Sport | Ice Hockey |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Commissioner | Bob Turow[1] |
Country | United States Canada |
Most recent champion(s) | P.A.L. Jr. Islanders (NCDC) Connecticut Jr.Rangers (Premier) Northern Cyclones (Elite) (2024) |
TV partner(s) | FloSports |
Official website | USPHL.com |
The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States/Canada fielding teams in the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), Premier, Elite, EHF, 18U, 16U, 15U, and High Performance youth divisions.
From 2013 to 2017, USA Hockey sanctioned the Premier, Elite, Empire, Midwest, and USP3 Divisions as Tier III junior leagues. In 2017, the USPHL added a higher level junior league named the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) for the 2017–18 season. The NCDC was seeking free-to-play Tier II junior league sanctioning, but was denied by USA Hockey. In response, the USPHL junior level leagues withdrew from USA Hockey sanctioning altogether.[2] The 18U, 16U and 15U divisions are still considered Tier I youth hockey divisions by USA Hockey.[3]
Beginning in the 2024–25 season, the league plans to expand into Canada’s Quebec/Ontario provinces, effectively creating an entire new division.[4]