Minnesota Hockey has opened registration for the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Tier 1 15 (2002 birth year) and 14U (2003 & 2004 birth years) Fall Leagues. Mayo Clinic will be the presenting sponsor of the Leagues this season.

Teams will be made up of players from Minnesota Hockey Districts and will begin the tryout process this summer with games being played on weekends beginning in August and running through late September. In keeping with the Tier 1 framework established in 2016, all Tier 1 competition in Minnesota will conclude in October to allow for players to return to their association or high school teams.  

Minnesota Hockey’s Tier 1 structure was established in 2016 to enhance Minnesota’s community-based association and high school model by bringing together the most talented 14 and 15 year olds from all over Minnesota for highly competitive League play and playoffs.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the success of the Tier 1 Leagues in their first year of existence in 2016,” said Dave Margenau, President of Minnesota Hockey. “The League had the proper amount of development and competitive games, and the addition of the Mayo Clinic’s training program will only make the program stronger.”

As part of the CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance program’s commitment to long-term development, there will be 18 on-ice skill development practices and eight off-ice training sessions, in addition to the 12 League games and three League playoff games. Training will include Tier 1 player clinics as well as dryland education and nutritional information provided by the experts at Mayo clinic.

Four regular season competition weekends will begin August 25 – 27 and will include host sites around the state including AMSOIL Arena and Essentia Health Heritage Center in Duluth, Herb Brooks National Sports Center in St. Cloud, Sanford Center in Bemidji, Ridder and Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis and Fogerty Arena in Blaine. The Youth 14 and Youth 15 regular seasons will conclude with a National Festival that will include Tier 1 teams from around the country.

“The format of this League will really allow players to continue to develop their abilities on and off the ice, and will be a great lead up to the association season” said CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance director, Mike Macmillan. “The importance of practice and skill development can’t be overlooked, so we wanted to ensure that was a part of this program.”

“We are excited to work with Minnesota Hockey and the Fall Tier 1 League,” said Michael Stuart, M.D., co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine. “The organization is committed to offering opportunities for youth athletes to develop to their fullest potential. We look forward to helping them achieve that goal.”

Additional details on the 2017 CCM HP Tier 1 Leagues, including how to register, can be found using the links below.