The Novice Development League (NDL) is a partnership between Hockey Calgary and its community member associations in which they operate the Novice age category as a skills based age category. The NDL focuses on skill development and the fundamentals of hockey for kids aged 7 and 8. The purpose of this league is to address the need for more skill development in the novice age category. Our goal is to provide a positive environment for learning the fundamentals of hockey and to stimulate interest and desire to continue playing the game of hockey.
The NDL is a league in which the associations promote coach, parent, official and player education during the season. Each player will be evaluated fairly within each association and placed on a team where they are best suited. Teams are limited to when and how many games they can play. As a result, players will practice more and play fewer games to increase their skills before playing full ice games compared to that of other age categories
NDL Goaltender Rotation Form (PDF)
Benefits of Half-Ice Hockey for Novice Players
Video Guidelines for Novice Half-Ice Games
Childs View, Parents find Full Ice Hockey NO FUN - Video
Small - Sided Games in other Sports
