CSDHL Prospects -- Questions & Answers
CSDHL PROSPECTS FAQ (6/9/25)
*Dates and other information are subject to change*
1. Does a club need Major/Minor teams to compete in the Prospects Division? No.
2. How does a club enter a team into the Prospects Division? Send an email to CSDHLprospects@gmail.com with club name, contact name, phone, emails to send application, and levels you intend to apply for. Then complete the Google sheet that is emailed in order to receive an application. The Google sheet can be updated at any time through July 19, 2025.
3. How many levels will there be in the Prospects Division? Three levels (Red, White and Blue) with multiple tiers at each level. For example, Red Prospects Tier I is the highest competition level in the Prospects Division.
4. Is there an application process for the Prospects Division? Yes – applications will be sent on July 20, 2025 to those clubs that complete the Google sheet. The deadline to submit applications is August 23, 2025. Applications will be reviewed by a volunteer Prospects Committee comprised of hockey directors and club presidents. While clubs within and outside Illinois are welcome to apply, the goal of CSDHL is to ensure that Illinois teams have a place to compete in the Prospects Division. The Prospects Division levels will be announced on September 1, 2025, and subject to change following the declaration round games.
5. What are the league fees for the Prospects Division? $1,500.00 per team for the 2025-2026 season.
6. Will the Prospects Division have a “Peoria Rule”? Yes, the Peoria Rule will be applied to all tiers of White and Blue levels and for all teams within those levels at Squirt through Midget. Note that the application of the Peoria Rule to Bantam and Midgets is different from NIHL. If an out-of-state club is accepted into the Prospects Division and did not compete in NIHL during the 2024-2025 season, the Peoria Rule will be applied to them for at least the 2025-2026 season. The Peoria Rule means that certain teams competing in the Prospects Division will be required to play their home games at an opposing team’s rink if the opposing team does not wish to travel to their home rink. The opposing team pays for the ice under the Peoria Rule.
7. How many games will teams in the Prospects Division play? We are looking at a 28-game season: 8 declaration round games, followed by 20 regular season games. The deadline to complete the 8 declaration round games will be October 26, 2025. Regular season play will begin on November 8, 2025 and end on January 24, 2026.
8. Will the Prospects Division have playoffs? Yes – playoffs will begin on January 29, 2026. The top 8 teams in each Tier will participate in playoffs – Round Robin play followed by a championship game.
9. How will games be scheduled for the Prospects Division? An initial grid to schedule declaration round games will be released to clubs on September 5, 2025. A second grid will be released to clubs on November 1, 2025 to schedule all regular season games based on final placement after the declaration round.
10. Will there be an official scheduling meeting for the Prospects Division? No – club representatives (ice scheduler, team manager or coach) are responsible for scheduling all games based on the grids released by CSDHL on September 9 and November 1. This can be done via phone, email, Sign-Up Genuis, etc.
11. What are the time rules for games played in the Prospects Division? Visit the CSDHL website at https://www.csdhl.org/ for information on times for periods, penalties, overtime, ice cuts (for Midget level) and referees.
12. How will games be scored in the Prospects Division? Gamesheet will be used. More information and training videos can be found at https://www.csdhl.org/team-manager-resources/game-sheet-training/44969.
13. Who is responsible for securing referees for games played in the Prospects Division? CSDHL will secure referees for all declaration and regular season games played in Illinois. It is important for teams to get all games scheduled within the timeframe set by CSDHL.
14. Are clubs required to have athletic trainers for home games at the Bantam and Midget levels of the Prospects Division? Athletic trainers are required for CSDHL Major and Minor teams at the Bantam and Midget levels, and at the Midget level for the Prospects Division. Athletic trainers are strongly encouraged for the Bantam level in the Prospects Division.
15. Other Important Dates: The CSDHL scheduling meeting for Major and Minor Divisions will be held on August 9, 2025 at the Hyatt Hotel in Schaumburg – club representatives for the Prospects Division are strongly encouraged to attend to receive patches, helmet stickers and other important information for the season. The CSDHL Annual Meeting will be held on September 9, 2025 at the new Oakton Ice Arena. The CSDHL/Prospects Board meeting will be held via Zoom on November 18, 2025.
Proposed "PROSPECTS" teams for the 2025-2026 CSDHL Season
If you are interested in putting your team(s) in the Prospects League, please send the following info in an email to:
CSDHLprospects@gmail.com
Club Name:
Contact:
Phone:
Email(s) to send application link to:
Level(s) you are applying for:
2025-26 SLATE FOR CSDHL MINOR & MAJOR DIVISIONS -- Congrats to all teams
| SQ MIN | SQ MAJOR | PW MINOR | PW MAJOR | BTM MINOR | BTM MAJOR | U15 | U16 | U18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | Chargers | Blues | Blues | Cyclones | Blues | Affton | Affton | Affton |
| Eagles | Cyclones | Chargers | Bulldogs | Eagles | Chargers | Blues | Bulldogs | Bulldogs |
| Hawks | Eagles | Cyclones | Chargers | Express | Eagles | Bulldogs | Chesterfield | Chesterfield |
| Ice Dogs | Express | Eagles | Eagles | Hawks | Express | Chargers | Falcons | Hawks |
| Jets | Falcons | Express | Express | Jets | Falcons | Chesterfield | Hawks | Jets |
| Joliet | Glenview | Jets | Falcons | Knights | Glenview | Cyclones | Jets | Leafs |
| Knights | Hawks | Knights | Glenview | Leafs | Hawks | Falcons | Leafs | Sabres |
| Leafs | Jets | Leafs | Knights | Omaha | Jets | Jets | Sabres | Sting |
| Sabres | Knights | Sabres | Sabres | Peoria | Knights | Leafs | Sting | Vikings |
| Sting | Sabres | Sting | Sting | Sting | Leafs | Peoria | Vikings | Vipers |
| Vikings | Sting | Vikings | Vipers | Vikings | Sabres | Vipers | ||
| Vipers | Vikings | Vipers | Wilmette | Vipers | Sting | |||
| Wilmette | Vipers | Wilmette | Winnetka | Wilmette | Vipers | |||
| Winnetka | Wilmette | |||||||
| Yellowjackets | Winnetka | |||||||
| Yellowjackets | ||||||||
STICKER & PATCH LOCATIONS
CSDHL recognizes those students with "straight A's" or a school's "highest honor roll". Submit proof to csdhlscholars@gmail.com by February 1st, 2025 to be included in the list.
Athletic Trainers
Athletic Trainers are REQUIRED for all Bantam Major , Bantam Minor & All Midget Level CSDHL Games.
If you are at a game where a trainer is not present please email Rules & Ethics to file an inquiry.
Club and/or team fines as well as other disciplinary measures may result.
LEAGUE GAME INFORMATION BY LEVEL for 2025-26
All League games, including League tournament games will play the following time rules:
| LEVEL | PERIODS | PENALTIES | OVERTIME | LENGTH | REFS |
| SQUIRT MINOR/MAJOR | 13 MIN | 1:30 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 10 MIN | 2 |
| SQUIRT PROSPECTS | 12 MIN | 1:30 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR | 2 |
| PEEWEE MINOR/MAJOR | 14 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 20 MIN | 2 |
| PEEWEE PROSPECTS | 13 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 10 MIN | 2 |
| BANTAM MINOR/MAJOR | 15 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 30 MIN | 2 |
| BANTAM PROSPECTS | 14 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 20 MIN | 2 |
| MIDGET U15 | 16 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 40 MIN | 3 |
| MIDGET PROSPECT U15/U16 | 16 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 40 MIN | 3 |
| MIDGET U16 | 16 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 1 HR 40 MIN | 3 |
| MIDGET U18 PROSPECT | 17 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 2 HR | 3 |
| MIDGET U18 | 17 MIN | 2 MIN | 5 MIN 3 ON 3 | 2 HR | 4 |
| ALL MIDGET GAMES GET ICE CUT IN MIDDLE OF 2ND PERIOD | |||||
NECK GUARDS / PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
USA Hockey will require the use of neck laceration protection on August 1, 2024, for players in all age classifications, except adults, in games and practices – as well as for on-ice officials under the age of 18.
Rosters for 2024-2025
Managers: All rosters are due to Steve Brickman by Oct 31, 2024 Please send only your portal link to:
Steve Brickman
Please indicate in your email: Team name & Division playing in (i.e. Hawks Bantam Minor).
No roster changes can be made after this date without approval from the CSDHL if allowed by your home affiliate. A player will be considered ineligible without league approval.
All request should be sent to Steve and if approved the team’s portal link must be updated prior to game time.
IMPORTANT IPAD APP RELEASE UPDATE
We recently released an update to the iPad scoring app, that we have now discovered will not work with older iPads still running iOS 12.
Since this was discovered, we have reset the App Store to not allow these older iPads to install this version. This does not mean they will not work, it just means that those older iPads can no longer use the latest version and updates.
For those using iOS 13 or newer, no action is required.
For those using an older iPad with iOS 12 the solution is to delete the app and then reinstall it. This way, a previous working version for your system (iOS 12) will be installed.
Please be aware that deleting the app will remove all games, completed or active from your iPad.
Best regards,
The GameSheet Team