By Adam Collins
Last checked Oct. 26, 2026. We update this page when the club or USA Hockey publishes something new.
Madison Capitols is one of the 29 programs USA Hockey named on Oct. 5, 2026 for its Development League (DL), which starts in 2027-28. USA Hockey announced on Oct. 7 that all 29 invited programs accepted. Each DL program fields one 15U team and one 17U team. In the first season that’s players born 2010 to 2013. Here is what the club and USA Hockey have published, and what they haven’t.
Sources: USA Hockey, Oct. 5, 2026 · USA Hockey, Oct. 7, 2026 · USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections F.2 and F.3
New to the DL? Start with our plain-English guide, then the Guidebook, explained for every rule before signing. All 29 programs are on the list, and the DL Tracker has the latest.
State | Wisconsin |
Rinks | Legacy20 Arena Middleton and Legacy20 Arena DeForest, Wisconsin. (Not the USHL junior team of the same name.) |
DL teams from 2027-28 | One 15U and one 17U team |
Tier I teams now (2026-27) | 15O (2011s), 16U (2010s) and 18U (2008s and 2009s) |
League now | Wisconsin Tier I (its 16U fact sheet lists the WAHA Tier 1 State Playoffs), and a guest affiliate team in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL) |
Published DL fee | None found yet (as of Oct. 26, 2026) |
Sources: Madison Capitols, home rinks · Madison Capitols, fact sheets · 16U fact sheet · T1EHL, guest affiliate teams
Oct. 5, 2026: USA Hockey Development League
“The Madison Capitols AAA Hockey Organization have been accepted to participate in the inaugural season of the DL at the 15o and 16u levels!”
That’s the club’s wording; DL teams are 15U and 17U. The club also wrote that it looks forward to working with USA Hockey, and that more information will come as USA Hockey releases it. The post sits alongside the club’s repost of USA Hockey’s release.
Sources: Madison Capitols, Oct. 5, 2026
What changes at Madison Capitols
Under USA Hockey’s DL Guidebook for 2027-28, a DL organization may not field 15O or 16U Tier I teams; its DL teams take their place (section C.2). It can run at most five teams from 13O to 18U: 13O, 14U, 18U and its two DL teams, and whether to field the first three is the organization’s call (C.3).
The club hasn’t said what happens to its 15O and 16U teams, or whether 18U stays.
Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections C.2 and C.3 · USA Hockey, January 2026 DL legislation
Get DL updates free. Fees as clubs publish them, the signing rules before January, and every change as it happens.
What a season at Madison Capitols costs a family
We haven’t found a published DL team fee from any program yet. Before a DL team can offer a player an agreement, it has to give the family a Team Fact Sheet with the season’s fees, payment schedule and weekly load, and the family signs it (Guidebook I.2.e). The league charges each team a $5,500 assessment for 2027-28 (H.1.c), and teams cover their own operating costs (H.1.f). On a 20-player roster the assessment alone is $275 a player, before ice, coaching or travel.
What the club charges now, for 2026-27 Tier I, is the best guide to where its DL fee might start. These are the club’s published player fees:
Team (2026-27) | Player fee | Deposit | Then | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
15O (2011s) | $8,595 | $2,495 | 5 payments of $1,220, June to Oct. | 55 to 60 |
16U (2010s) | $9,195 | $2,495 | 5 payments of $1,340 | 60 to 65 |
18U (2008s, 2009s) | $9,195 | $2,495 | 5 payments of $1,340 | 60 to 65 |
The player fee includes an apparel package, home jersey, socks, practice jersey and custom gloves. The fact sheet also lists the season’s off-ice training, power skating, skills and goalie sessions, and video access. The player fee doesn’t include the team’s mandatory “slush fund” for travel, extra ice and events, which is paid to the team manager or coach; the club doesn’t state an amount and refunds what’s left. So the player fee isn’t the all-in cost. The 2026-27 tryout fee was $155.
Sources: Madison Capitols 15O fact sheet · 16U fact sheet · 18U fact sheet · Madison Capitols, 2026-27 AAA winter season · USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, H.1 and I.2
Deciding on a DL offer? The rules are here. The DL Decision Kit helps you decide what they mean for your family: a cost worksheet for what a team fee leaves out, the questions to put to a hockey director, five emails you can send as written, and a week-by-week plan to Feb. 28. It’s $12, and every update is free. Insider members get it included.
Free: the DL Signing Checklist, a one-page printable of what to get and ask before signing. To line an offer up against what you have now, use our free comparison sheet.
Billets and housing
No billet or housing information is posted. DL rosters have open residency, so a program can sign players from anywhere.
Date | What happens |
|---|---|
Jan. 15 to 31, 2027 | Early signing. DL teams can sign their own returning players (Guidebook I.1.a). |
Feb. 1 to 28, 2027 | Open signing (I.1.b). |
March 1, 2027 to the end of Nationals | Blackout. No tryouts or signings (I.1.c). |
48 hours after the last Nationals game | Tryouts and signings reopen for DL and Tier I teams (I.1.c.ii). |
Aug. 1, 2027 | DL teams may start practice (G.1.c). |
September 2027 | The first regular season begins (G.2.c). |
Questions to put to the club, in writing:
May we have the team’s Team Fact Sheet, with every item Guidebook section I.2.e lists, before any offer is made?
May we have a copy of the Player Agreement to read before the signing window opens?
Does our player count as a returning player for the Jan. 15 to 31 early signing period under I.1.a?
What does the agreement say a family owes if the player leaves after the team’s first game, under I.1.d?
Our free Team Fact Sheet is a one-page form you can hand any club.
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 Guidebook, explained · the offer comparison sheet.
Spot something out of date on this page? Reply to any issue or email [email protected] and we’ll check it.
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