If you’re looking to find out more information about FPHL tryouts and free agent camps, this post is for you.
We’ll not only cover that for you in this post…but we’ll also provide you with several additional resources and alternative options that may be helpful for you in your aim of finding a new team.
Let’s get into it...
FPHL Free Agent Camps
Leading up to each season, a good number of teams throughout the league hold off-season FPHL free agent camps for prospective players hoping to earn an invite to the team's main camp.
Below, we’ll provide a list per each team's free agent camps. Once the upcoming season's free agent camps (for 2025-2026) get posted, we’ll post and update them. Until then, you can view the most recent camps from this past season (2024-2025) to get a solid idea.
Disclaimer: we have relationships with a number of coaches/staff/players in the league, but we do not personally advocate for these free agent camps (more on this later in this article).
With that being said, it’s our intention to share the info regarding these camps with you based on what we would candidly want to know if we were a player sitting in your shoes today.
Athens Rock Lobsters
- Did not hold free agent camp
Baton Rouge Zydeco
Binghamton Black Bears
- Did not hold free agent camp
Blue Ridge Bobcats
Carolina Thunderbirds
- Did not hold free agent camp
Columbus River Dragons
- Did not hold free agent camp
Danbury Hat Tricks
- Did not hold free agent camp
Dashers Hockey
HC Venom
Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Did not hold free agent camp
Monroe Moccasins
Motor City Rockers
Port Huron Prowlers
Watertown Wolves
About FPHL Free Agent Camps
As you can see above, each free agent camp will vary slightly in terms of when it’s held, cost, hours of ice, schedule, number of player spots, etc, but for the most part…they’re all pretty similar format wise.
They’ll run a couple of days, you’ll get X number of hours on ice between practice/scrimmages, and a few teams (not all) will usually make some type of guarantee that a select number of attendees (ex: 1-2 minimum) will receive an invite to the team’s main camp.
These pay to attend free agent camps don’t automatically earn you a tryout with players currently on the team (ex: returning players).
They simply provide you with a place to earn a shot to do that.
The idea that you attend a camp, outperform every other hopeful there, and coaches drool over your skill might sound great in theory…but in practice, it’s not very realistic and most players end up heading home wondering what happened. This shouldn’t be a surprise.
Why?
Well first off, most clubs are not reliant on players from these camps to take up any roster spots. We know this based on firsthand conversations with a number of former and current FPHL coaches/players.
The bulk of rosters are made up of players with more playing experience. Even at the FPHL level, the majority of players who play in the league come from juniors, college (NCAA, higher end ACHA), or minor pro levels (ex: SPHL, etc).
Due to this fact alone, it unfortunately doesn’t leave much room for free agent camp hopefuls.
For the slim few who do squeeze through and get that potential invite to main camp, they’re often snipped too as soon as a more experienced players come in. This could be an SPHL player coming down a league, a recent college player, or a similar experienced player with more credibility on their hockey resume that takes that spot.
It’s important to keep this in mind when you’re deciding whether it’s worth your time or not to attend one of these camps.
Remember...you’re not only paying for the cost of these camps, but you’re likely paying much more for travel to/from (gas, flights), hotel accommodations, food/meals, and so on which is often much higher than the camp cost.
Another big reason it’s hard to go from free agent camp to a FPHL roster is due to supply and demand. Although the league is expanding with several new teams in recent years, so is the talent pool that aims to keep playing hockey at the next level after college/juniors/etc.
With more and more players coming out of these levels which has elevated the level of play across the league, it’s made it harder for walk-on’s to slot in.
There’s only so many teams and roster spots available. One of the best alternatives to the Fed is playing hockey in European leagues. Not only are there more leagues across the pond, but the lifestyle off the ice travel wise is world-class.
In closing, we share all of the above information with you not to dissuade you from giving it a go, but we hope that at minimum this post helps provide you with a candid perspective based on our team's many years of insights and knowing the ins/outs of it.
If you’re a player who believes you still have what it takes to keep playing at the next level, send us a message here letting us know why.
Until then, keep those skates sharp and those hockey dreams alive.
