Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex has opened registration for it's core Spring & Summer programming.  Many new leagues are being offered, including a youth and adult ball hockey league.  More program, league, camps and event information will be posted in the coming days also.

​This is the entry level program for anyone looking to play ice hockey, figure skate, or who simply has a desire to master the skills of ice skating for recreational purposes. It is designed for the beginner of all ages and run by our professionally trained ice hockey and figure skating instructional staff.  Rental skates are provided at no cost if needed and each class is broken up by age and skill levels, creating a safe and enjoyable skating experience for all participants.

​Tots is a Learn to Skate Program designed for children 3 to 5 years of age.   A great way to keep young children active during week, especially during the winter months.  Learning through fun and games, tots are taught the proper way to fall and get up, skate forward and backward, and glide and stop; preparing them for more advanced skating skills.

​The Initiation and Pony Programs are Step #2 and #3 of our Learn to Play Hockey programs.  The spring and summer sessions for this program are more laid back than "in-season" programs, which allow participants to continue their hockey development in a an environment geared towards having fun.

​As an introduction to the sport of figure skating, participants will build upon the fundamental skills learned in the Skating 101 program.  Beginners will be taught the basic elements of foot work, spinning and jumping.  Our world class instructional staff will create a learning environment that is both positive and motivational, giving all students an opportunity to thrive in the sport while having fun doing so.  ​

As a next step for figure skaters that have successfully completed the Figure Skating 201 program, this program takes participants with a desire to move into higher levels of skating (test sessions, show skating and competitions).  ​

The Iceplex Adult Ball Hockey League is back... now offering a spring and summer season!  Games are played cross-ice on the feature arena floor, with a 'party zone' set-up in the neutral zone.  We offer both a recreational division and a competitive division, so players of all skill levels can play the game.

The Never Ever League is for the adult who has never ever played hockey before.   It combines off ice instruction with on ice skills sessions (80%), and instructional game time (20%). The program is co-ed, non-checking, for people over 18 years of age and is set in an insanely positive, judgment free atmosphere.  No ice skating or hockey experience is required in order to participate.  It is insanely popular and has successfully taught over 600 adults how to play hockey since it's inception!

The rodeo comes to town on the week of May 7th!  The IAHL is offering a 12 game season (13 game guarantee) which runs from early May through August.  Multiple league nights are being offered, for players of multiple skill levels.  All teams receive a complimentary pizza after each game, and those who register before 3/1/17 receive a free gift!

​(Rochester, NY) – Members of the Rochester hockey community will gather at Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex on Wednesday, March 1 at 6:00 p.m. for Hockey Night in Rochester with Kevin Oklobzija, presented by Rich Spencer at Morgan Stanley and LEGACY Global Sports.
 
The night will be a celebration of the career of Oklobzija, who will be inducted in the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017 on Friday, March 3 prior to the Amerks game against the St. John’s IceCaps. Oklobzija will be joined by others from the local hockey community, including fellow Amerks Hall of Famers Jody Gage and Don Stevens, RIT men’s hockey head coach Wayne Wilson, as well as former colleagues Steve Bradley and Leo Roth for a night of storytelling and camaraderie.
 
Individual tickets for the event are available for $100 per person or $750 for groups of 10 or more and include a complimentary bar from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. followed by a three-course dinner with dessert. The Amerks will also donate a pair of tickets to their game on Wednesday, April 12 against the Binghamton Senators for every ticket sold.
 
Patrons will also have the opportunity to win a variety of other prizes, including tickets, autographed merchandise and other exciting experiences while having exclusive access to Oklobzija and other local hockey celebrities in attendance. All the proceeds raised will benefit the Sports4Life Foundation.
 
Tickets for the event can be purchased by clicking here or contacting Julie Knerr directly at 315-380-3607 or jknerr@legacyglobalsports.com.
 
Oklobzija provided first-rate coverage of the Amerks and hockey in Rochester spanned more than four decades during his 31-plus years with the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Media Group. Since taking on the Amerks beat prior to the 1985-86 season, the Minnesota native has had the privilege of covering two Calder Cup championships (1987 and 1996) and 23 of the team’s 44 playoff appearances, including five other trips to the Calder Cup Finals. Additionally, Oklobzija has witnessed and covered four ownership changes, eight Division Championships, two regular season point championships, the continuation of hockey’s longest standing relationship between an NHL club and its AHL affiliate following the long-awaited reunion of the Amerks and Buffalo Sabres in the summer of 2011 and has worked with 10 different Amerks head coaches during his tenure. Adding to his list of professional hockey coverage includes four of the five most recent Winter Olympiads (Nagano, Japan in 1998; Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002; Torino, Italy in 2006; Sochi, Russia in 2014) for the USA Today Sports Group.

​The Learn to Skate Program at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex will be hosting a free open house event for community members of the Greater Rochester Area.  The open house will take place Saturday, February 26th, from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.
 
All community members are welcome, and free skating instruction will be provided by the Iceplex skating instructors.  Complimentary rental skates will be provided to those who do not own their own skates. 

​All attendees will also be provided a free pass to a future public skating session at the Iceplex.
 
“We are very pleased to be offering this free event to the members of our community,” said Nicole Owens, Skating Director at the Iceplex.  “Ice skating is a great activity that promotes healthy lifestyles, so our goal is to introduce more people to it through events such as this.” 

For more information or to pre-register a participant, or group of participants, visit www.billgraysiceplex.com/open-house.html.

​The 4th Annual Tyler Putnam Youth Hockey Awards will be held once again at the Whitter House in Rochester, NY. Last year's award ceremony hosted over 200 of Rochester NY's who's who in youth hockey and celebrated over 25 award winners from 25 different hockey programs in the greater Rochester, NY area beyond. This formal ceremony has celebrity speakers, beautiful, custom awards, a fantastic, complimentary dinner and is recognized by local TV, multiple hockey magazines and other media sources.

This year's event will honor upward of 25 minor hockey players and host a record breaking 300+ people! In addition to the Tyler Putnam Awards, NEHDA also provides the Josh Opladen Goaltender Award. It is truly a great experience for all involved but most importantly, the Tyler Putnam Awards has raised thousands of dollars for local charities!

Tyler Putnam's Story:
Tyler Putnam’s dream was to play for his High School Hockey team, The Irondequoit Eagles, Junior Hockey, Division I Hockey and ultimately Professional Hockey. Tyler was able to realize two of those dreams, having played for The Irondequoit Eagles as an eighth and ninth grader and then with the Maksymum Junior team here in Rochester, NY. At the conclusion of his first Junior season, Tyler was well on his way of realizing his next dream as he was offered roster spots on five Junior A teams from Rochester, Minnesota to San Diego, California.

In July of 2011, Tyler’s hockey dreams ended tragically when he died of an illness called "meningococcemia", which is an infection that affects the bloodstream. Tyler Putnam was known for his high energy, incredible work ethic, and desire to achieve his goals. Tyler has been memorialized with a banner hanging above the ice at a local hockey arena as well as by a memorial helmet sticker that dawns the symbol of a hard hat – a symbol of Tyler’s hard work and dedication to the game that he loved.

NewEdge Hockey Development Academy awards a Tyler Putnam Award to one player from each of the following organizations and programs who exemplifies hard work, commitment, and dedication to the game of hockey.

Aquinas High School Hockey Program
Brighton High School Hockey Program
Brockport High School Hockey Program
Canandaigua Youth Hockey
Churchville Chili High School Hockey Program
Edge Girls Hockey Program
Gates Chili High School Hockey Program
Greece Athena High School Hockey Program
Greece Olympia/Arcadia High School Hockey Program
Hilton High School Hockey Program
Irondequoit High School Hockey Program
McQuaid High School Hockey Program
Monroe County Youth Hockey
Penfield High School Hockey Program
Perinton Youth Hockey / Rochester Monarchs
Pittsford High School Hockey Program
Rochester Grizzlies Youth Hockey
Rochester Youth Hockey / Rochester Alliance
Spencerport High School Hockey Program
Syracuse Nationals / Blazers
Tri-County Youth Hockey
Webster Schroeder High School Hockey Program
Webster Thomas High School Hockey Program

Please stay tuned for announcements and updates. If you are interested in getting involved with or becoming a sponsor for this great event, please email us at: info@newedgehockey.com.

Today Rochester Youth Hockey and Rochester Grizzlies proudly announce that they have signed a formal agreement to form a Rochester Hockey Coalition.  The Coalition Agreement creates a hockey center of excellence in Rochester, allowing the Coalition to field teams of the most talented players, provide superior hockey development and culture for all ages and levels, and maximize competitiveness for all Coalition travel teams. 

The Coalition will be administered by a Committee comprised of leaders from RYH and Grizzlies.

The Coalition will field Tier I (AAA) and Tier II (AA) tournament bound and non-tournament bound travel teams from Squirt (10U) through Midget (18U) age levels.  For these teams, the Coalition Committee will conduct coaching interviews and selections, administer tryouts and player selection, coordinate team formation, promote sponsorship, perform budgeting, instill a winning hockey culture, and perform other related functions.  All Coalition travel teams will be USA Hockey compliant.

RYH and Grizzlies will also separately continue to provide Empire Conference house teams and additional non-coalition travel teams to meet anticipated high community demand.

The Coalition will prioritize minimizing families’ costs.  To that end, sponsorship will be sought to subsidize any new branding for Coalition travel teams.

The Coalition is currently seeking applications from qualified coaches interested in being involved with Coalition travel teams for the 2017-18 season.  Interested coaches can submit applications on the RYH website (http://www.ryhockey.com).

Lastly, RYH and Grizzlies will shortly hold a joint town hall meeting to answer questions, introduce the Coalition Committee and Coalition coaches, and provide additional information for youth hockey families.  Please note that this meeting is open only to RYH and Grizzlies families or families with releases for conformance with anti-recruiting rules.  
​The town hall meeting will occur on February 28, 2017 at 7:00 pm at the DoubleTree Hotel, 1111 Jefferson Road, Rochester, NY 14623.

In the interim, any questions about the Coalition can be directed to pcolucci@dimarcogroup.com or glenn@villagesports.net.

RYH and Grizzlies are extremely proud and excited about this new Coalition, which promises to greatly enhance the quality of youth hockey in the Rochester area.

About Rochester Youth Hockey:

Rochester Youth Hockey (RYH) was established in 1983 to promote and encourage athletics, physical exercise, and sportsmanship, and the sport of ice hockey, as well as to enhance the moral character and physical health of young boys and girls through organized athletic instruction and competition. Among our members, supporters and teams, RYH fosters and promotes fair play and sportsmanship, a general community spirit, and interest in amateur youth hockey in the greater Rochester area. RYH fields teams for boys and girls at all ages and levels of play, including: Tier I travel, Tier II travel, and Empire/House, and is also affiliated with the competitive Rochester Edge girls’ program. RYH Alumni include NHL, AHL, and Olympic players.

About Rochester Grizzlies Youth Hockey:

The Rochester Grizzlies were established in 2006 based around a unique skill development model and the Wooden Pyramid of Success character development system. Over the last 10 years, the Grizzly Program has placed players in the highest levels of Prep School, Juniors, and College Hockey, with one player being placed in the USA Hockey National Development Program. Our Skill and Character Development Model is now being used by top hockey associations in Boston and Canada.