Beardy's Blackhawks (black) and the Tisdale Trojans (white) battle during their series in the 2019 SMAAAHL Playoffs. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Midget AAA Hockey

Latest SHA announcement grants Warman, Estevan AAA teams, removes Beardy’s and Notre Dame Argos

Nov 13, 2019 | 3:56 PM

The Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) will look a bit different for the 2020/2021 hockey season.

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) announced on Tuesday, Nov. 12 the league will remain a 12-team league, but Beardy’s Blackhawks, and the Notre Dame Argos will no longer have their teams. Replacing them will be teams in Warman, and Estevan.

In October, every team in the league, along with communities wanting teams, needed to put in their applications for a male Midget AAA team. SHA General Manager Kelly McClintock said applicants needed to have an established minor hockey program, billeting options, educational options and an educational coordinator, among others.

“When we evaluated all of the applications, the ones that were selected proved to be on top,” McClintock said.

Other local communities including Tisdale and Prince Albert both kept their AAA teams.

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Beardy’s not going down without a fight

Beardy’s Blackhawks, which also had a Midget AA team played on the Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation is the only team in the SMAAAHL or the SAAHL that is on a First Nation and run by a First Nation. The team was in the SMAAAHL since 1995 and have played as Beardy’s Blackhawks since 1999-2000.

“We’re not happy with (the decision) to tell you the truth,” said Beardy’s Midget AAA Chairman Rick Gamble. “But it didn’t come as a shock. We heard over the last five or six months and there were murmurs on the outside that indicated that Beardy’s was on the chopping block. They basically put us through a process that was pre-determined, they knew what their decision was going to be and we had to go through with it and we got suck up the pipe to say the least.”

Teams needed to send in applications that showed their criteria to hold a Midget AAA team. For Beardy’s, Gamble said they thought they had a great application. He said they mentioned their AA program, their education opportunities and more. They even got letters of support from three Canadian Universities including the University of Calgary, and the University of Ottawa. Gamble added they also got support from Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and other First Nations in Saskatchewan. He added a few teams currently in the league to support Beardy’s staying.

“I don’t know what the heck is going on, what their rationale is. We’d like to find out,” Gamble told northeastNOW.

Beardy’s could appeal the decision to SHA, but Gamble mentioned that isn’t what they plan to do. He said they could take some sort of “legal action” but they’re going to sit down as an association and discuss their options.

Historically Beardy’s has had very good teams in the SMAAAHL. Just last season, they took on the Tisdale Trojans in a spirited first round series. The Blackhawks also won the title during the 2000/2001 season. They were also Air Canada Cup Western Regional Champions that season, earning their spot into the national championship tournament (now named the Telus Cup) where they unfortunately went 0-4-1 against five of the best teams in Canadian midget hockey. Gamble said through the years, Beardy’s has provided something different for players.

“Kids that play hockey that otherwise probably would never play hockey,” he said.

A former coach’s perspective

Former Tisdale Trojans Head Coach Darrell Mann was behind the bench in some capacity for 16 years total, with his tenure ending after the 2019 season. Through his years with the Trojans, Mann made multiple league finals, participated in five western regionals, won a national championship in 2001 and finished third in 2019. He’s no stranger to the Midget AAA hockey world.

Mann gave his thoughts on the new teams that would come, and the teams that would be no more. He said it’s great for Warman and Estevan to get teams after pushing for teams for a few years. Recently, the Trojans have had some excellent representation from the south including their last two captains, Luke Arndt and Rhett Frey both being Weyburn kids. Mann said the new locations for teams could change the way teams recruit now.

“Maybe it’s going to make the task a little bit harder,” he said. “Obviously now those kids down in Zone One in Estevan and Weyburn, they’re going to look to want to play at home. That’s going to make it a little tougher, you won’t be drawing kids from there as regular. And Warman again, I know a lot of kids from the Warman area have gone on to play for either Prince Albert or the Saskatoon Blazers and I really think that’ll affect those two hockey clubs too with kids deciding to want to stay at home and live at home.”

The Notre Dame Argos no longer being part of the league will also have a large affect according to Mann. With the school being able to recruit from all over the world, unlike the rest of the league who can only recruit from the province, it’ll help players in Saskatchewan.

“To me, that’s going to be huge to give another 16 to 20 Saskatchewan kids a chance to play Midget AAA hockey,” Mann said.

He added with players currently in the league from those communities that will have teams next year, there could be a shuffle of players, but that’ll be dependent on the player themselves and if they want to play at home or not. Mann called the SMAAAHL a “dog eat dog world” due to the fact that players are able to freely play where they would like. He said it could affect some smaller communities, but he hopes that isn’t the case, but recruiting will be much tougher now.

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With files from Brady Lang/CKOM

mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6