Prince Albert to re-enter PJHL with new franchise for 2023-24 season
During the 2022-23 season, the Prince Albert Titans didn’t exist as a team, and there was no Junior B hockey in Prince Albert for the first time in 15 years. Thanks to some hard work by a local group, however, that hiatus will be just the one season.
Prince Albert is returning to the Prairie Junior Hockey League for the 2023-24 season after getting approval from the league. The newly reinstated team does not yet have a name, but the city now knows it has been granted a franchise for Saskatchewan’s Junior B circuit.
“We are very excited for the young gentlemen that are going to be able to finish off their junior hockey careers in Prince Albert now,” said Ken Malenfant, president and governor of the to-be-named team. “Some will be returning from other associations, they had to leave the community, but we’re excited for the kids, the gentlemen, and the community itself. It’s an absolute need in this community.”
When the Prince Albert Titans announced they would not be participating in the league last season, their returning players entered a dispersal draft to help find new hockey homes. The closest teams were in Saskatoon. The next wave of Junior B players coming up, however, won’t have to go quite so far away.