By Adam Collins
Last checked Oct. 26, 2026. We update this page when the club or USA Hockey publishes something new.
Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 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 | Pennsylvania |
Rinks | UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania |
DL teams from 2027-28 | One 15U and one 17U team |
Tier I teams now (2026-27) | 15O Midget (2011s), 16U Midget and 18U, plus 13O and 14U Bantam and two teams each at the 2014 to 2017 birth years |
League now | Northeast Pack Hockey League (NE Pack), member; Mid-American district |
Published DL fee | None found yet (as of Oct. 26, 2026) |
Sources: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, teams · League listing
Oct. 9, 2026: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite to Join USA Hockey National Development League
“Pittsburgh Penguins Elite is excited to announce that our program will join the USA Hockey National Development League beginning with the 2027-28 season.”
The club calls the league the USA Hockey National Development League; USA Hockey’s name is the USA Hockey Development League. A Northeast Pack Hockey League release names the club among its nine member organizations invited to the DL.
Sources: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Oct. 9, 2026 · Northeast Pack Hockey League, nine members invited
What changes at Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
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. The Northeast Pack Hockey League says it will run 15U DL and 17U DL divisions in 2027-28, 10 full-time teams each, so the club’s DL teams would also play a league schedule alongside their DL games. That’s the league’s statement about its own schedule; USA Hockey hasn’t addressed it.
Sources: USA Hockey, DL Guidebook 2027-28, sections C.2 and C.3 · USA Hockey, January 2026 DL legislation · Northeast Pack Hockey League, 15U DL and 17U DL divisions
Get DL updates free. Fees as clubs publish them, the signing rules before January, and every change as it happens.
What a season at Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 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.
The club’s 2026-27 overview document lists tryout fees of $215 and $315 (the $315 includes a checking clinic), a $500 non-refundable commitment fee that counts toward the total, and participation fees of $6,371 to $8,554 for its 10U through 14U teams, paid in six equal installments starting in May. For the three teams the DL touches, 15O, 16U and 18U, it says “Contact for pricing.” Each team gets a tournament allowance ($7,000 at 14U and up), and coaches’ travel and lodging are extra, paid through a team fund. So the fee for the DL-age teams isn’t published, and the player fee at the younger ages isn’t the all-in cost.
Sources: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, Organizational Overview 2026-27 (PDF) · Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, documents · 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. The club links Excel Hockey Academy as an education partner. 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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