The United States Premier Hockey League, Premier Division, is a Junior A Tier 3 hockey league that operates in the United States. It was formed starting with the 2013-14 season, its genesis driven by a handful of teams in the Eastern Junior Hockey League during the 2012-13 season. The teams in question had expressed that they wanted to play in both the EJHL and in a new league, one geared toward a higher level of competition. Due to many political factors, the formation of the USPHL resulted in a complete reogranization of Junior A hockey in the Eastern United States.
The USPHL was formed as an umbrella organization, with many divisions of hockey under it - Premier, Elite, Empire, 18U, and 16U. Member teams in the USPHL umbrella organization were from the EJHL, the Atlantic Junior Hockey League, the EJHL Premier Hockey League, the Empire Junior Hockey League, and the EJHL-South. Member teams in the USPHL Premier Division were from the EJHL and AJHL. The remaining EJHL and AJ... [Click for more]HL teams combined to form the Eastern Hockey League.
Following the 2016-17 season, the USPHL-Premier division expanded to over 45 teams and left the auspices of USA Hockey. Because of this, although the organization with that name continued to exist following 2016-17, that season was the last that it existed as a Junior A Tier 3 hockey league.
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