BOSTON, MA -- The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is excited to announce major changes to its Elite Division for 2016-17. The EHL will be changing the name to "19U Elite Division" but it will remain a Junior hockey league with Junior-registered teams. 

The EHL also welcomes the following eight members to the 19U Elite Division -- bringing the total number of teams in this division to 16:

• New Jersey Rockets
• New York Applecore
• Brewster Bulldogs
• Hartford Jr. Wolfpack
• Philadelphia Jr. Flyers
• Philadelphia Revolution
• Lehigh Valley Jr. Rebels 

Procedurally the 19U Elite Division will be offered to prospective college-bound hockey players who are 19 years of age or under.  The change in age philosophy will help define a developmental path in line with USA Hockey’s ladder of development. This will mean every player in the EHL 19U Elite Division has the opportunity to advance to a higher level of play after competing and developing there.  The EHL is following USA Hockey process and has every intention of the 19U Elite Division continuing underneath USA Hockey's governance.

"It's an exciting time for the Eastern Hockey League," said Jon Lounsbury, general manager and head coach of the Premier Division Walpole Express.  "Our 19U Elite Division shows the commitment to the development of our players. We want young players who want to climb the ladder of Junior hockey." 

Lounsbury isn't the only general manager/head coach who approves of the change, as Jim Mosso serves in a similar role for the Vermont Lumberjacks.

"The EHL has been trying to find ways to be the best league in the country to continue to develop and promote players to college hockey," said Mosso.  "Like the Premier Division creating the College Commitment League Standards, the Elite Division is putting an age cap at 19 years old.  This will help the Elite League stand out from other leagues as the focus will be strictly on developing younger athletes into the Premier Division and ultimately a more direct path to College Hockey."

While Mosso is in his first season coaching at the Elite level, Andrew Trimble (New England Wolves) is in his second, but he has a very similar opinion towards the change.

"The move by the Elite Division to go to a 19U model really creates a roadmap for our players," said Trimble.  "It makes it easier for parents to understand the transition from youth to Premier Junior hockey.  I think it is very pro-active by our league."

Mark Kumpel, EHL Director of Hockey Operations and a former Tier III head coach, says providing a proven path for a hockey player to follow has long been challenging. "The question of 'How do I best advance to college hockey?' has been a tough one to answer in a definitive fashion, other than a player's final year of Junior eligibility," said Kumpel. "I think this move to 19U Elite, along with our direct-to-college advancement performance at the Premier Division level, provides a clear-cut route to college hockey.  The statistics don't lie.  The EHL is clearly the Tier III leader in college advancement and we intend to build on that lead every year."

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The Eastern Hockey League is a USA Hockey sanctioned Tier III Junior league with a mission of advancing players directly to NCAA varsity hockey teams.

The EHL is far and away the leader among Tier III USA Hockey Junior leagues in terms of college advancement.  

• The EHL advanced 144 players directly from the EHL to NCAA college hockey roster spots after the 2014-15 season, which is almost half (48 percent) of all the NCAA advancements from Tier III.
• Almost one-in-three (29 percent) of all 2015-16 NCAA Division II/III freshmen hockey players advanced directly from the Eastern Hockey League.
• While the level of play in the EHL is excellent, the mission of each team is to turn players into NCAA student-athletes.  To this end the league has put forth a strict performance criteria that focuses on advancement, with severe sanctions for any team that does not adhere.