Welcome to the Home of the
Amateur Hockey Association Illinois, Inc.

The Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois was founded as the governing body of Illinois amateur hockey in 1975. During that season, AHAI was recognized as a sanctioned affiliate of USA Hockey which was appointed by the United States Congress as the governing body of American Ice Hockey.

JOHN MOORE LEADS WAY AS THREE
CHICAGO MISSION AAA PLAYERS TAKEN IN NHL DRAFT

In what turned out to be a landmark day in Chicago Mission AAA history, three alum defensemen were chosen in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.  Former Chicago Mission defenseman John Moore was chosen in the first round, 21st overall  by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Moore, a '90 defenseman who played the last two seasons for the Chicago Steel of the USHL, was also the second American defenseman taken overall.

Also selected were '91 birthdates Barron Smith and Paul Phillips, both going in the 7th round to Toronto and Chicago respectively.

"Johnny Moore has earned every accolade he's received," said Chico Adrahtas. "You could tell he was going to be a very significant talent, and while we knew he was going to be an impact college player a while back, I don't think anyone could have predicted how quickly he would blossom. He's a young man of limitless character, and while he'd be quick to credit the coaching he's gotten along the way, I can say first hand that it was his sincere desire to learn and then to work harder than anyone asked him to, that are the main reasons he is where he's at."

Going into the draft, NHL Central Scouting had rated Moore as one of the top American prospects, and various mock drafts had him projected going anywhere from 8th to 26th, depending on the number of foreign born players who would be selected. Moore, who was the captain of the Steel during the 2008-09 season had committed to attend Colorado College during beginning in 2009. He became the highest drafted Illinois-developed player in the draft since goalie Al Montoya was chosen 6th overall in 2004.

Smith played his entire AAA career with the Mission before playing a year with the Chicago Steel and then opting to compete for Peterborough in the OHL. Like first round pick Moore, Phillips played all but one year with the Mission, and that was spent under the tutelege of current Mission Midget Major coach and Hockey Director Anders Sorensen. Smith was chosen 188th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Phillips was chosen 195th overall by the hometown Chicago Blackhawks. Phillips spent the last two seasons with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the USHL, and was a team captain this past season. He has accepted a full scholarship to the University of Denver where he will begin play this coming Fall.

"It's ironic that Barron and Johnny actually spent a full season as defensive partners when they played U16 for us," said Chico Adrahtas. "The year prior, Barron and Paul were defensive partners. Barron has yet to come anywhere close to his full potential as he continues to gain strength, and I think that was a very savvy pick by the Leafs. He definitely has the instincts and work ethic to reach that potential and to be a very good pro. Next year, he would have gone significantly higher in the draft." Smith's father Steve is a former Stanley Cup winning defenseman with the Edmonton Oilers who played for the Blackhawks and coached with the Mission for 4 years. He currently is the Pro Scout for the Blackhawks.

"The Blackhawks got a real steal with Paul," said Adrahtas. "There aren't a lot of 7th rounders that make the Show, but I have no doubt that Paul will. He's so smart and creative, he works so hard, that I believe he'll be a collegiate All-American before his career ends at Denver."

All three Mission drafts share the work ethic and character that are essential to success on hockey's biggest stage. They all showed tremendous leadership skills at different times in their careers, and they were all humble when it came to the desire to learn and the undertsanding that they could always learn more, that they could always be better.

From the entire Mission family, we congratulate these deserving young men, and we salute them as role models for those Mission skaters who aspire to follow in their footsteps.

2009 AHAI Foundation Golf Outing

The thirteenth annual AHAI Foundation Golf Outing will be held at the St. Andrews Country Club, Friday, July 10, 2009. Make your plans now to join us for a fun filled day!

The purpose of this event is twofold. It creates an opportunity for coaches, referees, administrators, parents and supporters of amateur hockey in Illinois to come together for a day of fun and relaxation to kick off the beginning of the new season. Secondly, and most importantly, the revenues generated from this event will be donated each season to specific charities as established annually by the AHAI Foundation.

This year, the recipients are the Special Hockey Programs, Diversity Hockey Program for underprivileged kids, the Hearing Impaired Hockey Program, the youth sled hockey team called the Hornets, the IHOA Memorial Fund and the Catastrophic Relief Fund for players who have been catastrophically injured playing the sport we all love.

This year we invite you to bring your son and/or daughter out on the course with you. A special fee has been arranged for all Junior golfers including college students. Please contact our Don Allord, Chairperson, at 630/464-5910 as soon as possible as the reservations will be on a first-come, first serve basis.

If you have an item you or your organization/club/business would like to donate as a raffle item or you know of someone who would like to sponsor this charity event, please have them give Don Allord a call today!

Please Click Here for Promotional Flyer

Please Click Here for Sponsorship Information

Please Click Here for Golfer Invite

So You Want To Coach My Grandchild?

While we have some time off between hockey seasons we thought the attached letter written by Jay M. Bylsma really hits home on some key points, especially in this time as we attempt to move away from measuring success from a trophy based mentality to a skill progression based mentality. Enjoy the read!

Click Here for Bylsma letter

AHAI Accepting Bids To Host 2010
Girls Blackhawk Cup State Tournament

The Amateur Hockey Association Illinois, Inc. (AHAI) is now accepting bids to host the 2010 Blackhawk Cup State Championship Round Robin series. Applicants must adhere to all of the guidelines and bid requirements and fill out the proper application for consideration. All bid applications must be submitted no later than August 1, 2009.

Please Click Here for Bid Requirements

Please Click Here for Host Application Form

CEP Clinic Registration Set to Begin July 8, 2009

The Coaching Education Program (C.E.P.) will begin on-line registration on July 8, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. For complete details on coaching level requirements, 2009-2010 CEP Clinic Schedule and other pertinent information, please Click Here.

JJ O'Connor Named General Manager of 2010 US Sled Paralymic Team

JJ O’Connor (Mt. Prospect, IL) was recently named General Manager of the 2010 US Sled Paralympic team. As chair of USA Hockey's disabled section since 2003, O'Connor has been integral in the growth of disabled hockey across the country. During his tenure, he has served on USA Hockey's board of directors and spearheaded growth in all four disciplines of disabled hockey. He most recently championed adding an Under-20 team as an integral part of the development process for USA Hockey's national sled hockey program. JJ is also the webmaster for AHAI and also founded the Hornets youth sled hockey team here in Illinois.

After breaking his neck playing hockey at age 16 in 1995, O'Connor continued to follow the game and became involved with disabled hockey after graduating from Lake Forest College in 2001. While he attended the 2006 Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy, as a representative of USA Hockey, he will be making his first appearance as general manager of the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team.

The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team will compete at the 2010 Paralympic  Games, March 12-21, in Vancouver, B.C.

AHAI Announces New Mandatory Game Limits Policy!

AHAI has announced a new policy on game limits. The intent of this rule is to increase the practice to game ratio of all AHAI affiliate teams and to emulate the introduction of the USA Hockey American Development Model.   Accordingly, commencing with the 2009 - 2010 season, AHAI has imposed team game limits at all USA Hockey age divisions. Game limits will be as follows.

    Mite                    Girls U 8         = 35 games maximum
    Squirt                 Girls U10        = 40 games maximum
    Pee Wee             Girls U12       = 45 games maximum
    Bantam                Girls U14      = 50 games maximum
    Midget Minor       Girls U16      = 60 games maximum
    Midget Major       Girls U 19     = 60 games maximum
    High School                           = 60 games maximum

Game limits include all league, tournament and practice games. All playoff games for League, State and National competition do not count toward the team game limits. The AHAI team game limits shall be mandatory for  High School, Tier II and Tier III / House / Recreation teams and recommended for Tier I teams.

Any team violating the AHAI mandatory team game limits will be subject to disciplinary action at the AHAI Rules & Ethics Committee.  Penalty may include suspension of the offending team from State tournament play, suspension of the coach and possible forfeiture of an organization's  affiliate membership or its Tier I, Tier II or Tier III status.

Please Click Here for a printable version of the Policy

Girls 2009-10 Tiering Policy & Tryout Policy

USA Hockey's Girls' Tiering Policy was approved and endorsed by the USA Hockey Youth Council on June 5, 2009, to go into effect immediately for the 2009-2010 season.
 
Keeping in line with USA Hockey is the 2009-2010 AHAI Girls' Tryout Policy, which specifically targets the population in Illinois and lies within the definitions and boundaries set by USA Hockey.

Please Click Here for AHAI Girls Tryout Policy

Please Click Here for USA Hockey Girls’ Tiering Criteria

Announcing the NEW Chicago Blackhawks
Hockey Camps beginning This Summer!

The Chicago Blackhawks will be conducting several summer hockey camps at various locations this summer. These are day camps and offer current Blackhawks players at every camp, two on-ice sessions per day, including daily scrimmages, daily classroom and off-ice training, high player to staff ratio, Blackhawks Alumni, Training staff and others on hand, a jersey for every camper and Blackhawks prizes at the end of each week.

There are three age groups — 5-9 year olds (2000-2004), 10-12 year olds (1997-1999) and 13-17 year olds (1992-1996).
 
The price per participant is $495.00 — ($295.00 Goalies). The Camp locations are July 20-24th at West Meadows Ice Arena in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, July 27-31st at Southwest Ice Arena in Crestwood, Illinois,     August 10-14 at the Winnetka Ice Arena in Winnetka, Illinois and August 17-21st at the Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Illinois.

For further information, please email youthhockey@chicagoblackhawks.com or call 312-455-7056 or visit http://blackhawks.nhl.com/community/hockeycampsfaq.htm