Niverville Nighthawks ranked as top Junior A team in Canada

The best junior A team across all of Canada just might be in Niverville.

The Niverville Nighthawks were placed as the number one team in the nation in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings.

Nine leagues across Canada are included in the rankings, which are compiled by a scouting service.

Head coach Dwight Hirst said the team is keeping focus.

“It’s obviously something to build upon, but being number one puts a bullseye on your chest and your back,” Hirst said.

The Nighthawks are 23-1-1 on the season, with an incredible plus-69 goal difference, as they lead the league in both goals for and goals against. No other team is even at plus-50 goal difference.

Hirst said the key to Niverville’s hot start has been the team’s ability to treat every game and every practice as an individual battle.

The Nighthawks were the on paper favourites in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League this season thanks to a strong contingent of veterans, but Hirst was quick to point to the less experienced players who have stepped in seamlessly.

“Practices are your preparation, and the guys have done a good job this year of making sure our practices are full-tempo and high energy and very impactful,” Hirst said.

“That carries into the games. It makes for a good game when you prepare well enough in practice.”

The Nighthawks came into this season riding high after their best season since joining the MJHL in 2022. While they still were defeated in the first round of the playoffs, the group won their first ever playoff game, and out-played favourites Winkler for stretches of their series.

“Everyone thinks it happened at the beginning of this year, but it’s been building since last season,” Hirst said.

“That taste of defeat in the spring showed that if we could practice at those levels and do those things we do in practice… when you get in the games, it becomes repetitive and easy for you.”

Hirst downplayed any worries this group could be peaking too early, noting he still sees a lot of room for improvement and expects the team to get even better throughout the rest of the season.

The bump-up in rankings came despite a overtime loss to Steinbach Dec. 5. That result ended a 16-game winning streak.

Any speculation the defeat could put the Nighthawks into a tailspin was completely erased two days later, as they blew out the Virden Oil Capitals 11-2, an impressive scoreline against the West Division’s second place team.

“Sometimes you lose ‘em on the scoreboard, but you win ‘em emotionally and mentally because it’s obviously a little bit of a reset and a little bit of a re-charge to get back to the simple things we’re good at,” Hirst said.

The Nighthawks have been led offensively by their top line of Adam Vigfusson, Hayden Wheddon and Merik Boles. All three are in the top 10 of league scoring, as Wheddon leads the MJHL with 42 points.

Hirst said the trio was a “misfit line,” noting other junior teams had chances to lock them up but decided not to. The Nighthawks do a lot of practicing in tight spaces, with that focus paying off during games, with Wheddon, Boles and Vigfusson appearing to know exactly where their teammates are at every moment.

“Sometimes you’re getting players into a program that other teams and clubs have passed upon and don’t want, and all of sudden it’s a little bit of a redemption for them,” Hirst said.

“I think they carry a bit of that in their game.”

Two other MJHL teams, Steinbach (11th) and Portage (8th) are in the national top 20 rankings.