Player's Guide to Hockey Canada Female Hockey 2026-27

A player's age is calculated as of December 31 of the current season. Members may allow players to register in a lower age division if the player qualifies under guidelines the Member sets. A player who does this has all the rights and privileges Hockey Canada gives, except that she cannot register with or affiliate to any team in a division or category that could earn the right to play in a National or Regional Championship.

Every player applying for registration for the first time must submit proof of age satisfactory to the Member.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws, Regulations and Policies 2026-27, Regulations B.1 and D.4.

That is decided by your provincial or territorial Member of Hockey Canada. Regulation D.7 gives Members the discretion to create regulations for registering players in divisions and categories beyond the standard ones, including whether a player can be registered on teams in both Female Divisions and non-Female Divisions.

Hockey Canada's By-laws do not set a single national rule on this. Hockey Canada's Regulations also note that dual registration of Hockey Canada Accredited School players is permissible only in Ontario, for female hockey teams only, based on existing programming and subject to the guidelines in Regulation I.9.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws, Regulations and Policies 2026-27, Regulation D.7 and Regulation I.9.

Members issue each registered team a player registration allotment (Regulation E.1):

• Senior Female, Junior Female, U21, U18: maximum of 25 registrants.
• U15, U13, U11, U9: maximum of 20 registrants.
• U7: unlimited.

The Regulation E.2 roster limits (25 players for Junior teams, 20 for Minor Hockey teams) do not apply to Junior Female teams.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws, Regulations and Policies 2026-27, Regulation E.1 and E.2.

• Helmet and facial protector: all players, including goaltenders, must wear a CSA-certified hockey helmet with a CSA-certified facial protector securely attached and not altered, including in pre-game warm-ups (Rule 3.6(b)). In female hockey a CSA-certified full facial protector is compulsory.
• Throat protector: a BNQ-certified throat protector is required for players registered in minor and female hockey (Rule 3.6(c)). Goaltenders who wear a throat-protecting attachment on the mask or helmet must still wear a BNQ-certified throat protector.
• On the bench: players must wear their certified helmet and facial protector, securely attached, on the Players' Bench and Penalty Bench. A first violation brings a warning to the team; the second and later violations by the same team bring a Minor penalty to the team.
• If it comes off: if your helmet, facial protector or throat protector comes off during play, replace it properly fastened or go to the bench for a substitution. Taking part in play without it is penalized under Rule 10.6(a) (Illegal Equipment).
• All protective equipment except gloves, head gear or goaltender leg pads must be worn entirely under the uniform (Rule 3.6(a)).

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 3.6.

No. Rule 7.3 applies in divisions of U13 and below, in female hockey, and in any other division approved by a Member of Hockey Canada. A Minor penalty is assessed to any player who, in the referee's opinion, intentionally body-checks, bumps, shoves or pushes an opponent.

What is allowed: incidental body contact, which is contact between two opposing players in pursuit of the puck on the ice in the same direction. No penalty is assessed for it.

What counts as body-checking: deliberate contact with an opponent with opposite-directional force, leaving your skating lane to make contact, or extending an arm, shoulder or hip after angling an opponent.

The referee may assess a Major penalty and Game Misconduct depending on the degree of violence of the impact. If a player is injured by a body-checking infraction that would otherwise be a Minor, a Major and Game Misconduct must be assessed.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 7.3.

In minor and female hockey (Rule 7.6):

• Accidental contact with an opponent's head, face or neck: Minor penalty.
• Intentional contact using any part of the body or equipment: double Minor penalty.
• Three Head Contact penalties in the same game: Game Ejection.
• At the referee's discretion, based on the degree of violence of the impact, a Major penalty and Game Misconduct penalty may be assessed. If a player is injured by contact that would otherwise be a Minor penalty, a Major and Game Misconduct must be assessed.
• A cross-check to an opponent above the normal height of the shoulders is a Major penalty and Game Misconduct, whether or not there is an injury.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 7.6 and Rule 4.8.

In Minor or Female divisions, a player who high-sticks or attempts to high-stick the puck and, in doing so, contacts an opposing player with her stick is penalized under Rule 7.6 (Head Contact) (Rule 6.9(c)). The Head Contact penalties are explained in the head contact question in this guide.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 6.9(c).

Yes. In Minor and Female hockey, a player who is registered to a team roster but cannot play in a game because of injury is permitted to take a position on the bench during the game, as long as she is listed as a player in uniform on the official game report and wears the minimum equipment: a BNQ-certified throat protector (minor and female), and a CSA-approved helmet and CSA facial protector, in line with the requirements for her registered category of play (Rule 2.2(m)).

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 2.2(m).

Each team may take one 30-second time-out during regular playing time or overtime (Rule 6.17(e)). It must be taken during a normal stoppage of play, and any player the coach designates can tell the referee. In female hockey stop-time games the time-out rule is permitted wherever the local Member approves it. In Hockey Canada minor and female hockey regional and national championships it is used.

Source: Hockey Canada Playing Rules 2026-2028, Rule 6.17(e) and Note 3.

The Esso Cup is the national championship for Female U18 AAA. A Female U18 player, including an affiliate player, must have played at least 50% of her registered Hockey Canada team's total league games to be eligible for league, regional and national playoffs leading to the Esso Cup.

If her registered team does not play in a league, she must play at least 50% of her team's exhibition and tournament games. If illness or injury stops her playing 50% of the games, her eligibility is decided by the Member or, for inter-Member competition, by Hockey Canada's Chief Operating Officer.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws, Regulations and Policies 2026-27, Regulations L.1 and M.2.

The Hockey Canada fees in Regulation Q.5(a)(ii) do not apply to girls and women playing in a Female Division. Members (provincial and territorial branches) may charge a separate registration fee to their teams for the administration costs of incoming player transfers.

Players registering in Female Divisions that cannot advance to Regional or National Championships are also not required to pay the Inter-Member Transfer fee.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws, Regulations and Policies 2026-27, Regulation Q (Fees).