, divisions etc in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned as we look forward to putting on another fantastic season!
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
Announcement from the Commissioner
ATTN: ALL NOVICE/U9 FAMILIES
The OHF/OMHA division of Hockey Canada announced over the weekend the elimination of ALL competitive hockey (AAA,AA,A,BB,B,CC,C,D) for Novice/U9 and below. This means all rep hockey at Novice/U9 has been ELIMINATED.
The ONTARIO REP HOCKEY LEAGUE (ORHL) offers AND WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER COMPETITIVE, FULL ICE, WEEKEND ONLY GAMES FOR ALL TEAMS NOVICE/U9 through MIDGET/U18. This includes Tournaments, Showcases and Regular Season play. The ORHL offers a school friendly schedule to allow kids to focus on schooling while playing the game we all love.
The ORHL is simply another option for your child to play hockey, get physical activity and build confidence; while enhancing their self esteem, social skills and mental health through keeping the mind and body active.
If this sounds encouraging, check out this site to see what the ORHL is all about.
Regards,
Kevin McKinnon
President/Commissioner
Ontario Rep Hockey League
Read the entire PDF letter: Cube Hockey, Frankfurt, Illinois
April 7, 2020
To The Hockey World:
This was our first year playing in the ORHL (as a guest team) and everyone from the players and coaches to the parents and friends, thoroughly enjoyed the time in Canada. We plan to return for more hockey and somehow more often.
[...continued]
A mother of one of our Peewee players also brought his younger brother, Jaksa who dreamed of playing hockey in Canada. They flew in from Serbia. [...continued]
Thomas Creal
Hockey Director
The Cube Development Team
Cube Youth Hockey
Read the entire PDF letter: Cube Hockey, Frankfurt, Illinois
April 1, 2020
Kevin and Diane,
Tough times call for positive encouragement...
Although we were so unfortunate to be told that we could not finish our season, I never once doubted the way Kevin and Diane handled the situation. Why? Because I have never met 2 better people that I would trust looking after my Son's well being.
Three (3) years ago, my Son Ben learned the harsh reality of politics in Hockey. It was sad, he wanted to quit, felt like he was "trash" and no Coach wanted him. I had heard about this ORHL and thought, "well, let's check it out. Anything is better than HL" .. well Ben got in the very last tryout. I saw him work hard and give it all he had. He just wanted to be "picked". Sad right?? No kid should feel that way. He knew nobody, he was nervous. This was all out of his comfort zone. No friends or past teammates sitting next to him. For a kid that must have been scary. He come off the ice with a smile that I thought was gone .. he sat in the room and his exact words were, "I want to be here, I am choosing this!" WOW!! As a Mom, I wanted to do what was best for my Child. This was his decision and he made it. I tool a lot of flack from Hockey Families, why were we going to play for an "Outlaw League", that hockey isn‘t real. I felt strong about the move so I stood by it.
So here we are 3 Seasons later and my Son has had the best 3 years of his life!!! He has never looked back, only forward. Has made friends for life!! The CHILL Club took Ben in 2 years ago when The Wave folded their teams. What a privilege that was!!! It was a tricky situation with the last minute change at the Wave, but the Coaches came out to watch him and emailed Ben and said "We want you!" Ben has played under the ORHL for 3 Seasons, has played with the CHILL for 2 and we look forward to another Season wearing Blue and White!!! My Son is happy, he has played some of the best hockey and with some of the best talent to date. All we wanted was development, structure, organization, competitive hockey BUT most importantly RESPECT. We got all of that here in the ORHL. The BEST ran program I have seen and been apart of. Now I have all those Parents who were not supportive asking me about this program, what it offers!!
Kevin and Diane run a tight ship. They have respect for all of the Coaches, Managers and Trainers. They love the kids. Always making Showcases and Tourneys fun and exciting. Their organizational skills are hands down astonishing. This ORHL is getting bigger by the minute .. and that is not done by running a gong show!!! Hats off to both of you and all of your staff. Thank you for allowing me to apart of it (Trainer for 3 Seasons), for all you do, all of you compassion and hard dedication and work ethic. Thank you for bringing back the Love of the Game for Benny and many other kids (this I know).
We will be apart of this organization with pride right up until Big Benny says we are done!! Why the heck would we go anywhere else!!!???
Wishing everyone at the ORHL and all of the ORHL Families a safe and healthy "Off Season".
All the best,
The Furanna Family
Carlisle CHILL
Benny Furanna #84
March 29, 2020
Kevin and Diane,
I would like to take this time to thank you.
Over the last four years, I have been involved with the ORHL as a coach, parent and fan. Despite what some of the propaganda that suggests the ORHL is nothing more than a rogue and renegade league, it has provided a positive and impactful experience for myself, my three children and hopefully for the families that I have been involved in along the journey.
The ORHL has filled a niche of competitive hockey and flexible schedule options. The combination of a regular-season schedule combined with Showcases and Tournaments sets this league apart from almost all other leagues in the province. The concept develops competition and comradery with players, teams, coaches, officials, parents and fans. It truly creates an ORHL family atmosphere.
It is an exciting time as the ORHL continues to develop its infrastructure to support the new organizations wanting to join the league. This growth certainly hasn't happened accidentally. From my perspective, the league has grown because of its leadership. The calm approach each of you has in dealing with situations is commendable and is noticed by many.
So, THANK YOU both and to the many individuals behind the scenes that have made my ORHL hockey experience fantastic.
Terry Wilkins
Principal
Lord Nelson P.S.