The long wait is over - the 2023-2024 Kent Valley Hockey season is officially underway! We would like to welcome you back to the rink for what we expect to be another exciting season! Registration is still open, but many of our younger teams are now completely full. A few spots still remain on our recreational teams:

8U Rec - FULL
10U Rec - FULL
10U Selects - FULL
12U Rec - FULL
12U Selects - FULL
14U Rec - FULL
14U Selects - FULL
18U Rec - OPEN

We look forward to the season as we watch our 14U and 18U teams try to defend their Metropolitan Hockey League (MHL) Championships from last season and we see the first of our STAR Hockey Academy teams hit the ice!   Former Seattle T-Bird and Stanley Cup Champion Turner Stevenson will take the helm as the team’s first head coach while he guides them into their inaugural season in the CSSHL.  The team will play their first home game on Friday, September 22nd at 3:00PM at the Kent Valley Ice Centre.

We would like to thank you all for your patience in receiving your practice and game schedules. At the beginning of the season, there are many details to work through as we communicate and cross reference ice schedules with multiple rinks, the MHL, and PNAHA. You can now find updated practice schedules on your Sportsengine app.  Please understand that we will not receive MHL and PNAHA game schedules until the end of September/first week of October, so teams will not know their game schedules until those are announced by the leagues.  That information will be communicated to coaches and managers as soon as we receive it. Once we have all the league schedules finalized, we expect the schedule to settle later in October. 

 We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all the coaches, managers, locker room monitors, and team volunteers for their time and commitment. Because of your dedication and support, we at Kent Valley Hockey Association are able to complete our mission to provide a development opportunity and positive learning environment for players of all ages. If any of you are interested in getting involved this season, we are always looking for more help! Please note that all coaches, managers, locker room monitors, and team volunteers must be properly registered with USA Hockey, completed both Safe Sport and background screening, and registered as a volunteer on the KVHA website. 

Finally, with the return of games, the excitement and energy picks up at the Ice Centre.  Please remember to enjoy the games, cheer for good plays on both sides, and always be respectful towards the referees and opposing players.  Our referee associations have reported a disappointing drop in young referees in recent years, which they attribute to verbal abuse they receive from some parents in the stands.  Many of the referees are young kids who are just learning how to officiate.  Please be patient and do not yell at officials at any time.  USA Hockey and PNAHA are making abuse of officials a focal point of enforcement this year and are adopting a ZERO TOLERANCE policy.  Anyone yelling at officials this season will be subject to removal from the facility and could be subject to disciplinary action through USA Hockey.

To those of you with games upcoming, best of luck! Play hard, have fun, and enjoy the game. 

Welcome back.

LET’S PLAY HOCKEY!

To volunteer to be a Head Coach, Assistant Coach, Team Manager or other team volunteer, please complete the registration below.

Registration for the winter beginner learn to play hockey classes is open. Come learn the great sport of hockey! For more information, click the link below. 

Kent Valley Hockey Association has partnered with STAR Hockey Academy to form the first education-based, fully accredited hockey Academy in the Seattle area.  The team will be USA Hockey sanctioned and operate under Kent Valley Hockey association.   All STAR Academy home games will take place at the Kent Valley Ice Centre.

STAR’s inaugural 14U team will play in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL), the premier high-school hockey development league based in Western Canada, Idaho, and now entering Washington state.  STAR student athletes will receive over 500 hours of hockey-specific development over a 10-month period, which is incomparable in the local hockey landscape.

Founding STAR partners are retired-NHLer and current NY Rangers player development coach Tanner Glass, local philanthropist and businessman Jamie Brunner, and Nathan Fischer – who owns an Academy in Vancouver B.C. that developed up-and-coming phenom and projected 2023 NHL first overall draft pick Connor Bedard. 

“This is an exciting time for youth hockey in Seattle. STAR Hockey Academy provides an exceptional opportunity for kids and families to participate in elite level, education-based hockey” stated Glass, Vice-President and Director of Hockey for STAR. 

With 85% of game play and travel within a day trip or short flight from Seattle, joining the CSSHL made sense given its’ track record of player development, elite hockey, and commitment to education-based programming. The CSSHL was founded in 2009, and since then over 1700 alumni have gone on to play in the WHL, BCHL, NCAA and Professional hockey ranks.

STAR Hockey Academy is hosting an open house for families and prospective student athletes the evening of April 4th, with 14U try-outs taking place April 5th and 6th at Kent Valley Ice Centre. 

For more information: 

www.starhockeyacademy                    info@starhockeyacademy.com                    info@kentvalleyhockey.com

We have officially launched our online stores for team apparel! You can now order Kent Valley Selects, Seattle Sting and Kent Valley Hockey branded apparel online and have your items shipped directly to your door! There are no minimums, and you can even customize your apparel with your name and number on the back. 

Power Edge Pro (PEP) is a hockey development system that utilizes Reactive Countering Training™ (R.C.T.) to engage multiple motor skills simultaneously and develop a player’s small area game performance. All patterns are completed while maintaining puck control and are designed to provide 5x as many repetitions as standard drill based practices, leading to faster development of elite skills. Check out some of their drills HERE.

Our certified PEP instructors are now able to use the PEP apparatus in KVHA practices and programs. We are very excited to add this as another development tool at Kent Valley Hockey Association! Please stay tuned for our next Power Edge Pro camp!