BEHIND THE BENCH: More Than A Roof

Dear Billets, Billet families and Moms and Dads,

Over the next couple of weeks, thousands of hockey players across the United States and Canada are going to do something they have spent years preparing for without necessarily realizing it. They are going to pack their hockey equipment, gather their clothes and personal belongings, say goodbye to their families and move into somebody else's home. For some, this will be their second, third or fourth year doing it. For others, it will be the first time they have ever lived anywhere other than the house they grew up in. That makes this part of the season about a lot more than figuring out where a player is going to sleep.

Billet families have been part of junior hockey for generations, making it possible for players from hundreds or even thousands of miles away to pursue opportunities that simply do not exist in their hometowns. A billet family provides a player with a place to live, meals, structure, support and, when it works the way it should, another family that cares about what happens to him. Some of the strongest relationships in junior hockey have started because a family opened its home to a player they barely knew in August and was still exchanging Christmas cards with him twenty years later.

That is what a good billet situation can become, but it is important for everybody involved to understand what it is not. A billet home is not an apartment rental, and the player should never enter the house believing he has paid for a bedroom and therefore everybody else exists to take care of him. He is entering somebody's home. He needs to understand the rules, respect the people living there, keep his room and bathroom clean, do his laundry, communicate when he will be home, help when help is needed and remember that somebody is making room in their family's life for him. Billet families have responsibilities to the player, but the player has responsibilities to the billet family too.

For moms and dads, particularly those doing this for the first time, I know there is another side to this. You have spent sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years knowing where your son sleeps every night. You know what he eats, when he gets home, whether he has done his laundry and what he looks like when something is bothering him. Now another family may see some of those things before you do, and that is not an easy transition for anyone. It is also one of the reasons you need to know where your son is going before you simply put him on an airplane and hope that everything works out.

You should know who the billet family is, who lives in the home, where your son is sleeping, how transportation will work, what meals are provided, what the household rules are and who the team's billet coordinator is. You should know what happens if the placement does not work, and most importantly, what happens if your son says he does not feel safe and needs to leave that house tonight. Teams operating inside USA Hockey have specific SafeSport requirements for billeted minors, including screening and training requirements for adults living in the home. Hockey Canada also provides extensive guidance for billet programs, while provincial organizations, leagues and teams can have additional requirements of their own. Independent leagues can have very good billet systems too, but those protections come from the league itself rather than automatically from USA Hockey or Hockey Canada, which means families need to ask what policies are actually in place.

A sanctioned program is not automatically safer, and an independent one is not automatically riskier. What matters is whether somebody is accountable. You want to know who screened the family, who visited the house and checked the references. You want a name for who your son calls if something goes wrong, and what happens if a complaint needs investigating. A good hockey organization should be able to answer those questions without becoming defensive, because housing teenagers and young adults away from home is not something that should be improvised in the final days before the season starts.

Players need to prepare for this too, and that preparation should begin before they ever leave home. If Mom is still doing the laundry, Dad is still packing the equipment bag and somebody else is waking the player up every morning, moving six hundred miles away is not suddenly going to create independence. Junior hockey has a way of exposing very quickly what a player can and cannot do for himself. He should know how to cook a basic meal, wash his clothes, keep a bathroom clean, manage his schedule, communicate with coaches and handle his own spending money. A billet family can provide support, but they should not have to become a replacement personal assistant.

There is another part of billeting that I think gets lost, especially once a player gets comfortable. I have always liked the idea that a junior hockey player should be able to live out of two hockey bags. One contains the equipment. The other contains the clothes and personal things he actually needs. That does not mean a player needs to live like he is camping for eight months, but it does mean he should remember what junior hockey is supposed to be doing for him, because the billet home is temporary. If a player is working, developing and progressing, there should always be a possibility that the phone rings. Maybe a team at the next level needs somebody. Maybe an affiliate opportunity opens. Maybe there is a trade. Maybe the right situation appears in another city. Junior hockey moves quickly, and sometimes players have a few hours rather than a few weeks to react. A player who has turned his billet bedroom into a permanent residence, spread his belongings throughout the house and accumulated enough stuff to fill a moving truck has forgotten something important about why he is there.

That does not mean he should keep the billet family at arm's length. He should eat dinner with them when he can. He should talk with them. He should become part of the household. If they have younger children who look up to him, he should understand the responsibility that comes with that. If they are sitting in the stands every weekend cheering for him, he should appreciate it. He may stay in touch with those people for the rest of his life, and some players do. He should belong emotionally while remaining mobile physically.

A good billet home should give a player stability without making him complacent. He should be able to come home after a terrible game, eat something, get some sleep and wake up ready to work again. He should feel safe enough to focus on hockey and school instead of worrying about what is happening inside the house. At the same time, he needs to remember that making this team was not the finish line. The objective is still development. The objective is still advancement. If he earns an opportunity to move up, the billet family should be proud to watch him pack those bags.

There will be disagreements along the way because this involves people living together. Different families eat at different times, keep different schedules, have different rules and expect different things. A player may be asked to empty a dishwasher he never touched at home. He may be expected to take his shoes off at the door. Dinner might be at 5:30 when he is used to eating at 7:00. Those things are adjustments, not emergencies, and parents can help their sons enormously by allowing them to solve normal problems themselves instead of immediately becoming involved in every inconvenience. Learning how to communicate with adults, respect reasonable rules and work through small conflicts is part of growing up.

Safety is different. If a player does not have enough food, if the home is unsafe, if inappropriate behavior is taking place, if there are serious substance issues, violence, sexual boundaries being crossed or anything else that makes a player believe he is in danger, nobody should tell him to tough it out because hockey is important. At that point hockey is not important. Get the player somewhere safe, involve the appropriate people and figure out the hockey part afterward.

To the billet families reading this: thank you. You are doing something that junior hockey cannot function without, opening your refrigerator, your driveway, your laundry room, your dinner table and your family to somebody else's son. There will be nights when he is quiet because he played badly, mornings when he eats everything you thought would last three days and moments when you wonder why there are hockey sticks in places where hockey sticks should never be. There may also come a day when he packs those two bags, hugs your family goodbye and leaves for an opportunity he has been working toward since the day he arrived. If that happens, do not mistake his leaving for the end of what you provided him. In many ways, that is the point.

Give him a home while he is there, structure, support and somewhere safe to land at the end of the day. Players, respect the people who give you that opportunity, take care of yourself and take care of their home. Moms and dads, do your homework, ask the questions you need answered and then give your son enough room to begin becoming the person you have been preparing him to become.

Pack light and play hard,

Mike

 

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NCAA hockey has changed dramatically since CHL players became eligible, with nearly 300 former Canadian Hockey League athletes expected across Division I in 2026–27. High-profile prospects including Gavin McKenna and Porter Martone demonstrated how NCAA development can boost NHL readiness, while conferences such as Hockey East, the Big Ten, and ECAC expanded CHL recruiting. Former CHL players also made major contributions to all-rookie teams and Frozen Four contenders, strengthening college hockey’s talent pool, competitiveness, and NHL development pipeline.

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The 2026-27 Canadian Hockey League season will feature major changes across the WHL, OHL and QMJHL, including 15 new head coaches, high-profile trades and expanded interleague competition. Guelph, host of the 2027 Memorial Cup, strengthened its roster with several NHL-drafted prospects, while Victoria, Medicine Hat and Atlantic clubs also made significant additions. Rare WHL-OHL and OHL-QMJHL crossover games add intrigue before all three leagues begin regular-season play in September, launching a reshaped road to the Memorial Cup. 

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Ontario men’s junior hockey will introduce a province-wide development pilot for the 2026-27 season, with the OHL playing a central role alongside Hockey Canada and provincial partners. Six junior leagues will adopt the OHL Rule Book with approved exceptions, while new player and goaltender development measures expand affiliation opportunities for 16- and 17-year-olds. The initiative also adds an emergency goaltender exemption, aiming to create consistent playing rules, streamline development pathways and strengthen opportunities for young hockey players across Ontario.

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Portland Winterhawks are expanding hockey access and community engagement through longstanding partnerships with local Boys and Girls Clubs. During 2025-26, players visited five chapters, spending time with roughly 400 young people through activities, street hockey and relationship-building. The team also supports a learn-to-play program offering free gear and city-provided ice time across six sessions. The five-season partnership helps introduce children to hockey, creates meaningful player connections and gives underserved youth greater access to the sport.

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The Victoriaville Tigres will retire Yanni Gourde’s No. 23 jersey on February 5, 2027, honoring his determination and remarkable hockey career. Gourde recorded 221 points in 199 regular-season games with Victoriaville before climbing from the ECHL and AHL to the NHL. Undrafted in both the QMJHL and NHL, he became a key contributor to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup championships. Gourde will become the 10th Tigres player to receive the franchise honor.

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The BCHL Road Show will make its Alberta debut in Cold Lake from February 11-13, 2027. The Blackfalds Bulldogs and Sherwood Park Crusaders will play regular-season games on February 12 and 13 at the Cold Lake Energy Centre, complemented by community engagement and special guests. The fifth edition of the BCHL Road Show builds on previous events in Northern British Columbia, bringing junior hockey, league representatives and local fans together while showcasing Cold Lake’s strong hockey community.

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The Warman Wolverines enter their second SJHL season with greater experience, including 11 returning players and 18 with junior hockey backgrounds. Head Coach and General Manager Brett Pilkington expects the veteran roster to help improve on last year’s 14-36-3-3 record. Goaltenders Luke Brunen and Evan Hutcheon highlight a promising lineup, while new additions strengthen the defence. Warman opens training camp September 2 before beginning the regular season September 18 against the Humboldt Broncos.

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Profanity in junior hockey can undermine leadership, player development and the family-friendly rink experience. Coaches who communicate with composure and tactical guidance model self-control, while players who avoid vulgar language demonstrate maturity to teammates, young fans, recruiters and scouts. Hockey players also serve as ambassadors on the ice and social media, making professionalism part of their personal and team brands. Creating a cleaner environment can strengthen respect, character development and family engagement while supporting the sport’s long-term growth. 

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USPHL Player First gives junior hockey players and families clearer guidance on roster status, scholarships, financial obligations, player agreements and release rights. The initiative emphasizes that NCDC and Premier opportunities require separate agreements and encourages players to confirm scholarship terms in writing. It also explains roster limits and provides a 10-question “Know Before You Sign” checklist. By improving transparency around contracts, deposits, equipment, releases and free agency, USPHL aims to help families make informed decisions with greater confidence.

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The Oliver Outlaws are preparing for their inaugural 2026-27 Western International Junior Hockey League season under head coach and general manager Jake Gushue. Nearly 60 players will attend training camp as the expansion Junior A franchise builds a roster focused on skill, hockey IQ, competitiveness and character. Strong community support, billet participation and upgraded facilities at Oliver & District Arena add momentum ahead of the Sept. 18 home opener against Kelowna. The Outlaws will play a 44-game regular-season schedule.

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Players and families, we want to hear from you. If there are any questions, concerns, or if you just want to have a conversation, please feel free to contact us directly. We want to hear from you. Good Luck and Great Hockey!

 

Thank you,

Team VHC

 

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