The Development League list is out

USA Hockey named 29 programs today for its new Development League, which starts play in 2027-28 with one 15U and one 17U team at each program. Find your club below.

Names as USA Hockey’s announcement shows them. States are from each club’s own site or league listing.

By state: Michigan has four programs, New Jersey three, and California, Colorado, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania two each. Twelve states have one.

That’s three short of the 32 USA Hockey had talked about. More than 80 programs applied, Bob Mancini, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey development, said on the Next Gen podcast, where the list was revealed at noon ET. DL Commissioner Scott Paluch said the selection committee weighed each club’s game results, its record of moving players on to the NTDP and junior hockey, its leadership and facilities, what losing teams would mean for its state affiliate, and geography. “A big piece was the history of player advancement,” he said.

The signing dates are the ones to circle. Tier I programs still can’t hold tryouts until 48 hours after Nationals. DL teams sign returning players in late January and everyone else in February, weeks before the rest of the country is allowed to hold a tryout.

DL teams are 15U and 17U. In 2027-28 that’s players born 2010 to 2013. Our age chart has the full birth-year table.

USA Hockey says the league is designed for the top 2% of 15U and 17U players in the country. Teams play 40 to 55 games from September through March, at least 60% of them against other DL teams, then a DL playoff and championship separate from USA Hockey Nationals.

The league is U.S. only, with no girls’ teams and no high school or prep teams. USA Hockey says Tier I, high school, prep and Tier II are still pathways, and Mancini said on the podcast that the clubs not selected “must be a large part of the development pathway going forward.” If your kid plays outside boys’ Tier I hockey at those ages, today’s list doesn’t change their season.

A program in the DL can’t also field a 15O or 16U Tier I team. Its DL teams take their place.

Before a DL team can offer a player an agreement, it has to give the family a Team Fact Sheet. It lists the season’s fees, the payment schedule and the weekly practice and game load. The signed player agreement guarantees the player’s roster spot for the full season.

The league charges each team $5,500. On a 20-player roster that’s $275 a player, before ice, coaching or travel.

Whether every invited program says yes. Invited programs have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET to accept. USA Hockey hasn’t said what happens if one declines. We’ll update this post after the deadline.

When the league grows. Mancini said the committee is “committed to expand” the DL as USA Hockey’s membership grows, but gave no date. USA Hockey says playoff details will come later.

YOUR MOVE: If your club is on the list, no DL team can sign your kid before Jan. 15, and it owes you a Team Fact Sheet before it asks. If your club isn’t on the list, ask for the same thing anyway. Our free Team Fact Sheet is a one-page form you can hand any club, at any level.

Sources: USA Hockey Next Gen podcast, Oct. 5 (program list, selection criteria, applications, expansion) · USA Hockey Development League (timeline, season format, Team Fact Sheet, top 2%) · USA Hockey 2026 Winter Meeting legislation (15O/16U restriction, age limits) · RinkHive, Sept. 5 ($5,500 team assessment, from the DL guidebook) · U.S. only; Hockey Canada has no equivalent tier.

Follow along: facebook.com/fullicemedia