2024-25 JUNIOR CANES TRYOUTS
2024-25 PLAYER SELECTION PROCESS
We're excited to announce the opening of tryout registration for the 2024-25 season, beginning with our Tier 1 AAA tryouts. There are some significant changes from previous years designed to improve our evaluation and selection process to help our coaches better evaluate each player interested in Junior Canes AAA hockey.
TIER 1 AAA GIRLS - 14U, 16U and 19U
Our AAA girls program took tremendous strides this season towards strengthening our National presence. Our 14U and 19U teams competed well at Districts, and our 16U team will be representing the Junior Canes at the USA Hockey National Championships as the 2023-24 Southeast District champions.
Tryouts will follow our traditional process with a combination of drills, small area games and 5 on 5 hockey over the Tier 1 tryout weekend of April 26th-28th where AAA rosters will be finalized.
The tryout fee is $115, and registration is now open and can be accessed here:
TIER 1 AAA CO-ED - 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U and 16U
For the 2nd year in a row, two Junior Canes AAA teams have advanced to the USA Hockey National Championships with our 2010 13UAAA and 2008 15UAAA teams winning District championships and our 2009 14UAAA and 2007 16UAAA teams both with strong showings.
Traditionally, our AAA tryouts have taken place over the course of a single weekend where all players skate Friday night and into Saturday morning with rounds of cuts being made until small group skates on Saturday night and into Sunday. The high number of participants and the compressed schedule presented challenges for players to truly showcase their ability, so we've extended that process into the week prior to Tier 1 weekend by holding an open tryout followed by an invitation-only AAA Main Camp.
AAA Open Tryout
These weeknight skates are open to any player interested in Junior Canes AAA hockey. To keep numbers manageable, select players will receive a bye from these sessions. This will allow coaches to better evaluate the players attending these sessions, and will also present an opportunity for these players to get more time on the ice and more time on the puck during the tryout sessions.
All players will skate for both scheduled sessions and will receive one of two invitations at the conclusion of the 2nd skate:
- Players identified as potential AAA prospects will be invited to Main Camp over Tier 1 weekend from April 26th-28th where rosters will be finalized. Players earning invitations from the open tryouts will not need to re-register.
- Players evaluated as Tier 2 prospects will be invited to our Tier 2 tryouts on May 10th-12th with a credit towards the tryout fee.
PLEASE DO NOT REGISTER IF YOU MEET EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
- Players who have already received an invitation to Main Camp should not register for the Open Tryout. Please refer to the Main Camp registration link in your invitation.
- Out of state players should email their video/profile to our hockey directors by April 19th so our coaching staff can evaluate before you go through the process of registering.
The tryout fee is $175, registration is now open and can be accessed here.
AAA Main Camp
Our first ever AAA Main Camp will be held on Tier 1 weekend, April 26th-28th. The camp is invitation-only with players either receiving invitations in advance, or through the open tryout. Attendance is required for players who are interested in Junior Canes AAA hockey for the 2024-25 season as our rosters will be finalized throughout the course of the weekend.
There are no cuts, all players will skate for all scheduled sessions. The cost for the camp is $175. Players advancing from the open tryout do not need to re-register or pay an additional fee. For players receiving direct invitations, the registration link is included in your invitation email.
TIER 2 GIRLS TRYOUTS - 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U/19U
TIER 2 CO-ED TRYOUTS - 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U, 18U
Tier 2 tryouts will take place the weekend of May 10th-12th. Registrations will be open Wednesday, March 20th.
Tier 2 Co-ed Tryout Registration
Tier 2 Girls Tryout Registration
SUPER 8 - GIRLS & CO-ED 8U
Super 8 is an open registration, first-come first-serve program with no tryouts. Registration will be announced on or shortly after June 1st. Players who participated in the Super 8 program this season will have a short registration window before the registration is made public.
REGISTRATION LINKS
KEY DATES
| March 18th, 2024 | Co-ed AAA Open Tryouts and Girls AAA Tryouts registration opens |
| March 20th, 2024 | Co-ed and Girls Tier 2 Tryouts registration opens |
| April 9th, 2024 | Window opens to offer Tier 1 AAA contracts for the 2024-25 season |
| April 9th, 2024 | Open contact window opens |
| April 9th, 2024 | Co-ed AAA Open Tryouts window begins |
| April 19th, 2024 | Final day for out of state players to submit video/profiles for consideration |
| April 26th, 2024 | Girls AAA Tryouts begin |
| April 26th, 2024 | Co-ed AAA Main Camp begins |
| May 10th, 2024 | Window opens to offer Tier 2 contracts for the 2024-25 season |
| May 10th, 2024 | Tier 2 Co-ed and Girls Tryouts begin |
KEY USA HOCKEY / CAHA BYLAWS
The Carolina Junior Hurricanes are fully committed to USA Hockey and CAHA compliance and have established tryout, team selection and registration processes that satisfy the regulatory bylaws of our governing bodies. We encourage all members and prospective members to read and understand these bylaws to prevent putting any player's eligibility at risk.
- All players must be fully registered and in good standing with USA Hockey prior to registering and/or participating in any tryout activity
- The window for Tier 1 tryouts and the open contact window begins 48 hours following the completion of the previous season's National Championship (April 9th, 2024).
- While Tier 1 AAA players may receive and sign contract offers at any time during the open contact window, Tier 2 players may not receive offers or sign contracts until the 5th Friday following the conclusion of Nationals (May 10th, 2024). While Tier 1 AAA contracts may be offered and signed during the open window, CAHA requires each AAA team within the affiliate to hold an open tryout for any or all remaining open positions.
- Tier 1 and Tier 2 teams may roster up to 20 players.
- 19U Tier 1 AAA Girls teams are allowed to roster players residing outside of North and South Carolina provided that the number of out-of-affiliate players does not exceed 49% of the roster. For 14U AAA, 16U AAA and Tier 2 girls teams, that threshold is 30%.
- Tier 1 AAA co-ed teams are also allowed to roster out-of-affiliate players, provided the number does not exceed 30% of the total roster.
- For Tier 1 and Tier 2, offers must remain open for 48 hours before a player is required to sign the binding contract. If a player does not sign the contract within those 48 hours, associations are under no obligation to keep the offer open.
Transitional rules from USA Hockey - USA Hockey passed new proposals at the 2024 Winter Meetings to protect players from "bait and switch" tactics and to protect teams from poaching. While the specifics of the new rules have not been made available at this time, the general theme is that USA Hockey is instituting policy to protect binding two-way agreements for both players and teams.
- Once a player signs a contract with a team, that team is committed to player for the entire playing season unless both parties agree to a release for a legitimate reason. This prevents teams from over-signing and "moving down" players to lower-tier teams against their wishes.
- Conversely, once a player signs a contract, that player is committed to that team for the entire playing season. If the player signs a contract with one team while pursuing other opportunities with other teams, that player can face USA Hockey suspension.
We will post the specifics of the bylaw amendments along with penalties and timelines when they become available, but best practices always suggest to only offer or sign a player/team contract when there is full intent to honor it.