Winnipeg, MB - Today, PLAY Hockey announced its 2024 Event Schedule and introduced its new enhanced hockey experiences available to participants as well as the PLAY Hockey Kid’s Club coming in January 2024.  Stay tuned for more details surrounding the PLAY Hockey Kid’s Club.

PLAY Hockey is also introducing the PLAY Hub as well as PLAY Hub TV.  PLAY Hub is the new home for exciting written content covering all things youth hockey as well as expanding into video content with PLAY Hub TV.  The PLAY Hub will also be a place where the hockey community can connect with each other, pitch story ideas and send in relevant information to be featured.  Check out PLAY Hub on social media by following @playhockeyhub.

Ahead of the 2024 event season, PLAY Hockey is excited to introduce experiential add ons available to elevate your hockey experience.

Depending on the tournament you are at, teams will now be able to upgrade their experience with one of five new experiential options.  

Pre Tournament Practice - if your team is arriving early and want to shake off the travel legs ahead of the tournament, take advantage of this opportunity!

Concierge Service - heading to an unfamiliar city?  Add the concierge service to your tournament and have a designated host who can help you book reservations, provide a sports drink and energy bar for each player prior to your games as well as be there for any other relevant information you may need.

Performance Testing and Analytics - find out where you land by having a PLAY Performance on ice combine added to your tournament experience where your whole team will be tested on the ice and provided with a detailed player specific breakdown after.

Media Day - feel like the pros and have your team go through a media day.  Each player will get a headshot taken and interviewed.  We will provide a digital copy of the player cards to the team contact as well as feature some of the interviews on our social media channels.

High Performance Virtual Seminar - give your team an advantage and choose the high performance virtual seminar and you will be able to hear from an expert in mental performance online when it works for your team.

Experiences have limited availability on a first come first serve basis.  To learn more and secure an upgraded experience at your event, check out the add ons when registering!

“We are thrilled to introduce additional experiential add ons to our current core event offerings and continue to provide a great experience for all of our guests ahead of the 2024 season.” Said Rhys van Kemenade, Senior Vice President of PLAY Hockey.  “This year we are excited to expand to over 104 events across the world and connect with more players and their families at all skill levels.

New Series Experiences Available in 2024

See all tournaments associated with each series at the bottom of the article.  PLAY Hockey is planning 104 events for the upcoming season making up 12 new series of events.

New to PLAY Hockey is the Female Force Series which consists of female only tournaments that take place across Canada and the United States. Tournament guests can expect to compete for player of the game awards and the opportunity to win prizes via social media contest during the events!

"Female-only hockey is a symbol of empowerment, where dreams take shape, and barriers fall,” Said Kim Hynes  “As we invest in the expansion of female hockey, we're forging trailblazers destined to break boundaries, not only within the rink, but in every aspect of life."  

The new Series Structure also includes a partial rebranding of its European programming which now comprises the World Selects Invitational (the “WSI”), International Cup and International Summer Series ahead of the 2024 season.

The WSI series represents the most prestigious international youth hockey events in the world. The new WSI series represent the merger of the previous WSI events and Play Hockey’s former World Youth Championships series.  The result of this merger is a true “world best on best” format. For the 2024 season, the 2012, 2011, and 2010 age groups will travel to various destinations in Europe to compete in their respective events, while Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will play host to the 2009, 2008 and 2007 age groups.  Entry into the WSI events is highly limited as teams are recruited from broad geographical regions.  

The International Cup brand represents a highly competitive international tournament for elite teams in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 birth years.  Registration in the International Cup is open to programs from both North America and Europe - providing an opportunity for these programs to test their skills against other international teams.  The International Cup is the evolution of the former World Selects Trophy.  For the 2024 season, the 2012, 2011, and 2010 age groups travel to various locations in Europe to compete in their respective events and the 2009 and 2008 age groups will travel to Nashville, Tennessee.

The International Summer Series represents Play Hockey’s introduction to international competition for 2013 and 2014-born players.  The tournaments are best suited for both elite and high level AAA teams and players. Similar to the International Cup, registration is open to programs from both North America and Europe, however, different from those events, the International Summer Series takes place in the summer months - representing a fantastic time for young hockey players and the whole family to travel abroad.  The 2024 tournaments will be held in Stockholm, Sweden and Paris, France for the 2014 and 2013 birth years respectively. The International Summer Series represents a player’s first opportunity to compete at the international level against teams from around the world.

“This is a great opportunity for players to work their way up through the international levels of play while seeing new cities with their family and friends.” said Sergei Zak.  “As they progress, we hope to see them at the World Selects Invitational taking on the world's best at their age group.”

North America will see the formal introduction of the Hockey Hall of Fame Series (HHOF).  The HHOF Future Legends will continue as an individual entry event while HHOF Series Toronto, HHOF Series Fort Lauderdale, HHOF Series Detroit and HHOF Series Boulder will be team entry events across North America.  The HHOF Future Legends includes an opening ceremony as well as a private experience at the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Designed to be smaller in size so that competition level remains high, the HHOF Series provides teams the ultimate boutique elite hockey experience.

The Future Gen Prospects series is the combination of two different but similar groups of events: the Prospects events and the Prime Expo Showcases.  The Prospects events are three separate showcases that are held in each CHL region (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) for kids in their major junior draft eligible year.  Prime Expo Showcases are single entry invite only showcase events for ages groups younger than the Prospects events. 

The Performance and Development Series is a great experience to be part of.  These are high performance camps hosted at United States colleges and run by top skill instructors and college level coaches.  In addition to the on-ice development, the event offers players and families an ability to enjoy hockey and travel related experiences not part of normal skill camps.  PLAY Hockey’s custom built event itineraries to make sure guests have an experience they will never forget.

The Takeover Series is packed with PLAY Hockey’s largest tournaments that takeover cities arenas, hotels, restaurants, and more.  These tournaments are the epitome of a hockey experience with hundreds of teams, both local and travel, competing to win their respective divisions.  Tournament experiences often include special guests, player of the game awards, and a championship Sunday experience.  When a Takeover Series event is happening, you can’t grab a coffee without bumping into a youth hockey team somewhere within your city.  Each event is comprised of multiple skill levels and female and male divisions.  As a result, all teams are able to compete for a Takeover Series championship!

Last but not least is the Hometown Series which consists of many tournaments in the United States and Canada where your team can take on competition from all over North America.  A Hometown Series tournament is often filled with regional teams.  They represent opportunities to continue local rivalries and / or prepare for an upcoming travel tournament.  Guests can take advantage of contests and giveaways at these events whether in person or on social media, keep an eye out for your chance to win!

Experiences you will never forget.  We are PLAY Hockey.  We provide opportunities for young players to build friendships, have fun, and create family memories that last a lifetime.  PLAY Hockey inspires hockey’s future through passion, memories, friendship and fun!