In the MJHL System

All 13 teams in the MJHL have a Player Protected List (50) used to protect and list players.  The list is made up of active roster players currently playing for the MJHL team and / or recent draft picks and prospects.

Future MJHL Players will begin to be scouted during their U15 Seasons but CANNOT be protected by a MJHL team until after the MJHL Draft has been held. (Draft is held annually in the Spring.)

Players who are eligible for the MJHL Draft are Manitoba players who were not auto-protected and are going into their 16th year (Just finished their first year of U18 eligibility).

Scenario:  Teams cannot begin listing 2008 born players until the 2024 MJHL Draft (2008’s) has been completed.

Auto-Protection - Each team in the MJHL is eligible to protect up to two draft eligible players from their identified zone (auto-protects) prior to the MJHL Draft. These players will NOT eligible to be drafted and / or included in the MJHL Draft.  If a team does not wish to use one or both of their auto-protects they would be eligible to use the pick(s) in an added 7th and/or 8th round of the MJHL Draft.

Scenarios: If a team does not auto-protect any players, they would be eligible to use those two picks in the 7th and 8th round.  If a team only auto-protects one player, they would be eligible to use their additional auto-protect pick in the 8th round.  If a team uses both auto-protects, they would not be eligible to draft passed the 6th round.  These potential 7th and 8th round picks CANNOT be traded.

The MJHL Draft consists of 6 Main Rounds with each MJHL team allocated one pick per round.  This may change due to trades.

The Draft Order is based on the order of finish by teams in the standings from the most recent season. The team that finishes last in the standings will receive the first pick in the Draft and the selections will follow in reverse order for the rest of the Draft.

Each team is allowed to draft a Draft Eligible Player from any region/zone in Manitoba who was not initially auto-protected.

At the conclusion of the MJHL Draft, each team will have potentially selected a minimum of 8 players (2 auto-protected players and 6 drafted players). These players are automatically added to their respective teams protected list.

*Players can be Drafted and Protected by Teams in both the MJHL and WHL.

*Players playing in a MJHL pre-season, regular season or play-off game will NOT lose their NCAA Eligibility.

U16 players (15-year olds) are ineligible to play as roster players in the MJHL but may play a maximum of five (5) games as an affiliate player during their season.

When the Player’s registered Team is finished its Season, the Player may Affiliate an unlimited number of games with his Affiliate Team for the balance of the Season.

MJHL teams are only permitted to sign up to two (2) 16-year-olds (U17 players) per season.  The players/parents and previous team must sign a Hockey Manitoba U18/Junior Agreement Form.

Sixteen year-olds CANNOT be traded and are to remain on their MJHL team for the entire season.

MJHL teams are allowed 19 affiliate players per season with two (2) of those spots reserved for goalies.

Once a player signs a Junior Affiliation Agreement with a MJHL team, they are eligible to play up to 10 MJHL games during their current U18 season with that team.

They are also eligible to play an unlimited number of MJHL games with that team once their individual U18 season ends.

A player can be on the affiliate list of a MJHL team and a WHL team at the same time.

All players who attend a MJHL team's spring and/or main training camp are protected by that team until released from camp. If they are on the teams Protected List, then their MJHL list rights remain with that team. If not, they are considered a free agent in the MJHL.

MJHL Letter of Intent – Between September 1^st and May 31^st of each season, Teams may sign players to a Letter of Intent for the upcoming season. For example, a team may sign a player to a Letter of Intent between September 1^st 2023 and May 31^st 2024, which would be for the 2024/25 season.  All Letters of Intent must be submitted to and approved by the MJHL in order for the document to be valid. A player must be registered the following season in which an MJHL Letter of Intent was signed.

Scenario: If a player signs a Letter of Intent on October 15^th 2023, that would be in affect for the 2024-25 season.  As such, they would be carded / rostered by the MJHL team and added to the HCR on June 1^st, 2024.

NEW – Annually on August 1^st – Beginning with the 2006 age group (2022 Draft group), an unsigned auto-protected / drafted player who has completed their second season of U18 eligibility (going into their 17-year old season), may be signed (with player consent) by another MJHL team beginning on August 1^st.  For the upcoming 2023/24 season, this would apply to 2006 born players who were auto-protected / drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft.  If the player is not signed by another MJHL team, they would remain protected by the team that drafted / auto-protected them.  They would also have the option to sign a Letter of Intent with the MJHL team that they were auto protected / drafted by as of September 1^st.

Scenario 1: On August 3^rd 2023, a 2006 born player drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft who remains unsigned by the MJHL team that they were drafted by, may be signed (with player consent) by another MJHL team for the 2023-24 season. 

Scenario 2: On August 20^th 2023, a 2006 born player auto-protected in the 2022 MJHL Draft who remains unsigned by the MJHL team that they were auto-protected by, may be signed (with player consent) by another MJHL team for the 2023-24 season. 

Scenario 3: On September 2^nd 2023, a 2006 born player drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft signs a Letter of Intent with the MJHL team that drafted them, they would no longer be eligible to sign with another MJHL team.

NEW – Annually on December 1^st - Beginning with the 2006 age group (2022 Draft group), an unsigned auto-protected / drafted player currently in their third season of U18 eligibility who remains unsigned and / or has not signed a Letter of Intent with the team that drafted them, would be eligible to sign for the current 2023-24 season or sign a Letter of Intent for the 2024-25 season with another MJHL team.  For the upcoming 2023-24 season, this would apply to 2006 born players who were auto-protected / drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft.  If the player is not signed / signed to Letter of Intent by another MJHL team, they would remain protected by the team that drafted / auto-protected them.

Scenario 1: On December 1^st 2023, a 2006 born player drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft who remains unsigned and / or signed to a Letter of Intent by the MJHL team that they were drafted by, may sign for the remainder of the current season (2023-24 season) with another MJHL team.

Scenario 2: On December 10^th 2023, a 2006 born player drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft who remains unsigned and / or signed to a Letter of Intent by the MJHL team that they were drafted by, may sign for the remainder of the current season (2023-24 season) or sign a Letter of Intent for the following season (2024-25 season) with another MJHL team.

Scenario 3: On March 1^st 2024, a 2006 born player drafted in the 2022 MJHL Draft who remains unsigned and / or signed to a Letter of Intent by the MJHL team that they were drafted by, may sign a Letter of Intent for the following season (2024-25 season) with another MJHL team.

NEW - Undrafted Players - players outside of the annual MJHL draft (players who were not auto-protected / drafted), regardless of home province / state, may only be added to an MJHL team's protected list with the consent of the player by singing the MJHL Letter of Consent Form.

NEW - As is the current procedure with all carded MJHL players, any unsigned player that has been drafted or auto-protected, may only be traded with the consent of the player by signing the MJHL Trade Consent Form.

There are no limits on the number of 17, 18 or 19-year-olds per team in the MJHL.

Players in the MJHL who are 18 years old and up, can be traded to other MJHL teams and/or other teams within the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).  All carded MJHL players may only be traded with the consent of the player by signing the CJHL Trade Consent Form.

Players in the MJHL who are 17 years old cannot be traded outside of the MJHL.

Players in the MJHL who are 16 years old cannot be traded.

MJHL teams are only allowed to roster / dress a maximum of eight twenty-year-old's. Most teams average 6 or less.

MJHL teams are allowed to roster / dress a maximum of six import players (American Players). Most teams average 4 or less.

Players can play in the Western Hockey League (WHL) while being signed by a MJHL team and vice versa.

During the last few seasons in the MJHL, there has been an increased number of players drafted to the NHL, a number of alumni sign in the NHL, numerous players attend NHL Development Camps each summer, year on year growth of players receiving NCAA Scholarships, year on year growth of players advancing to play U Sports Hockey with many more advancing to play in the WHL and USHL.

These numbers continue to grow!  The rest is up to you!

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