What is an AP player?
• An affiliated player (AP) is a player who is eligible to play on their own registered team, plus one other team of a higher age division or category
• A player can only be affiliated with one (1) minor hockey team at a time
Who can affiliate for a given team?
• In accordance with OMHA policy and published guidelines, affiliated players can come from either the same age division, lower category or the same category, lower age division
• For example, from a team perspective, U15 A can AP from U15 LL (same age; lower category), or from U14 A (same category, lower age). U15 LL cannot AP from U14 A (lower age, higher category)
• From a player perspective, a U13 LL player can AP for any of U15 LL, U13 A, or U12 A (if they are minor age)
• U9 players are not permitted to participate in games as AP's to U10/U11 during the half ice part of the season, but can participate in practice
• A player must fulfill their obligations to their rostered team before participating as an AP
• OWHA players can AP to OMHA team following the above guidelines, or with special approval
AP Documentation
• Once a player is approved by SMMHA to be AP'd to a specific team; in order to play as an AP in a game, a player must be rostered as an AP for that team following the requirements noted above
• An OMHA Offer of Affiliation form must be completed and signed by all of the following individuals: the Head Coach offering the AP position, the Head Coach of the player’s rostered team, the player/parent, and the SMMHA OMHA Rep
• OMHA must approve AP's to be added to a roster by the deadline of January 15
SMMHA Guidelines for APs - U14 to U18 Age Divisions
• AP players provide assistance to teams to fill in for ill, injured, absent, or suspended players
• The use of AP's should maximize opportunities for identified players, recognizing that teams have access to different pools of players dependent upon their division. With this goal in mind, where a lower category team exists, the SMMHA encourages coaches of A teams to consider selecting AP's from the team in the same age division as a primary source. A secondary source of AP's would be the A team from the lower division
Offer of Affiliation and Communication
• Most players are in a position where they are eligible to consider AP options for more than one team; e.g. a U15 LL player could AP for U14 A(if minor age), U15 A, or any U18 team
• Before signing an AP Player, coaches will submit their AP request to the SMMHA Coaches Committee for final approval. This is done to ensure all teams have adequate access to players for support
Participation in Games and Practices
• AP's are used to fill gaps, not to augment lineups. AP's are only to be permitted under the following circumstances:
• When a team is at risk of missing one or more players from its approved roster due to illness, injury, absence, or suspension
• Where a team is not expected to have a full roster, or has a small roster per SMMHA, an AP skater may take regular shifts or may see minimal ice time but an AP cannot minimize the ice time of a regular roster player for a team that is considered by SMMHA to have a full roster
• An AP goalie can be called up to play occasionally if a team only has one (1) rostered goalie. If an AP goalie attends an out of town tournament, they are expected to play in atleast one game
• AP's, at the discretion of both affiliated and regular team Head Coaches, shall be allowed to practice with the affiliated team whenever possible for the benefit of the team and AP player
• When an AP participates in a game or practice, they are assisting the team on a limited basis. SMMHA will not charge any additional fee (U14-U18 only)
• If an AP is required for a tournament, it will be up to the affiliated team to confirm fees required
SMMHA Guideline for APs - U9 to U13 Age Divisions
• AP guidelines for U9 to U13 players will follow those outlined for U14 to U18 with the following additions:
• The use of AP players at U9-U13 will heavily focus on player development which is different than U14-U18
Offer of Affiliation and Communication
• Coaches of Rep teams will work with the Player Development Committee to identify an optimal number of players to be AP'd to each specific team
• Once approved by the Player Development Committee and the Coaches Committee, the process of completing the AP documentation (described above) may begin and then
Participation in Games and Practices
• AP's for U9-U13 will be offered the opportunity to participate in a majority of solo practices for the team they are AP'd to
• As the AP's for U9-U13 will be getting more ice time, they will be be charged an "AP Fee" at the beginning of the season. The funds from the AP fee will be used to offset the costs of SMMHA coach seminars, hiring skill/skating instructors etc. to benefit all members of SMMHA
• The use of U9-U13 AP's for games/tournaments will follow the same guidelines as those for U14-U18