LAKHSHL: New teams, tryout dates for Year Two

In defending their inaugural LA Kings High School Hockey League crown, the Santa Barbara Royals will face additional competition from as many as four new teams.

The league will resume in September, but tryouts for all teams will be held this month as pure teams at Loyola High School and Valencia High School, and a district team in Torrance are slated to join the league. Shalhevet High School has also been involved in forming a team, which would be comprised of both Shalhevet and Orthodox Jewish students from other Los Angeles-area high schools.

“I was very impressed with how the coaches approached the teaching aspects of the game, and that will carry this league a long, long way,” said Jim Fox, L.A. Kings High School Hockey League Commissioner and Television Play by Play Analyst.

The Torrance team is a district team that previously played as a junior varsity team in the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League. Split by boundaries loosely demarcated by the markets of their parent NHL clubs, Torrance will join the LAKHSHL, though it may also field a junior varsity team in the ADHSHL. There is also a possibility of West Ranch High School forming a second team that could participate in the ADHSHL’s junior varsity division, but there are still logistics to be ironed out this summer over how that could work logistically.

Together the LAKHSHL and ADHSHL have forged a working partnership to grow the game throughout Southern California, though the ADHSHL was founded in 2008 and has grown to 24 varsity teams across three divisions and an additional 19 junior varsity teams, according to the league’s standings. Last season, the Torrance Unified Destroyers finished with a 9-4-1 regular season record in the ADHSHL’s Black Division and lost in the divisional final.

Loyola has been in discussions with the league for the last several months, with the upcoming season’s logistics expected to be firmed up over the next two to three weeks. Also, the district team linked to the San Gabriel Valley has changed its name to the Burbank Cougars.

Players trying out for district teams will try out for the district team where the player resides, not where the player’s high school is geographically located. This rule does not apply to pure school teams. Tryouts are for students who will be in grades 9-12 in September, 2016.

For all LAKHSHL information, visit lakleague.com

TRYOUTS

BURBANK COUGARS
1) May 21 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM
2) May 22 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Pickwick Ice Arena
1001 W Riverside Dr, Burbank, CA 91506

EAST COUNTY OUTLAWS / SOUTH COUNTY AVIATORS
1) May 21 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
2) May 22 12:45 PM – 1:45 PM
Iceoplex Simi Valley
131 W Easy Street, Simi Valley, CA 93065

EL SEGUNDO STRIKERS
1) June 6 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
2) June 7 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Toyota Sports Center
555 N Nash St, El Segundo, CA 90245

KERN COUNTY KNIGHTS
1) May 7 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
2) May 14 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
San Joaquin Community Hospital Ice Center of Bakersfield
1325 Q St, Bakersfield, CA 93301

LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL
1) May 22 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Rink: TBD

SANTA BARBARA ROYALS
1) May 12 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
2) May 13 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Ice In Paradise
6985 Santa Felicia Dr, Goleta, CA 93117

SANTA CLARITA VALLEY COBRAS
1) May 14 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM
2) May 15 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Ice Station Valencia
27745 N Smyth Dr, Valencia, CA 91355

SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL
1) May 11 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
-Students from other Orthodox Jewish High Schools are welcome to try out for Shalhevet
LA Kings Valley Ice Center
8750 Van Nuys Blvd, Panorama City, CA 91402

TORRANCE DESTROYERS
1) June 6 6:50 PM – 7:50 PM
2) June 13 6:50 PM – 7:50 PM
Skating Edge Ice Arena
23770 S Western Ave, Harbor City, CA 90710

VALENCIA HIGH SCHOOL
1) May 7 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM
2) May 8 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Ice Station Valencia
27745 N Smyth Dr, Valencia, CA 91355

WEST RANCH HIGH SCHOOL
1) May 21 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM
2) May 22 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Ice Station Valencia
27745 N Smyth Dr, Valencia, CA 91355