General Info

Humber Valley Old Timers (HVOT) was founded by a group of coaches and parents from the Humber Valley Hockey Association (HVHA) in 1989, and its philosophy is consistent with the theme of ‘Hockey for Fun and Fitness’. Many of the players have participated as officials, coaches and assistants in the HVHA and have found the HVOT a natural and comfortable way to continue their love of the great game of hockey. HVOT is financially self-sustaining and operates in a manner which allows revenue to be generated each year. It is the objective of HVOT to use some portion of the excess revenue for the purpose of funding charitable and worthwhile endeavours.

The Murray Dryden Division of the HVOT was established to take the opportunity to pay special recognition to Murray Dryden. The late Murray Dryden and his late sons Ken & Dave were actively involved in HVOT, regularly attending our banquets and golf tournaments and providing us with updates on Murray’s organization, SLEEPING CHILDREN AROUND THE WORLD (SCAW). The HVOT provides annual donations to SCAW which has been a fundamental mandate of HVOT to be active and helpful members of the Etobicoke community.

Structure

This is a six-team league comprising 90 players, or 15 per team (9 forwards, 5 defense, 1 goalie). We play standard old timer rules (no slap shots, no contact, no centre red line), with full equipment (visor is a minimum requirement). Players are ranked according to ability in their chosen position and all players are entered into an annual draft. The draft ensures that all teams have different personnel in each year, which makes for fairness, a more social atmosphere and a less aggressive style of play. The six teams have distinct uniforms of matching sweaters and socks.

Season

Our schedule begins in late September and runs for 25 games, with a break at Christmas. The regular season is 20 games, while the playoff round robin lasts five games. Following the round robin there is a semi-final night following which the two winning teams play a championship game in late March/early April. PLAYERS MUST ATTEND 60% (12 games) OF THE REGULAR SEASON GAMES TO MAINTAIN PARTICIPATION IN THE FOLLOWING SEASON AND WILL BE PLACED ON THE SUBSTITUTE PLAYER LIST! (Injuries excluded).

Game Format

All games are refereed by two officials and a timekeeper is present. The league records player attendance & scoring statistics. Since it is a house league, every player gets the normal amount of ice time; we don’t shorten the bench. A standard game is 3, 20-minute running time periods with a three minute warm-up to start. Games are played Wednesday nights at Central Arena in Etobicoke (50 Montgomery Rd). Game times are 7:30, 8:45, and 10:00 pm, and the schedule is organized so that all teams get an equal number of games at each time slot. If you are interested, we recommend that you come out to observe one of our games.

Age and Standard of Play Guideline

Standard oldtimers hockey starts at 35, however we have set 45 as the minimum age for all entrants. Our oldest player is 77, and the average is in the early 60’s. The standard of play is varied, with some players who never played youth hockey and some who played high-level University or U.S. college hockey (about 15 players have Junior and/or varsity backgrounds). If we enter tournaments (and this happens 3 or 4 times per season), we are normally registered in the 45+ C or D divisions.

Social and Charity Aspects

Part of the player fee goes toward supporting the charity of our late patron, Murray Dryden’s Sleeping Children Around the World. On the social side, players gather post-game at a local watering hole, where the league sponsors wing nights 3 to 4 times per season. There is an annual banquet at season-end, which features the annual draft for the next season. Players are put on balanced teams, allowing everyone to play with all league members over the years. There is also an annual golf tournament in early September with proceeds to charity.

New Player Application

If you are 45 years old or more and are interested in joining the league, please click here. Your application will be automatically sent to our Registrar for review.