Editor's note: The initial article indicated that this new league was for U15 AA players. That was incorrect. The Mercury apologizes for any inconvenience this might have caused.
Saskatchewan seems to be embracing a new model when it comes to developing young hockey players.
Hockey Sask. announced last week the creation of a new AA hockey league for first-year players at the U18 level. The eight-team loop will begin play next season.
It will be interesting to see the impact of this league. It will give U18 players another option for that first year of hockey at that level. You might see a few players going to this league instead of taking a shot at playing with the Estevan Steelhaus U18 AAA Bears and other U18 AAA teams. It could also have an impact on U18 AA teams. (Estevan, of course, has long been home to one of the premier U18 AA programs in Saskatchewan).
This new first-year U18 AA team is a little reminiscent of the junior midget program that Estevan had years ago, except Estevan played in a Hockey Regina league, while this league is province-wide.
We'll see if you get players travelling to Weyburn from Estevan, Carlyle, Oxbow, Carnduff, Redvers and other communities that are a good distance away to play for this new team.
Will players prefer this option over the Saskatchewan AA Hockey League's U18 AA division?
It's worth noting that the southeast entry in this new league will be in Weyburn, not Estevan, which is home of the Estevan Steelhaus U18 AAA Bears. This seemed to be a trend. Martensville was selected for a team instead of Warman. Melville was picked instead of Yorkton.
I would have liked to have seen this new team in Estevan. It would have given players in their first year of U18 hockey another chance to get used to the arena and the community.
And frankly, Affinity Place is a much better venue than Weyburn's Crescent Point Place, and I think the kids would far rather play here.
At the same time, I do understand the challenge that adding another team would create for our already-loaded winter ice sports schedule. This year was obviously particularly daunting for those allocating ice time. And while next year should be more normal, another team would force more teams to head out of town for ice time.
(Serving as an ice scheduler for Estevan Minor Hockey is daunting at the best of times).
This new league comes at a time of growing change in Western Canadian minor hockey and where young athletes play. Fifteen years ago, the Western Hockey League's draft was almost entirely kids from U15 AA or AAA leagues. In the most recent WHL draft, 17 of the 22 players selected were from hockey academies, such as the famed Notre Dame Hounds program in Wilcox or the Prairie Hockey Academy in Caronport. It's hard to say whether this was a high-water mark for the academy system, but the shift to prep leagues has been happening for a while.
Hockey Saskatchewan has not introduced a U15 AAA league. And I'm not sure it would make much of a difference.
Also, the B.C. Hockey League is talking of separating from Hockey Canada and creating a new elite junior A hockey league that could also have some teams from Alberta.
This new league would likely attract even more top under-20 players from Saskatchewan than the B.C. and Alberta junior hockey leagues do now. Consequently, it would mean even fewer scouts coming to watch games here. I'm not sure how many top-end prospects would opt for the B.C. league over staying in Saskatchewan, but even if it's two or three players per team, it'll impact the calibre of play.
And if the new B.C. league does proceed, then the efforts of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League to promote players and their accomplishments will be more important than ever.
Lots to consider. I think I'll put it at the back of my mind and go watch the Estevan Strippers' tournament. Lots of fun, recreational hockey to enjoy.
