Tier 1 Elite Hockey League

Tier 1 Elite Hockey League
FormerlyMidwest Elite Hockey League
SportIce hockey
No. of teams24
CountryUnited States
Official websitetier1elitehockeyleague.com

The Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), formerly Midwest Elite Hockey League, is located primarily in the Midwest United States and is the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. Players from all over the country move to the area where the teams are located to gain exposure and skill development needed for higher levels. Many of the league's top players go on to compete at the Major Junior, NCAA, and NHL level. The T1EHL showcase tournaments and games are heavily scouted by scouts from the USHL, NCAA schools, and the OHL due to the convenience of seeing many top players in one game or weekend.

A widely syndicated article published in The New York Times in 1998 described one family's move from Dallas, Texas, to Madison, Connecticut, so that he could train with a top coach in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League.[1]

League format

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The T1EHL acts as an umbrella organization for the league's teams which compete at various levels of youth hockey from Squirt Minor to Midget Major 18U. The league also operates three girls levels. The T1EHL is sanctioned by USA Hockey and acts as a development system for the country's top youth players.

League History

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The Midwest Elite Hockey league launched a new Midget Major league, the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League for the 2008–2009 season. The T1EHL also re-aligned the league and will consist of 6 divisions of and 32 teams:

Each team will play 46 games with 2 home and 2 away inter division games as well as 6 showcases with each division hosting 3 showcases and travel to each other's showcase once.

As well as providing excellent competition for the teams within the league, the new format will also reduce the travel costs for the organizations. The Midget Major (U18) teams play a rigorous tournament schedule that will now be in part replaced by the showcases that are included in the league schedule. The new Midget league will fly under the T1EHL banner using its rules and policies. USA Hockey will monitor the new league and its development.

For the 2010–2011 season the league added an Eastern Division with the addition of five teams from the northeast US. The Pittsburgh Hornets moved from the Mid-Am division to the new East division and joined new teams: Boston Advantage, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, Team Comcast, and Buffalo Regals. The Ohio AAA Blue Jackets replaced Pittsburgh in the Mid-Am division, and the Cleveland Barons swapped spots with the Madison Capitols in the Chicago division.

After the 2010–2011 season, six T1EHL teams left to form a new league called the High Performance Hockey League (HPHL). The teams that left included Chicago Young Americans (CYA), Chicago Mission, Team Illinois, Detroit Compuware, Detroit Honeybaked, and Detroit Little Caesars.

Tier 1 expanded the league for the 2015–2016 season. At this point it is still unknown whether this expansion will just occur at the U16 Midget Minor and U18 Midget Major levels, or if all levels will expand with these clubs. The clubs joining Tier 1 next year will be the Omaha AAA Hockey Club, the New Jersey Avalanche, the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, and the Michigan Nationals. It is unclear whether there will be a division realignment for the Midget levels at this point.

Tier 1 Elite Hockey League Teams

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Chicago Division:

  • Chicago Fury
  • Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
  • St. Louis AAA Blues
  • Thunder AAA Hockey
  • Chicago Mission
  • Team Illinois
  • Chicago Reapers
  • Windy City Storm

Detroit Division:

  • Belle Tire
  • Fox Motors
  • Victory Honda
  • HoneyBaked

East Division:

  • Boston Advantage
  • New Hampshire Junior Monarchs
  • North Jersey Avalanche
  • Philadelphia Jr. Flyers
  • Washington Little Capitals

Ohio Division

  • Buffalo Jr. Sabres
  • Cleveland Barons
  • Ohio Blue Jackets
  • Pittsburgh Penguins Elite

Rocky Mountain Division

  • Colorado Rampage
  • Colorado Thunderbirds
  • Dallas Stars Elite
  • Iowa Wild

West Division:

  • Anaheim Jr. Ducks
  • LA Jr. Kings
  • Phoenix Jr. Coyotes
  • San Jose Jr. Sharks

Guest Teams:

With the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies leaving the T1EHL for the HPHL beginning the 2017-18 season, these teams fill in the Detroit Division at showcases. They are not considered full members of the league.

  • Tri-State Spartans (named the Indy Jr. Fuel for the 2018-19 season)
  • Detroit Little Caesars

Tier 1 Elite Hockey League Champions

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Boys Divisions
Midget Major
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Cleveland Barons
2012–13 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2011–12 Detroit Victory Honda
2010–11 St. Louis Amateur Blues
2009–10 Detroit Belle Tire
2008–09 Cleveland Barons, St. Louis Amateur Blues
2007–08 Pittsburgh Hornets
2006–07 Team Illinois
2005–06 Team Illinois
Midget Minor
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 St. Louis AAA Blues
2012–13 St. Louis AAA Blues
2011–12 Colorado Thunderbirds
2010–11 LA Selects
2009–10 Chicago Mission
2008–09 Detroit Compuware
2007–08 Detroit Compuware
2006–07 Detroit Honeybaked
2005–06 Detroit Honeybaked
2004–05 Detroit Honeybaked
Bantam Major
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Detroit Belle Tire
2012–13 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
2011–12 Detroit Belle Tire
2010–11 Detroit Belle Tire
2009–10 Detroit Honeybaked
2008–09 Chicago Mission
2007–08 Detroit Little Caesars
2006–07 Chicago Mission
2005–06 Detroit Little Caesars
2004–05 Team Illinois, Detroit Honeybaked
Bantam Minor
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
2012–13 Oakland Jr. Grizzlies
2011–12 Madison Capitols
2010–11 Detroit Compuware
2009–10 Detroit Belle Tire
2008–09 Detroit Honeybaked
2007–08 Detroit Compuware
2006–07 Chicago Mission
2005–06 Detroit Honeybaked
2004–05 Detroit Honeybaked
Peewee Major
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2012–13 Cleveland Barons
2011–12 Detroit Belle Tire
2010–11 Detroit Little Caesars
2009–10 Detroit Compuware
2008–09 Detroit Belle Tire
2007–08 Detroit Honeybaked
2006–07 Chicago Mission
2005–06 Detroit Compuware
2004–05 Detroit Compuware
Peewee Minor
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Detroit Belle Tire
2012–13 St. Louis AAA Blues
2011–12 Cleveland Barons
2010–11 Chicago Mission
2009–10 Detroit Little Caesars
2008–09 Detroit Belle Tire
2007–08 Detroit Belle Tire
2006–07 Detroit Honeybaked
2005–06 Detroit Compuware
2004–05 Detroit Compuware
Squirt Major
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2012–13 Chicago Fury
2011–12 Detroit Belle Tire
2010–11 Detroit Little Caesars
2009–10 Chicago Mission
2008–09 Team Illinois
2007–08 Detroit Compuware
2006–07 Detroit Little Caesars
2005–06 Detroit Honeybaked
2004–05 Detroit Compuware
Squirt Minor
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Detroit Belle Tire Warriors
2012–13 N/A
2011–12 N/A
2010–11 Detroit Little Caesars
2009–10 Detroit Little Caesars
2008–09 Detroit Honeybaked
2007–08 Detroit Compuware
2006–07 Detroit Compuware
2005–06 Kensington Valley Renegades


Girls Divisions
U19
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Shaftsbury Titans
2012–13 St. Louis Lady Blues
2011–12 Madison Capitols
2010–11 Detroit Belle Tire
2009–10 Chicago Mission
2008–09 Chicago Mission
2007–08 Shattuck-St. Mary's
2006–07 Team Illinois
2005–06 Shattuck-St. Mary's
2004–05 Detroit Honeybaked
U16
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
2012–13 Colorado Selects
2011–12 St. Louis Lady Blues, Detroit Belle Tire
2010–11 Detroit Honeybaked
2009–10 Detroit Little Caesars
2008–09 Detroit Belle Tire
2007–08 Colorado Selects
2006–07 Chicago Young Americans
2005–06 Team Illinois
2004–05 Team Illinois, Detroit Honeybaked, Colorado Selects
U14
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Milwaukee Jr. Admirals
2012–13 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2011–12 St. Louis Lady Blues
2010–11 Chicago Mission
2009–10 Chicago Mission
2008–09 Detroit Honeybaked
2007–08 Detroit Little Caesars
2006–07 Team Illinois
2005–06 Detroit Honeybaked, Team Illinois
2004–05 Team Illinois
U12
Season League Champion(s)
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
2012–13 St. Louis Lady Blues
2011–12 Detroit Belle Tire

NHL Draft Picks

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NHL Draft Picks
2003
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Ryan Kesler 1 #23 Vancouver Canucks Detroit Honeybaked
Danny Richmond 2 #31 Carolina Hurricanes Team Illinois
Dan Fritsche 2 #46 Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland Barons
Frank Rediker 4 #118 Boston Bruins Detroit Compuware
Corey Potter 4 #122 New York Rangers Detroit Honeybaked
Mike Brown 5 #153 Boston Bruins Detroit Honeybaked
David Rohlfs 5 #154 Edmonton Oilers Detroit Compuware
Drew Miller 6 #186 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Detroit Honeybaked
Dylan Reese 7 #209 New York Rangers Pittsburgh Hornets
Gerald Coleman 7 #224 Tampa Bay Lightning Chicago Young Americans
Marty Guerin 9 #274 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
2004
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Grant Lewis 2 #40 Atlanta Thrashers Pittsburgh Hornets
David Booth 2 #53 Florida Panthers Detroit Honeybaked
Kevin Porter 4 #119 Phoenix Coyotes Detroit Honeybaked
Chris Zarb 5 #144 Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Little Caesars
Gino Pisellini 5 #149 Philadelphia Flyers Team Illinois
Robbie Earl 6 #187 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Honeybaked
Ian Keserich 7 #215 Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland Barons
Matt Hunwick 7 #224 Boston Bruins Detroit Honeybaked
John Carter 9 #291 Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Honeybaked
2005
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Bobby Ryan 1 #2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Detroit Honeybaked
Justin Abdelkader 2 #42 Detroit Red Wings Detroit Honeybaked
Tom Fritsche 2 #47 Colorado Avalanche Cleveland Barons
T. J. Hensick 3 #88 Colorado Avalanche Detroit Honeybaked
Patrick Davis 4 #99 New Jersey Devils Detroit Belle Tire
Jared Boll 4 #101 Columbus Blue Jackets Team Illinois
Nathan Davis 4 #913 Chicago Blackhawks Cleveland Barons
Nathan Gerbe 5 #142 Buffalo Sabres Detroit Honeybaked
Justin Mercier 6 #168 Colorado Avalanche Cleveland Barons
Ryan Maki 6 #176 Nashville Predators Detroit Honeybaked
Ryan McGinnis 6 #184 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
Kyle Lawson 7 #198 Carolina Hurricanes Detroit Honeybaked
Matt Clackson 7 #215 Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Hornets
Pat McGann 7 #223 Dallas Stars Team Illinois
Zach Bearson 7 #224 Florida Panthers Team Illinois
2006
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Trevor Lewis 1 #17 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
Mark Mitera 1 #19 Anaheim Ducks Detroit Little Caesars
Chris Summers 1 #29 Phoenix Coyotes Detroit Victory Honda
Nigel Williams 2 #51 Colorado Avalanche Team Illinois
Jeff Zatkoff 4 #74 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
Ryan Turek 4 #94 St. Louis Blues Detroit Honeybaked
Brett Bennett 5 #130 Phoenix Coyotes Detroit Honeybaked
David Meckler 5 #134 Los Angeles Kings Chicago Young Americans
Erik Condra 7 #211 Ottawa Senators Detroit Honeybaked
2007
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Patrick Kane 1 #1 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Honeybaked
Ian Cole 1 #18 St. Louis Blues Detroit Victory Honda
Jim O'Brien 1 #29 Ottawa Senators Detroit Little Caesars
Bill Sweatt 2 #38 Chicago Blackhawks Team Illinois
Aaron Palushaj 2 #44 St. Louis Blues Detroit Honeybaked
Jeremy Smith 2 #54 Nashville Predators Detroit Compuware
Josh Unice 3 #86 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Victory Honda
Corey Tropp 3 #89 Buffalo Sabres Detroit Belle Tire
Steven Kampfer 4 #93 Anaheim Ducks Detroit Little Caesars
Alec Martinez 4 #95 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
Matt Rust 4 #101 Florida Panthers Detroit Honeybaked
Ben Ryan 4 #114 Nashville Predators Detroit Victory Honda
John Albert 6 #175 Atlanta Thrashers Cleveland Barons
Brad Phillips 7 #182 Philadelphia Flyers Detroit Honeybaked
C. J. Severyn 7 #186 Calgary Flames Pittsburgh Hornets
Trevor Nill 7 #190 St. Louis Blues Detroit Compuware
2008
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Robert Czarnik 3 #63 Los Angeles Kings Detroit Honeybaked
A. J. Jenks 4 #100 Florida Panthers Detroit Honeybaked
David Wohlberg 6 #172 New Jersey Devils Detroit Honeybaked
Tommy Wingels 6 #177 San Jose Sharks Team Illinois
Zach Redmond 7 #184 Atlanta Thrashers Detroit Compuware
2009
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
John Moore 1 #21 Columbus Blue Jackets Chicago Mission
Chris Brown 2 #36 Phoenix Coyotes Detroit Honeybaked
Drew Shore 2 #44 Florida Panthers Detroit Honeybaked
Kenny Ryan 2 #50 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Honeybaked
Kevin Lynch 2 #56 Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Honeybaked
Patrick Wey 4 #115 Washington Capitals Pittsburgh Hornets
Anthony Hamburg 7 #193 Minnesota Wild Dallas Stars
Paul Phillips 7 #195 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Fury
2010
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Jack Campbell 1 #11 Dallas Stars Detroit Honeybaked
Cam Fowler 1 #12 Anaheim Ducks Detroit Honeybaked
Austin Watson 1 #18 Nashville Predators Detroit Compuware
Beau Bennett 1 #20 Pittsburgh Penguins LA Jr. Kings
Jon Merrill 2 #38 New Jersey Devils Detroit Honeybaked
Jason Zucker 2 #59 Minnesota Wild Detroit Compuware
Stephen Johns 2 #60 Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Hornets
Bryan Rust 3 #80 Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Honeybaked
Justin Florek 5 #135 Boston Bruins Marquette Electricians
Kevin Gravel 5 #148 Los Angeles Kings Marquette Electricians
Kevin Lind 6 #177 Anaheim Ducks Chicago Mission
Bryce Aneloski 7 #196 Ottawa Senators Team Illinois
Luke Moffatt 7 #197 Colorado Avalanche Detroit Compuware
Chris Crane 7 #200 San Jose Sharks Detroit Honeybaked
Zach Trotman 7 #210 Boston Bruins Detroit Victory Honda
2011
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
J. T. Miller 1 #15 New York Rangers Pittsburgh Hornets
Rocco Grimaldi 2 #33 Florida Panthers Detroit Little Caesars
John Gibson 2 #39 Anaheim Ducks Pittsburgh Hornets
Brandon Saad 2 #43 Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Hornets
Vincent Trocheck 3 #64 Florida Panthers Pittsburgh Hornets
T. J. Tynan 3 #66 Columbus Blue Jackets Chicago Mission
Robbie Russo 4 #95 New York Islanders Chicago Mission
Josiah Didier 4 #97 Montreal Canadiens Colorado Thunderbirds
Michael Mersch 4 #110 Los Angeles Kings Team Illinois
Blake Pietila 5 #129 New Jersey Devils Detroit Compuware
Sean Kuraly 5 #133 San Jose Sharks Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets
Shane McColgan 5 #134 New York Rangers LA Jr. Kings
Garret Sparks 7 #190 Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Mission
Zac Larraza 7 #196 Phoenix Coyotes P.F. Chang's
Alex Broadhurst 7 #199 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Mission
Ryan Dzingel 7 #204 Ottawa Senators Team Illinois
Garrett Haar 7 #207 Washington Capitals Russell Stover Stars
2012
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Alex Galchenyuk 1 #3 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Young Americans
Jacob Trouba 1 #9 Winnipeg Jets Detroit Compuware
Jordan Schmaltz 1 #25 St. Louis Blues Chicago Mission
Henrik Samuelsson 1 #27 Phoenix Coyotes P.F. Chang's
Nicolas Kerdiles 2 #36 Anaheim Ducks LA Selects
Patrick Sieloff 2 #42 Calgary Flames Detroit Compuware
Ben Johnson 3 #90 New Jersey Devils Detroit Little Caesars
Brady Vail 4 #94 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Compuware
Thomas Di Pauli 4 #100 Washington Capitals Chicago Mission
Austin Wuthrich 4 #107 Washington Capitals Team Illinois
Jaccob Slavin 4 #120 Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Thunderbirds
Logan Nelson 5 #133 Buffalo Sabres Russell Stover Stars
Connor Carrick 5 #137 Washington Capitals Chicago Fury
Garret Ross 5 #139 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Victory Honda
John McCarron 6 #153 Edmonton Oilers Detroit Honeybaked
Riley Barber 6 #167 Washington Capitals Detroit Compuware
Vinnie Hinostroza 6 #169 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Mission
Matthew Deblouw 7 #186 Calgary Flames Detroit Little Caesars
Colton Hargrove 7 #205 Boston Bruins St. Louis Amateur Blues
Jaycob Megna 7 #210 Anaheim Ducks Team Illinois
2013
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Seth Jones 1 #4 Nashville Predators Dallas Stars
Kerby Rychel 1 #19 Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Belle Tire
Michael McCarron 1 #25 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Honeybaked
Ryan Hartman 1 #30 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Mission
J. T. Compher 2 #35 Buffalo Sabres Team Illinois
Justin Bailey 2 #52 Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Regals
Cole Cassels 3 #85 Vancouver Canucks Ohio Blue Jackets
Michael Downing 4 #97 Florida Panthers Detroit Victory Honda
Andrew Copp 4 #104 Winnipeg Jets Detroit Compuware
Zach Pochiro 4 #112 St. Louis Blues LA Jr. Kings
Tyler Motte 4 #121 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Honeybaked
Will Butcher 5 #123 Colorado Avalanche Madison Capitols
Cal Petersen 5 #129 Buffalo Sabres Chicago Young Americans
Brendan Burke 6 #163 Phoenix Coyotes P.F. Chang's
Quentin Shore 6 #168 Ottawa Senators Colorado Thunderbirds
Anthony Louis 6 #181 Chicago Blackhawks Team Illinois
David Drake 7 #192 Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Fury
2014
Player Round Overall NHL team MWEHL Team
Brendan Perlini 1 #12 Arizona Coyotes Detroit Belle Tire
Dylan Larkin 1 #15 Detroit Red Wings Detroit Belle Tire
Sonny Milano 1 #16 Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland Barons
Nick Schmaltz 1 #20 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Mission
Thatcher Demko 2 #36 Vancouver Canucks LA Jr. Kings
Alex Nedeljkovic 2 #37 Carolina Hurricanes Detroit Belle Tire
Josh Jacobs 2 #41 New Jersey Devils Detroit Belle Tire
Ryan MacInnis 2 #43 Arizona Coyotes St. Louis AAA Blues
Maxim Letunov 2 #52 St. Louis Blues Dallas Stars
Johnathan MacLeod 2 #57 Tampa Bay Lightning Cleveland Barons
Christian Dvorak 2 #58 Arizona Coyotes Chicago Mission
Brandon Halverson 2 #59 New York Rangers Oakland Jr. Grizzlies
Connor Chatham 3 #71 New Jersey Devils St. Louis AAA Blues
Blake Siebenaler 3 #77 Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Belle Tire
Louie Belpedio 3 #80 Minnesota Wild Team Illinois
Matt Iacopelli 3 #83 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Belle Tire
Nick Magyar 4 #93 Colorado Avalanche Cleveland Barons
Chase De Leo 4 #99 Winnipeg Jets LA Selects Hockey Club
Ryan Mantha 4 #104 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Belle Tire
Zachary Nagelvoort 4 #111 Edmonton Oilers Detroit Compuware
Dakota Joshua 5 #128 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Little Caesars
Anders Bjork 5 #146 Boston Bruins Chicago Mission
Christopher Brown 6 #151 Buffalo Sabres Detroit Belle Tire
Aaron Haydon 6 #154 Dallas Stars Detroit Belle Tire
Kyle Schempp 6 #155 New York Islanders Detroit Compuware
Hayden Hawkey 6 #177 Montreal Canadiens Colorado Thunderbirds
Jared Fiegl 7 #191 Arizona Coyotes Colorado Rampage
Matt Ustaski 7 #192 Winnipeg Jets Team Illinois
Dwyer Tschantz 7 #202 St. Louis Blues Team Comcast

References

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  1. ^ Sullivan, Paul (April 6, 2018). "Beyond Soccer Moms: Relocating for a Child's Sport". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
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