New SJHL commissioner taking over at a challenging but exciting time

New Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) commissioner Kyle McIntyre, is taking over at what many see as a challenging but exciting time for Junior ‘A’ hockey in Saskatchewan.

McIntyre, who played in the SJHL for Swift Current and Yorkton in the mid-1980’s replaces Bill Chow, who held the title for nearly 11 years.

“I take a lot of pride in having the job it’s an honour to have this position bestowed upon me,” McIntyre said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Regina.

McIntyre is excited to be taking over at a time that sees Estevan hosting the 2022 Centennial Cup, Canada’s national Junior ‘A’ championship after winning the league title in a seven-game series against Flin Flon.

“I was really pleased that this season we were able to have a full return to play, which was very positive and then we had probably one of the most competitive playoffs in league history,” McIntyre said.

“To be culminated by the Estevan and Flin Flon league final series that went seven games, every game was an absolute nail biter and it was so exciting to watch.”

Looking ahead McIntyre knows growing the game will be one of the biggest challenges he will face, keeping more Saskatchewan-born players at home is one thing he feels will be a big step forward.

“We probably have the best U18 ‘AAA’ league in Canada. My goal is to have more of those kids stay in Saskatchewan and have more of them play in this league [SJHL],” McIntyre said.

“Last year we probably saw about 278 U21 players go out of province. The flip side of that is we had about 235 come in. It is the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and I think that fans and communities want to see some of the local products around and kids in communities want to connect with more local role models.”

McIntyre is also hoping the momentum of a very competitive league playoff followed by the Centennial Cup will give them an opportunity to hit the ground running next season.

“With the playoffs we just had we have a lot of positive momentum moving forward and lots of parity in the league. So really the play on the ice is going to dictate getting more people in seats and certainly, the positive playoff that we just had along with Estevan hosting the Centennial Cup will all be key to keeping that momentum going into next season.”

McIntyre said he would also like to see the league get a little younger, mentioning that they have lots of 20-year-old players. He feels retaining more Saskatchewan-born players can also be a big part of making that change.

The 2022 Centennial Cup gets underway from Affinity Place in Estevan on May 18.