Sask. junior hockey league trying to retain homegrown talent
All of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) coaches recently met in Nipawin to discuss a major topic – keeping players in Saskatchewan.
“It’s a pretty important topic for our members’ teams. Obviously, we want to keep Sask. kids in the province,” said Estevan Bruins head coach Jason Tatarnic, who was in Nipawin.
Players can get drawn to the other leagues which record a higher total NCAA Division 1 scholarship count, like the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Jimmy Lambert who played for the Saskatoon Contacts U18 AAA program is one of them.
“I’m forever thankful to the Vernon Vipers and the BCHL for the opportunity they’ve given to me to come down to the University of Michigan," Lambert said.
Lambert is currently entering his senior year with the Wolverines. He opted for the BCHL after his final year of U18 AAA hockey in Saskatchewan.
“We got to see a couple rinks and it’s just a beautiful place,” Lambert said. “You look at the (NCAA scholarship) numbers, I think the year I graduated from the BCHL there were like 150 players that ended up moving on to college.”
The SJHL is doing what it can do to retain players like Lambert in Saskatchewan. President of the SJHL Bill Chow said not every player’s experience ends up like his when they head to other leagues.
“The majority of players that leave Saskatchewan and go to other provinces to play, at some point in time they end up returning back to the SJHL,” Chow said. “Which is good but at the end of the day there is a lot of cost to the players and the parents as well as the individual teams when they require those rights.”
By comparison for the 2020-21 season, the SJHL committed 45 players to the collegiate ranks. The BCHL boasting a total of 107, according to the league’s website.
“I think parents have to do their research of where the scholarships come from,” Chow said.
Before accepting his position with the Estevan Bruins, Jason Tatranic coached the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs. He said he agrees with Chow that although the BCHL has more scholarship players, there’s more than what meets the eye.
“Players are walking into that league with scholarships in hand. Probably 50 per cent of the time.”
A step Tatarnic is taking with his Bruins is signing younger players in 17-year-old Caelan Fitzpatric, 17-year-old Keagna Little and 16-year-old Owen Simmons.
“We believe if we can have some young guys each year we believe we will be able to keep our Sask. guys in the province for our organization.”
Over the years Tatarnic’s was able to send several of his Chilliwack Chiefs players to NCAA powerhouses like the University of North Dakota, University of Denver, Providence College, and St.Cloud State University.
He feels players suiting up in the SJHL have those same opportunities.
“There’s some very high-end players that go to the Western Hockey League from Saskatchewan and all it takes is a couple of them to decide 'I want to go the college route,'" Tatarnic said. “North Dakota arguably one of the best programs in the country, they always pop their head in here and take a look.”
North Dakota entered the 2021 NCAA tournament as the number one ranked team. Former Melfort Mustangs forward Carson Albrecht was on their roster. North Dakota was in the same region as Jimmy Lambert’s Michigan Wolverines, but COVID-19 tournament protocols had Michigan forfeit a game that could have pinned the two teams against each other.
Lambert said he feels if you’re good enough, they will come find you.
“You gotta go to a place that's best for you and it’s all about opportunity,” Lambert said. “When you’re sitting down with the coaches, you got get a good grasp of what your opportunity is like with those individual programs.”
The SJHL regular season is set to begin on September 24th.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.