Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League

Koch SUPERU Player Profile: Michael Neumeier

Michael Neumeier

Koch SUPERU – Change the Way You Grow
Dave Leaderhouse

At the tender age of 17 Michael Neumeier is already considered a veteran in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The 6-foot-0, 161-pound Kerrobert, Sask., product was one of a handful of 16-year-olds to crack an SJHL roster last year and after recording 10 points in 38 games with the Kindersley Klippers he was rewarded for his strong play by securing one of the two defencemen spots on the 2019-20 all-rookie team.

Originally selected by the Humboldt Broncos in the third round of the 2018 Bantam Draft, his rights were moved to Kindersley within days and leading up to his debut with the Klippers he played in all 44 games for the Notre Dame Argos of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League as a 15-year-old and then nine more contests with the Notre Dame Hounds to start last year.

While his statistical performance in those 53 games of midget hockey weren’t overwhelming – he had six goals and four assists during that span – his overall knowledge of the game puts him at another level. That assessment is backed by a comment provided by the Klippers organization: “Michael is a very talented, very mature second-year SJHL defenceman. His greatest strength might be his advanced hockey IQ and his ability to read the game at an extremely high level.”

In his final year of bantam hockey Neumeier attended Edge School and had nine points in 25 games with the under-15 program and prior to that he toiled with the IHA Bantam Varsity team where he had eight points in 16 contests.

With long-term goals of obtaining a Division 1 scholarship and becoming one of the best defencemen in the SJHL, it is hard to imagine that both of those aren’t attainable. The pandemic has slowed the start to his sophomore campaign, but in the one game he has played Neumeier registered one assist in helping the Klippers upend the defending regular-season champion Battlefords North Stars.

Kindersley was one of four teams not to advance to the post-season last spring, but with Neumeier continuing his improved play the expectations are much higher this time around.