The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League announced the appointment of Bill Chow as the league's new president Thursday.
Chow, 52, hails from Prince Albert and has worked with the Prince Albert Police Service for the past 29 years. He also has hockey experience having served as a scout in the Western Hockey League for the past 25 years, most recently with the Spokane Chiefs for 10 years.
"I am very excited at taking on this prestigious position," Chow said. "The SJHL is a tremendous brand of hockey and it's my intention to work with the 12 member teams to ensure that our league continues to be an innovator and the best junior A league in all of Canada. It will be a big year this season with two of our teams moving into brand new arenas and another team hosting the RBC Cup."
SJHL board of governors chair Rick Shultz is pleased to have Chow on board.
"We had many great candidates apply for the job, but in the end, the board and myself felt Bill had the best vision for the league." Shultz said. "He recognized the challenges the league has going into the future, and as a board, we believe he had the best ideas to resolve the problems we face. We also feel his time with the Prince Albert Police Service will make him more than capable to deal with our member teams and other hockey-related bodies across Canada and expand the reputation the SJHL currently holds."
Chow has signed a three-year contract and takes over immediately from outgoing president Laury Ryan, who announced his resignation from the position after eight years.
Under Ryan, the SJHL prospered into what is considered one of the top junior A hockey leagues in Canada. The league witnessed the development of the World Junior A Challenge, the establishment of the SJHL Hall of Fame in 2009 and the creation of the Saskatchewan Development Model, which coordinates elite hockey in Saskatchewan and the Junior A Supplement. The league has had many successes with league teams participating in six RBC championship finals collecting three national championships.
The SJHL also became the first junior A league in Canada to have live games broadcast across the province including the Credit Union Cup Championship series on cable television.
