Victoria will be the first community in Canada to host a new national player development initiative from Hockey Canada.
The program will launching this spring at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre in partnership with BC Hockey and the Victoria Royals.
The Hockey Canada Development Hub is a trial program focused on helping young players build their skills, both on the ice and off it.
The spring session runs from March 31st to May 28th, with sessions held twice a week.
The initial phase will serve competitive boys and girls in the U9, U11 and U13 age groups, along with emerging high-performance U15 and U18 men’s athletes. Sessions will be led by the Victoria Royals’ coaching staff, supported by Hockey Canada certified skills coaches.
Hockey Canada says the model is intended to modernize how player development is delivered across the country by creating consistent pathways and ensuring athletes are learning from trained and certified coaches.
“The development hub model has the potential to completely reimagine how we deliver consistent and streamlined player development experiences for young athletes across Canada,” said Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.
He said the program is designed to support not only athletic development, but also personal growth away from the ice.
As part of the initiative, Hockey Canada is responsible for designing the curriculum and providing training, certification, resources and tools for coaches involved in delivering the program.
Registration for each age group will be capped at 25 players to ensure participants receive meaningful individual instruction and engagement.
The Victoria Royals say the partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting minor hockey on Vancouver Island.
“The Victoria Royals are proud to partner with Hockey Canada, the Western Hockey League and BC Hockey on this innovative development model,” said Joey Poljanowski, the Royals’ vice-president of hockey operations.
“This program is designed to deliver consistent, industry-leading development for young athletes in our community and provide accessible opportunities for minor hockey players across Vancouver Island.”
Additional programming is planned for later in the year. Beginning August 10th, the development hub will expand to include boys and girls in the U7 age group, as well as men’s junior and U20 athletes.
Registration for the spring program is now open through the Hockey Canada Registry.
Hockey Canada says the results of the Victoria pilot will be closely evaluated, with the potential for additional development hubs to be introduced in other Canadian communities as early as 2027.
