What deadlines apply to registration, rosters, releases and transfers?

Question

Accepted Answer

All times are MST where the By-laws give a time.

June 1: registration for the upcoming season opens for Junior and Senior teams in non-Female Divisions. Teams in good standing get HCR roster access from June 1, and Members cannot approve those registrations earlier.
August 15 (Junior) and October 1 (Senior): after these dates the Member may release players from a team that, in the Member's opinion, has no intention of operating this season.
November 15, 5:00:00 pm: a player who was on a roster after the Final Registration Date last season becomes a free agent without needing a release if they have not registered with a team in a non-sanctioned League and have not consented to register and been added to a team's roster by this time. A team can keep the player's rights to this date without rostering them (a protected list where the League uses one). An injured player's deadline can be extended to January 10 with a doctor's statement and the player's (or Parent's) written consent, both provided by November 15.
January 10, 5:00:00 pm: Junior and Senior roster cutdowns, and the last date to release a player who can still register elsewhere. Players released after January 10 cannot play for any other Hockey Canada or USA Hockey team that season, and the team cannot replace them. Players on a varsity or junior varsity team at a college or university, or with a professional team, after January 10 are ineligible to play with a Hockey Canada team for the rest of the season (the college and university rule does not apply to Female Divisions other than teams in League, Regional and National playoffs leading to the ESSO Cup).
February 10, 5:00:00 pm (Final Registration Date): the latest an approved registration is accepted, and the final date for Inter-Member Transfer applications and incoming transfers from another Federation. After this date Members may, at their discretion, add players to a roster for competition that does not lead to a Regional or National Championship.
February 15: final date for outgoing IIHF transfer applications.

Source: Hockey Canada By-laws and Regulations 2026-27, Regulations A.12, D.1, D.3, D.17, E.7 to E.18 and H.2.