Click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter
The SJHL draft will be streamed live on the SJHL website, YouTube, and social media platforms. (Image Credit: sjhl.ca)
SJHL DRAFT

SJHL draft to be held on June 9

May 19, 2026 | 12:24 PM

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) has announced that the 11th annual draft will be held on June 9 at 1 p.m. 

The draft will involve two rounds of 2011-born player selections, and six rounds of 2010-born players. 

Teams will be able to protect two or three local U-15 ages players, forbidding other teams from selecting them. If a team protects three local players, they would lose one of their two 2011-born draft picks. 

Starting this season, the regulations for protected players have expanded to players residing immediately outside their SJHL community on an acreage or farm within the trading area of that location.

Players in those areas must have been registered in that community’s school for most of their education, or the community’s minor hockey system for most of their minor hockey careers. 

To be eligible for the draft, players must be Saskatchewan residents, previously undrafted, and not protected by their local teams. 

“The SJHL draft is an integral part of keeping the ‘S’ in the SJHL,” said league commissioner Kyle McIntyre in a league media release. 

McIntyre mentioned that the “stay here, play here” program is to open more opportunities for Saskatchewan players to remain in Saskatchewan, noting that players wouldn’t have to go too far from home, and players’ families can watch their development. 

Teams will need to submit their list of protected players to the league by May 26, and every non-protected player will be eligible for the draft. 

The draft will be held at the IKS Media studio in Regina, and will be live streamed on SJHL.ca, SJHL’s YouTube channel, as well as the league’s social media platforms.

The La Ronge Ice Wolves, with returning general manager Bob Beatty, will have the first overall pick in the draft. The remaining order will be released in the days leading up to the draft.

— 

Ryan.Lambert@pattisonemedia.com