Niverville Nighthawks comeback win punches ticket into Centennial Cup final

Eastman talent took centre stage as the Niverville Nighthawks defeated Ontario Junior Hockey League champions Toronto Patriots 4-3 to advance to the Centennial Cup final. The team came all the way back after trailing 3-0 early in the second period.

Down 3-2 with less than four minutes to go in the third period, St Adolphe’s Calyb Moore sniped a shot off the post and in when it looked like a rush chance was fizzling out. A minute later, Lorette’s Merik Boles tipped home a point shot for the game winner, as the Nighthawks held on for the semi-final win.

“It was awesome to see Mooresy get in and score, that was a big one for sure,” Boles, who was named the most valuable player for the game said afterwards.

“A couple late goals for some Eastman kids, that’s exciting.”

Jets prospects: first look into future after start of new season

The Winnipeg Jets are off to another hot start this season, proving that life in the present is pretty good. But as a “draft and develop” organization, there’s always an eye on the future.

Right now, 23 prospects are skating in various leagues at various levels — players who could one day work their way into the NHL or, in a few cases, make their way back to the big club.

To help you keep tabs, we’ll be checking in on the kids each month throughout the season.

Let’s start with 11 players who are, at least in theory, closest to “The Show.” The Manitoba Moose are off to a 3-4-2 start, although they do have points in four straight games (2-0-2) after a 2-1 overtime loss on Sunday to the Texas Stars at Canada Life Centre.

Stonewall native adds NHL to her long list of officiating milestones

Talk about a “Welcome to the Big Leagues” moment.

Amy Martin, a 30-year-old referee from Manitoba, got one last weekend in Montreal. Invited to help officiate the NHL prospect challenge tournament featuring young stars from four teams, her very first assignment came under the bright lights of the Bell Centre in a clash between the hometown Canadiens versus the Winnipeg Jets.

It didn’t take long before roughly 20,000 fans were chanting “ref you suck” in her direction after what they perceived as a missed infraction.

Offended? Not at all. For Martin, it was a badge of honour.

Puck set to drop on race for the Turnbull Cup

As the puck drops on the 2025-26 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season on Friday, it will be hard to outdo last season’s ending when the Northern Manitoba Blizzard defeated the Dauphin Kings on the road in a three-overtime thriller.

While the defending Turnbull Cup champions don’t hit the ice until next Saturday, here’s a breakdown of all 13 teams season storylines to follow.

Dauphin KingsThe Dauphin Kings were one goal away from a league championship last season and are coming back on a mission to score that final goal of the season. The Kings lost game seven of the final in triple-overtime to the Norman Blizzard.

The team will have a new look this season, not only on the ice thanks to player movement, but behind the bench, as long-time St. Malo Warriors assistant Patrick Trudeau joined Dauphin to help give the team a boost. Trudeau, who is from Ile des Chenes, had been working as a scout for the team before joining as an assistant.

Hockey’s caveman culture must come out of the dark ages

Beyond the verdict, the case continues to highlight concern about the culture of elite sports in general and hockey in particular. A culture that made it OK for five young, privileged men to share a single woman for sexual gratification.

Manitoba First Nation jubilant after Carter Bear chosen 13th overall in NHL Draft

Carter Bear couldn’t hear or see the eruption of cheers and happy tears from family and friends back in Manitoba on Friday night — including a large gathering in his home community of Peguis First Nation.

However, the 18-year-old could feel the love and support after he was selected 13th-overall by the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL draft in Los Angeles.

“That shows how proud they are. I’m proud of where I’m from — my community and my Indigenous background,” he told the Free Press via Zoom shortly after having his name called.

It takes a village, as the saying goes, and Bear was feeling especially thankful to everyone in his world who helped him get to this stage. He’s the first Manitoban hockey player to be drafted in the opening round since Strathclair’s Conor Geekie went 11th-overall to the Arizona Coyotes in 2022.

Fourteen Manitobans named NHL draft hopefuls

Manitoba’s reputation as a pro hockey factory took a bit of a hit during last year’s NHL draft when only one local prospect ultimately heard his name called. And even that didn’t happen until the fifth round, when Brandon’s Clarke Caswell was selected by the Seattle Kraken.

Was there something in the water? Had we lost our touch? Was it time to commission a summit?

No, no and absolutely not. Turns out that was likely the exception, rather than the rule, and we should be back to our regularly scheduled player development programming later this week.

When it comes to the potential Class of 2025, it would seem the local kids are all right. And a league that already includes the likes of homegrown talents such as Jonathan Toews, Seth Jarvis and Mark Stone — just to name a few — could eventually have some new faces from the Keystone province.

Bryn Chyzyk: From small-town Manitoba to college hockey history

Like many kids growing up on the prairies in the rural town of Virden, Bryn Chyzyk had dreams of making it to the NHL.

He also had a passion for scouting and player development from a young age, which is part of the reason he abandoned — or at least altered — his plan after one season of professional hockey with the Indianapolis Fuel of the ECHL and a two-game cameo with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.

“That was probably my most accurate scouting report that I ever had — evaluating myself and realizing that I wasn’t going to make a lot of money playing the game of hockey,” Chyzyk said in a telephone interview from Iowa earlier this week while he was on a recruiting visit.

“I do like the academic side of things, so the decision to go to law school was a difficult one, but I’m really glad I made it because I didn’t think I was good enough to make a long career out of it.

Jets prospect Jacob Julien set to join Moose after memorable Memorial Cup win

Jacob Julien couldn’t have scripted a better ending to his junior hockey career.

The 20-year-old Winnipeg Jets prospect played a prominent role in bringing the Memorial Cup back to his hometown, capping off a terrific playoff run by scoring in the winner-take-all game as his London Knights beat the Medicine Hat Tigers earlier this month.

“It’s what you dream of,” Julien told the Free Press on Wednesday in a telephone chat. “You grow up watching London win the Memorial Cup a couple times and then to actually be a part of it and win it yourself with your team, I couldn’t be happier.”

Julien finished the four-team tournament with four points (2G, 2A) in five games after racking up 19 points (6G, 13A) in 17 earlier playoff games as London ultimately claimed the Ontario Hockey League championship. Being a point-per-game player at the most important time of the year would suggest Julien was able to find another gear.

Northern Manitoba Blizzard takes Turnbull Cup in three-overtime thriller against Dauphin Kings

As the clock struck midnight in Dauphin Friday, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard booked their ticket to the Centennial Cup, defeating the Kings in triple-overtime.

Quincy Supprien was the Game 7 hero, sliding the puck underneath the blocker of Dauphin goaltender Cole Sheffield with 5:57 to play in the sixth frame for the 2-1 victory.

Supprien, an assistant captain for the Blizzard, was recruited from Quebec by second-year head coach Eric Labrosse. He’s one of four Blizzard players who followed Labrosse from Quebec.

Supprien’s game-winning goal came on the 94th shot of the game. 56 of those shots came from Dauphin, but rookie goaltender Taye Timmerman’s 55-save performance helped clinch the Blizzard’s first Turnbull Cup since 2003.

Two-way Bruins forward first-round material in WHL Bantam Draft

Crewe Schimnowski knows which parts of his game will impress talent evaluators.

He has a shot that most 14-year-olds can only dream about and the smooth puck-handling skills to go with it. Intangibles like elite vision and a high hockey IQ are evident, and at 5-9, 170 pounds, he isn’t afraid to throw his body around.

What’s more rare about the Winnipeg teen is a self-understanding of his weaknesses, and his determination to improve in those areas.

He doesn’t shy away from talking about what he needs to work on.

Kings, Blizzard set to go the distance

It’s not a stretch to say the Dauphin Kings and Northern Manitoba Blizzard are evenly matched.

Last year, both teams met in the first round of the MJHL playoffs. The series went seven games, featuring 11 overtime periods — including a five-overtime period battle in game six.

Northern Manitoba eventually won the series with an overall goal differential of plus-two.

This year they meet again, with the Turnbull Cup championship on the line.

Jets top prospect Yager turning heads in WHL

VIRDEN — Brayden Yager was given some homework this season by the Winnipeg Jets.

Following each Western Hockey League game he played, the organization’s top forward prospect was asked to send a short report to player development officials about how it went.

“I’ll write a couple things I did well, a couple things I can do a bit better. It’s a nice little way to be able to have some self-reflection and to be able to look back on,” Yager told the Free Press this week in a wide-ranging one-on-one interview.

With the caveat that there’s always room for improvement, it’s hard to imagine anything but straight A’s when it comes to his hockey report card.