Ice hockey is a big deal in our area right now. Maybe it has something to do with our own Tampa Bay Lightning making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last month for the first time since 2004. It could also have to do with the fact that Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI), which will be the largest recreational skating facility in the state, is about to open in a few months in nearby Wesley Chapel, off S.R. 56 near the I-75 interchange. Either way, if your Freedom or Wharton high school student is interested in hitting the ice this next school year, registration officially has begun for the new Lightning High School Hockey League (LHSHL).
According to a press release from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the puck officially dropped for LHSHL registration on July 1. The release says that the Lightning organization will now be responsible for all aspects of high school hockey in the region, including admitting teams to the LHSHL, registering players, scheduling practice ice and games, securing on-ice officials, administering supplemental discipline (suspensions, fines outside of on-ice penalties, etc.), conducting championship playoff brackets and All-Star game(s) and overseeing all aspects of LHSHL operations.
The LHSHL website explains that the league originally was known as the Florida High School Hockey Association (FHSHA). However, in April 2015, the FHSHA member teams voted to turn over control of the league to the Tampa Bay Lightning, which officially took over on May 1. The Lightning organization saw taking over high school hockey in the area as a way to become more involved in the community, says Lightning spokesperson Brian Breseman.
“The Lightning have always shown a great interest in community hockey,” Breseman explains. “Since former Stanley Cup-wining Lightning general manager Jay Feaster took over as executive director of community hockey development, the organization will continue to put more of its resources into (community hockey).”
Breseman says that, although the Lightning is just now taking over high school hockey in the area, the organization has been involved since the beginning and Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa regularly plays host to the high school hockey championship and all-star game.
“This is a good situation for the long term for high school hockey,” says FHCI developer and Wiregrass Ranch High hockey coach Gordie Zimmermann. “With our facility coming online, a lot of components will be held there.”
In addition to games, Zimmermann says he’s already received a letter of intent from the Lightning to hold future hockey training camps and high school tryouts at FHCI. He says that with the Lightning taking over and with more facility space, a junior varsity program also is being added.
“In the past, a lot of kids would try out, but many couldn’t get on a team, so they just didn’t play,” Zimmermann explains. “The new JV program will help with that.”
Zimmermann also says he expects to see an increase in youth ice hockey in our area, thanks to the Lightning’s recent Stanley Cup Finals appearance.
Breseman agrees, “I don’t have a crystal ball, but (the 2014-15 Stanley Cup run) could have a positive impact on interest (in high school hockey).”
The press release states that the high schools participating in the inaugural season of the LHSHL are Berkeley Prep in South Tampa, Bloomingdale, Countryside, East Lake, East Manatee, George Jenkins, Jesuit, Mitchell, Newsome, Palm Harbor, Plant, River Ridge, Sarasota, Seminole, Steinbrenner, Wiregrass Ranch, Wharton and Freedom.
All interested high school players, including those entering high school as freshmen, can register online at Lightning HighSchoolHockeyLeague.com. Once registered, students will be contacted by their respective schools and given the opportunity to try out for either their school’s varsity or junior varsity team. Breseman says that if a student’s high school isn’t one of the eighteen in the league this school year, that student still can register and will be assigned to a school in their appropriate zone.
While the Lightning now is in charge of high school hockey, players still are responsible for providing their own skates and pads.
The teams for the 2015-16 season —which runs from September-February — are set. But, if additional schools want to get in for the following season, all they have to do is register, Breseman says.
For more info, please visit Lightning HighSchoolHockeyLeague.com.
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