NORPAC is a USA Junior Hockey league based in Washington, Oregon and Montana. The geographic footprint of our teams allows for short trips, very few overnights and very limited missed days of school. The mission of NORPAC is to develop young student athletes on the ice and in the classroom to prepare them for higher levels of junior hockey with on and offi ce training and academic focus.
NORPAC has a long history as a breeding ground for players who receive superior coaching whe then move on to the NAHL, USHL, and Canadian Tier II and Tier I Leagues as well as many stepping right from NORPAC to college programs. We feel that a combination of teaching the game and holding a standard of academic achievement properly prepares our players for the next step in their hockey endeavors. Education is paramount regardless of their acheivements as a player.
NORPAC has graduated hundreds of alumni who are playing in the college ranks and gone on to earn college degrees.
Players
NORPAC is an amateur staus league and we adhere to regulations enforced by USA Hockey which conform to current NCAA requirementsto ensure that players maintain their NCAA eligibility. Our rosters feature less than 4 players per team that are 20 year olds with a focus on identifying those 20 year olds that can make the transition directly to Division III college hockey in their last season of juinor eligibility. The majority of the rosters are made up of players aged 17-19 with aspirations of advancing to Tier I and Tier II Junior Hockey Leagues across North America. Each team is allowed two imports (non-U.S. citizens) on the roster.
Housing
Players are housed with local Billets who take the players in and treat them like family. The Billets work closely with the Team Management to ensure that players are properly fed and rested and assist in making sure that players feel they have a home away from home and assist with maintaining academic attendance and performance. We do not allow "Fraternity Style Housing" where several players live together without adult supervsion. All host families are properly screened according to USA Hockey Background Screening requirements to ensure that players are housed in a safe and quality environment. Players pay a Billet Fee of $300 a month directly to their Billets to cover food and other essentials provided by the Billets.
Education
Players that are in high school attend local schools that the team works closely with in monitoring attendance and grades. Players that are out of high school have enrolled in local community colleges or on-line institutions to begin their college programs to keep their minds sharp and continue to prepare themselves for entering college or university afetr junior hockey.
Coaching
Teams employ a full-time USA Hockey Level 4 Head Coach whose goals are to develop players for advancement to the higher levels of junior, college and pro level hockey.
Regular Season
Regular season consists of 40 games beginning the last weekend of September and concluding the first wekend of March. Almost all games are on Friday and Saturday evenings. The schedule is designed to mimimize travel and thus has an extremely low number of school absences due to travel.
Tournament Play
In addition to regular season games, teams will particiapte in exhibition games and showcases.
Playoffs and National Championship
NORPAC playoffs occur in March Playoffs with be the top 4 teams playing in two rounds Best of 5 Playoff Series. The Playoff Champion will advance to the USA Hockey Junior Nationals in Rochester, MN in the first weekend of April.
