Rules

Rules & Regulations

The Wapiti Players League (WPL) operates under the Hockey Canada Rulebook and Hockey Alberta Supplemental Discipline Guidelines unless otherwise stated in the following sections.

Where the WPL has modified or supplemented existing rules, these changes take precedence and are clearly noted.

⚠️ Rules highlighted in blue indicate changes or revisions for clarity from the previous season.

The WPL places special emphasis on the following areas of gameplay and conduct:

Article I: Rosters

1.01 – Player Registration

All players must complete and sign the Player Registration and Liability Waiver before participating in any WPL game.

The waiver can be accessed at: www.wplgp.ca

1.02 – Game Roster Submission

Team reps must ensure that:

• All players’ names and jersey numbers are clearly and accurately listed on the pre-game roster

• Rosters are submitted to the timekeeper before puck drop

1.03 – Age Requirement

Players must be 16 years or older to register in the WPL.

• Players under 18 require parental consent and must have the appropriate waiver signed before they can play.

1.04 – Roster Size

There are no limits on the number of players a team can have on their official roster.

1.05 – Multi-Team Eligibility

Players are allowed to:

• Play for multiple teams

• Play in multiple divisions, as long as they meet all other eligibility requirements

1.06 – When a Player is Considered Rostered

A player is officially rostered for a game when any one of the following conditions is met:

• Their name is on the game sheet before the scheduled start

• They are added to the game sheet during the first period

• They participated in the first period (took a shift or played)

⚠️ Players cannot be added after the first period ends, and they must have played during the first period to be considered rostered.

In the event of a forfeit:

• The non-forfeiting team’s roster will include:

  • All players regularly considered part of their team

  • No spare players

  • Only one goaltender

1.07 – When a Player is NOT Considered Rostered

A player will not be considered rostered for the game if:

• They are added after the first period

• They are listed on the roster but did not play in the first period

• They are not listed before the end of the first period and did not play

In the event of a forfeit:

• The forfeiting team’s roster will only include:

  • Their regular goaltender

Article II.  9-GAME PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY

2.01 – Basic Eligibility

A player is eligible to play in playoffs for a team only if they’ve been rostered for at least 9 regular season games with that team.  There are no exceptions to this Rule.

2.02 – Playing for Multiple Teams in Playoffs

A player can suit up for more than one team in playoffs if BOTH of these conditions are met:

• They’ve played at least 9 regular season games for each team, and

• The teams are in different divisions.

Note: If a player was rostered on multiple teams in the same division, they can only play playoffs with one of those teams.
Whichever team they play their first playoff game with is the one they’re locked to — for the rest of the playoffs.

2.03 – Illegal Players = Forfeits

If a team uses an ineligible player in a playoff game:

• That game is an automatic forfeit (scored 1–0).

• The team also forfeits any other games the illegal player appears in — until they’re eliminated from playoffs.

Article III.  GOALTENDERS

3.01 – Roster Requirement

All goalies must be rostered before puck drop for any regular season or playoff game.

3.02 – Regular Season Flexibility

Goalies can play for multiple teams during the regular season. No restrictions.

3.03 – Playoff Team Lock (Same Division)

Goalies cannot play for more than one team in the same division during playoffs.

Once a goalie plays their first playoff game, they are locked to that team in that division until the team is eliminated.

Violation = Forfeit. If a goalie plays for a second team in playoffs, that second team forfeits (1–0 score) and any following games they play with that goalie — until they're out.

3.04 – Backup Goalie Rules (Playoffs Only)

Teams may need a backup goalie during playoffs. Any backups selected must have been registered during the regular season and must follow these rules when being selected:

Backup Eligibility by Division:

• Industrial Division
  May select any WPL-registered goalie from any division.

• Division 2
  May select a goalie from:
  – A Division 2 team that is no longer in playoffs, or
  – Any lower division

• Division 3
  May select a goalie from:
  – A Division 3 team that is no longer in playoffs, or
  – Division 2 or lower

• Division 4
  May select a goalie from:
  – A Division 4 team that is no longer in playoffs, or
  – Division 3 or lower

IMPORTANT: Once a backup goalie has played in a playoff game for a team, they are locked to that team for the rest of playoffs until they are eliminated.
Their eligibility for future backup use will now follow the rules based on that team’s division.

Examples:

• If a Division 4 team wants uses a backup that has played for a Division 2 team in playoffs, that goalie is now considered a Division 2 goalie and must follow Division 2 rules for the rest of playoffs.

• If that team is still active in playoffs, the goalie cannot be used by other teams.

3.05 – Start on Time

Teams should make sure their goalie is on the ice and ready at the start of the game.

3.06 – Late Arrival = No Warmup

If the goalie isn't on the ice before the 5-minute warm-up ends, they don’t get any extra warm-up time.

3.07 – No Goalie? Here's What Happens

• Game starts with 6 skaters if your goalie isn’t ready after warm-up.

• If your goalie isn’t on the ice before the end of the 1st period, your team forfeits.

• If your goalie gets hurt mid-game, you have 15 minutes to get a replacement dressed.

  • During that time, play continues with 6 skaters.

  • If no goalie is on the ice after 15 minutes = forfeit.

  • Game becomes shinny. Refs leave the ice.

3.08 – Cat-Eye Mask Use

Goalies can wear cat-eye cages. But:

• You accept all risks.

• You waive all liability from the WPL, its admins, and governing bodies.

Article IV: Player Identification

All players must be ready to show photo ID at any time if asked by a league official at any league-sanctioned game — regular season or playoffs.

• If a player cannot provide valid ID, they are considered ineligible and must leave the ice immediately.

• If the player refuses to leave, their team will forfeit the game immediately.

No ID = No play. No exceptions.

Article V: Division Realignment & Schedule Adjustments

5.01 – Division Changes for Parity

The league can move any team to a different division at any time during the season if it helps keep divisions fair and competitive.

5.02 – Team Notification

If your team is being moved to a new division, your GM will be notified before the change happens.

5.03 – When Realignment Happens

Realignment is most likely to happen within the first 10 games of the season, based on:

• Winning % above .800 or below .200, and/or

• Average goal differential of ±8 per game

Realignment can still happen after Game 10 if the league deems it necessary.
Once teams are moved, the schedule will not change — unless the board decides it’s in the best interest of the league.

5.04 – Schedule Changes

Sometimes, games need to be rescheduled due to:

• Arena issues (like mechanical problems or double bookings)

• Administrative errors or unexpected changes

If that happens:

• The league will rebook the game at the best available ice time

• Team GMs will be notified as soon as possible and are responsible for passing that info on to their players

• The updated schedule will also be posted on the website and social media

Heads up: Ice times can change — stay flexible and check the schedule regularly.

Article VI: Equipment & Uniforms

6.01 – Required Equipment

All players must wear full equipment while on the ice. This includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Helmet

• Shin pads

• Elbow pads

• Gloves

A CSA-approved helmet is strongly recommended.
If a player chooses not to wear a CSA-approved helmet, they do so at their own risk, and the WPL assumes no liability for injuries.

6.02 – Facial Protection

• Mandatory:
  All players in Industrial and Division 2 must wear facial protection (visor or cage).

• Recommended:
  Players in Division 3 and below are encouraged to wear a visor or cage but it is not required.

6.03 – Helmet Cameras

• Helmet-mounted cameras (like GoPros) are not allowed during WPL games (regular season, playoffs, or tournaments).

• All other cameras (like glass-mounted ones) are not allowed inside the playing area unless pre-approved by the Board of Directors.

6.04 – Jerseys & Uniforms

All teams must have:

• A matching Dark (Home) jersey set

• A matching Light (Away) jersey set

Temporary allowance: A plain jersey matching the team’s base color (with or without logo or name) is acceptable short-term.

Jersey Rules:

• No jerseys with another team’s logo or significantly different color

• No logos with profanity, racism, vulgarity, nudity, or offensive content

• Must have large, clear, contrasting numbers on the back

  • Tape is only allowed temporarily

  • Goalies are exempt from having numbers

  • Players cannot share the same number unless one is a goalie

6.05 – One-Set Jersey Exception

New teams may start with one set of jerseys, but must work toward having two.

During this time:

• The team is responsible for avoiding jersey color conflicts

• If there’s a color clash, the visiting team must contact the home team to arrange for a jersey switch

• The WPL does not supply jerseys

6.06 – Underage Players (Under 18)

Any player under 18 must wear:

• A certified helmet

• A certified facial protector

• Chin straps must be secured

• If the cage or visor has separate straps, those must also be properly fastened

6.07 – Fighting & Helmet Removal

• If a player intentionally removes their helmet or undoes their chinstrap to fight, and the opponent does not, they receive:

  • A Gross Misconduct, plus

  • An extra 2-minute penalty

• If a player removes or loosens an opponent’s helmet/chinstrap, they get a Gross Misconduct

6.08 – Helmet Loss During Play

If a player’s helmet comes off during play, they must:

• Either put it back on and fasten it properly, or

• Leave the ice immediately

If the player continues to play without their helmet, play is stopped and they get a Minor penalty for participating without proper equipment.

This will be recorded as “Ineligible Player” on the Official Game Report.

Article VII: Body Checking

7.01 – No Body Checking

Body checking is not allowed in any WPL division.

Note: Incidental contact may or may not result in a penalty — it's up to the discretion of the on-ice officials.

7.02 – Head Contact Penalties

Head contact will be assessed as follows:

• Minor Head Contact
  Called as a 2-minute minor (e.g. roughing, high sticking, elbowing)

• Major Head Contact
  Called as a 5-minute major (e.g. roughing, body checking, high sticking, charging)

• Intent to Injure
  If a hit to the head is intentional and clearly meant to injure, it will result in a 5-minute match penalty

High Stick to the Head – Accidental:

• Called as a double minor (4 minutes total) following Section 8.3(b) of the Hockey Canada rulebook (Junior and Senior level).

• Refs still have the discretion to upgrade to a major if warranted.

Note: The WPL does not follow Hockey Canada’s specific "head contact" rule classifications.
Instead, the WPL uses the above structure for all head contact infractions.

Article VIII: Fighting & Abuse of Officials

8.01 – Fighting is Strictly Prohibited

If a player is assessed a fighting major, they will:

• Receive an automatic game misconduct

• Be fined as follows:

  • 1st Offense: $500

  • 2nd Offense: $1,000

  • 3rd Offense: $1,500 + indefinite ban from the WPL

Note: Fines must be paid before a player can return to the WPL.
Unpaid fines carry over year to year until resolved.

8.02 – How Fighting Majors Are Handled

• On-ice officials determine fighting majors at their discretion.

• The WPL Board of Directors will review all fighting majors and may issue additional discipline based on the Hockey Alberta Supplemental Guidelines.

8.03 – Yearly Reset

• Fighting major counts reset at the start of each season.

• However, the Board may still consider past behavior when deciding on supplemental discipline.

8.04 – Leaving the Bench During a Fight

• Any player who leaves the bench during an altercation will be suspended for the rest of the season — no exceptions.

8.05 – Verbal Abuse of Officials

• Verbal abuse of any official may result in a 10-minute game misconduct, at the discretion of the referees.

8.06 – Physical Abuse or Threats

• Any physical abuse or threat of violence toward an official will result in immediate expulsion from the WPL.

Article IX: Major, Match, Gross Misconduct Penalties & Ejections

9.01 – Gross Misconduct

Any player assessed a Gross Misconduct will be:

• Ejected from the game immediately

• Suspended for a number of games as determined by the WPL Board of Directors

9.02 – Ejections

If a player is ejected for any reason, they must:

• Leave the ice surface, bench, and penalty box immediately

• Not return to the bench, ice, or any nearby area with access to teammates or officials

Any remaining penalty time must be served by a teammate who was on the ice at the time of the infraction.

9.03 – Late Game Penalties

If a player is assessed a Game Misconduct, Gross Misconduct, Match, or Fighting penalty during the last 9 minutes of the 3rd period, they will receive:

• An automatic suspension for one additional game

9.04 – Incident Reports

Officials are required to submit a Game Incident Report for the following penalties:

1. Game Misconduct

2. Gross Misconduct

3. Match Penalty

4. Fighting

9.05 – Three Penalty Ejection Rule

Any player who receives 3 penalties in a single game will be:

• Ejected for the remainder of the game

• The ejection is recorded as a 4th penalty, but it does not add to the player’s total penalty minutes

• No incident report is required

Note: A double minor counts as one penalty toward the three-penalty limit.

Article X: Suspensions & Probation

10.01 – League Authority

Any player under suspension due to an ejection, game misconduct, gross misconduct, match penalty, or any violation of league rules may face:

• Suspension for any number of games (regular season and/or playoffs), as determined by the WPL Board of Directors

• Permanent expulsion from the league

⚠️ The WPL uses the Hockey Alberta Supplemental Discipline Guidelines as a reference when reviewing incidents and determining suspensions or probation.

10.02 – Carry-Over Suspensions

All suspensions will carry over into:

• Playoffs, if not fully served in the regular season

• The following season, if not completed during the current one

10.03 – Indefinite Suspensions

Players who receive an indefinite suspension:

• Will remain suspended until a disciplinary hearing is held by the Board of Directors

• Must wait a minimum of 1 full calendar year from the date of suspension to request a review

Reinstatement Process:

• A hearing may be granted at the discretion of the WPL Board

• It is the player’s responsibility to request and arrange the hearing

10.04 – Suspension Restrictions

A suspended player:

• Cannot play for any WPL team, including tournament teams, until the suspension is fully served with the team it was issued from

• Cannot be on the bench for any WPL game during their suspension

10.05 – Attempting to Play While Suspended

Any player who attempts to play while suspended will be:

• Suspended indefinitely from the league

ID may be requested at any time during the regular season, playoffs, or tournaments to verify eligibility.

Article XI: Incident Review Process

11.01 – Review Committee Structure

The review committee will be made up of at least three members from the WPL Board of Directors.

11.02 – Suspension Review Process

All Major penalties, Match penalties, and Gross Misconducts will undergo a formal review process:

Review Steps:

1. Game sheet and official incident report(s) will be collected

2. Written statements will be requested from both team GMs

3. If needed, follow-up discussions may occur with the game officials and team GMs for clarification

4. The WPL Board of Directors will make a ruling

5. The decision will be communicated to both GMs and posted on the WPL website

🔒 All decisions made by the Board are final.

11.03 – Indefinite Suspensions

Any player who receives an indefinite suspension must attend a disciplinary meeting before they are eligible to return to play in the WPL.

Article XII: Forfeits

12.01 – Forfeit Procedure

• A forfeited game will be recorded as a 1–0 win for the non-offending team.

• The entire roster of the winning team will be marked as having played in the game — and it will count toward playoff eligibility.

• The losing team will only have their starting goaltender credited as having played.

⚠️ This rule applies to both regular season and playoff games.

Article XIII: Game Play

13.01 – Game Format

All games consist of:

• Two (2) 15-minute straight-time periods

• One (1) 18-minute stop-time third period

Overtime Format (if tied after regulation):

• One 3-minutestraight-time, 3-on-3 sudden death

• If still tied → Proceed to a shootout (see Section 13.04)

13.02 – Penalty Timing

• 1st & 2nd Periods: Minor penalties = 3-minute straight time

• 3rd Period: Minor penalties = 2-minute stop time

• Double Minors:

  • 1st & 2nd Periods: 6 minutes

  • 3rd Period: 4 minutes

Note: PIMs on the website follow Hockey Canada standards and may not reflect actual in-game penalty minutes.

13.03 – Points System

WPL follows the IIHF 3-point system:

• 3 points – Regulation win

• 2 points – Overtime or shootout win

• 1 point – Overtime or shootout loss

• 0 points – Regulation loss

No game ends in a tie.

13.04 – Shootout Format (Regular Season)

If still tied after overtime:

• Shootout is 3 rounds

• Visiting team shoots first

• Teams alternate shooters

• 3 players per team (unless a player has a 10-min/game/gross/match misconduct)

• If still tied → sudden death shootout

• No player may shoot again until all eligible teammates have shot

No flood before the shootout.

13.05 – Minimum Players to Start a Game

• Teams must have 6 skaters + 1 goalie to start a game

• If no goalie is available: 7 skaters minimum

• 10-minute grace period will be allowed

• If still short after 10 minutes → forfeit

13.06 – Icing

• Icing is called the moment the puck crosses the goal line

• The defensive blue line is used to determine icing eligibility

• Icing may be waived at the officials' discretion

• If an icing call is made in error, faceoff goes to center ice

13.07 – Timeouts

Each team is allowed:

• One (1) 30-second timeout per game (regular season and playoffs)

• Must be taken during a normal stoppage in play

13.08 – Goalie Safety

Play will only be stopped if:

• The official believes the goalie is injured, or

• There is a visible injury

This call is at the sole discretion of the on-ice referee

13.09 – Hurry-Up Faceoffs

To speed up play:

• After line changes are complete, the ref will blow the whistle

• Players have 5 seconds to line up

• Faceoff occurs once both centers are ready, or at the end of 5 seconds

Article XVI: Playoff Rules

14.01 – Game Play Format

• All playoff games will follow the same rules and time structure as regular season games.

  • This includes:

    • Period lengths (2x15-minute straight-time, 1x18-minute stop-time)

    • Overtime and shootout procedures (see Section 13.01 & 13.04)

    • Penalty timing

14.02 – Playoff Seeding Order

Seeding for playoffs will be based on the following criteria, in order:

1. Total Points (Pts) – Based on Section 13.03 (Win/Loss Point System)

2. Regulation Wins (RW) – Total wins excluding overtime and shootout wins

3. Regulation + Overtime Wins (ROW) – Total wins excluding shootout wins

4. Total Wins (W) – All wins, including regulation, OT, and shootout

5. Goal Differential (Diff) – Goals for minus goals against (includes OT and shootout results)

Note to Teams:
If your team cannot continue into playoffs, you must notify the league within 48 hours of the end of the regular season.
Failure to notify may affect scheduling and playoff fairness. If you withdraw, your scheduled opponent will automatically advance to the next round.

LEGEND

14.03 – Overtime (Playoffs Only)

If a playoff game is tied after regulation, the following overtime format will apply:

• A single 3-minute stop-time period

• Played 3-on-3 in sudden death format (first goal wins)

• No flood will occur before overtime

If the game is still tied after overtime, a sudden death shootout will follow.

Shootout Rules: Follow the same format as Section 13.04.

14.04 – Quarterfinal Bracket Structure

Each division will have up to 8 teams in a single-elimination playoff bracket.

Matchups are seeded as follows:

• 1st vs 8th

• 2nd vs 7th

• 3rd vs 6th

• 4th vs 5th

If two or more teams are tied for the final (8th) playoff spot, a single-round elimination game will be used to determine the last seed.

14.05 – Semifinals & Reseeding

• The winners of the quarterfinals will move on to the semifinals.

• In the semifinal round, teams will be re-seeded based on their original regular season seeding.

  • Highest remaining seed plays lowest remaining seed

• Winners of the semifinals will advance to the Division Finals

Home Team Advantage:
In each round, the team with the better regular season record will be designated the home team.

⚠️ Rule Amendments:
The WPL reserves the right to add to or amend these playoff rules at any time as deemed necessary by league administration.

Last Amended April 23, 2025