The first two seasons of minor hockey in Canada are played on a smaller sheet than the one on TV. That’s national policy, not a local choice. This guide explains what U7 and U9 actually are, what Hockey Canada requires, how your province changes it, what it costs, and when full ice starts. It is the public record. When a kid is ready for more is a judgment call, and that belongs to the Double Shift.
The US version of this guide covers USA Hockey’s 6U and 8U. Quebec’s divisions are M7 and M9; the birth years are the same.
U7 and U9 in 2026-27
Division | Born | Old name | Quebec |
|---|---|---|---|
U7 | 2020 and later (4-year-olds, born 2022, at the association’s option) | Initiation | M7 (2020 to 2022) |
U9 | 2018 and 2019 | Novice | M9 (2018 and 2019) |
U11 | 2016 and 2017 | Atom | M11 |
Divisions are set by age on December 31, 2026. The full Canadian chart, every division, is here.
From first skate to full ice
Rung | What it is | Ice |
|---|---|---|
First Shift | Six weeks for first-timers, ages 6 to 10, Bauer gear to keep, $299 | Stations |
U7 | The first team seasons, ages 5 and 6 (4 where taken) | Cross-ice, by national policy |
U9 | Two seasons, ages 7 and 8 | Half-ice, by national policy; some full ice for 8-year-olds late in the season, where the branch allows it |
U11 | Full rink, full rules | Full ice |
Sources: OHF, First Shift, June 5, 2025 · Saskatoon MHA, First Shift 2026-27, June 9, 2026 · Hockey Canada, U9 half-ice
U7: cross-ice, no score, no standings
Hockey Canada has required every minor hockey association to run a U7 program since 1995, per the Ontario Hockey Federation. Playing it cross-ice became mandatory in 2017-18: “Commencing for 2017-18, cross-ice / half-ice hockey is mandatory at the Initiation level” (OHF). Hockey Alberta dates its own start to 2016-17. Hockey Canada’s Paul Carson, announcing it in 2017: “Decrease the space, increase the pace.”
Element | Hockey Canada U7 |
|---|---|
Surface | Cross-ice, or a space no larger than 100 by 60 feet |
Score and standings | None kept. No playoffs. |
Goalies | No full-time goalies |
Puck | The 4 oz blue puck is recommended nationally, not required. Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick require it. |
Shifts | About 60 seconds |
Before evaluation | At least four practices |
Sources: OHF, U7 Player Pathway · OHF, Initiation (U7) Program · The Canadian Press, Mar. 27, 2017 · Hockey Canada, U7 Player Pathway (abridged) · Hockey Canada, U7 FAQ · Hockey Alberta, Intro to Hockey, Sept. 2024 · Hockey Saskatchewan, U7 · Hockey New Brunswick, U7 guidelines
U9: half-ice, and when full ice starts
“Hockey Canada has a national policy ensuring U9 hockey is played in smaller, modified spaces.” Half-ice U9 was “now mandatory across Canada” by September 2019, Hockey Canada said then; many regions switched in 2018-19, and Newfoundland and Labrador in 2017-18.
Element | Hockey Canada U9 game-play rules |
|---|---|
Surface | No larger than 100 by 85 feet (half the sheet) |
Players | 4 on 4, plus a goalie in full gear. Two goalies per team, one each half. No full-time goalies. |
Nets | 2×3, 3×4 or 4×6 |
Shifts | On a buzzer or whistle, no longer than 2 minutes; 60 seconds recommended |
Icing and offside | None |
Score | “No score is kept, and game sheets are optional.” |
Game length | Two periods, running clock, 60 minutes maximum |
Puck | Blue 4 oz or black 6 oz, both acceptable |
Season | Hockey Canada U9 seasonal structure |
|---|---|
Roster | 18 players recommended |
Practice to games | 3:1 in the development phase, 2:1 in the regular season |
Games | 40 maximum |
Playoffs | “There are no playoffs in U9 hockey.” |
Tournaments | Jamborees or festivals; “no standings are kept” |
Full ice | 7-year-olds play half-ice all season. 8-year-olds may play full ice from December 26. |
The full-ice date, read carefully. Hockey Canada’s seasonal-structure page and its U9 FAQ say December 26: “Hockey Canada policy permits the transition to full-ice game play December 26 or later for U9 players.” Its game-play-rules page, in English and French, still says January 15. Hockey Canada’s 2026 U9 pathway document says December 26 “if the member allows it.” Read it as: December 26 at the earliest, and only if your branch allows it. Many don’t (below).
Sources: Hockey Canada, U9 half-ice · Hockey Canada release NR.061.19, Sept. 12, 2019, via Hockey New Brunswick · Hockey NL, U9 guidelines · Hockey Canada, U9 game-play rules · Hockey Canada, U9 seasonal structure · Hockey Canada, U9 FAQ · Hockey Canada, U9 player pathway (French, 2026)
How your branch changes it
Hockey Canada sets the floor. The branches build on it, and they differ more than most parents expect. These are the rules we could find and read; your local association may add its own. Where a row says “pilot,” Hockey Canada approved an exception.
Where | U9 full ice | Also |
|---|---|---|
Ontario (OHF members) | Top-tier U9 (Minor Development or Select): full-ice pilot, extended through 2027-28, team count frozen. Other U9 teams: full ice from Dec. 26, 2026, per an OHF bulletin. | OMHA’s 2025-26 pilot: half-ice Sept. to Oct. 31, full ice from Nov. 1, scores allowed from Nov. 1 |
Hockey Eastern Ontario | Up to 9 full-ice games after Dec. 26, plus one out-of-branch full-ice tournament; a district may stay half-ice all season | 90-second shifts; no scores recorded; 46 games max |
Hockey Northwestern Ontario | Full ice after Feb. 1 | Blue puck required for all U9; no scores kept |
Hockey Alberta | Half-ice through Jan. 31; optional full ice Feb. to March, capped | Blue puck required at U7, recommended at U9; no score, standings or stats |
Hockey Calgary (2026-27) | Half-ice to Dec. 26; optional full ice from Dec. 26, exhibitions and tournaments only, 12 games max | U7 never full ice; no official score posted |
Hockey Saskatchewan | Half-ice the whole season | Blue puck every game; score may be kept, goals and assists not; 40 to 45 games |
Hockey Manitoba | Half-ice the whole season; optional full-ice transition season March 1 to April 30 | Score kept, goals and assists not (2022-23 guidelines, still the ones linked) |
BC (PCAHA, Lower Mainland) | Full-ice pilot since 2024-25: half or full ice within the association Oct. 15 to Nov. 30, games between associations from Dec. 1 | No score kept. We couldn’t find a BC Hockey branch-wide page. |
Hockey Québec | M7 and M9 events in festival format from 2025-26, regular-season games from Jan. 1 | We couldn’t read the M7/M9 chapter of the rulebook; check with your region |
Hockey New Brunswick | Not stated in the U7 guidelines we read | U7: blue puck for all practices and games, no games before Dec. 15, 20 games max |
Hockey NL | Half-ice since 2017-18; transition from March 1 (2023 memo) | Check for a current memo |
We found nothing current from Hockey Nova Scotia, Hockey PEI or a BC Hockey branch-wide policy. If you’re there, ask your association for its U9 policy in writing.
Sources: OHF, 2026-27 U9 framework, Mar. 4, 2026, via ALLIANCE Hockey · Brantford MHA, OHF bulletin 26-005 · OMHA U9 pilot 2025-26 · HEO U9 policy, rev. Aug. 2026 · HNO U9 policy, Nov. 1, 2025 · Hockey Alberta, Sept. 2024 · Hockey Alberta, Intro to Hockey · Hockey Calgary, 2026-27 gameplay guidelines · Hockey Calgary bulletin, Sept. 1, 2026 · Hockey Saskatchewan, U9 · Hockey Manitoba, U9 guidelines 2022-23 · PCAHA U9 2026-27 · Hockey Québec, Sept. 2, 2025 · Hockey New Brunswick · Hockey NL, Dec. 20, 2023
The case for it
Hockey Canada’s case is the one USA Hockey makes: on a smaller surface every player is in the play more, touches the puck more, and makes more decisions per minute. The Ontario Hockey Federation puts numbers on it: players on cross-ice or half-ice get “five times more passes” and take “six times more shots” than on a full sheet. The OHF page doesn’t name the study behind those figures.
What the small game doesn’t teach, by design: offside, icing, face-offs on every stoppage, and line changes on the fly. Those start at U11, the first division Hockey Canada’s small-ice policy doesn’t cover.
What every U7 and U9 player wears
Item | Rule |
|---|---|
Helmet | CSA-certified, with a CSA-certified full facial protector attached |
Neck guard | BNQ-certified throat protector, required in all minor hockey, every position including goalies (Hockey Canada Rule 3.6(c), as cited by HEO) |
Mouthguard | No national requirement. Set by branch or association: mandatory from U7 in Hockey Northwestern Ontario, from U9 in Hockey Calgary; not required by Hockey Alberta. |
In Quebec | Provincial regulation adds its own standard for neck guards and full-face protectors for players 10 and under |
Body checking: none at U7, U9, U11 or U13. Hockey Canada introduces it at U15, a rule in place since 2013-14. Positioning, angling, stick-checking and body contact are taught in the younger divisions. Body checking isn’t allowed in girls’ hockey at any level, per the Canadian Paediatric Society.
Sources: HEO protective equipment policy 6.46, Dec. 1, 2023 · Gouvernement du Québec, hockey regulation, Jan. 5, 2026 · HNO, mouthguards · Hockey Calgary, mouthguards · Hockey Canada, Checking · CKSN, May 2013 · Canadian Paediatric Society, Jan. 2023
What it costs a family
No branch publishes fee ranges. These are examples from associations that post their prices, not a survey; yours will differ. Prices checked October 8, 2026.
Line | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
First Shift (first-timers, ages 6 to 10) | $299: six weekly sessions, Bauer equipment to keep | OHF; Saskatoon MHA 2026-27 |
Optional First Shift follow-on | $100, six weeks | Saskatoon MHA 2026-27 |
U7 registration, Kelowna MHA (BC) | $750 ($850 after July 31), team fees extra | Kelowna MHA 2026-27 |
U9 registration, Kelowna MHA (BC) | $775 ($875 after July 31), team fees extra | Kelowna MHA 2026-27 |
U7 or U9 house league, Windsor MHA (ON) | $625 ($700 after July 31) | Windsor MHA 2026-27 |
Gear is the other line. A full set for a first season is helmet with cage, BNQ neck guard, shoulder and elbow pads, gloves, pants, shin guards, jock or jill, skates and a stick. Ask whether your association runs a gear swap before you buy new.
Sources: OHF, First Shift · Saskatoon MHA, June 9, 2026 · Kelowna MHA fee schedule · Windsor MHA 2026-27
Before you register, ask your association:
Is U9 half-ice all season here, or is there full ice after a date? Which date?
Is there a top-tier or Minor Development U9 team, and does it play full ice under a pilot?
How many practices per game, and how many games in the season?
Blue puck or black? Is a mouthguard required?
What’s included in the fee, and what are team fees on top of it?
A club that can’t show you its U9 policy in writing has told you something.
What changes at U11
U11 is the first division outside Hockey Canada’s small-ice policy, so it’s where most players meet the full sheet: five skaters and a goalie, offside and icing called, face-offs at every stoppage, line changes on the fly, and in most associations the first tryouts and tiering. Some associations ease the jump; Hockey Calgary, for one, adds optional U11 transition skates late in the season from 2026-27.
Sources: Hockey Calgary, 2026-27
Hockey Canada’s U9 policy reads a birthday, not a season count. A child who started at four reaches second-year U9 with four seasons behind them; a child who started at seven reaches it with one. Ontario’s top-tier pilot, Calgary’s Dec. 26 date and Saskatchewan’s half-ice-all-season rule are three branches answering the same question three ways: when is an eight-year-old ready for the full sheet?
Full Ice is a free Thursday brief for hockey parents in Canada and the US: rules, costs and safety, every claim sourced.
Print it. The rules, the branch table and the costs on one page:
Sources
Hockey Canada: U9 half-ice benefits; U9 seasonal structure; U9 FAQ; U9 game-play rules (English and French); U9 player pathway, abridged (French, 2026); U7 FAQ; U7 player pathway, abridged; Checking. All read Oct. 8, 2026.
Hockey Canada release NR.061.19, Sept. 12, 2019, republished by Hockey New Brunswick
The Canadian Press, Mar. 27, 2017
Ontario Hockey Federation: U7 player pathway; Initiation (U7) program; First Shift, June 5, 2025; 2026-27 U9 framework, Mar. 4, 2026
OMHA, U9 full-ice pilot 2025-26; Brantford MHA (OHF bulletin 26-005)
Hockey Eastern Ontario, U9 policy (rev. Aug. 2026) and protective equipment policy 6.46
Hockey Northwestern Ontario, U9 policy (Nov. 1, 2025) and mouthguard rule
Hockey Alberta, Intro to Hockey model (Sept. 2024) and Intro to Hockey page; Hockey Calgary, 2026-27 gameplay guidelines and bulletin of Sept. 1, 2026
Hockey Saskatchewan, U7 and U9 game pages; Hockey Manitoba, U9 half-ice guidelines 2022-23
PCAHA, U9 2026-27 one-pager
Hockey Québec, M7 and M9 event format, Sept. 2, 2025; Gouvernement du Québec, hockey regulation
Hockey New Brunswick, U7 guidelines; Hockey NL, U9 guidelines and Dec. 20, 2023 update
Canadian Paediatric Society, bodychecking in ice hockey, updated Jan. 2023
Saskatoon MHA (First Shift 2026-27); Kelowna MHA and Windsor MHA 2026-27 fee pages
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