The 2025 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Annual General Meeting wrapped up over the weekend at Jackfish Lodge, north of North Battleford, highlighted by the official addition of the Warman Wolverines as the league’s newest franchise.
The move, which sees the team relocate from the College of Notre Dame in Wilcox to Warman, was finalized with a unanimous vote from the SJHL Board of Governors on Saturday.
Also approved was a revision to the auto-protect player policy. Starting immediately, teams can automatically protect two local players annually on their 50-man list before the draft. A third may be protected at the cost of the team’s first available draft pick—a change from the previous system of unlimited local protections based on roster space.
The league will hold its 2025 draft on Tuesday and will begin at 1:00 PM and will be presented live from the IKS Media studios in Regina on the SJHL’s Facebook and X pages, as well as its YouTube channel.
It will be an eight-round draft, featuring two rounds of selections for 2010 birth-year players, followed by six rounds for 2009 birth-year players.
In total, 92 players are expected to be drafted, though some teams may pass on picks in the later rounds. Eligible players must be Saskatchewan residents from outside the 12 SJHL markets (or not ‘auto-protected’) and must not have been previously drafted by any SJHL team.
The 2025 Draft holds special significance for the Warman Wolverines, who are preparing for their inaugural season in the SJHL and have taken over the assets of the Notre Dame Hounds, including the first overall picks in both the 2009 and 2010 age groups.
“We’ve seen great strides in attendance, social media, and viewership,” SJHL commissioner Kyle McIntyre said. “With over 30% of our players from Saskatchewan, we’re proud to be putting the ‘Saskatchewan’ back in the SJHL.”
The league remains involved in the Western Canadian Development Model Pilot, working alongside the WHL, AJHL, MJHL, and provincial hockey branches.
Training camps open in late August, and the 56-game regular season begins September 19. Teams will face division rivals eight times and other clubs four times. The playoffs begin on March 20, with the defending champion Melfort Mustangs looking to three-peat.
“It’s an exciting time for the SJHL,” said SJHL Board Chair Kyle Adamson. “Last season, more than 260,000 fans attended games, and we’re continuing to grow on and off the ice. But we know we must keep improving to remain among the best junior leagues in the country.”
