GrayJay Sports
Association News
Welcome Chebucto U9 Families!
Welcome Chebucto U9 Families!
I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and are excited to get back on the ice for another great hockey season!
I wanted to reach out with some season startup info and to introduce myself; most of you know me but for those of you who do not, my name is Stacy Forgeron and I have been a Chebucto mom for 4 years now, involved in U7 - U11 programs and this will be my second season as VP of U9, at the board level, continuing to ensure a great season for our up and coming hockey stars.
We're very fortunate to have Paul Hunt back as our association's technical director; Paul spent a lot of time on the ice with many of our players last season and knows most of them by name. Paul is always available, as am I, if you ever have questions or concerns in relation to the minor hockey program at Chebucto.
There are 2 reference documents posted on the Chebucto website under the top ribbon, Tryouts & Evaluations, 2025 U9 Evaluations; link below:
Please give these documents a read for more info on what to expect. They are guidelines only and based on prior years, slight changes and variations to process are possible from year to year, season to season.
Pre-season sessions started yesterday, Sept 3rd and runs throughout September. This was a separate registration and cost, it was optional.
The season will start Saturday Sept 27th; all players will be assigned one session between 9:30am - 12:30pm at the Civic, which is prior to evaluations. This ensures they have a chance to lace up and get back on the ice before evaluations the following day. Groupings and times for these sessions, and the NSST evaluations will be posted closer to the date, once registration closes and groups are confirmed.
Evaluations are scheduled for:
- Sunday Sept 28th between 9:30-1:30 at the Civic - NSST timed drills
- Thursday Oct. 2nd 6-7pm at Lions Rink. NOTE: Select players will be called back for a battle drill session to better refine placements. Not all players will be required to attend this session, those required to attend will be notified after the Sunday Sept 28th sessions.
All returning hockey players are strongly encouraged to attend evaluations, both 1st and 2nd year U9 players, however if a player is brand new to hockey or skating they are encouraged to skip evaluations and be placed directly into the developmental grouping. If your player is brand new please reach out to let me know you are 'opting out'.
You may have read that Chebucto has closed tryouts this season, that does not apply for U9, U9 is evaluations, not tryouts. We do however need a tonne of volunteers for the evaluation process, so if you're able to help out in any capacity (several off-ice roles required) please reach out.
Goalie evaluations are separate and will be held on Sept 20th, 5-6pm at the Civic, separate communication will be sent based on registrations. Only those who are full time goalies are expected to attend goalie evaluations, part-time goalies, or those with goalie interest should be evaluated as a player and then let me know your player is interested in goalie for team balancing.
Our aim is to have player placements and team configurations announced by Oct 4th along with practice dates and times.
Coaches/volunteers and balancing of teams take a bit longer to coordinate and firm up but our aim is for teams to be determined by Oct 10th at the latest and associated team practice schedules will be available thereafter. Games schedules will come later in Oct/Nov once the league games are determined. U9 games do not start until Dec, prior to that it's practices only.
If you have not yet registered your player for U9, please do so ASAP as we need final numbers for planning - registration closes Sept 15th.
Registration link
As mentioned above, if you have interest in volunteering during evaluations or during the season, and did not indicate so on registration or the coaches interest survey back in July, please reach out to me directly at u9@chebuctominorhockey.com.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
GO CHEBUCTO GO!
Cheers,
Stacy
CMHA VP U9