2017-18 American Junior Hockey Season

This is a list of the 2017-18 American Junior hockey season by leagues.

Planned New Leagues for 2017-18

 * On September 12, 2016, the Western States Hockey League announced the formation of the Central 1 Hockey League which will be a Tier-I league that will be comprised of six teams for the 2017-18 season; all of which presently have teams in the WSHL.  All of the teams are planned to continue to operate teams in the WSHL as well.  The league would not get beyond the planning stages for the 2017-18 season.  The league was briefly announced as being back on track for 2018-19 but it apparently collapsed shortly thereafter.  Apparently, in late March the league or an offshoot of the proposal was back as the USACHL (USA Central Hockey League).


 * On October 6, 2016 the United States Premier Hockey League announced that it was intending to start the National Collegiate Development Conference for the 2017-18 season and that it had submitted formal paperwork with USA Hockey to be certified as a Tier-II league for 2017-18.  The application was denied by the USA Hockey Junior Council at a meeting held in Detroit the week after (American) Thanksgiving.  The decision lead to a  withdrawal of the USPHL from USA Hockey.


 * Reports had surfaced in early February of 2017 that an Amateur Athletic Union santioned league reported to be named the Eastern States Hockey League. It was indicated that this league would be formed by members of the North American 3 Hockey League mainly the former members of the Northern States Junior Hockey League.  No further information came forward on this league by early July.


 * The Independent Junior Hockey League was announced on April 3, 2017 as starting play in October of 2017, but by mid-June of 2017 the league website had vanished and the facebook page had not been updated since April 28th. The league may have been a late April Fool's Day joke as the league logo was very similar to the Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League's logo and the Deputy Commissioner in the proposed league was a 19 year old playing American Collegiate Hockey Association level hockey and an owner of a team was a back-up Tier-III goaltender in 2015. The person listed as commissioner was the coach of a team that could not get enough players to get a team going for 2016-17.

Announced New Leagues for 2018-19

 * On December 19, 2017 the North American Hockey League announced the formation of the NAHL Prep league. According to the release, the NAHL Prep will be a premier training ground for the development and exposure of High School, Prep, and Academy teams throughout North America.


 * On December 20, 2017 the Western States Hockey League announced the formation of the Western Provinces Hockey Association.  The WPHA is planned on being a division within the WSHL with a planned 6 to 8 teams for the 2018-19 season located in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

Interleague changes
For more changes within leagues; please see each league's season page listed below.
 * On December 22, 2016 the USPHL announced that the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones organizations are leaving the Eastern Hockey League and joining the United States Premier Hockey League for the 2017-18 season. This moved would bring six premier level and five elite junior teams. The 16U, 18U and youth porgrams of these organizations would also be involved in this move. The Boston Bandits, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones would be also be part of the National Collegiate Development Conference when it commences play for the 2017-18 season.
 * In February of 2017 it was announced that the North American 3 Atlantic Hockey League would be dissolved after one season when the Central Penn Panthers, Jersey Wildcats, Long Island Royals, Metro Fighting Moose, New Jersey Renegades, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights  join the Eastern Hockey League.  The remaining team (the Exton Bulls) stopped sponsoring hockey at the junior level and returned to its youth hockey roots.
 * Both the United States Premier Hockey League and the Eastern Hockey League had large scale reorganizations of its multiple member leagues.  Far too many to be listed here, but many of the teams in the USPHL jumped one level from the Premier Division to the NCDC, from the Elite Division to the Premier Division, and from the USP3HL to the Elite Division.  The EHL's Premier Division was renamed the "Eastern Hockey League" and the lower level league would be known as the "Eastern Hockey League Premier"
 * The Butte Cobras ownership was transferred to the community's youth hockey program and that organization purchased the franchise rights of the North American 3 Hockey League's Glacier Nationals and would transfer the Cobras organization from the Western States Hockey League to the NA3HL.
 * The Vancouver Rangers of the Western States Hockey League relocated to Bremerton, Washington and would take over the identity of the West Sound Warriors (who were members of the United States Premier 3 Hockey League for the 2016-17 season.
 * The Seattle Ravens would be renamed the Kent Ravens and transfer from the United States Premier 3 Hockey League to the Western States Hockey League.
 * The Almonte Jr. Sharpshooters would be removed from the Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League and would replace their developmental team, the Ottawa Sharpshooters in the National College Prospects Hockey League.   However, the team would return to the CPJHL when the NCPHL folded in September along with the Lake Erie Eagles, Maniwaki Mustangs, and the Eastern Ontario Hockey Academy Wolves.

USA Hockey Sanctioned Tier-I

 * 2017-18 USHL Season

USA Hockey Sanctioned Tier-II

 * 2017-18 NAHL Season

USA Hockey Sanctioned Tier-III

 * 2017-18 EHL Season
 * 2017-18 EHLP Season
 * 2017-18 NA3HL Season
 * 2017-18 RMJHL Season (The league would fold May 22, 2018)

AAU Sanctioned Leagues
On September 12, 2016 the AAU announced the formation of a Tier-I (free to play) league that will be called the Central 1 Hockey League. The league was scheduled to begin play in the fall of 2017 with six members all of which are presently members of the WSHL and are expected to keep fielding teams in that league next year as well. By early April of 2017 the league appears to have collapsed.

Tier-II

 * 2017-18 WSHL Season

Tier-III

 * 2017-18 CPJHL Season
 * 2017-18 NCPHL Season (League would fold in September with four teams joining the CPJHL)

Tier-II

 * 2017-18 NCDC Season

Tier-III

 * 2017-18 USPHL-Premier Season
 * 2017-18 USPHL-Elite Season

Canadian Leagues with US-Based Teams

 * 2017-18 OHL Season (Major Junior)
 * 2017-18 WHL Season (Major Junior)
 * 2017-18 BCHL Season (Junior A)
 * 2017-18 NOJHL Season (Junior A)
 * 2017-18 OJHL Season (Junior A)
 * 2017-18 SIJHL Season (Junior A)
 * 2017-18 KIJHL Season (Junior B)
 * 2017-18 GOJHL Season (Junior B)