(Graphic courtesy/SJHL)

By Ben Tompkins

Rivalries Renewed

SJHL holds AGM in Nipawin, division games return to eight apiece

Jun 13, 2024 | 12:00 PM

One of the biggest changes that could be coming to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is video review to help officals make more accurate calls more quickly.

The decision was made at the League’s AGM in Nipawin, where the strategic plan and changes to league rules and discipline were on the agenda.

According to the league, “they believe they need to continue to evolve to remain relevant in the 21st Century junior hockey landscape and are actively searching for ways to improve the experience of their players.”

A change that was confirmed, however, is the return of a division-heavy schedule.

Last season, divisional rivals only played each other six times, but now they will go back to playing one another eight times a year. They will then face off against every other club just four times.

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Training camps will open Sept. 5 and the regular season will kick off on Sept. 20. The regular season will once again be 56 games long.

Playoffs will start on Mar. 21, with the Melfort Mustangs hoping to defend as Canterra Seeds Cup champions.

Over 260,000 fans attended an SJHL game this past season, while over 30 per cent of players were from Saskatchewan, with an average age of 18.8.

“Our board of governors developed strategic plans in Hockey Operations, Business Operations and in Marketing and social media. I am very pleased to say that we continue to be on track and our league made significant gains on the provincial and national level, but recognize that there is always work to be done to continue to remain competitive and to continue to make our league premier,” said Chairman Kyle Adamson.

“This past year we wanted to further engage our fans in our communities and throughout our province with our SJHL social media and league programming. I believe we were highly successful with each seeing significant gains in the areas of attendance, social media followership and SaskTel and FloHockey viewership. With a strong commitment to our league sponsors and to our partners at Hockey Saskatchewan, we are committed to putting the “Saskatchewan” back into the SJHL,” Commissioner McIntyre added.

The league is exactly 100 days away from puck drop.

The AGM brought together league governors, sponsors, coaches and SJHL staff, including updates from the SJHL Department of Player Safety Brad Howard, the SJHL Director of Marketing Jacob Faith, and a ‘State of the Union’ from Commissioner Kyle McIntyre.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

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