THE OHF TRANSFER PORTAL: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and why RMHA is the only choice!
Welcome to the new world of minor hockey where players can pick and choose where to play at the U10 and older age groups. We like to think of it as the OHF Transfer Portal (think NCAA Football for reference). Around here in the Bluewater League, there are over 1000 players that can make a move away from their home centers to wherever they want to go. Players (families) can also change their minds on a yearly / seasonal basis. But what are the consequences of these choices? Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly with the hockey transfer portal, because although the portal may be an option, it does not mean that its always your best one.
The Good
This new portal allows athletes to take some control over their minor hockey path. Some young players may now be able to secure more playing time at smaller centers by moving elsewhere, or some players that live in grey residential areas, or border other centers where they couldn't play before, now have the ability to go and try out in that center. RMHA for one, embraces this change in movement and welcome players from the portal into our home. Since 1958, RMHA has been dedicated to excellence, community engagement, and the development of players. This announcement provides an even greater platform to showcase why RMHA will become the destination of choice for hockey families seeking the best experience both on and off the ice.
The Bad
The OHF has implemented player movement with very little regulation or guidelines for centers to follow; that's a bad thing for us and every other hockey association which can in turn lead to a bad experience for you the player. RMHA will do everything we can to guide any incoming player through the process and we'll do everything we can to help our existing Rangers realize their full potential by staying with RMHA. We don't want any of this to be a bad experience for our families so we're here to help.
The Ugly
The ugly truth about transferring centers is if you make the wrong choice. "We don't know what we don't know" is a common phrase used when people are assessing options or evaluating choices. You want to make an informed decision but the unknown is always lurking. This new version of hockey-musical-chairs means you could always be looking for a better seat when the seat you have may be the one best suited to you. How do you know? The ugly truth is that this hockey version of the transfer portal is supposed to be regulated by the OHF (on paper!). No coach tampering. No coach contact, etc. So how do you find out the truth and who's going to give you the straight answers? Your RMHA Executive will be here to help along the way. We know how good our Ranger family is and will continue to be for many years to come.
So Why Choose RMHA?
Cost: There are typically three cost components of travel hockey: a) base registration b) travel hockey fees c) team fees. RMHA has oversight for the first two and the travel team determines the third component. RMHA has not raised our registration fees for the past three seasons and at this time we do not believe we'll raise them for the 2025-26 season. Despite rising ice costs and other rising administrative costs, we have always been a fiscally responsible organization and been able to keep our expenses to a minimum while keeping registration costs lower than nearly every other member partner across Essex County. The second component, travel hockey fees, becomes more fluid each year and will become even more so this coming year as we introduce more development programming for our travel teams and as we incorporate travel coach stipends into our budgets. Despite those factors, we still believe that we'll be able to keep travel hockey fees consistent with 2024-25 rates. Whether there is a small increase or not, our travel fees are still lower than our counterparts across the league. Finally the team fees which are comprised of tournament fees, additional coach stipends, and other development factors, it should be noted here that those team fees can be supplemented through team fundraising. A successful fundraiser can yield hundreds if not thousands of dollars which means less money out of the family pocket. The point is that travel sports cost more than recreational / houseleague hockey and RMHA does everything within our power to keep those costs low for you.
Development: Travel hockey players expect a higher level of training and development throughout the season and RMHA will make a concerted effort to ensure that all players receive extra skills sessions throughout the season. RMHA will hire certified Development coaches / staff that will be scheduled for all our travel teams. We will also re-introduce skills sessions for some of our houseleague teams as well as we believe that a successful houseleague program is the foundation feed for our travel teams.
Unwavering Community Support: Throughout the 66+ year history of RMHA, we have been recognized as a historic member of the Windsor-Riverside community. Whether because of our longstanding Houseleague tournament or our International Christmas Travel Tournament (entering its 65th year!), RMHA is recognized as a "sports voice" in the community and will continue to be one for years to come.
Consistent Schedules: RMHA has one home...the WFCU Center. All our houseleague and travel teams practice and play (their home games) out of this one home. In addition, RMHA sets the team schedules by August of each year which means your team practices are consistent and known so you as a player and family can make definitive plans without wondering what your schedule will look like in December or February. We start our schedule right after Labor Day each year and we run through the end of March. Occasional schedule shifts will happen but overall your team calendar stay constant. That's important for families and for our players who may be involved in other activities.
Coaching: RMHA believes in finding the right coach for each team. We do not discriminate between parent vs non-parent, we only look at the fit for the players and who is going to grow the team in the right direction.