Gabriel Delage, Jean-Baptiste Bertrand, Véronique Boudreault

The transition from the junior to the senior level of competition is one that involves complex demands that may contribute to mental health outcomes among athlete populations. In a world where our mental health concerns rise, ice hockey establishes itself as a sport with a culture based on mental and physical toughness, which could impact athlete’s psychological safety and well-being, especially during transition periods. This qualitative study will explore the transition of Québec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) players into the league, by interviewing them about their first year and the adaptation to their new reality. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) will be conducted to address three research questions : 1) What demands do first-year players have to face?; 2) What environmental facilitators and barriers do QMJHL players encounter during their integration into the structure of the team they join?; 3) What resources and coping strategies do they use during this transition to the new team? To do so, and in accordance with Turpin and colleagues’ (1997) recommendations, six to eight ice hockey players in their second or third year in the QMJHL will undergo semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 75 minutes. Then, an IPA will be used to analyze the data, allowing an in-depth description and interpretation of the transition experiences of QMJHL players. This proposed study will offer an understanding of the influence of sport environments on the mental health of ice hockey players, addressing a need identified by Hockey Canada.