Muskegon, Youngstown to stay in USHL through 2025-26 season

The junior hockey landscape in the United States is going to hold firm…for now.

On Monday, the United States Hockey League, the highest form of junior hockey south of the Canadian border, announced that all 16 active franchises have signed their declaration to participate in the 2025-26 season.

That means the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms, two teams that have attempted to move to the Ontario Hockey League, will stay in the Tier I junior league for at least another season.

The OHL approved the attempted transfer of Muskegon and Youngstown, but USA Hockey denied the request. That has led both franchises to hire antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler to help advise them through the process as they continue to pursue a move to one of the Canadian Hockey League’s three leagues.

This vast movement by both teams comes after the NCAA’s decision this past November to allow CHL players to retain collegiate eligibility in the U.S. It has led to many current major junior players committing to D-I schools in America, also giving many youth hockey players the option to play in Canada, rather than join the leagues in the United States.

Despite the growing shift in elite hockey development and the attempted move by two of its teams, the USHL president and commissioner Glenn Hefferan states the league is still one of the top routes for players to grow in order to climb the hockey ranks.

“Our league provides the resources, structure, and competition necessary to develop the next generation of NHL stars,” Hefferan said in a release.  “This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to being the preeminent leader in the hockey world.”

Outside of the U.S. National Team Development Program, the Phantoms and Lumberjacks are the most eastern teams competing in the USHL today, making travel to most games, outside of facing the Chicago Steel, a little bit of a hike. If the teams were granted into the OHL, they would most likely be placed in the West Division, allowing them to have quick trips to face the likes of the Saginaw Spirit, Flint Firebirds, Windsor Spitfires and Sarnia Sting.