SJHL Draft 2024 will take place on June 11th – DiscoverHumboldt.com

There are only about two weeks left until draft day for the next wave of Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League players. To keep the focus on the offseason, the league announced Monday its 2024 draft day, which is set to take place on June 11 at 3 p.m.

WestCentralOnline caught up with Commissioner Kyle McIntyre following his trip to the Centennial Cup in Oakville, Ontario. When asked about the upcoming draft, McIntyre shared that they have another full production on the way for SJHL fans to enjoy.

“This will be on all of the SJHL's social channels,” McIntyre said, continuing to talk about the draft. “There will be two rounds of 2009 players and then six rounds of 2008 players.”

As with any draft, the main goal is to fill a team's player pool with promising talent. According to the SJHL release, five first-round picks from the 2023 SJHL Draft U16 selection (2007) made their debut for their respective clubs a year ago, while 14 players from the 2022 draft have since become SJHL regulars.

“The idea is that some of these young talents and players will hopefully play on an SJHL team in the future,” McIntyre said. “It's a really exciting day for players and families and for our SJHL teams. We're really looking forward to it. It's really one of our flagship and anchor events throughout the year,” he concluded, speaking about the significance of the big day.

The order of the draft will be determined, subject to trades, by the rankings in the 2023-2024 SJHL regular season in reverse order.

Here is the order of the draft. It is subject to change as teams may have already traded their picks or may do so.

1. Notre Dame Hounds
2. La Ronge Ice Wolves
3. Yorkton Terrier
4. Nipawin Hawks
5. Kindersley Clippers
6. Estevan Bruins
7. Weyburn Red Wings
8. Melville Millionaires
9. Battleford's North Stars
10. Humboldt Broncos
11. Melfort Mustangs
12. Flin Flon Bomber

To be eligible for the U15 draft, players must be residents of Saskatchewan, not from the 12 SJHL markets, and not previously drafted. Most players are selected from either the SAAHL, SAAAHL or Canadian Secondary School Hockey League (CSSHL).

The online broadcast will be hosted by SJHL co-media directors Clark Munroe and Jamie Neugebauer live from the IKS Media studios in Regina. Communications member Rory McGouran will help out with interviews and analysis, and tips will be brought to social media as they come in by none other than Kindersley's Connor Tate with Creative Eleven.