The Vermont Lumberjacks are a

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

-sanctioned Tier III Junior A

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

organization from

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status under Junior A guidelines and hope to earn a spot on higher levels of junior hockey in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Canadian Major Junior, Collegiate, and eventually

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

teams.

History

In 2003, the Washington Jr. Nationals from

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, became a charter member of the new Tier III Junior A

Atlantic Junior Hockey League The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

(AJHL). They originally played at the Bowie Ice Arena in Bowie, Maryland, from 2003 to 2005 before moving splitting time with The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Maryland, in 2006. With the opening of the new

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

practice facility at the 1,200-seat

Kettler Capitals Iceplex MedStar Capitals Iceplex is the practice arena of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. The highest ice rink above street-level in the United States, it is located on the eighth floor atop the parking garage adjoining the Ballston ...

, the Jr. Nationals moved across the Potomac River, splitting time between The Gardens Ice House and their new venue in 2006–07 until becoming full-time tenants in Arlington for the 2007–08 season. The team moved back to The Gardens Ice House in 2010. The team also played single games at the Ashburn Ice House in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 season as a way to reach out to area youth hockey organizations. In 2013, Tier III junior hockey went through a large reorganization that led to the dissolution of the

Eastern Junior Hockey League The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for th ...

(EJHL) and six former EJHL teams joining the AJHL. The AJHL was then re-branded as the Eastern Hockey League (EHL). Following the 2013–14 season, the Jr. Nationals were relocated to Burlington, Vermont, and renamed the Vermont Lumberjacks, bringing junior hockey back to the state of Vermont two years after the

Green Mountain Glades The Green Mountain Glades is a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team in the Eastern Junior Hockey League's North Division from 2000-2017. Overview The team played its home games at Cairns Arena, a 600-seat arena in the suburb of South Burlington, Ve ...

departed following the 2011–12 season. In 2015, the EHL added a lower level Tier III division (formerly called Tier III Junior B by USA Hockey) called the EHL-Elite Division. This led to the current EHL teams to be placed in the EHL-Premier Division and the Lumberjacks moving their Junior B team from the

Metropolitan Junior Hockey League The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League was an American Tier III Junior ice hockey league with teams throughout the eastern United States. The MJHL was part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League organization. Founded in 1966 by New York Rang ...

to the Elite Division. In 2017, the EHL re-branded its divisions, dropping the Premier name from their top division and renamed the Elite Division to Premier. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Lumberjacks relocated halfway through the 2020–21 season to have home games at Waterville Valley Ice Arena in

Waterville Valley, New Hampshire Waterville Valley is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 508 at the 2020 census, up from 247 at the 2010 census. Waterville Valley attracts many visitors in the winter months with alpine skiing at Watervill ...

, as the Lumberjacks Hockey Club.

Season-by-season records

Alumni

The Jr. Nationals/Lumberjacks have produced a number of alumni playing in higher levels of

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I,

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

, ACHA

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

and

programs. * David Bondra – Played with

HK Poprad HK Poprad is a professional ice hockey team in the Slovak Extraliga, the top ice hockey league in Slovakia. It plays its games in Poprad, Slovakia. The squad's greatest success was 2nd place in the Slovak Extraliga in 2006, 2011 and 2021. The club ...

of the

Slovak Extraliga The Tipos Extraliga (Slovak Extraliga) is the highest-level ice hockey league in Slovakia. From the 2018–19 season to the 2020–21 season, the league included one or two teams from Hungary. In 2009, it was ranked by the IIHF as the fifth stro ...

. * Nikita Kashirsky – Played with the

HC Spartak Moscow HC Spartak Moscow (russian: ХК Спартак Москва, en, Spartak Moskva) is a professional ice hockey team based in Moscow, Russia. They played in the Tarasov Division of the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2013–14 KHL season, 20 ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

. *

Jarred Tinordi Jarred Michael Tinordi (born February 20, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 22nd overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. ...

(

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, 1st round draft pick) – Has played in the NHL with the Canadiens and

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. Currently under contract with the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

References

External links

Official Lumberjacks web site

Official League Website
{{Burlington, Vermont Ice hockey teams in Vermont Sports clubs and teams in Burlington, Vermont Junior ice hockey teams in the United States 2014 establishments in Vermont