JACKFISH LODGE, SK – The 2025 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Annual General Meeting, which just concluded north of North Battleford, was historic.
The league’s Board of Governors officially and unanimously voted to accept the Warman Wolverines into the SJHL.
Warman’s relocation from the College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, SK had already been widely publicized, and received approval from the City of Warman, but was not made truly official until the league’s board voted Saturday morning.
In a subsequent development, the organizations also ratified a motion to adjust the SJHL’s policy on the automatic protection of players who reside in the zones where the teams are located.
The event, held between June 5 and 7, was attended by league governors, sponsors, coaches, and staff.
The new auto-protect rule, which will go into effect immediately, states that each team will be permitted to add /protect two local players on their SJHL 50-player list yearly before the SJHL Draft. If a team wishes to protect a third auto-protect, this will come at the cost of a team’s first available draft pick.
This contrasts with the previous rule, which allowed all local eligible players to be protected, given that the club had space on its 50-man list.
In addition to reviewing strategic plans and discussing changes to league rules and league discipline, the AGM featured updates from the SJHL Department of Player Safety, Brad Howard, an update from the SJHL Director of Marketing, Jacob Faith, a report from Co-Director of Media Jamie Neugebauer, and a state-of-the-union update from Commissioner Kyle McIntyre.
“This past year, we wanted to further engage our fans in our communities and throughout our province with our SJHL social media and league programming,” said Commissioner Kyle McIntyre after the event.
“I believe we were highly successful with each seeing significant gains with attendance, social media followership and SaskTel and FloHockey viewership. The average age in the SJHL was 18.8, and over 30% of all players were from Saskatchewan. With a strong commitment to our league sponsors and our partners at Hockey Saskatchewan, we are committed to putting the “Saskatchewan” back into the SJHL.”
The league is entering its second year of the Western Canadian Development Model Pilot, which features a partnership with the Western Hockey League, the AJHL, the MJHL, and the four western branches in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia.
SJHL training camps will open in late August and early September, and the regular season schedule, which will feature 56 games, will kick off Sept. 19. It will be a 56-game season, and a return to playing division rivals eight times and every other team four times. Playoffs will kick off March 20, with the Canterra Seeds Cup Champion Melfort Mustangs hoping to threepeat as champions.
“It is an exciting time for the Saskatchewan junior hockey league,” said board chairman Kyle Adamson.
“We are coming off a highly successful season with the Melfort Mustangs being awarded the third Canterra Seeds Cup and finishing second in the nation. Last season, over 260,000 fans attended an SJHL game. Our board of governors developed strategic plans for hockey operations, business operations, marketing, and social media. I am very pleased that we continue to be on track and that our league has made significant gains on the provincial and national levels. Still, I recognize that work must always be done to remain competitive and make our league premier.”
The league is 100 days away from puck drop. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and its twelve teams are known for exceptional player development and commitment to their players, their people, and the communities they serve.
For more information, please get in touch with Commissioner Kyle McIntyre at commissioner@sjhl.ca
