Tryouts

The Travel Team tryouts for Peewees, 12U and Bantams will be mid-October 2025. (varies by age group)

Squirt & 10U evaluation process will start mid-October 2025.

BYHA established a process summarized in this guideline for conducting travel team tryouts for Bantams, Peewees and 12U. The key objective of the tryout process is to ensure that each player is given a fair evaluation and that all players are placed at the appropriate level for their individual abilities.

This tryout guideline is exactly that, a guideline. There is no way to create a policy for every conceivable circumstance. In rare cases, the BYHA Board reserves the right to amend or adjust the guidelines as needed or on a case-by-case basis.

Any youth player who meets the eligibility requirements as determined by the Minnesota age guidelines and the BYHA Board are invited to participate in BYHA tryouts. Tryouts are mandatory for all players whose objective is to play at an “AA,” “A” or “B” team level.

A player may elect not to participate in tryouts, in which case they will be automatically assigned to the lowest team level fielded at his/her appropriate age level. 

Once tryouts start, there are no refunds. The only exceptions would be a season-ending verified medical reason with approval by the BYHA Board or a High School team exception.

Please be advised that if your child's billing account is not current, he/she will not be allowed to participate in the tryouts. Contact BYHA Hockey Director or the BYHA Treasurer with questions.

• Players must attend your assigned tryout session.
• At the first tryout session, check in with the level coordinator. The Level Coordinator will give you a tryout jersey to keep for the duration of tryouts and answer any questions.
• You must wear the jersey assigned to you for tryouts.
• Both socks should be the same color.
• NO NAME on the jersey or helmet.
• Wear all your standard hockey equipment, including mouth and neck guards.
• Check your hockey bag each day before tryouts.
• Arrive at the rink half an hour early before each session.
• If you are sick or injured, or otherwise unable to participate in tryouts, notify the Level Coordinator as soon as possible. 

• BYHA will be conducting closed tryouts. This means that parents, family, and friends will not be able to watch tryouts and must remove themselves from the BCA building at minimum 10 minutes before each tryout session. Only evaluators and specific volunteer help (such as locker room monitors) will be allowed in the rink. 
• No player will be allowed to tryout if their account is not current. This means the registration fee and any past due amounts have been paid, or a payment plan has been approved in advance of the tryout by the BYHA Board on any outstanding amounts. Please contact the BYHA Hockey Director if you have any questions regarding your account.
• The Hockey Director, Coaches, and Evaluators will not discuss or communicate any ranking, standing, or grading of any players to any parent, player, or anyone else outside the evaluation committee.
• Parents should not discuss or communicate any ranking, standing, or grading of any players with the Hockey Development Director, Coaches or Level Coordinators during tryouts. Parents and players should have NO contact with coaches and evaluators during the tryout period.
• Questions during the tryouts should be addressed with the Hockey Director.
• If the Hockey Director is unable to provide a satisfactory response, concerns should be escalated to the BYHA board.
• If your player requires special assistance or accommodation, please contact the Hockey Director. BYHA will work with families requiring additional support.
• Once the final teams are posted, no player shall be moved to a higher level unless the higher-level team has an issue fielding a team.

Teams are selected based on the scoring achieved throughout the try out process:

• The top 8 to 13 (depending on team size) highest rated players will automatically earn a position on the “AA” or “A” team. The evaluation committee will select final 2 to 7 skaters provided that these skaters are ranked no lower than the 16th – 20th position (depending on team size).
• The process will continue for each level until all players are assigned to a team.
• Volunteer head coaches will be assigned to these teams after the team rosters have been determined. 
• If two players have the same number of points, the evaluation committee will perform a paper vote. If there remains a tie after the paper vote, seniority will be considered next (a 2nd yr. player will be given preference over a 1st yr. player). If the tied players are both are the same age (example: both 2nd yr.), the Hockey Director will make the final call based on what he feels is the best for the development of the players.
• Selection to a team as a first-year player will not entitle a player to a roster spot at the same level in subsequent years.
• If a player is going to be moved down a level from the previous year, the reasons for doing so will be communicated directly to the player and parents during or immediately after tryouts.

Team selections will be posted within 4 days after the last tryout session.

After tryouts, a 24-hour cooling-off period applies, during which neither the parents nor players may initiate contact with coaches, Hockey Director, Hockey Development Committee, or BYHA Board members. After the 24-hour cooling off period, feedback/comments from parents and/or players about the tryout process may be directed to the Hockey Director.

Player final ranking or score WILL NOT be shared with players/parents. Evaluators notes and/or comments will NOT be made available.

Rosters are intended to be final. Team selections are not subject to grievance committee appeals, except in cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment or other serious misconduct. The Hockey Director, based on recommendations from head coaches and with approval from the BYHA Board, may move players up or down post-tryouts for developmental reasons. Player movement cannot occur after December 31st.

To ensure a balanced number of participants on the ice, each player is assigned a specific tryout schedule if the given level needs more than one ice session. Players are required to attend their assigned tryout sessions. Players who attempt to attend a tryout session where they are not assigned a spot will be asked to attend their scheduled session.

If a player is unable to attend one of their scheduled tryouts, they must notify the BYHA Hockey Director prior to the start of that tryout. The Hockey Director will determine whether the player will be assigned to a make-up session if one is available.

The parent/guardian of an injured player must contact the BYHA Hockey Director with an official doctor’s notice indicating that the player is unable to participate in tryouts.

An injured/ill player must be expected to return to 100% of his/her playing capabilities by December 31st, based on a doctor’s estimation, to be eligible for a spot on any “AA”, “A” or “B” team level. This date is based on Minnesota Hockey Roster deadlines. Players who cannot be expected to perform at their full playing potential by December 31st may be placed on the lowest level offered.

An injured player’s past performance may be discussed between the player’s previous year’s coach, the Hockey Director, and the Hockey Development Committee members with knowledge of that player, with consideration also being given to the current year coach’s recommendations. Decisions regarding assigning players are final and not subject to grievance committee appeals, except in cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment or other serious misconduct.

When a player misses a tryout for an excused absence, the BYHA board reserves the right to assign that player to a team on a case-by-case basis, upon recommendation by the Hockey Director. Players that desire the Board to review their team assignment due to an excused absence must notify the Hockey Director in writing. The notification must state the specific reason for the absence and any remaining tryout sessions they will be unable to attend. The Hockey Director may review the information with the head coach and the Hockey Development Committee members with knowledge of the player to determine which team the player will be assigned to before making a recommendation to the Board. In considering which team a player will be assigned to, the Hockey Director may review the following:

The total number of tryout sessions missed and the player’s current ranking result in any completed tryout sessions.

The player’s prior year evaluation and the level they played.

Last year’s coach’s recommendation of "like" players for comparison and placement.

Decisions regarding assigning players due to missing tryouts are final and not subject to grievance committee appeals, except in cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment or other serious misconduct.

Hockey Director

The Hockey Director is appointed by the BYHA Board to oversee the overall tryout process for BYHA. 

Level Coordinators

The Hockey Director selects a coordinator at each level to oversee and facilitate tryouts. Along with the BYHA President and Hockey Director, Level Coordinators are responsible for the organization and execution of tryouts. The primary responsibility of the Level Coordinators is to support BYHA to the best of their ability to ensure a safe, fair, and objective tryout process.

Evaluators

The BYHA Hockey Director will put together an evaluation committee at each age group (Bantams, Peewees, 12U). This group will consist of 5 to 10 evaluators. Non-parent evaluators will be given preference, though parent evaluators may be used in instances that the Hockey Director deems necessary and obtains approval for from the BYHA Board. Non-parent evaluators are defined as persons that have no child or children at any age level tryouts including, but not limited to, the Tryout Level Coordinators, the Hockey Development Committee members and/or BYHA Board members. It will additionally be a priority to have a goalie-specific evaluator at all age level tryouts, as possible.

Evaluation expectations will be communicated to the individual evaluators comprising the evaluation committees by the Hockey Director prior to tryouts. These expectations may provide guidance including, but not limited to, the following: definitions of evaluation criteria; tryout format; how to complete forms; evaluation scale; comments, etc. During the evaluations, the evaluators will be seated apart throughout the rink in order to evaluate without distraction and ensure full focus on the players.

The evaluation committee will have no discussion about players with anyone outside the evaluation committee. 

Hockey is played 5 vs. 5, therefore, the scrimmage format is considered the best format to use in making our travel team selections. This format allows the evaluators to rate the skills of the players under game conditions. Some important factors that will affect scoring are listed below.

Tryout schedules will be posted online as soon as they become available. Depending on the age level, players will be asked to attend two to four evaluation sessions. Each tryout session will be approximately 60 minutes in length and will be designed to limit the number of players on the ice to a manageable number per session.

The initial tryout groups will be randomized so we have an equal number of skaters and goalies. After the first session, players will be assigned to a specific tryout scrimmage pool.

Scrimmage pool assignments will be posted online at bemidjiyouthhockey.org. Tryout pool assignments are designed to help the evaluators grade players of comparable skill levels. Participating in a specific pool does not guarantee players will be assigned to teams drawn from that pool.

12U

• Session 1: Warm up, Flow Drills, Stations
• Session 2: Warm up, 5x5 if numbers allow, or 4x4 Scrimmage
• Session 3: Warm up, 5x5 if numbers allow, or 4x4 Scrimmage
• Session 4: Warm up, 5x5 if numbers allow, or 4x4 Scrimmage

Bantams and Peewees

• Session 1: Warm up, Flow Drills, Stations
• Session 2: Warm up, 5x5 Scrimmage
• Session 3: Warm up, 5x5 Scrimmage
• Session 4: Warm up, 5x5 Scrimmage

Evaluators will use an evaluation sheet for each session.

Players will be graded using a scale from 1-5 during the tryout sessions.

5: Excellent, 4: Above Average, 3: Average, 2: Below Average, 1: Poor

The first day will be used to place players into weighted pools for the final two days. The total scores of the last two will determine the teams. In the event of a tie, the first two days’ scores will be considered. Evaluators will score skaters based on the following skill areas: skating skills, passing skills, stick handling skills, effort, attitude, team play, hockey IQ, checking skills (if applicable), and mobility. For older age groups (Peewees/12U and up), more position-specific criteria may be used as listed in the "Player Playing Forward" or "Player Playing Defense".

During each tryout pool, if the evaluators consensus is that a player(s) has earned the opportunity to skate with a higher pool, the Hockey Director will notify the player(s) before or during their tryout session. The player will leave the ice and rest in the locker room as they prepare to join the next pool. A player being asked to skate in a second session will have an opportunity to earn a higher score than he/she would have had in the original session.

Player playing forward position:

• Passing
• Puck protection
• Shooting
• Scoring
• Skating
• Quickness
• Forechecking ability – hustle, proper angling, finishing a check
• Back-checking – coming back hard and picking up the open player
• Body checking (at Bantam level) – proper use of body check and angles
• Team play – position and passing (don’t hog the puck).
• Competitiveness in small areas

Player playing defensive position:

• Passing
• Shooting
• Puck Protection
• Skating
• Backward skating ability
• Lateral mobility
• Transition skating
• Gap control
• Angling and checking ability in defensive zone
• Puck control and play making
• Scoring

Goalies will be scored by evaluators on the following areas: stick work, glove work, positioning, control of rebounds, passing skills, puck control, hustle, effort, team play, attitude, hockey IQ, and mobility. Some additional goalie-specific criteria may also be used during tryouts, such as the following:

Player playing goalie position:

• Movement (lateral, in/out, agility)
• Save selection/execution
• Rebound control
• Mental focus/competitiveness
• Angles/square to puck

Decisions regarding players' pool assignments during tryouts and team assignments after tryouts are completed are final and not subject to grievance committee appeals, except in cases involving allegations of discrimination, harassment or other serious misconduct.