The Tisdale Trojans gather after winning a game earlier this season. (Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Northeast Hockey

How does SHA’s latest announcement affect local AAA and AA teams?

Nov 14, 2019 | 1:02 PM

Things are looking to remain pretty much status quo for hockey teams in the northeast region after the Saskatchewan Hockey Associations (SHA) latest announcement.

The announcement made on Tuesday, Nov. 12 unveiled somewhat of a shuffling in the Midget AAA and AA ranks. Every team had to reapply for membership in the AAA and AA leagues, and the teams were then chosen based on their applications and the criteria set out by SHA. In AAA, the Tisdale Trojans kept their franchise. Head Coach Dennis Kubat said there’s always a bit of doubt with a situation like this, but he believed they checked all the boxes with flying colours.

“Until you actually get the news, there’s always that doubt,” Kubat told northeastNOW. “But overall I guess I was pretty confident with what our program has done in years past, and that’s thanks to everyone that’s been involved in previous years to make the program what it is.”

Tisdale is one of the more unique teams in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, being one of the smallest communities to boast a team, but they’ve also been a very successful franchise through their 30 plus years of existence. The Trojans have won four league championships, and also won an Air Canada Cup (now known as the Telus Cup) in 2002.

With new teams coming in Estevan and Warman, there could be some shuffling for the Trojans when it comes to players wanting to play close to home. In recent years, Tisdale has had a few players from the south including Weyburn and Estevan. Kubat said the new locations of teams could make recruiting a bit more difficult, but it won’t change how they recruit players.

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“It’s just based on selling your program,” he said. “And making it the best place to play AAA, no matter where the teams are.”

Kubat wouldn’t comment on Beardy’s and the Notre Dame Argos leaving the league, but he expects that the clubs replacing them in Warman and Estevan should be in very good shape, and have great facilities to hold AAA teams.

On the AA side, things are remaining pretty much the same. With Beardy’s no longer having their AA team, a new team was added, that being in Shellbrook. For the AA team in the region that goes by Northeast, that new team will have a bit of an effect on them.

In previous years, Northeast has had players from La Ronge and the northern part of the province come to play for them. That will change now with Shellbrook being closer to a lot of those northern communities. The SHA announcement also forced AA teams in the province to have a AAA team in their centre, and vice versa. With Northeast previously being based in Melfort, they will now be moved to Tisdale, but the team will still play and practice out of Melfort, Nipawin, and Tisdale. Head Coach Darren Opp said the switch to Tisdale will affect their draw a little bit, but he doesn’t expect it to be massive.

He added that their relationship with Tisdale will remain strong, and it could even open some more opportunities for affiliates with the Northeast club.

“If it helps (the Trojans), awesome, it definitely doesn’t change anything for the Northeast team,” Opp said. “The guys who have the ability to play AAA are going to get an opportunity to AP anyways.”

Another aspect of the announcement that could affect AA, and the Northeast team is the fact that the Notre Dame Argos are no longer in the AAA league. With Notre Dame being a prep school, they are able to recruit from outside Saskatchewan. For the 2019/2020 season, there is less than 10 Saskatchewan born players on the Argos. This means that next season, a handful more of local players will get their shot at AAA, something that Opp said will affect the AA league, but overall, it’s positive.

“Obviously that AA league is, for the most part, trying to get the kids to AAA,” he said. “So if there’s a few more of those kids every year that get that opportunity possibly without having to play a year (of AA), or maybe one year not two years getting an extra shot to play AAA in our province, that’s fantastic.”

Opp reiterated the fact that the Northeast midget AA team remains Melfort, Tisdale, and Nipawin oriented and they will continue to be.

Humboldt also kept their AA club as part of the announcement.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6