With the
2025-26 season underway and tryouts beginning late April, I would like to take
this opportunity to address our current Jr. Raiders families and Burlington and
region families considering trying out for our teams.
The
minor hockey landscape in Burlington is competitive, with parents having three
options for minor hockey and, including the girls’ league, a fourth
alternative. This makes the tryout
process stressful enough for families without the added pressure of hearing
false information spread to discredit other programs. I make this promise to everyone who is
currently part of the Jr. Raiders program and is considering joining our minor
hockey organization – OUR COACHES, STAFF AND ANYONE AFFILIATED WITH THE
BURLINGTON JR. RAIDERS WILL NOT SPEAK NEGATIVELY OF OR SPREAD FALSE INFORMATION
ABOUT THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CITY.
WE CHALLENGE OUR COLLEAGUES FROM THE OTHER MINOR HOCKEY ORGANIZATIONS TO
UPHOLD THE SAME STANDARD. This
extends to our coaches, assistant coaches, team managers, and parents.
The Jr.
Raiders strongly believe that parents should select their children’s minor
hockey program based on the merits of each program and how the season
fits into the family schedule – nothing more.
If player development is important to you, select the team that offers
the best opportunity for your player to grow and improve. If playing just for fun is your player’s
motivation, find the team that will provide that environment.
There
are individuals within the city spreading falsehoods about the Jr. Raiders such
as 5 AM practices in other centres. This
is simply not true. Our 2025-26 program
is listed on our website and all programming will take place within the City of
Burlington and the Wave Twin Rinks. At
their discretion, coaches may book practices elsewhere but that is a team
decision and is to be made with the input of the parents. If you have questions on our program that
cannot be answered from the information on our website, please contact our
office. Our staff has been directed to
answer all inquiries honestly – we want to ensure that you are getting the
right information so that you can make an informed decision based on facts.
Tryouts
are soon upon us, with AA starting as early as April 26 for U13 and younger and
April 14 for U8 and U9. As everyone is
aware, the OHF has removed residential requirements, resulting in open borders
and players able to choose where they play.
This is an exciting time for hockey, and we encourage players from all
over to attend our tryouts alongside our Burlington players.
To
further enhance the Jr. Raiders experience, our 2025-26 season will feature
monthly HOCKEY NIGHT IN BURLINGTON Saturday night special games. Players will enjoy being led onto the ice by
two flag bearers, the national anthem, a goal horn (for Jr. Raiders goals, of
course), goal and penalty announcements, music during stoppages in play, floods
between the second and third periods, restaurant specials, and more. These games will be a great night for the
players and their families and we anticipate visiting teams to be clamouring
for these dates.
Thank
you to our Jr. Raiders families for your ongoing support and we look forward to
a fun and competitive 2025-26 season. Stay
tuned for our tryout schedule.