Stars shine, commissioner celebrates at MJHL/SJHL showcase

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This article was published 06/02/2024 (500 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg was a hotbed of hockey this week, as the Manitoba and Saskatchewan junior A leagues held their annual showcase event.

Top players from both leagues, including from the Niverville Nighthawks and Steinbach Pistons, gathered to play a series of games in front of scouts, fans and league executives.

Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) commissioner Kevin Saurette said the MJHL is in a good position moving forward, noting the league has parity, healthy franchises and provides good opportunities for advancement.

“The one area I think is undervalued is the amount of work that the players do in each community,” Saurette said.

“They’re role models, they’re ambassadors. I’m surprised every year when I see just how much the players take on that responsibility.”

This is only the second year the MJHL/SJHL showcase has been held in Manitoba. Saurette said the event has become a “marquee” event for scouts from all levels of hockey.

“(Scouts) are watching these players all year, and (now) get to see them in a higher level, playing best-on-best, getting to see two leagues under one roof, (with) all the top players,” he said.

“It’s a very unique event, and a lot of players will get advancement opportunities after this event.”

Saurette said the league’s overall talent level has only grown in his time as commissioner. He joined the MJHL in 2016 as the director of operations, before being named commissioner in 2020.

“With our league’s parity, that forces the teams to be prepared every single night,” Saurette said.

“From coaching staff to players, there’s no easy night in the MJHL, and that just breeds an elite development environment.”

That environment was shown last year, when Warren Clark was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL entry draft directly from the Steinbach Pistons.

Saurette said he was thrilled to see a selection straight from the league, but pointed out former Manitoba junior players have been creeping their way into the league regularly as of late.

Former Piston Cole Smith recently signed his second contract with the Nashville Predators and Kevin Whitecloud was a key piece for the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Nights in 2023.

“Every year, you’re seeing a lot of MJHL alumni attending NHL development camps,” Saurette said.

“They’re a year or two removed, but part of their development path was through the MJHL… We were one of the only three leagues across the Canadian Junior Hockey League to have an NHL draft pick last year. Those are things we’re very proud of.”

It isn’t just the on-ice product set for improvement. Saurette noted several markets in the league, including Steinbach, have rink upgrades underway or planned for the near future.

In addition to Steinbach, the commissioner said he expects Winkler to begin renovations soon and Swan Valley to start planning construction of a brand new facility.

“When you look across our league, there’s a lot of amazing facilities,” Saurette said.

“It’s a more professional environment when you’re going into state of the art facilities… We’re 13 member teams throughout Manitoba, where in most of our communities, that’s the number one team.”

Saurette noted the league is comfortable operating with the current slate of teams, but is always open to hear expansion pitches. Niverville joined the league in 2022 as a new franchise, meaning the MJHL has a different number of teams in each division.

“You’re always willing to listen, but it has to make sense to the entire board,” Saurette said.

“We’re definitely happy where we are right now.”

The entire junior hockey landscape across Canada, including in the prairie leagues has been thrown for a loop after the B.C. Hockey League (BCHL) announced five Alberta Junior Hockey League teams would be joining them at the start of next season.

The BCHL left national sanctioning body Hockey Canada to play as an independent league last year. The announcement more teams from outside B.C. would be joining them outside Hockey Canada has many speculating on what the future of junior A hockey will look like moving forward.

Saurette said the league is focused internally right now, and didn’t want to address any rumours.

“We want to make sure all of our member teams in our league are providing an elite development opportunity for players both on and off the ice,” he said.

“If you do that, then that’s a place players are going to want to play and develop in.”

For more on the AJHL situation, check out page B2 of The Carillon.