Atlanta Knights Junior Hockey Club
Encyclopedia
The Atlanta Knights Junior Hockey Club are a USA Hockey
USA Hockey
USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...

 Sanctioned Tier III Junior Franchise, with a stated mission to advance players to be recruited and play for Varsity Collegiate Hockey Programs at the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division I and III level.

The Atlanta Knights Junior Hockey Club provides unique opportunities for advanced players to improve and showcase their individual and team skills. These opportunities are provided through a professional hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

 organization, experienced coaching, and a schedule of highly competitive league games and participation in league and national Junior showcases.

Based in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, The Atlanta Knights Field Two Junior Hockey Franchises, providing players between the ages of 15 and 20 the full range of opportunities to achieve their career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....

 goals and to reach their potential. The Atlanta Knights maintain relationships with more than 30 NCAA Collegiate teams, affiliations with numerous Junior Hockey Franchises, and AAA / AA Youth hockey programs to provide each player and family a comprehensive method to promote talent and provide players pathways to achieve their goal athletic and academic goals.

The Knights field two Junior Hockey teams:

Atlanta Knights Junior Elite Team

The Atlanta Knights Junior Elite team is a member of the EJHL South, and affiliate of the prestigious Eastern Junior Hockey League, and plays a schedule of more than 50 games, with half the season played against EJHL South teams and the remainder of the schedule played against EJHL and other Junior A teams in a series of EJHL Showcase events.

Atlanta Knights Junior Select Team


The Atlanta Knights Junior Select team participates in the Empire Junior Hockey League or Empire, with a 36 game league schedule and the remainder of the schedule comprising roughly 20 games against prominent Junior teams through a series of National Showcase events, generally hosted by the Empire Junior Hockey League
Empire Junior Hockey League
The Empire Junior Hockey League is an American Tier III Junior B ice hockey league. The EmJHL is a member of USA Hockey. It is primarily a feeder to the Eastern Junior Hockey League, a Junior A league....

 (B).

History

The Atlanta Knights Hockey Club is owned by the Atlanta Knights Hockey Foundation, with the principal benefactors being the Falkenstein Family Foundation. The franchise was established in 2006 and commenced operations in the 2007-2008 season. In the first season of operations, the Knights captured the SEJHL Season Championships and progressed to the semi-final game of the USAH Junior National Championship. In the first season play, the Knights posted a 35-6-1 record against all competition. The Knights practice and play out of Knights Arena at the Marietta Ice Center
Marietta Ice Center
The Marietta Ice Center is the oldest ice skating rink in metro Atlanta, Georgia.Located in the suburban city of Marietta, Georgia it contains two sheets of ice, a larger rink that is regulation hockey sized, and a smaller rink that is more suitable for open skate.- History :Constructed in the...

, the original practice facility for the Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...

 franchise and original Atlanta Knights IHL franchise. The ice facility is also owned by the Falkenstein Family Foundation.

In 2008-2009, the Knights were admitted to the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League
Metropolitan Junior Hockey League
The Metropolitan Junior Hockey League is an American Tier III Junior ice hockey league with 20 teams throughout the eastern seaboard of the United States. The MJHL is part of the Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League organization. It's "big sister" the AJHL is also a Tier III, Junior league...

 (MJHL)that is located primarily in the northeastern US. The MJHL is the oldest junior hockey league in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and competes at the Tier III, Junior B level on a national basis. In 2008-2009, the MJHL Knights (Elites) finished second in the MJHL South and posted a 41-8-3 record. In 2008-2009, the Atlanta Knights Selects (SEJHL) won their second consecutive SEJHL Season Championships and progressed to the finals of the USAH National Championship losing to the National Champion Chicago Huskies of the GLJHL. in 2008-2009, the Knights Selects posted a 34-1-0 record, with the only loss occurring in the National Championship game.

In 2009-2010, The Atlanta Knights Elites of the MJHL were Met South Division winners, overall regular season champions of the MJHL, and Keegan Cup champions. At the USAH Junior National Championships, the Knights lost in overtime to New York Applecore and finished as USAH Junior National Championship Runner-up. The loss in the national championship game marked the only loss of the season for the Knights at their level. The Knights Elites are invited participants in a series of EJHL Junior A Showcases, where they compete against teams for the EJHL, OPJHL, NOJHL, and Prep Junior A programs.

In 2009-2010, the Atlanta Knights Selects claimed their third consecutive SEJHL championship, with a 28-0-0-1 record. The Knights then qualified for the USAH Junior National Championships and then went on to win the USAH Junior National Championship with a 4-1 victory of Suffolk Juniors of the CHA. The USAH championship marked the first ever for a team from the deep south and also the first time in USAH Junior history that two teams from the same organization competed in National Championship games in the same year and at the same event. The Knights Selects are invited participants in a series of Empire League showcases, where they compete against junior B teams from the Empire, Canada, the CHA, and the MJHL.

Affiliations and Player Advancement

The Atlanta Knights are currently affiliated with a number of organizations. At the program level, the Knights partners with the Eastern Junior Hockey League, as the Knights Elites are under the full administration and control of the EJHL, including all player development and promotion initiatives. The Knights maintain direct affiliations, player placement, and scouting relationships with several USHL teams (Tier I, Junior A, and the Michigan Warriors, Topeka Roadrunners, Motor City Metal Jackets of the NAHL
North American Hockey League
The North American Hockey League is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is enterting its 36th season in 2011-12. It is currently the only Junior A Tier II league, sanctioned by USA Hockey. The NAHL currently acts as an alternative to the United States Hockey League...

 (Tier II, Junior A) and a number of Canadian and US based Junior A franchises.

On the collegiate front, the Knights maintain relationships with more than 30 NCAA Division I, II and III programs, and more than 20 direct relationships with ACHA
American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association is the national governing body of non-varsity college ice hockey in the U.S. The organization provides structure, regulations, promotes the quality of play, sponsors National Awards and National Tournaments....

Division I, II and III programs. in 2009, 8 Knight's players received NCAA offers with 9 moving on to play ACHA Collegiate hockey. In 2010, the Knights placed another 21 players in collegiate programs, raising the total of collegiate player placement since 2009 to 33 players, the highest of any Tier III junior team outside of the EJHL and several teams in the AJHL.
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