United States Premier Hockey League
 |
|
| Sport | Ice Hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| CEO | Richard Gallant |
| Commissioner | Jeff Nygaard |
| No. of teams | 61 organizations |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Most recent champion(s) |
Jersey Hitmen (Premier) Hampton Roads Whalers (Elite) Dells Ducks (USP3/Midwest) |
| Official website | USPHL.com |
The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is an American ice hockey league. Founded in 2012, the USPHL has grown to over 60 organizations from across the United States fielding teams in Premier, Elite, USP3, 18U, 16U, 16U Futures, and High Performance Youth divisions.
USA Hockey classifies the Premier, Elite, and USP3 Divisions as Tier III junior hockey leagues. 18U, 16U and 16U Futures divisions are Tier I youth hockey divisions. All divisions are sanctioned by USA Hockey.
The league was originally founded with three divisions (Premier, 18U and 16U), but on June 6, 2013, it was announced that the USPHL would absorb the Empire Junior Hockey League (becoming the Empire Division) and the newly formed Eastern Elite Hockey League (becoming the Elite Division). With the additions, the USPHL added 16 organizations to the original 15.
On March 7, 2014, the USPHL announced the formation of the 16U Futures (16UF) Division. The division is guided for players who aspire to play midget hockey, but are not yet ready for the 16U Division. Eight organizations field teams in the 16UF Division for the 2014-15 season.
During the 2014 off-season the USPHL lost the New York Applecore (Empire), but added the Providence Capitals (Elite & 16U), Jersey Shore Whalers (Empire), and the Richmond Generals (Elite, Empire) organizations to increase the total number of organizations to 35 headed into the 2014–15 season.
The USPHL announced on December 18, 2014 the formation of a Midwest Division to begin in the 2015–16 season by adding several teams from the Minnesota Junior Hockey League. By the end of the season, the Midwest Division would add all but one active MnJHL team causing the MnJHL to disband for the following season. On March 10, 2015, the USPHL also added the entire Midwest Junior Hockey League to its new Midwest Division for the 2015–16 season. USPHL Midwest became the fourth Tier III division under the USPHL umbrella.
The changes for the 2015–16 continued into April when the New York Aviators announced their decision to leave the USPHL and join the NA3EHL. The USPHL promptly re-assigned the Aviator franchise to Rye, New York, and was renamed to the New York Dragons. In early April 2015, the Empire Division would expand to Daytona, Florida with the Daytona Racers. Also in April, it was announced the Empire Division would be renamed as the USP3 Division. In late April 2015, the Charlotte Rush was announced as an expansion franchise by adding two teams, one in the Elite Division and one in the USP3. The Wooster Oilers from the former MnJHL decided against fielding two Tier III teams and dropped their membership in the USPHL Midwest and would only play in the North American 3 Hockey League. Initially announced with 22 member teams, the new Midwest Division saw a number of teams cease operations prior to the 2015–16 season including the Indiana Attack, Ironwood Fighting Yoopers, Minnesota Owls, Soo Firehawks, and St. Louis Storm due to lack of players. The Midwest Division did not have its own championship playoffs, but instead the top two teams in each conference from the Midwest and USP3 Divisions played for a single championship.
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