The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A'

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

league operating in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

and one of nine member leagues of the

Canadian Junior Hockey League The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champi ...

. Open to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n-born players 20 years of age or younger, the SJHL's 12 teams play in three divisions: the Nutrien, Sherwood and Viterra Divisions. A major attraction in Saskatchewan, the SJHL draws 400,000 fans each season. The winner of the SJHL playoffs is crowned the provincial Junior A champion and continues on to play in the

ANAVET Cup The ANAVET Cup was an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Canadian Junior Hockey League to the winners of a best-of-seven series between the championship teams of the SJHL and the MJHL. The winner also earned a berth in the Centennial Cup national ...

against the Manitoba provincial champion (winner of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

playoffs) for the right to represent the Western region at the

Centennial Cup The Centennial Cup is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by Hockey Canada and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), which determines the national champion of Junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey. It consists of a ten-team ...

, the national Junior A championship.

History

The current version of the SJHL was preceded by a separate league with the same name that operated from 1948 to 1966. The modern SJHL was formed in July 1968 as a result of the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921–22 WCHL season, 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. ...

(WCHL) splitting away from the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

(CAHA) and affiliating with the rival Canadian Hockey Association led by

Ron Butlin Ron Butlin (born 1949 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish poet and novelist who was Edinburgh Makar (Poet Laureate) from 2008 to 2014. Education Butlin was educated at the University of Edinburgh. He later became writer in residence in 1982 and 1984 a ...

. CAHA president Lloyd Pollock arranged meetings across Western Canada to outline the CAHA's development plan for teams which had remained within the CAHA. Later that month, he approved a series of exhibition games for teams in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

to play the

Regina Pats The Regina Pats are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1917, the Pats are the world's oldest continuously operating major junior hockey franchise in its original location and using its original name. The ...

and

Weyburn Red Wings The Weyburn Red Wings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Weyburn, Saskatchewan playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Crescent Point Place, which has a seating capacity of 1,750. ...

, after Regina and Weyburn had asked for assistance in forming a new Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Pollock also laid out plans to make player transfers easier between provinces to support the Saskatchewan teams. The league was originally known as the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League until 1973. They re-adopted the "Amateur" in their name in 1980 and carried it until the 1987–88 season, when they dropped the "Amateur" again. They were one of the original Tier II Junior A leagues in the realignment of 1970. Their first two seasons they were eligible for the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

Humboldt Broncos bus crash

On April 6, 2018 the

Humboldt Broncos The Humboldt Broncos are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team from Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Established in 1970, the Broncos play in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Broncos have won the SJHL ten times (1972, 1973, 1986, 1987, 1989, 2 ...

team bus suffered a fatal crash on their way to the team's semi-final playoff game against the

Nipawin Hawks The Nipawin Hawks are a Canadian junior "A" team based in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. They are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). They play their home games at the Centennial Arena, which has a seating capacity of 1,500. The t ...

. Ten players, two coaches, an athletic therapist, two employees of a local radio station, and the bus driver were killed in the collision. The remaining passengers were injured, some critically. The SJHL playoffs were postponed as a result (the Hawks were leading the series 3–1). The league, at the request of the Broncos, resumed the playoffs on April 15, with the Hawks advancing to the finals to meet the waiting

Estevan Bruins The Estevan Bruins are a junior ice hockey team playing in the Junior "A" Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The team is based in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, and plays at Affinity Place. They were founded in 1971, when a previous fran ...

. SJHL President Bill Chow called the incident the league's "worst nightmare". In the wake of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, TSN aired a national broadcast of the Bronco's 2018–19 home opener, the team's first regular season game following the tragedy.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On March 13, 2020, pursuant to the suspension of all sanctioned activity by

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

and the CJHL due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the remainder of the

2019–20 SJHL season The 2019–20 SJHL season was the 52nd season of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Battlefords North Stars finished the regular season in first place overall. Seven teams were still in contention for the Canalta Cup when the post-se ...

and all associated championships were suspended until further notice. The league championship was not awarded. The league resumed play for a 2020–21 season in November 2020, with the

Saskatchewan Health Authority The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is the single health region of the province of Saskatchewan. Established on December 4, 2017, it amalgamated the province's 12 former regional health authorities into one unified organization. The SHA is re ...

(SHA) allowing for limited in-person attendance (150 spectators). However, the Flin Flon Bombers were forced to suspend operations on November 12, 2020 until at least the new year, after

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

issued a "Code Red" circuit breaker that ordered the closure of non-essential businesses and recreational facilities. The team considered the possibility of conducting all hockey operations out of nearby

Creighton, Saskatchewan Creighton is a northern town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, named after Thomas Creighton (prospector), Thomas Creighton. It had a 2016 census population of 1,402 inhabitants, down 0.3% from 1,498 inhabitants in 2011. This town lies be ...

, but were unable to reach agreements with the SHA and

Manitoba Health Manitoba Health, Seniors and Long–Term Care (formerly Health, and Seniors Care, MHSC; also known as Manitoba Health) is the department of the Government of Manitoba that is responsible for leading the development of policy and publicly administ ...

that would allow them to resume operations. In turn, the SJHL was forced to suspend play on November 27, as Saskatchewan ordered the suspension of all group and team sports activities. In February 2021, the league submitted a return-to-play proposal to the Saskatchewan government that would have involved as many as three hub cities. Despite other provinces such as Alberta having allowed their Junior A leagues to continue, Saskatchewan continued to maintain its prohibitions on sport. The SJHL and its teams have faced growing financial issues due to cancelled games and other events, prompting the provincial government to provide a $1 million relief package to be divided between its teams. On March 23, 2021, the SJHL announced that its return-to-play proposal had been rejected, citing concerns surrounding the current state of the pandemic in Saskatchewan. The SJHL therefore announced that the 2020–21 season had been cancelled and will not be resumed. The league championship was not awarded for the second season in a row.

Media

In January 2019, the league announced a broadcasting deal with

SaskTel Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corporation, operating as SaskTel, is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, crown-owned telecommunications firm based in the province of Saskatchewan. Owned by the provinci ...

, under which a game will be carried on its television service per-month for the remainder of the season, as well as coverage of the league final.

Teams

The SJHL fields twelve teams, eleven in Saskatchewan and one in

Flin Flon, Manitoba Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within ...

, a community on the border between the provinces. The

Bobcats The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus ''Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the con ...

based in

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administra ...

, Saskatchewan (on the Saskatchewan–Alberta border) elect to play in the

Alberta Junior Hockey League The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) is an Alberta-based Junior A ice hockey league that belongs to the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). It was formed as a five-team league in 1964. The 2023–24 season began with 16 teams, however 5 ...

. In 2025, the

Notre Dame Hounds The Notre Dame Hounds were a Canadian Junior A ice hockey team based in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. The team was affiliated with Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a private boarding school established in 1920 and later renamed after Athol Murray, ...

franchise relocated to Warman and was rebranded as the Warman Wolverines.

Former

League champions

As of

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, the championship team is awarded the Canterra Seeds Cup following a post-season playoff tournament. As of

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, SJHL championship team advances directly to the Junior A national championship. Prior to

, the SJHL champions competed with the

MJHL The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

champions for the

with the winner advancing to represent the region at the national competition. In 2022,

moved to a 10-team format for the

, including the champions from each of the 9 leagues that make up the CJHL, and the host team, thus eliminating intervening regional contests for the

, the

Fred Page Cup The Fred Page Cup was a championship ice hockey trophy, won by a tournament conducted by the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The award was given to the winner of a round-robin and playoff between the Bogart Cup champions of the Central Canada ...

and the

Doyle Cup The Doyle Cup was an ice hockey trophy won through a best-of-7 series conducted annually by the Canadian Junior Hockey League to determine the Pacific region berth in the Centennial Cup, the national Junior A championship. From 1971 to 2021, th ...

Timeline of teams in the SJHL

*1968 – Current version of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is founded *1968 – Moose Jaw Canucks, Weyburn Red Wings and Regina Pats rejoin league from WCJHL *1970 – Regina Pat Blues replace Regina Pats who join WCHL *1970 – Melville Millionaires rejoin league *1970 – Humboldt Broncos join league *1970 – Notre Dame Hounds join league *1971 – Estevan Bruins rejoin league *1971 – Prince Albert Raiders join league *1972 – Yorkton Terriers join league *1973 – Battleford Barons join league *1974 – Swift Current Broncos join league *1976 – Notre Dame Hounds leave league *1982 – Prince Albert Raiders leave league to join Western Hockey League *1982 – Lloydminster Lancers join league *1982 – Regina Pat Blues and Saskatoon J's fold *1983 – Swift Current Broncos become Swift Current Indians *1983 – Battleford Barons become North Battleford Stars *1984 – Moose Jaw Canucks fold to make way for the Western Hockey League franchise Moose Jaw Warriors *1984 – Flin Flon Bombers rejoin league as Creighton Bombers *1986 – Swift Current Indians fold to make way for the Western Hockey League franchise Swift Current Broncos *1986 – Creighton Bombers become the Flin Flon Bombers *1986 – Nipawin Hawks join league *1987 – Notre Dame Hounds rejoin league *1987 – Minot Americans join league *1988 – Lloydminster Lancers leave league to join

and become the Lloydminster Blazers *1988 – Melfort Mustangs join league *1991 – Saskatoon Titans join league *1993 – Saskatoon Titans relocate to Kindersley and become the Kindersley Klippers *1993 – Lebret Eagles join league *1994 – Minot Americans become Minot Top Guns *1997 – Minot Top Guns relocate to Beardy's 97 aboriginal reserve and become Beardy's Rage *1998 – Beardy's Rage relocate to Saskatoon and become Saskatoon Rage *1998 – La Ronge Ice Wolves join league *1999 – Saskatoon Rage fold *2001 – Lebret Eagles fold *2025 - Notre Dame Hounds relocate to Warman and become the Warman Wolverines

References

Additional reading

* * * *

External links

*
SJHL Forum
{{Junior Hockey Canadian Junior Hockey League members A Saskatchewan Hockey Saskatchewan