SJHL, MJHL team up for Western All-Star Showcase ahead of Junior A World Challenge

Making 1 last halt astatine the buzzer connected Wednesday, Weyburn Red Wings goaltender Angelo Zol enactment unneurotic arsenic bully of a show arsenic helium could person hoped for.

He stopped each 32 shots helium faced astatine the Warman Home Centre Communiplex to headdress disconnected the inaugural SJHL-MJHL Western All-Star Showcase.

“The boys played fantastic successful beforehand of me,” Zol said. “They made my occupation casual tonight, boxing retired and letting maine spot shots. It was a batch of fun.”

Team SJHL’s 2-0 triumph implicit Team MJHL wrapped up 3 days of the event, which was created to regenerate the yearly Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Showcase, which brought unneurotic the league’s twelve franchises successful Warman.

Instead, this year’s lawsuit brought unneurotic the champion U19 inferior A players from some the SJHL and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League to springiness players an aboriginal tryout up of adjacent month’s Junior A World Challenge.

According to SJHL commissioner Kyle McIntyre, the lawsuit alteration was owed to a propulsion to diagnostic the league’s younger athletes for some Hockey Canada and NCAA programs.

“We wanted to get unneurotic and truly supply an accidental for our kids successful Manitoba and Saskatchewan to get connected the Team Canada West roster and person an accidental to marque that team,” McIntyre said. “Number two, we wanted to showcase our younger endowment and get our schools to travel successful to spot what’s going connected successful our leagues.”

Of the 40 players who attended the showcase, Team Canada West unit volition prime 20 to determination connected to the main grooming campy successful Calgary, which volition besides diagnostic athletes from the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Flin Flon Bombers caput manager Mike Reagan was announced arsenic Team Canada West’s caput manager connected Wednesday and volition beryllium looking for a assortment of antithetic players.

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“We speech astir gathering a location and you can’t conscionable person a carpenter,” Reagan said. “You request plumbers, you request electricians, you request guys doing antithetic jobs. We’re looking for size, we’re looking for speed, we’re looking for guys that tin punishment termination and guys that tin tally a powerfulness play.

“All antithetic aspects of the game.”

Melville Millionaires sophomore Jadon Iyogun was 1 of 2 SJHL players to find the backmost of the nett successful Wednesday’s finale, avenging a 4-2 nonaccomplishment to Team MJHL connected Tuesday.

“It’s astonishing to deterioration the (maple) leafage and people with it on,” Iyogun said. “I deliberation it’s a beauteous chill accidental and a beauteous chill experience. I deliberation I made the astir of it.”

Players similar Portage Terriers goaltender Mitchell Kathler volition present await the determination from Reagan and the remainder of the Canada West coaching unit connected who the 20 players volition beryllium heading to Calgary, moving 1 measurement person to the biggest planetary tourney successful inferior A hockey.

“I cognize what I person to offer,” Kathler said. “I cognize I’m a large feline and I deliberation I flew nether the radar for a small while, but I deliberation I’m starting to marque a sanction (for myself). I conscionable privation to amusement everyone what I’m present for.”

The 2024 Junior A World Challenge volition spot Canada West and Canada East look disconnected against teams from the United States and Sweden implicit the week-long tournament, which volition instrumentality spot from Dec. 9 to 15 successful Camrose, Alta.