Insights · Youth hockey series

When competition fails players, everyone in the rink can feel it.

Three short papers on why so many minor hockey seasons stop being fun and stop challenging players, why it keeps happening, and what would have to change.

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New · Paper 3
Designing Competition That Develops Players

One league, one season · 351 teams, U11 to U18

Only halfof all teams had a competitive season

The other 165 of 351 teams either won nearly every game or lost nearly every game. A season like that is rarely much fun for either bench, and it happens far more often than it should.

Lost most games · 83 teams Competitive · 186 teams Won most games · 82 teams 01020304050 Win rate 0–10%: 13 teams Win rate 10–20%: 28 teams Win rate 20–30%: 42 teams Win rate 30–40%: 42 teams Win rate 40–50%: 47 teams Win rate 50–60%: 44 teams Win rate 60–70%: 53 teams Win rate 70–80%: 36 teams Win rate 80–90%: 29 teams Win rate 90–100%: 17 teams 0–1010–2020–3030–4040–5050–6060–7070–8080–9090–100 Win rate (% of available points) Number of teams Lost most83 teams Competitive186 teams Won most82 teams 01020304050 Win rate 0–10%: 13 teams Win rate 10–20%: 28 teams Win rate 20–30%: 42 teams Win rate 30–40%: 42 teams Win rate 40–50%: 47 teams Win rate 50–60%: 44 teams Win rate 60–70%: 53 teams Win rate 70–80%: 36 teams Win rate 80–90%: 29 teams Win rate 90–100%: 17 teams 03070100 Win rate (% of available points) Number of teams
Hockey Winnipeg, 2025–26, all 351 teams in the U11 to U18 Direct Entry (A) and female leagues. Win rate is points earned as a share of points available. The full picture is in Paper 1, Figure 1.

The series

Each paper stands on its own. Read together, they move from what a mismatched season feels like, to why it happens, to what a better-designed league needs.

Paper 1 · The symptom

When Competition Fails Players

What happens when games stop being fun and stop challenging players

The season every hockey family recognizes, the league-wide numbers behind it, why it repeats, and what a better season would look like.

Read online ›Download PDF
7 pages · 12 minute read · Updated October 2026
Paper 2 · The mechanism

The Competitive Gap Problem

Why competitive imbalance persists year after year

How evaluator judgment, bubble kids at the tier lines, and fixed regional tier counts combine to build imbalance into rosters before the first game.

Read online ›Download PDF
8 pages · 13 minute read · October 2026
Paper 3 · The design

Designing Competition That Develops Players

The structural conditions for stronger seasons in youth hockey

Three conditions a league has to meet for meaningful competition to form consistently, and how a league can tell whether it is meeting them.

Read online ›Download PDF
6 pages · 9 minute read · October 2026

Written for the people who shape a season

The papers are short, plain, and free. They are meant to start conversations, not close them.

Association boards

Who set team counts from this year's registration numbers and answer the emails in November.

Evaluators and evaluation leads

Who give their September evenings and want their judgment to count fairly.

Regional tier-setters

Who apply one structure across associations that are never quite alike.

Parents and coaches

Who recognize the quiet room after a 7 to 0 game, in either direction.

If you care about the level of competition in your association, region, province, or country, we want to hear from you.

Max Analytics was started by people who care about three things in minor hockey: fair and transparent evaluations, competitive balance, and fun. We believe the three are connected. If a paper matched your season, or you think we have it wrong, either one is a good reason to write.

Or write to Mark directly:

Mark S. Struck, Max Analytics

Chief Analytics Officer