A few things concern me about this league going forward:
What happens when the Kings drop the financial support after next season? $3K per year becomes $4? maybe $5? The Kings are currently covering equipment (jerseys, helmets, matching pants) probably refs, Black Dog TV coverage and who knows what rate they have bargained for for ice time.
Will teams need to cut some corners to make it affordable? How will the teams look with tattered, used jerseys or cheap ones. With no video coverage will there be any more highlights? Will a more expensive league draw more teams? At 10 teams now, I don't see many more starting up.
The age difference from a Freshman to a Senior seems problematic. I see too great of a size/ability level on the ice and it seems dangerous. I like the idea of the JV division but the level there is even more uneven and it must be frustrating to have so few teams.
Lastly, I don't see the level of play rising overall. The bottom teams are better thanks to improved goaltending but the top teams are getting sloppy and too dominated by individual play. Even games between the league leaders feature poor passing and players falling without contact regularly. I'm not sure that tracking and giving out individual awards at the end of the season is a great idea. Players grabbing 6 to 8 points a game in blowouts against the lower teams while teammates get 0 doesn't make the league better.
All in all, I applaud the Kings for the effort and the league is fun to take part in. But it will be a struggle to attract top players and become a talent level league that moves players on to upper levels with it's current state of affairs.