HAMPTON ROADS—The Hampton Roads Jr. Whalers, members of the United States Premier Hockey League, recently announced that, beginning with the 2026-27 season, it will be competing in the Tier 2 National Collegiate Development Conference, the top level of junior hockey in the USPHL with over 1,000 alumni in college hockey each season.
The Whalers, established in 2006, have been members of the USPHL since the 2013-14 season and have been a successful franchise, with a combined 8 championships in 19 seasons, including 4 USPHL National Championships at Elite and Premier. With over 300 Alumni advancing to college hockey, the organization says it will continue to push the envelope and set standards in both player development and advancement.
“The move to the NCDC is the next step in our programs progression”, stated general manager Brad Jones. “The competition and exposure in the NCDC will push us as a program to continue to evolve and grow, giving our players the best pathway to college hockey”.
The Whalers will compete at both NCDC and Premier in the Southeast division alongside Potomac, Carolina, Charlotte, Charleston, and the newly announced team in Yorktown.
In addition to the NCDC team, the Whalers will also continue to field their tier 3 USPHL Premier team.
“Junior Hockey is largely ungoverned and unsupervised in the United States, putting a greater burden on players to do their homework and on leagues to operate with integrity. As a result, this operational change represents a major milestone in Tier 2 junior hockey in North America,” said Tony Zasowski, Deputy Commissioner of the USPHL. “As the only true North American Tier 2 and Tier 3 junior hockey league, the NCDC and USPHL must and will continue to lead in player performance and developmental standards. By supporting and elevating our best franchises into the NCDC, we believe the league continues to lead as the biggest and best Tier 2 and Tier 3 junior hockey league in North America.”
Pre-draft camp dates and registration information will be released soon.
To learn more, visit whalernation.com.