Maple - ABOUT
MAPLE NATION INLINE
CANADA'S NATIONAL INLINE HOCKEY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
MORE OPPORTUNITIES. MORE DEVELOPMENT. MORE HOCKEY.
WHAT IS MAPLE NATION INLINE?
For years, players and families across Canada have asked the same question:
“How can I play more inline hockey? My local league doesn’t offer all of the opportunities I’m looking for.”
Maple Nation Inline was built to help answer that question.
Operating under the Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline, Maple Nation Inline brings together the history and experience of the Pure Maple and True North development programs to create a national pathway for Canadian inline hockey players.
The program provides athletes from across the country with opportunities to attend premier tournaments, compete against high-level opposition, continue their development, travel with teammates, and experience inline hockey beyond their local and provincial programs.
Canada is fortunate to have outstanding local inline hockey leagues and associations that form the foundation of our sport. These organizations give athletes the opportunity to learn the game, develop their skills, compete, and build a lifelong connection to inline hockey within their communities.
But for many players, the local season is only the beginning.
They want to play more.
They want to challenge themselves against new competition, attend major events, travel with teammates who share their passion, meet players from across Canada, and continue developing throughout the year.
Historically, assembling enough players from a single city, league, or region to attend major tournaments has often been difficult. Talented athletes who wanted additional opportunities could be left on the sidelines simply because there were not enough players locally to form a complete team.
Maple Nation Inline helps remove that barrier.
By bringing athletes together from across Canada, geography no longer has to determine opportunity.
When an event provides a meaningful development and competition experience, Maple Nation Inline can draw from a national player community to build teams and give Canadian athletes the opportunity to compete together.
This is more than a tournament team.
Maple Nation Inline is a national community of players, families, coaches, officials, volunteers, leagues, and leaders working together to grow inline hockey in Canada while creating experiences athletes will remember for a lifetime.
PART OF THE CANADA INLINE PATHWAY
Maple Nation Inline operates under the Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline, Canada's national organization dedicated to the growth, development, governance, and advancement of inline hockey.
Within the Canada Inline umbrella, Maple Nation serves as a development and competition pathway, creating opportunities beyond regular local and provincial league play.
The broader pathway connects:
LOCAL & MEMBER LEAGUES → DEVELOPMENT → MAPLE NATION INLINE → HIGH-PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES → TEAM CANADA
Not every athlete participating in Maple Nation has the same goal, and they do not need to.
Some players want another tournament.
Some want to compete against stronger opposition.
Some want to travel and experience the game with players from across Canada.
Others may have aspirations of eventually pursuing opportunities within Canada's national high-performance pathway.
Maple Nation creates a place for those opportunities to begin and grow.
GOVERNANCE
Maple Nation Inline operates under the authority and governance of the Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline.
All participants are subject to applicable Canada Inline policies, participation agreements, insurance requirements, codes of conduct, disciplinary procedures, eligibility requirements, and playing rules.
Maple Nation Inline staff, coaches, volunteers, and administrators work within the Canada Inline structure to maintain consistent standards in:
- Athlete development
- Player safety
- Sportsmanship
- Coaching
- Program administration
- Competition
- Conduct
- National program development
This structure allows Maple Nation to provide expanded opportunities while remaining connected to the broader development of inline hockey throughout Canada.
OUR HISTORY
The roots of Maple Nation Inline reach back to 2018, when Canada Inline launched the first Pure Maple Men’s Pro Team at the NARCh Winternationals as a pilot project.
The success of that initiative demonstrated the potential of bringing athletes together from different parts of Canada to compete under one program.
In 2019, Pure Maple expanded significantly, sending multiple teams to the NARCh Finals in California. The response from players and families demonstrated that there was a strong appetite for national development and travel opportunities within Canadian inline hockey.
At the same time, True North continued creating opportunities for players, particularly throughout Western Canada, helping athletes access major tournaments and experience competition beyond their local leagues.
Both programs shared a similar purpose:
Create more opportunities for Canadian inline hockey players to play the game.
Today, those programs have come together under Maple Nation Inline, operating within the Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline.
Maple Nation combines the experience, relationships, history, and communities developed through Pure Maple and True North while opening the door to athletes from across the country.
The result is a stronger national platform capable of attending more events, building more teams, connecting more players, and creating a clearer pathway within Canadian inline hockey.
And we are only getting started.
ROSTER STRUCTURE
To help ensure athletes receive meaningful playing time and development opportunities, Maple Nation Inline generally follows the following roster guidelines:
TEAM MINIMUM
- 8 Players
- 1 Goaltender
TEAM MAXIMUM
- 12 Players
- 2 Goaltenders
Two-goaltender rosters will generally only be utilized when both goaltenders understand and agree to shared playing responsibilities.
Roster sizes may be adjusted when necessary based on tournament regulations, age divisions, competition formats, injuries, or exceptional circumstances.
PLAYER EVALUATION & TEAM SELECTION
SPRING & SUMMER EVENTS
Players interested in participating in Maple Nation Inline programs will be considered through our player assessment and roster selection process.
Player placement decisions may consider:
- Playing experience
- Skill level
- Positional requirements
- Team balance
- Competitive readiness
- Previous evaluations
- Coach feedback
- Overall roster needs
Where registration numbers support it, multiple teams may be formed within a single age division.
Players will be placed on the roster and competitive level that staff believe best supports the athlete, team, and overall competition experience.
Our goal is to create environments where athletes can contribute, compete, develop, and enjoy the experience.
WINTER EVENTS
For events such as NARCh Winternationals and State Wars Winter Wars, Maple Nation Inline may utilize a broader evaluation process incorporating information gathered throughout the year.
Player placement may include consideration of:
- Previous Maple Nation Inline participation
- Historical Pure Maple and True North evaluations
- Coach assessments
- Tournament performance
- Development progression
- Playing experience
- Positional requirements
- Team needs and roster balance
Rather than relying exclusively on a single tryout or evaluation session, Maple Nation Inline believes in taking a broader view of each athlete's development, experience, and potential contribution to a team.
TEAM FORMATION & PLAYER PLACEMENT
Many major inline hockey tournaments utilize tiered competition levels such as Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze to help teams compete against opponents of comparable ability.
Depending on registration numbers, tournament divisions, and player evaluations, Maple Nation Inline may form multiple teams within an age division.
Placement decisions may consider:
- Athlete development
- Team balance
- Positional requirements
- Competitive readiness
- Appropriate competition level
- Tournament opportunities
- Overall roster composition
Placement on a specific roster, team, or competitive level cannot be guaranteed.
Players accepting roster positions are expected to be prepared to compete with the team and at the level to which they are assigned.
Our objective is not simply to assemble teams.
Our objective is to build the right teams for the right opportunities.
COACHING PHILOSOPHY
Maple Nation Inline coaches are selected based on qualities including:
- Leadership
- Communication
- Coaching experience
- Commitment to athlete development
- Sportsmanship
- Accountability
- Knowledge of the game
- Dedication to growing inline hockey in Canada
Our coaching staff may include experienced inline hockey coaches, former athletes, current players, educators, mentors, and community leaders from across Canada.
We believe effective coaching is built on:
- Preparation
- Mentorship
- Accountability
- Communication
- Respect
- Athlete development
The role of a Maple Nation Inline coach extends beyond wins and losses.
Our coaches are expected to help athletes develop as players, teammates, competitors, and individuals while creating a positive environment that represents the standards of Canada Inline.
THE UNIFORM PROGRAM
Maple Nation Inline is committed to building and maintaining a recognizable national identity.
Players purchase a Maple Nation Inline uniform package designed to be used across multiple events and seasons whenever possible.
This approach helps:
- Reduce long-term costs for families
- Maintain consistent program branding
- Strengthen team identity
- Increase national recognition
- Build pride in representing Maple Nation
- Create consistency across teams and events
While uniform designs and suppliers may evolve periodically, unnecessary annual changes are avoided whenever possible.
When athletes arrive at an event from different provinces, cities, leagues, and backgrounds, they arrive as individuals.
When they put on Maple Nation, they become one team.
MORE THAN ONE TOURNAMENT
Maple Nation Inline is being developed as more than a once-a-year tournament program.
As opportunities become available, Canada Inline will continue evaluating events throughout Canada, the United States, and internationally that can provide meaningful competition and development experiences for Canadian athletes.
Potential programming may include:
- Major North American inline hockey tournaments
- NARCh events
- State Wars events
- Invitational tournaments
- Development events
- International competition opportunities
- Additional showcase and high-level competition opportunities
Participation will depend on athlete interest, available divisions, competition level, scheduling, team formation, and program viability.
The goal is simple:
More opportunities for Canadian players to play inline hockey.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Maple Nation Inline is one piece of a much larger vision for the sport.
Through the Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline, we are working to strengthen connections between grassroots leagues, player development, coaching, officiating, national competition opportunities, and Canada's high-performance programs.
Strong national programs begin with strong local programs.
Strong local programs grow when athletes have something exciting to work toward.
Maple Nation helps connect those pieces.
A young player can begin playing inline hockey in their community, discover a passion for the sport, participate in additional development opportunities, compete with Maple Nation, experience major tournaments, and continue pursuing whatever level of the game inspires them.
That is how a pathway becomes a sport system.
LOOKING AHEAD
We are incredibly excited about the future of Maple Nation Inline and the continued growth of inline hockey in Canada.
The coming together of Pure Maple and True North represents much more than combining two programs.
It represents a shared commitment to creating more opportunities for athletes, strengthening development pathways, supporting our member leagues, connecting Canada's inline hockey community, and building something sustainable from coast to coast.
Our mission is simple:
To help as many athletes as possible experience the game we love, compete at meaningful events, continue developing, build lifelong friendships, and create memories that last far beyond the final whistle.
Whether your goal is to challenge yourself against top competition, travel to premier inline hockey tournaments, pursue Canada's high-performance pathway, or simply experience more of this incredible game, there is a place to begin.
One sport. One national community. More opportunities.
MAPLE NATION INLINE 🍁
MORE OPPORTUNITIES. MORE DEVELOPMENT. MORE HOCKEY.
GO CANADA GO! 🍁🏒🇨🇦
CONTACT MAPLE NATION INLINE
For questions regarding Maple Nation Inline programs, upcoming events, player opportunities, or team formation:
Nick Ruigrok
Canadian Inline Hockey Federation – Canada Inline
Maple Nation Inline
nick.ruigrok@canadainline.ca
maplenation@canadainline.ca
403-827-6778
