Format 25/26

Format 25/26

Northern Premier Hockey League – OUTLAW TOURNAMENT (April 2026)

The Northern Premier Hockey League is honored to announce the introduction of the inaugural Outlaw Hockey Tournament, scheduled for April 2026. This historic event will bring together leading organizations from across the NPHL in its first year, marking an important milestone in the continued growth of our league.

The purpose of the Outlaw Tournament is to establish a premier competitive provincial platform that highlights the skill and dedication of our athletes, strengthens the traditions of our member organizations, and provides our fans with a distinctive and memorable hockey experience. 

Outlaw Championship Qualification Format

The 1st Annual Outlaw Championship will feature 8 teams, determined as follows:

Automatic Bids

  • Capital Branch:

    • 2 × Regular Season Eastern Divisional Winners

    • 2 × Regular Season Western Divisional Winners

  • Metropolitan Branch:

    • 1 × Regular Season Northern Divisional Winner

    • 1 x Regular Season Southern Divisional Winner

Wild Card Bids (2 spots)

  • Reserved for Capital or Metropolitan League Champions who have not already qualified through regular season performance.

    • If a league champion is already qualified, the wild card(s) are awarded to the team(s) with the highest number of regular season points in either branch.

      • Both wild cards can come from the same branch if point totals dictate.

Tie-Breakers for Wild Card Qualification

  • Most Wins

Fewest Penalty Minutes

                                 TOURNAMENT RULES

  • Northern Premier Hockey League playing rules & regulations will be enforced throughout the tournament as they were during the regular season & playoffs

    • This includes suspensions and consequences outlined in the league constitution & discipline chart.  Any suspension issued during the tournament will carry over into the following NPHL season as well as any fines that accompany or are issued during the tournament

    • There will be no appeals during the tournament, disciplinary decisions are final. 

      • Appeals may be heard over the summer with regards to any suspensions that may carry over into the following season  

  • Each Tournament game will be officiated using the 4 person team officiating system

  • Round Robin Games will consist of 10 minute warm up and 3 x 20 minute periods with a flood after the warm up and between each period 

    • Quarterfinals/Semi-finals/finals  games will operate in the same manor, but will have a full 20 minute warm up prior to games 


        TOURNAMENT ROSTER REGULATIONS

  • Rosters will be based on each individual teams 40 man roster during the regular season

  • ALL SIGNED PLAYERS are eligible to participate in the tournament regardless of the amount of regular season games played during the year 

    • The 40 man roster will be final following the trade deadline of the regular season


      TOURNAMENT FORMAT

  • The Tournament will be hosted over the course of 9 days (Friday to Saturday)

  • The round robin will be played the first 3 days of the tournament 

  • Teams will be seeded 1-8 based on points earned during their respective regular seasons

    • In the event of a tie breaker, Regulation time Wins will be the first tie breaker, followed by head to head (if applicable), followed by Penalty Minutes Recorded 

  • Quarterfinal games will be played Monday to Thursday of that week (one game per evening)

    • Losing teams are eliminated from the tournament following quarterfinal loss

  • Semi Finals will be played on the Friday Night (Day 8)

  • Tournament final will be played Saturday (Day 9) in the afternoon