REGINA, SKâWith the new season just around the corner, it is valuable now, as always, to take stock of how we did as a league in our most important function: helping the players move on to the next level.
The 2023-2024 campaign continued our impressive upward trajectory in that department. As of this writing, 72 players had committed to post-secondary institutions.
A FULL LIST OF OUR COMMITMENTS CAN BE FOUND BY CLICKING HERE.
A total of 33 players committed to play the highest level of United States College hockey in the NCAA, with 13 going to Division I and 20 to Division III. These include Battlefords’ North Stars defenceman Carson Olsen (UMASS-Lowell), Connor Miller of the Humboldt Broncos (Augustana University), and three forwards from our league champion Melfort Mustangs (Zac Somers, University of Maine; Ryan Duguay & Aidyn Hutchinson, Northern Michigan University).
At the DIII level, a big hand full of 20 SJHL stars will head south, with two premium SJHL goaltenders in Cam Hrdlicka (Estevan, University of Wisconsin at Concordia) and Topher Chirico (La Ronge, Wentworth Institute of Technology) as two of the headliners among many.
Meanwhile, 14 committed to attend the top level of University hockey in Canada in USports, including back-to-back Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League SGEU Most Valuable Player Kian Bell, who will attend Acadia University, UPL Playoff MVP Chase Freidt-Mohr to the University of Regina, and Weyburn Red Wings captain Max Monette, who is off to the University of Waterloo.
The Alberta Collegiate Athletic Conference has been a steady destination for graduated SJHLers for years, and with 12 heading just west of the border, this campaign was no different. Melfort Mustangs forward Clay Sleeva dominated the playoffs and will jump into the defending ACAC champion Red Deer Poly Kings with Kindersley’s Nathan DeGraves, Nipawin’s Alex Bernauer, and Yorkton’s Tyson Perkins. Another example is terrific local La Ronge defenceman Parker Layton, who will take his SJHL and recent pro experience to the University of Alberta at Augustana.
British Columbia’s club university level, the BCIHL, is truly on the rise as well. With six ads this year, it has dipped into the SJHL. Headlining that group is departing Humboldt Broncos captain Cage Newans, along with a trio of other Nutrien Division veterans: Weyburn’s Jacob Visentini, Notre Dame’s Davis Sato, and Rocky Bird, all of whom are going to Vancouver Island University.
Melville star Bradley Banach will be a part of a Simon Fraser University squad that plays independently and tours NCAA Division I teams for one-off showcase games.
The American club university level, the ACHA, also continues to impress, as perennial national championship contenders Minot State University have grabbed one of the SJHL’s best goaltenders in Will Dyke from Melville, as well as heart-and-soul Flin Flon Bombers fan favourite Matt Egan. Nipawin captain Maguire Ratzlaff parlayed two terrific campaigns into a spot at Liberty University, a club that regularly competes exceptionally well against top NCAA competition.
We at the SJHL are incredibly proud of every one of the 72 young men who have committed.
