By Dean McIntosh /

Starting the season right

Each year in the Canadian hockey system close to 3,500 minor hockey associations undertake the task of placing players on teams. The ultimate goal of this process is to provide players with the best possible experience in an environment where they can grow as hockey players and young people.

Player evaluation can be one of the most difficult tasks for a Minor Hockey Association to deal with. However, when done properly, it can also serve as the foundation an association is built upon.

In many cases the singular purpose of player evaluation is to place players onto teams. But an important component that may be missing in many cases is that Minor Hockey Associations fail to use the outcomes of player evaluations to support coaches in developing players based on the individual strengths and needs after the evaluation process has concluded.

Placing players on teams is one thing, but what is done with players once the teams are formed should be connected to the evaluations that take place at the start of the season and the information that is generated by the evaluators.

Having a solid player evaluation process in place can help make the process much easier. Not only will it give the association a reference point in communicating with players and their parents, it will also give coaches a starting point to determine where players’ skills are at and what type of instructional programming will best meet everyone’s needs.

For most Minor Hockey Associations there are two types of evaluations.

1) Evaluations during pre-season for selection on to teams. (Tiered or Grouped)
2) Evaluations at the end of the season as a post-season report card.

Although both are important, it is what is done with the information that really matters the most. Information from the evaluation process must be passed on to coaches to provide a framework for the types of practices players will require based on their strengths and needs.

Another key component of the evaluation process is to circulate the evaluation criteria evaluators will consider when observing the players during these ice sessions prior to the start of the process. Parents should be aware of what players are being judged on. Criteria must be clearly defined, objective and justifiable.