Commissioner Saurette reflects on historic MJHL season

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League boasted the best junior A hockey team in the country this season, as the Niverville Nighthawks were crowned Centennial Cup champions after winning the league.

After the traditional celebration with players swarming their goaltender, MJHL commissioner Kevin Saurette was on hand, proud as can be to help present the Nighthawks with their gold medals.

“They’ve conducted themselves on and off the ice very positively and it reflects very well on the MJHL,” Saurette said just before the start of the final game.

“We know we have a very strong league… We’ve sent six different champions to this event, every year they make the playoff rounds. It’s really nice to see Niverville get over that hump.”

Saurette was sure to arrive early to the arena in Summerside, P.E.I. before the start of the finals.

“This is the thing I miss from my playing days, the hour or two before the game, just the quiet arena, watching the people come in, the staff getting to work, just seeing the excitement build towards puck drop,” Saurette, who played professionally in Europe until the 2014/2015 season, said.

“The whole province is getting the Nighthawk fever right now. There’s a lot of eyes on the MJHL, so we’re really excited.”

Winning the Centennial Cup was a message to the rest of the junior hockey world. The MJHL is not to be taken lightly.

“We have some very, very strong organizations that are really elevating what they do on and off the ice,” Saurette said.

“From player development, to the investments they’re making into their facilities, the community work they’re doing.”

Saurette pointed to the fact the league has had six different champions in the past six years as a sign the top programs are on equal footing across the league.

With the junior hockey landscape still in transition following the NCAA rule change to allow players to join their ranks after competing in major junior, the pressure is on every junior league in North America to push their own standards as high as they can go.

Saurette said raising minimum standards across the league was a major point of discussion at the league’s Annual General Meeting, which was hosted at the Southeast Event Centre in Steinbach May 29-31.

After the meeting, the league announced they were targeting facilities, team personnel, training, player education, online broadcasts, game day operations and community as categories for their minimum operating standards.

“Everyone knows what’s going on in the junior landscape, and obviously that’s something we’re fully aware of but our biggest focus is making sure we’re all running top of the line programs,” Saurette said.

The 13-team league will have no changes going into next season, with Winkler and Steinbach settling into brand new facilities over the past few years. The Winnipeg teams will once again play out of the Rink Hockey Facility (Blues) and Hockey for All Centre (Monarchs).

Teams across the league have been investing into their facilities. Even Niverville is fundraising for dressing room improvements, with Steinbach hoping to add on a training room to the Southeast Event Centre after investing $1 million into their own locker room.

“Operating in junior A is not an easy thing, but it really is amazing to see the investment,” Saurette said, citing digital screens, dressing rooms, player lounges and weight rooms.

“If you look at our league against other leagues in the CJHL, we have quality facilities throughout our league. The teams are continuing to invest… You have to invest in your program, especially in this day and age.”

This year saw the end of the league-wide MJHL/SJHL showcase event, which had been held for a few consecutive years in Winnipeg at Seven Oaks Arena. The two prairie junior A leagues did combine for the annual World Junior A Challenge selection camp in Saskatchewan for younger players.

For fans who were sad to see the showcase go, Saurette said they should, “stay tuned in the summer,” teasing the return of some kind of league-wide event.

“It’s such a different world now,” Saurette said.

“We’re trying to find the most efficient way to have these secondary events. At the end of the day, we want to provide as much opportunity for our players and showcase them for the next level.”

The MJHL held their schedule selection at their AGM, with the full season schedule released June 9. The Dauphin Kings remain the only franchise without a head coach/general manager, re-posting the job after their first selected candidate couldn’t take the job “due to a family matter.”