FIVE MINUTE MAJOR News and notes from the offseason continues.

It’s a new week in the hockey world and while there isn’t a ton of news, there’s always speculation to think about.

In the United States Hockey League (USHL), it was announced on Tuesday by Tri-City Storm they had hired Keith Morris as their next General Manager of Hockey Operations. He’s spent time with multiple programs at the Junior and College levels. He’s spent a better part of his career in Alaska with the University of Alaska Anchorage as an assistant coach and was the program director of the South Anchorage Hockey Association.

With the ever-changing landscape in junior hockey, having a well-built front office is key to competing at a high level.

In the USHL, they face the challenge of losing players to the major junior level since players can now go to college in the US after spending time with their respective major junior club.

Speaking of the CHL and USHL, earlier this off-season, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms attempted to leave for the OHL. However, USA Hockey blocked the move, and the two franchises remain in the USHL for the time being.

While some players may choose the CHL over the USHL, the two leagues are close to the same level of play at this point because of the CHL and NCAA’s agreement.

Between the USHL and CHL being at close to the same level of play at this point and the two teams, it makes one wonder if the USHL could eventually be a major junior league.

Obviously, there would be some hurdles to clear with the governing bodies of USA Hockey and Hockey Canada. There are also league standards such as venue size and facility standards.

The other option for the three leagues under the CHL umbrella is do like the WHL has and is continuing to do and that’s plucking Junior-A markets with major junior sized venues. Currently the USHL has 16 teams while the three CHL leagues each have quite a few more than that. The WHL has 23 with 24 by the 2026-27 season while the OHL has 20 and the QMJHL has 18. Should the QMJHL eventually get those two rumored cities of Portland, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire that’d give them 20 and closer to their CHL partner leagues. The OHL is admittedly in a tough spot for expansion given they sit above the USHL geographically.

For the OHL any chance they expand depends on deals with the USHL and maybe a small handful of Canadian Junior-A franchises. The USHL has some teams in venues that are major junior size. However, most Junior-A teams play in smaller venues. This presents the challenge of either needing a massive renovation or a completely new building for some.

The USHL will likely never become a major junior league, but it remains to be seen how long USA Hockey can keep teams from defecting to the OHL. When it comes down to it, one of the biggest allures for a team to jump from the Junior-A level to major junior is the level of competition.