The USA Hockey DL Guidebook, Explained: The Rules for 2027-28

By Adam Collins

Last checked Oct. 26, 2026, against the 2027-28 edition of the Guidebook. We update this page when USA Hockey publishes a change.

USA Hockey’s Development League Guidebook is the rulebook for the new Development League (DL), which starts play in 2027-28. It covers how programs are chosen, who can play, when players sign, what a player agreement commits a family to, what teams pay and how games are played. USA Hockey published it as a PDF, and the cover says it is effective for the 2027-28 season. Full Ice first covered it in Issue 4 on Sept. 10, 2026. This page checks every rule against the PDF itself and gives the section numbers.

It binds the DL’s member programs and everyone in them. Every team, player, coach, staff member, referee and volunteer must be registered with USA Hockey and follow its bylaws, rules and SafeSport policies (section A.3). The league’s core rules also sit in section III.J of USA Hockey’s Rules and Regulations, which the Guidebook reprints. These rules govern the USA Hockey-sanctioned DL programs; a few of them also name Tier I teams, and we say so where they do.

Each section below gives a rule in plain English with its section number, so you can check it against the PDF.

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections A.3, F, G, H, I · USA Hockey Development League

The DL has two signing windows in the winter before the season, then a blackout. From Jan. 15 to 31, a DL team may sign only its own organization’s returning players (I.1.a). The open signing period follows, from Feb. 1 to the end of February (I.1.b).

From March 1 until the end of the National Championships, there are no tryouts and no signings (I.1.c). A player whose team is still playing at Nationals can sign a DL player agreement once that team is out of the medal games (I.1.c.i). Tryouts and signings start again 48 hours after the last game of the National Championships, and that rule names Tier I teams as well as DL teams (I.1.c.ii).

A team may sign no more than 22 players, and every player needs a signed agreement before going on a roster (I.2.b). The team must tell the league registrar within 24 hours of each signing (I.2.c). No player can be added to a roster after Feb. 15 of the season (F.4.l).

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections I.1, I.2.b, I.2.c, F.4.l, G.1.c, G.2.c · USA Hockey Development League

A player agreement is a written contract between the player and parent and one DL team. It commits the player to that team for the whole season and holds a roster spot for the player (I.2.a). The player or parent and an authorized team representative both sign it (I.2.d).

Tryouts. While an agreement is in effect, the player may not try out for any other team or program. The only exceptions are tryouts with the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP), the USHL or the NAHL (I.1.e). Other DL teams may not recruit a player who has signed for the current season (I.1.f).

The 18-month rule. A signed player who takes part in a tryout for another DL or Tier I team or program can’t sign a player agreement with that program, or play for it, for 18 months from the last day of the tryout (I.3.b). A player who breaks tryout or agreement rules can also be disciplined by the team or by the DL Discipline Committee (I.3.a).

Moving mid-season. A player who leaves the signing team during the season to play for another DL or Tier I team can’t be rostered on the new team for the rest of that season or the following season (I.3.c). There are three exceptions. The team and player can agree to a release. The player can be released for breaking the agreement or the team’s written code of conduct, after any required hearing. Or a grievance hearing can find that the team or its staff broke SafeSport or other policies badly enough to justify a release (I.3.d).

Releases. Before the DL team’s first game, the team must release a player with no financial penalty if the player is signing with the NTDP, a USHL team or a NAHL team. After the first game, the player has to meet any financial obligation to the team, unless the two sides agree otherwise in writing (I.1.d).

Disputes. If the player and team disagree on what is owed for a release, the player can send the details to the DL Commissioner, the team sends its side, and the Commissioner can rule on the amount (I.1.d). Other disputes over how an agreement applies can be settled at the Commissioner’s sole discretion, with an appeal to USA Hockey’s National Appeals Committee (III.J.6.i).

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections I.1.d, I.1.e, I.1.f, I.2, I.3 · USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, section III.J.6

Before a team offers or signs any player agreement, an authorized team representative has to give the player and parents a Team Fact Sheet (I.2.e). At a minimum, the sheet has to cover six things.

The team and the parents both sign the sheet, and the parents get a copy (I.2.e). Under the last item, the family agrees to be bound by what the sheet says.

Our free Team Fact Sheet lays out the same items on one page. To line an offer up against what you have now, use our free offer comparison sheet.

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, section I.2.e · USA Hockey Development League

Each DL team pays the league an annual assessment, and for 2027-28 it is $5,500 per team (H.1.c). The money pays for league operations, playoff and championship costs, and player and coach development resources (H.1.d). The next season’s assessment is announced by Jan. 1 (H.1.b).

The assessment is not the team fee, and the Guidebook doesn’t set one. Teams pay their own operating costs, including travel, coaching, ice, officials, equipment and apparel (H.1.f). Here is the $5,500 assessment spread across a roster.

That is only the league’s share, before ice, coaching or travel. As of Oct. 25, 2026, we haven’t found a published fee for any DL team. Where a club has posted fees for its current Tier I teams, our program pages show them.

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections H.1.b, H.1.c, H.1.d, H.1.f · Full Ice, DL program list · Per-player figures are $5,500 divided by roster size, rounded to the dollar.

Free: the DL Signing Checklist, a one-page printable of what to get and ask before signing.

Every DL organization fields one 15U DL team and one 17U DL team (C.2). An organization that also runs Tier I teams can’t field 15O or 16U Tier I teams, so the DL teams take those places (C.2). It can run at most five teams from 13O to 18U, and fielding 13O, 14U and 18U Tier I teams is its choice (C.3). The Guidebook allows for up to 32 DL organizations (C.1). USA Hockey announced on Oct. 7 that all 29 invited programs accepted.

Each DL program must be a member of its USA Hockey affiliate and register its teams with the affiliate where they play home games and practice (III.J.1.c). DL teams have open residency, so a program can roster players from anywhere (F.1.a).

A 15U DL roster is players who are 14 or 15 as of Dec. 31 of the season, with no more than four 14-year-olds (F.2). A 17U DL roster is players who are 15, 16 or 17, with no more than two 15-year-olds (F.3). Each team can carry up to two non-U.S. citizens, who can’t be goalies and must have played on a USA Hockey team before (F.2.e, F.3.e).

A DL player can’t play for, or be registered with, any other team that season. The exceptions are USHL and NAHL games under USA Hockey’s youth and junior affiliated player policy, games within the player’s own DL organization, and NTDP games the two sides agree to (F.1.d). Inside an organization, players can move between its DL and Tier I teams from Sept. 1 to Feb. 15 (III.J.4).

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections C.1, C.2, C.3, F.1, F.2, F.3 · USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections III.J.1.c, III.J.4 · USA Hockey, Oct. 7, 2026

Each DL team plays 40 to 55 regular-season games (G.2.a), and at least 60% of them must be against other DL teams (G.2.b). The regular season runs September to March, and teams build their own schedules (G.2.c, G.2.d). Section III.J.1.d of USA Hockey’s rules says DL teams play and practice from September through February; the Guidebook doesn’t reconcile the two. No team or player can play more than one game a day (G.2.g). Teams must average at least three on-ice practices and two off-ice sessions a week over the season (G.1.a, G.1.b).

Games are three 20-minute periods (G.4.a). A tie in the regular season goes to five minutes of 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime, then a three-player shootout, then sudden-death shootout rounds (G.4.d). Results are scored on this points system (G.5.b).

DL teams aren’t eligible for any USA Hockey National Championship (III.J.5). The DL will have its own playoffs and championship, but the format, schedule and location haven’t been released (G.2.f, G.4.e). The DL Commissioner has final authority over the playoff schedule and location (G.3). A team that misses the scheduling requirements can be ruled ineligible for the playoffs (G.2.i).

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections G.1, G.2, G.3, G.4, G.5 · USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections III.J.1.d, III.J.5 · USA Hockey Development League

No new programs join for 2028-29, the DL’s second season (D.5). USA Hockey will announce by Aug. 1, 2028 whether it will expand in 2029-30, and applications run from Oct. 1 to 31, 2028 (D.5). After that, the decision on whether to consider expansion is made each year by Aug. 1 (D.1). Plans are announced at USA Hockey’s winter meeting in January 2029 (D.3), and the first season for any new teams is 2029-30 (D.4).

Expansion decisions weigh the overall USA Hockey player population, national demand for the DL, and each organization’s player development and high-level results (D.2). A program’s place isn’t guaranteed from year to year (section N).

Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections D.1 to D.5 and N

More DL program pages: Madison Capitols · Chicago Mission · Ohio Blue Jackets · Nashville Jr. Predators · Colorado Thunderbirds · Boston Jr. Eagles · Mid Fairfield · North Jersey Avalanche · Philadelphia Jr. Flyers · Pittsburgh Penguins Elite. Also: all 29 DL programs · the DL Tracker · the DL explainer · the offer comparison sheet · the DL Signing Checklist.

Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].

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