OMHA Boys Tryouts
Tryouts will be held between May 4-13 for the following A teams: U10A, U11A, U12A, U13A, U14A, U15A, U16A. *U18A tryouts will be held in the fall.
Player Eligibility
To be eligible for tryouts, players must:
- Register with SMMHA for the 2024/25 season and complete Tryout Registration in the HCR and pay the tryout fee;
- Obtain a Right of Choice (ROC) application if you live in an area deemed a right of choice for hockey. Contact SMMHA Player Movement Coordinator for further information; OR
- Obtain a signed Non-Resident Player (NRP) form and complete tryout registration form and pay tryout fee. NRPs are only eligible for U12 and above per OHF.
See the Tryout Registration page for details.
Tryout Attendance, Evaluation and Selection
Players looking to play Rep A hockey must attend tryouts held for that team. Players have the opportunity to attend the first three (3) tryout skates prior to player release. Players must attend at least one of the first three tryouts to be deemed eligible to be selected.
Any player unable to attend tryouts due to an acceptable reason may be given an opportunity to try out for the team as follows:
- The player is an incumbent Rep player and had an injury or family commitment acceptable to SMMHA;
- The player played Rep hockey at a different centre and moved to SMMHA; OR
- The player was released from a Junior or AAA/AA team and resides within SMMHA territory
Player evaluations will be based on Hockey Canada player evaluation criteria. The SMMHA Coaches Committee (CC) shall appoint an Evaluation Panel to oversee tryout player evaluations. The Evaluation Panel will consist of the team Head Coach, CC Division Rep, and a minimum of two (2) independent evaluators. Individuals supporting the on-ice and exhibition games must not have a real or potential conflict of interest with any of the players in the tryout process.
Head Coaches have overall responsibility for evaluating players and selecting a proposed team roster. Head Coaches are not to make final player selections without first reviewing and validating their selections with the Evaluation Panel. Where a Head Coach's selections are not reasonably consistent with the assessment of the Evaluation Panel, escalation may occur to the Coaches Committee for resolution. All OHF and OMHA player selection rules must be followed.
Player releases will be listed using the SMMHA website, under the team site specifically. Players listed on the website are those continuing in the tryout process. No player releases will be conducted in-person at the arena. Head Coaches may elect to phone players during the final selection stage to confirm the player's release or selection. Final team rosters will be posted on the team site within 24 hours of the final tryout skate.
Players not selected for a Rep team must abide by the 24hr Rule prior to seeking feedback on opportunities for improvement. Player tryout feedback is always available, but player evaluations will not be disclosed.
Underage Players
Any player that is underage and is looking to tryout for an older Rep team can do so in accordance with OHF and OMHA regulations and rules. To be eligible, the player must be considered top three (3) in skill within the older Rep team, where top 3 is truly exceptional player status. No player has the right to play up to an older Rep team. If a player is approved to attend tryouts of an older Rep team and is released, the player must continue tryouts with their own age team. Any goalie looking to tryout for an older Rep team must possess skills better than all goalies at that age division and their movement cannot displace a goalie nor deplete their own age division from having adequate goalkeeping.
Players seeking to tryout for an older Rep team must submit a request to
SMMHA 1st Vice President five (5) days prior to first tryout ice time. Requests will be considered by the Evaluation Panel and Coaches Committee. The SMMHA Executive reserves the right to make all final decisions on all player movement.