ClearRink

Together we’re building a more informed and enjoyable hockey experience.

ClearRink helps families with honest, anonymous reviews and transparent insights on youth hockey clubs–making it easier to find the right fit and encouraging clubs to grow.

10/26/2026

We went back through every boys Tier 1 15 Only national championship since 2017 to see what the champions had in common on paper.

9 champions. 144 teams that qualified. We compared each champion’s full season leading into nationals against every other team in the field.

The # 1 ranked team has never won it.

➡️ Swipe through to see what the champions did have.

Did any of these surprise you? Do you want to see Tier 2 next? Drop it in the comments. More free data driven insights at ClearRink.com!

10/20/2026

Here is a look at the on ice practice hours some bantam teams logged in September 2026…

This comes from real published team schedules for the clubs we track. It counts on ice skater practices only. Games, dryland, video sessions, goalie only clinics, and other off-ice events are left out.

Practice time can look different from month to month, since weekend games sometimes take the place of weekend practice ice slots and vice versa. Where some teams may lack on ice sessions, they could make up for it through other kinds of training.

Would you want to see goalie sessions included, or a dryland breakdown too? Let us know below!

➡️Submit honest feedback on your club at ClearRink.com!

10/13/2026

We went back through every boys Tier 1 national championship since 2017 to see if there were any trends across past national champions.

27 champions across 14U, 16U and 18U. We compared their full seasons leading into nationals against every other team that qualified.

Some patterns showed up again and again.

➡️Swipe through to see what we found.

Did any of these surprise you? Who’s your pick to win it all this year? Drop it in the comments.

10/06/2026

What’s one thing every travel hockey player & parent should know…..

ClearRink.com is a FREE resource that combines real season data with anonymous reviews from hockey families. The goal is to help families understand what it’s actually like to play for a team, and to highlight both the strengths and the areas for improvement at each club. More honest information means more transparency in youth hockey, which is better for families and clubs alike.

Illinois families have already shared hundreds of reviews, and ClearRink is now available in Michigan. If you have a few minutes, I’d love for you to share your experience here: clearrink.com/submit-a-review (link in bio)

It’s free, anonymous, and takes about 2 minutes. If you don’t see your team listed or have any feedback, feel free to reach out!

10/05/2026

The results are in. USA Hockey just announced the programs invited to the Development League (DL)….

The DL is a national framework of high-performance youth programs, each fielding one 15U team and one 17U team. The goal is to identify, train and develop players from across the country and move them on to the USHL, NAHL, the National Team Development Program, college hockey and the NHL.

More than 80 programs applied and as USA Hockey VP Kris Knauss put it, “narrowing that group was a difficult process.”

➡️Swipe through to see who made it.

Who surprised you the most? Who do you think should have gotten in and didn’t? Drop it in the comments.

10/04/2026

86% of the tournaments we analyzed were Mandatory Stay to Play. 👀

Stay to Play has been a hot topic recently, so we decided to run the numbers. We reviewed hundreds of USA Hockey sanctioned tournaments across 10 districts and researched individual tournaments and operators to verify their hotel policies.

In several districts, a small number of larger operators accounted for a significant share of sanctioned events, leaving families with fewer Non Stay to Play options. The Non STP tournaments we found were more often run by smaller, local organizations.

*Figures reflect policies as currently published

➡️Share your experience with Stay to Play tournaments below!
➡️Submit honest feedback on your club at ClearRink.com!

09/28/2026

Stay to Play has been a hot topic recently, so we decided to run some numbers. We reviewed hundreds of USA Hockey sanctioned tournaments for this season, gathered from official District websites, and verified the policies through additional research into individual tournaments and operators.

Across 10 districts, 86% of the tournaments analyzed were Mandatory Stay to Play. The operator mix matters too. In several districts, a small number of providers accounted for a large share of the sanctioned events, leaving fewer Non Stay to Play options. More often than not, those Non STP options tended to come from smaller, locally run organizations rather than large corporations.

*Figures reflect policies as currently published and only include tournaments where the hotel requirement could be verified.

➡️Share your experience on Stay to Play tournaments below! ➡️Submit honest feedback on your club at ClearRink.com!

09/22/2026

Stay to Play has been a hot topic, so we took a closer look at the USA Hockey Atlantic District (Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania & New Jersey). We reviewed every sanctioned tournament listed on the official District website this season, then checked each hotel policy against the individual tournament and operator sites.

The result: 100% of the youth tournaments listed were Mandatory Stay to Play. Every operator listed required it. The scale of stay to play today is undeniable. More to come on this!

Figures reflect policies as currently published and only include youth travel tournaments.

➡️Share your experience with Stay to Play tournaments below!

➡️Submit honest feedback on your club or see more data driven insights at ClearRink.com!

09/21/2026

Stay to Play has been a hot topic recently, so we decided to run some numbers. We reviewed hundreds of USA Hockey sanctioned tournaments from this season, gathered from official District websites, and verified the policies through additional research into individual tournaments and operators.

Across 10 districts, 86% of the tournaments analyzed were Mandatory Stay to Play. The operator mix matters too. In several districts, a small number of providers accounted for a large share of the sanctioned events, leaving fewer Non Stay to Play options. More often than not, those Non STP options tended to come from smaller, locally run organizations and Tier 3 events rather than large corporations.

Figures reflect policies as currently published and only include tournaments where the hotel requirement could be verified.

➡️Share your experience on Stay to Play tournaments below!
➡️Submit honest feedback on your club at ClearRink.com!

09/15/2026

Total practice ice time hours for eight teams this season, taken directly from each club’s own posted 2026-27 schedule.

Across these squads, Michigan’s AAA programs practice more than their Illinois counterparts (even with the variable first and last months of the season removed). At AA the reverse holds, and Illinois’ edge widens once those variable months come out. This can also help signal the frequency of practices throughout each week.

Figures reflect schedules as currently published (excluding any dryland training) and are subject to change as the season progresses.

➡️Want to see your team analyzed next? Comment below!
➡️Submit honest feedback on your club at ClearRink.com!

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