It’s hard to predict the outcome of any SJHL season, like any junior hockey league where players only spend a few years at most. This season will be the toughest of all - with almost no 2020-21 season to speak of anywhere in Manitoba or Saskatchewan, team and player performance is almost impossible to benchmark. Let’s give a shot anyway.
Estevan on top
The only easy prediction to make this season is that the Estevan Bruins are going to start the year as the team to beat. The Bruins will be hosting this year’s national junior A championship, the Centennial Cup. The Bruins have loaded up for bear, snagging every top recruit and target they can - a trend they’ll likely continue up until the January roster deadline.
The biggest recruit for this season is Boston Bilous, a four-year WHL goalie from B.C. who has headed to the Bruins for his last year of junior hockey. Bilous is one of several ex-major junior players to jump ship for Estevan - Mark Rumsey, Olivier Pouliot, Eric Houk, Nolan Jones and Billy Sowa have all done the same.
There’s no shortage of others who could be “the guy” in Estevan though - take Manitoba forwards Griffin Asham-Moroz or Mikol Sartor for instance. Sartor has two aces up his sleeve - an impressive junior A resume, including a 2019-20 season in the MJHL where he cleared 90 points with ease, and a full season played in the U.S. last year. Sartor has a high ceiling and could be the difference-maker for Estevan.
Estevan’s most valuable point is on the bench - Jason Tatarnic, the team’s head coach and general manager. Tatarnic brings with him success at every level he’s coached at and it’s hard to think of anyone better suited to building a junior A juggernaut. If this team comes through town, make time to watch.
The presence of a team like Estevan means changes for the other 11 teams this season - some may be geared for next season, while others could load up and fight the Bruins hard. For some SJHL teams, this season is a write-off - for others, it will be an arms race.
Sherwood teams
While none of the Sherwood division teams are considered favoured to finish first right now, don’t ever count out any of the four - Flin Flon, Melfort, Nipawin and La Ronge. Each franchise and the people behind them have proven capable of surprises, no matter how they may look on paper.
Flin Flon comes into the season with a healthy mix of new guys and veterans. A healthy stack of 2001-born players includes defender Cole Vardy, goalie Cal Schell and forwards Mason Kaspick, persistent pest Matt Raymond and new faces Gabe Shipper and Brett Wieschorster. The defence is built on a returning crew of 2002-born players, most of whom come to Flin Flon with accolades from the U18 AAA ranks, like top scorer Cole Duperreault, sniper Mackenzie Carson, puckstopper Jared Thompson and all-around threat Jaeden Mercier. If Ethan McColm comes back north after Saskatoon Blades camp, this Bombers team could be a season-long danger for the other 11 teams.
Head coach and general manager Mike Reagan wants to compete with Estevan and with the crew he's built, he just might.
La Ronge, formerly a divisional and league doormat, saw new life pre-COVID-19. Since they last played, Kevin Kaminski has a new crop of players and some questions.
There are definitely holes in the wolf pack, namely at defence. The absences of players like Logan Holm, Tristan Lambert and NHL draft pick Nolan Allan will hurt the Ice Wolves and several of the team’s secondary defencemen leaving for NCAA Division III programs won’t help - the defence will need to almost be rebuilt from scratch.
This year’s Ice Wolves will rely on big leaps forward from their experienced players, particularly forwards Brandon Della Paolera, Nolan Doell and Aaron Greyeyes. Holden Knights could be useful too, on the rare occasion when he’s not taking bad penalties.
Xavier Cannon was a capable goalie pre-pandemic and is eligible to return this season, but he may not have come north. Without Cannon, the crease will belong - tentatively - to Alex Bell, a local boy with no SJHL experience under his belt.
The Melfort Mustangs will boast not one, not two, but possibly three good SJHL calibre goalies, returning both Steven Bacovsky and Joel Favreau while bringing in Albertan Vaughn Holbeche.
Several core players will also return. Want experienced forwards? The Mustangs got ‘em - Ben Tkachuk, Marco Lopez, Carter Anderson and Seth McCulloch are all vets. Want veteran leadership on the backend? Enter Lucas Ochitwa - he may be the team’s only 2001-born defenceman, but he’s surrounded by a capable group of 2002s. Want guys from other leagues? Trenton Curtis, Hayden Leroux and Hayden Tuba, who have all played in Alberta and B.C. Melfort looks well-built on paper and should compete for a top-four spot in the league.
Nipawin is always built on defence and goaltending first and foremost and there’s no shortage of battle-hardened blueliners there, including Cole Beamin, Mkyllan Couture, Kyler Opp and Kersey Reich - all four are 2001-born players. The big question mark is in net. Former standout goalie Ross Hawryluk is off to Western Michigan Univ., meaning the crease is open. The team’s top returning scorer from 2019-20, Andrew Schaab, had only 13 points in the league’s last full season and as many as eight rookies could see ice time up front for Nipawin. Expect low scoring, defensive hockey when the Hawks come to town.
Battlefords
This season will be a litmus test year for the Battlefords North Stars. SJHL fans know Brayden Klimosko is a good coach - now it’s time to see how he is at recruiting.
The cupboard from 2019-20 is bare for the Stars, with only five returnees from the team's league-leading last season - Carson Reagan, Ryland McNinch, Dylan Esau, Steven Kesslering and Owen Lugowski, most of whom saw little ice time.
There are possibly two dynamic forwards in Holden Doell and Jake Southgate, who have shown great chemistry in preseason. The two have been grouped with McNinch, what could possibly be team’s first line this year and two-thirds of it next year. Reagan and Esau could provide depth, but the rest of the team is unknown. The defence is completely turned over from 2019-20 and the Stars’ starting netminder will either be Cam Beson or Ulrik Roussel, who have a combined 34 minutes of SJHL experience as of opening night puck-drop.
One of Battlefords' biggest new assets this year will be on the bench - Garry Childerhose, former assistant coach for the Bombers, will be the team's new assistant coach and Klimosko's partner in crime. Any junior A team would become better with Childerhose on the bench, especially considering that he now has a chance to help coach his hometown team.
Humboldt
The 2020-21 season being wiped out probably hurt Humboldt more than any other SJHL team. Their 2019-20 roster was stacked with 2000- and 2001-born players who would have matured right in time for a championship run last season - a championship run, of course, that never was. Most of those players are now gone, either aged out or, like star rookie Karter McNarland, Tristan Shewchuk and Stephane Huard, off chasing scholarships in better leagues.
When last we left Humboldt, it was in Game 4 of the 2020 playoffs, which ended with a sweep. This year's team is much different than that year, with a new assortment of veterans and young talent now in Bronco green and yellow. There's been turnover, but the new guys are not slouches.
Rayce Ramsay will be back to play net and if previous performance is a guide, he’ll be a rock in the pipes. Braiden Koran and Logan Kurki, the team’s only 2001-born forwards, will need to fill the net, along with Alec Saretzky, because no one else is proven to be good at that. Nicksha Eric and Reilly McKinnon will need to lead a surprisingly stacked D-core with four 20-year-old players. This year’s Broncos are a good squad, but may be a team built for next season, not this one.
Elsewhere
Kindersley is one of several SJHL teams with a new coach, going through a transitional state. Ken Plaquin is the guy with the Klippers and he’s got some solid pieces to play with, including goalie Matthew Pesenti, defenders Mark Snarr and Jack Michell and prospects like Charles Obobaifo. They’re another team that’s not there yet, but is fuelling up for the trip. The team also has nine 2001-born players - expect some trades involving the Klippers as the season goes on.
Melville is in the same boat with new head guy Mike Rooney, with quality forwards in Jonathan Krahn, Nic Porterfield (if he’s able to stay healthy), Zach McIntyre and Jake Spak. Defender Jackson Bohan will be key for a club hoping to pull itself from the league’s basement. The team's plans have ground to a halt, with an unidentified member of the team testing positive for COVID-19 causing the Mils to pause the start of their schedule. Who knows how that will impact the team (or the league in general) but, assuming ideal circumstances, expect high-scoring games with the Mils - either for one team or both.
Brett Pilkington’s Notre Dame Hounds may start the season looking more like puppies - they’ll likely be the league’s youngest team, led by a rookie head coach. Look for Andrew Stuckless and Connor Nolan to be their best forward threats. The biggest goal this year is to develop the youth - Nolan is the team’s only 2001-born player, meaning almost all of their presumptive opening night team will be eligible to come back next season. A total of 15 rookies are on the Hounds opening lineup and how each player develops will be an interesting subplot this season.
Few teams will start the year with more question marks than the Weyburn Red Wings, including off-ice intrigue. The sudden departure of head coach/GM Rich Pilon weeks before training camp will loom large, but it’s now Cody Mapes’ team and he’s got an excellent goalie to build with. Joseph Young was a top-three SJHL goalie in 2019 - now, he’s 20 years old and has something still left to prove. Forwards Braden Birnie, Davis Chorney and Shayde Peterson will be key, as will Dace Prymak and Nick Dobson. Weyburn has spots all over the lineup that could use a little extra strength - whatever Mapes’ strategy will be remains to be seen.
Lastly, Yorkton will benefit once again from a WHL returnee coming to town for a last junior hurrah - this time, it’s local boy Kishaun Gervais, who could threaten for an MVP honour by season’s end if he stays. Steven Norum will be useful in the top six, but the team’s big issue is on D - as many as six Terriers defenders on opening night could be rookies, with only Tyson Janzen and Tanner Sklaruk holding down the fort. Both of Yorkton's goalies will be rookies, along with almost half the team's forwards, making inexperience a big hurdle for the Terriers, but general manager and head coach Mat Hehr has been able to pull rabbits out of hats in mid-season before.
