Assistant Coach's Guide to Hockey Canada Minor Hockey 2026-27

Under the Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28:

• Limit: a team has no more than five registered team officials on the Official Game Report who are permitted on the Players' Bench (Rule 2.1 (b)). Only players in uniform and a maximum of five team officials may occupy the bench (Rule 1.9 (c)).
• Who counts: the glossary describes team officials as up to five non-playing personnel clearly identified on the Official Game Report, which may include the Coach(es), Manager, Trainer, Equipment Manager, Team Doctor, President or other administrators of the team.
• Staying in your area: during a game, authorized team officials are restricted to their Players' Bench area. The penalty for a violation is a Bench Minor for Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Rule 1.9 (d)).
• Roles: the glossary says the Coach is the person primarily responsible for directing and guiding the team's actions, and that along with the Manager they are responsible for the conduct of their players in the arena before, during and after the game.
• Line-up: the Team Official in charge gives the Referee or Official Scorer the list of eligible players before the game (Rule 2.2 (b)).

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Officiating/Downloads/2026-28-hc-rulebook-e.pdf).

No. Interpretation 1 of Rule 2.1 (b) in the Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28 says that in verifying the Official Game Report, officials are not to make any decision about the certification of team officials, or any lack of it. Any irregularities are reported by the Referee to the appropriate Member or league delegate for further action.

The Referee can still ask a team official for their name for identification at any time. A team official who refuses is penalized under Rule 10.6 (f), Illegal Equipment (Rule 2.2 (d)). A team official who gives a false statement on the Official Game Report about eligible players or team officials will be dealt with by the Member or league (Rule 2.2 (c)).

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Officiating/Downloads/2026-28-hc-rulebook-e.pdf).

Yes. Hockey Canada By-law Regulation D.1 (2026-27) says every Player and Team Official taking part in games provided by Hockey Canada and its Members must be a Registered Participant of a Team Roster that is registered with Hockey Canada. Before taking part in any league or championship game, they must be registered with the Member in the Hockey Canada Registry (HCR) and validated by the Member Executive Director or designate for the current season.

The By-laws define Team Officials as including the Coach, manager, safety person/trainer, equipment manager, team physician, and the president and other members of a team's executive or board.

Information the HCR records for a Coach includes the level of coach certification, the season of qualification and the criminal record check. For safety personnel it records the level, expiry date and criminal record check. The role options on a team are Player, Goaltender, Coach, Bench Staff, Safety or Official.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws 2026-27, Regulations D.1 and D.9 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Downloads/2026-27-bylaws-e.pdf).

Hockey Canada leaves coach certification levels to each provincial or territorial Member, so this is Hockey Manitoba's 2026-27 table. Assistant coach requirements:

All Manitoba coaches must also reach "Trained" status (online Hockey Canada modules, then a virtual coach clinic), complete Respect in Sport (online), complete the required instructional stream clinics and meet Hockey Manitoba's screening requirements.

Deadline: Tuesday, December 1, 2026 for the 2026-27 season.

Source: Hockey Manitoba, Coach Requirements (https://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/coaches/requirements/).

From Hockey Alberta's 2026-27 coaching requirements:

• Deadline: requirements must be completed by November 15, 2026. Clinics run from September to November 15.
• Before registering for a clinic: hold a valid Hockey Canada Registry (HCR) number and make sure your HCR profile is linked to the Minor Hockey Association you will coach with.
• The Shift Forward: required for all coaches. A coach with a valid Respect in Sport qualification does not need it until that qualification expires.
• Safety: one team official per team needs Hockey Canada Safety Program Level 1. Level 1 is a four-hour online course, valid for three seasons and expiring September 1 of the third season. Holders of a valid HU-Online Safety qualification do not need Level 1 until it expires.
• Player Pathways: coaches complete only the pathway for the age group they are rostered in. Assistant coaches on other teams do not need those pathways. For example, a head coach of a U11 team who is an assistant on a U13 team only needs the U11 pathway.
• U9 example: Coach 1 modules plus the U9 Player Pathway.

Source: Hockey Alberta, Coaching Requirements (https://www.hockeyalberta.ca/coaches/clinic-information/).

Hockey Canada's Code of Conduct Policy defines Team Personnel as including coaches, managers, trainers and medical or other team support personnel. It requires people in positions of trust, or in roles with regular contact with minors, including Team Personnel, to:

• complete Screening under Hockey Canada's Screening and Compliance Policy before taking part in any Hockey Canada program, and on a periodic basis afterwards; and
• tell a Hockey Canada representative about any ongoing criminal investigation, charge, conviction or bail/release condition that may affect their suitability to take part.

Screening may include a criminal record and vulnerable sector check, reference checks, an interview, a disclosure form and completion of required training.

Registration record: the By-laws list the coach's level of certification, season of qualification and criminal record check as information recorded in the Hockey Canada Registry (HCR), and safety personnel's level, expiry date and criminal record check.

The Code points to the Screening and Compliance Policy for the detail. Hockey Manitoba, for example, lists Respect in Sport and its own screening requirements among its 2026-27 coach requirements.

Sources: Code of Conduct Policy (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Safety-Program/Downloads/code-of-conduct-policy-e.pdf), By-laws 2026-27, Regulation D.9 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Downloads/2026-27-bylaws-e.pdf) and Hockey Manitoba (https://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/coaches/requirements/).

Hockey Canada's Code of Conduct Policy sets out the Rule of Two for anyone dealing with minor athletes:

• All interactions with a minor athlete must be open, observable and interruptible by another screened adult. An adult in a position of authority should not be alone with a minor athlete.
• Two trained and screened adults must be present for games, practices, meetings and other program activities involving a minor athlete. This includes being in the dressing room, or immediately outside it with the door propped open to monitor the environment.

Trained and screened: Hockey Canada's Dressing Room Policy FAQ (an earlier document than the 2026 Code) uses the Coaching Association of Canada definition: people who have completed ethics education (Respect in Sport or CAC Safe Sport Training) and passed a thorough background check, which can include interviews, criminal record checks and reference checks.

Training: the same FAQ says the Coaching Association of Canada has a free bilingual e-learning module on the Rule of Two, about 15 to 20 minutes long, which awards one Professional Development point to coaches.

Sources: Code of Conduct Policy (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Safety-Program/Downloads/code-of-conduct-policy-e.pdf) and Dressing Room Policy FAQ (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Downloads/dressing-room-policy-faq-e.pdf).

From Hockey Canada's Code of Conduct Policy (safeguarding practices for adults who interact with minor athletes):

• Dressing rooms: must be supervised by at least two screened adults whenever minors are present.
• Privacy: reasonable steps must be taken to protect the privacy and modesty of all athletes, including offering private changing areas where requested or required, and giving notice before entering a dressing room that is in use.
• Recording devices: personal recording devices, including phone cameras, are prohibited in dressing rooms and changing facilities at all times. A phone may be used to play music, but not its camera or video functions.
• Messaging: communication with a minor athlete should, wherever possible, be copied to or include a parent/guardian or another adult rather than sent as private one-to-one messages. It should go through professional channels, at reasonable hours, and relate only to Hockey Canada program matters. Private, encrypted or disappearing-message platforms must not be used to communicate individually with a minor athlete.
• Closed-door meetings: one-on-one closed-door meetings with a minor athlete should be avoided except in an emergency. If unavoidable, hold them in a space visible to others and tell another adult in advance where practicable.

Hockey Canada's Dressing Room Policy FAQ (an earlier document, effective September 2023) adds that the gender of participants should be considered when assigning dressing room supervisors, and that volunteers may be assigned to the role.

Sources: Code of Conduct Policy (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Safety-Program/Downloads/code-of-conduct-policy-e.pdf) and Dressing Room Policy FAQ (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Downloads/dressing-room-policy-faq-e.pdf).

The Hockey Canada national documents do not say that an assistant automatically takes over. What they do say:

• Bench requirement: a team's Official Game Report must list at minimum one Coach who meets the Member's certification requirements and one Hockey Canada Safety Person (Rule 2.1 (b), Playing Rules 2026-28). The By-laws define a Team the same way: at least one Coach meeting Member certification requirements.
• Who answers for the team: the Playing Rules call the Head Coach responsible for all actions of the team, including a refusal to start play (Rule 10.8).
• If an official is ejected: a team official given a Game Misconduct is ordered to the dressing room for the rest of the game and reported to the Member or league (Rule 4.8 (a)).
• Referees do not check certification: officials make no decision on certification at the game; irregularities are reported to the Member or league (Rule 2.1 (b), Interpretation 1).

Rules on who may act as the head coach, and any head coach substitution, are not set out in these national documents.

Sources: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Officiating/Downloads/2026-28-hc-rulebook-e.pdf) and By-laws 2026-27 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Downloads/2026-27-bylaws-e.pdf).

Under the Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28:

• Bench Minor penalty: a Minor or Bench Minor penalty is assessed to any player or team official guilty of Unsportsmanlike Conduct (Rule 11.1 (a)). Leaving the area of your Players' Bench during a game is also a Bench Minor under Rule 1.9 (d).
• Game Misconduct: a Game Misconduct is assessed to a player or team official who persists in Unsportsmanlike Conduct after a Minor or Misconduct penalty (Rule 11.1 (e)). A team official may not be given a Misconduct penalty under Rule 11.1 and gets a Game Misconduct instead (Rule 11.1 (d) Note 2).
• Coach penalty at the end of a period: a Game Misconduct goes to the Coach of any team whose players leave the bench at the end of a period before the Referee directs them to, if an altercation with penalties is in progress or begins afterwards.
• After a Game Misconduct: you are removed from the game and ordered to the dressing room for the rest of it, and reported to the Member or league for further action (Rule 4.8 (a)). You must stay away from the bench and not direct or interact with the teams or bother the officials; breaking that is penalized under Rule 10.4 (f).
• Suspension: a team official given a Game Misconduct in the last 10 minutes of regular playing time, at any time in overtime, or after the game ends is automatically suspended for a minimum of the next regular league or play-off game, or seven days (Rule 4.8 (c)).
• Referee report: after a Game Misconduct under Rule 11.1 the Referee completes a Game Incident Report for the Member or league.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-28 (https://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Hockey-Programs/Officiating/Downloads/2026-28-hc-rulebook-e.pdf).