Yorkton Maulers ready to begin SMU18AAAHL preseason with renewed optimism

There is a new look and a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the Yorkton Kinsmen Maulers as they prepare to open their preseason schedule.

After a difficult 2025-26 campaign that saw Yorkton finish 6-34-and-4 and 11th in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League, the Maulers have spent the off-season making significant changes throughout the organization.

Head coach Josh Garbutt says the work has gone well beyond simply putting together a new roster.

“Us as a collective have put a pile of work into basically every corner of the organization,” Garbutt said. “From a whole new logo to all-new team gear, home and away equipment, just top-to-bottom professionalism. Then obviously the cherry on top is a completely state-of-the-art renovated dressing room for the organization for years to come.”

There have also been changes to the hockey operations staff, with Warren Shymko returning to the organization in a new role and Brett Breitkreuz joining the Maulers as an assistant coach.

Garbutt believes bringing in that level of hockey experience will be invaluable for a young roster.

“There’s so much hockey experience for these kids to lean on that it really is exciting,” Garbutt said. “When you can have guys like Warren and Brett around these kids and have that experience for them to lean on, it’s something that we think is going to be a huge benefit to our program.”

The Maulers have also taken a deliberate approach to building their roster, bringing back players who experienced the challenges of last season while adding a large group of younger players.

The majority of the newcomers are 15- and 16-year-olds, creating a roster that Garbutt believes has plenty of room to grow.

“There’s certainly going to be growing pains and a learning curve for them,” he said. “But they’re all extremely talented with lots of opportunity ahead of them.”

That development-first approach is central to the new direction in Yorkton.

The Maulers have several players with Western Hockey League connections, including Bridger Unchulenko, Luke Trann and Dylan Veroba, while Kaden Kohle attended a WHL camp and Jackson Bray is another player who has received major junior exposure.

Garbutt says the organization wants to become a place where young players can take the next step in their hockey careers.

“We wanted to turn the corner as an organization where Junior B is no longer a standard for us,” Garbutt said. “We’re trying to move kids on to Major Junior. That’s the goal of the organization, and that’s what we want for our kids.”

The Maulers will get their first opportunity to put that philosophy into action during a four-game preseason schedule against Manitoba competition.

Yorkton will play the Parkland Rangers twice starting on Wednesday and the Brandon Wheat Kings twice before opening the 2026-27 SMU18AAAHL regular season on September 26th at home against the Swift Current Legionnaires.

The preseason will also provide the coaching staff with an important opportunity to establish its identity, particularly with so many young players still learning how to play within the team's systems.

“We’ve only really had two practices as a full group,” Garbutt said. “With that being said, the next couple weeks are just going to be really hammering down exactly how we play and the expectations of every individual.”

Hear from Head Coach Josh Garbutt below:

bennywalchuk2 · Josh Garbutt- Maulers (Sept 9, 2026)

New twist added to 2026-27 MJHL playoff format

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League has announced its playoff format for the 2026-27 season, with the McMunn & Yates Turnbull Cup Playoffs set to begin March 19th, 2027.

The league is coming off three seasons of strong playoff attendance and increased competitiveness, highlighted by the Niverville Nighthawks winning their first Turnbull Cup last season.

Niverville went on to make history at the Centennial Cup in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, going a perfect 6-and-0 and defeating the host Summerside Western Capitals four-one in the national championship game.

The 2026-27 playoffs will begin with a best-of-seven divisional quarterfinal round, featuring the top four teams from each division. Teams will be seeded based on their divisional standings, with the top two earning home-ice advantage.

The four series winners will then move into a non-divisional semifinal round, where teams will be ranked according to their overall regular-season points. The matchups will be first versus fourth and second versus third, with the top two seeds earning home ice.

A new wrinkle this season will see the first-place team in each division automatically ranked first and second, respectively, for the second round.

The two semifinal winners will meet in a best-of-seven league championship series, with the higher-ranked team holding home-ice advantage.

The Turnbull Cup champion will advance to the 2027 CJHL Centennial Cup in Fort McMurray, Alberta, hosted by the Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the AJHL in May.

 

Dayson Martin leads Swan Valley Stampeders to MJHL preseason win over Waywayseecappo

 

The Swan Valley Stampeders picked up their first win of the MJHL preseason Tuesday night, beating the Waywayseecappo Wolverines 4-2 in Swan River.

The teams traded goals in the opening period, with Max Dawson putting the Wolverines ahead before Hunter Toth tied it just over two minutes later on a breakaway.

Swan Valley took control in the second, getting goals from Swan River product Dayson Martin and veteran Dylan Ruff just 1:40 apart to take a 3-1 lead.

Mikey Thomas pulled Waywayseecappo within one early in the third on the power play, but Ryder Woods restored the Stampeders’ two-goal lead with just over four minutes to play.

The Wolverines outshot Swan Valley 34-26, while both teams went 0-for-5 on the power play.

The Stampeders visit the Northern Manitoba Blizzard Friday, while Waywayseecappo travels to Dauphin to face the Kings.

Swan Valley Stampeders drop MJHL preseason opener in Waywayseecappo

The Waywayseecappo Wolverines opened their preseason schedule Monday night with a 5-1 victory over the Swan Valley Stampeders in the annual Rookie Game.

The Wolverines jumped out to a quick start, scoring three times in the opening 13 minutes.
Winnipeg product and 2008-born forward Liam Flett led the way with two goals and an assist, while his linemate Holden Wasacace added a goal and two assists.

Tucker Derkach also scored in the opening frame as Waywayseecappo outshot Swan Valley 13-3.

The Stampeders got on the board with 4:40 left in the first period when Cooper Gair cut the deficit to 3-1 heading into the intermission.

Wasacace added his second of the night early in the second, while Carter Polanski also scored to give the Wolverines a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes.

Neither team scored in the third period.

Waywayseecappo split its goaltending duties, with DJ Mecas stopping four of five shots and Riley Foster turning aside all 19 shots he faced.

For Swan Valley, 2010-born netminder Eddy Person allowed four goals on 19 shots, while Kipton Slaney made 15 saves on 16 shots.

The two teams will meet again Tuesday night in Swan River to close out the home-and-home preseason set, with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. Manitoba time.

Yorkton Terriers ready for 2026 SJHL fall camp to open

 

The Yorkton Terriers officially hit the ice Tuesday as they open their 2026 fall training camp, with four teams of players competing for spots on the roster ahead of the upcoming SJHL season.

Head Coach and GM Emery Olauson expects the competition to be fierce, with more than 20 junior-aged players looking to earn a spot.

“The competition at camp is going to be fierce,” Olauson said. “We know that there’s going to be hard decisions to be made here Thursday before our top-40 game even, and then taking a roster into exhibition season.”

The Terriers will hold practices and fitness testing Tuesday before beginning game action Wednesday. The Top 40 game is scheduled for Thursday night, followed by an exhibition matchup in Virden Friday, before Yorkton hosts the Virden Oil Capitals Saturday at 7 p.m.

Olauson says four full teams will eventually have to be narrowed down to one roster.

“We’ve got four full teams of players that are going to have to be filtered down into one,” he said. “More than 23 to 25 of them are junior age and here to earn a spot on this year’s team.”

The Terriers enter camp following a very successful season where they finished second overall in the SJHL during the 2025-26 regular season and captured the Bunge Division title before advancing to the Canterra Seeds Cup Final for the first time since 2014.

Along the way, Yorkton eliminated rival Melville in six games before defeating the Battlefords North Stars in a dramatic Game 7 to reach the league final.

The Terriers ultimately fell to the Flin Flon Bombers in four games, but Olauson believes the experience gained from the last two playoff runs can help the group moving forward.

“We’ve played five rounds of the playoffs in two years, and I think we’re getting better at that time of year,” Olauson said. “Growing from it, learning from it and being able to draw on that experience, I think it’s going to be huge.”

Yorkton is eligible to return several key pieces from last season including the likes of SJHL defenceman of the year Thomas Ries, netminder Callum Creig and SJHL rookie of the year Cash Lanigan 

The Terriers will also welcome newcomers to camp, creating another opportunity for returning players to help establish the team's culture.

“They’re also going to have some great teammates that have been here before and know exactly the way that we want to play,” Olauson said, “and what is expected of a Yorkton Terrier.”


Audio with Terrier Head Coach and GM Emery Olauson below: 

bennywalchuk2 · Terriers Coaches Show - AUG 31, 2026

SJHL’s Yorkton Terriers post profit at 2026 annual general meeting

 

The Yorkton Terriers are heading into the 2026-27 season on much stronger financial footing.

The organization held its annual general meeting on Monday night and reported a profit of just over 35-hundred dollars for the past year.

More importantly, the Terriers have eliminated nearly 170-thousand dollars in debt. 

When president Curtis Malysh took over, the organization had set a three-year plan to eliminate the debt.

They accomplished that goal in just two years.

“I know when I took over as president, we were probably close to $170,000 in debt and we kind of had set out with a three-year plan to get that all cleared off,” Malysh said. “We accomplished that after year number two, and that was because of the playoff runs over the last two seasons.”

The Terriers’ run to the SJHL’s Canterra Seeds Cup Final also helped the organization’s bottom line, with strong crowds throughout the playoffs.

“We’re kind of sad that we didn’t win the league, but at the end of the day, very proud of the players and the coaching staff for what we accomplished last year,” Malysh said. “It was nice to see the rink pack most playoff games, which also helps the bottom line.”

There will be some changes to the board of directors heading into the new season.

Kurt Karcha and Josh Garbutt announced they will not seek another term, while Jon Collins returns after a one-year absence.

Malysh says both Karcha and Garbutt played important roles with the organization.

“Josh was a former player, so he kind of brought a different dynamic to the board,” Malysh said. “And Kurt was a long-time board member, did a lot of stuff behind the scenes that nobody knows about like he was our IT guy, our music man, and it’s stuff like that that people don’t notice, and he will also be missed.”

The Terriers are also launching a new fundraising initiative called the Legacy Lottery Series.

The series will feature six lotteries over three years, with the first one getting underway September 8th.

“It was approached by a gentleman to have a coffee with him, and it transpired into our Legacy Lottery Series,” Malysh said. “We have four businesses involved and a couple of private families that have donated us some money.”

The 2026-27 executive will see Malysh remain as president, with Stephanie Buckle as vice-president, Acacia Bushenlonga as secretary, and Sarah Nelson and Becky Dutchak serving as co-treasurers.

Grant Ottenbreit remains governor and a board member, while Dean Depape will serve as alternate governor and board member.

Scott Hoffart, Ed Witherspoon and Collins round out the current board, with one position still vacant.

The Terriers are holding their hockey school this week, and kick off their 2026/27 Fall camp next week at the Westland Insurance Arena.  

Audio with Terriers president Curtis Malysh below: 

bennywalchuk2 · Curtis Malysh - Terriers AGM (Aug 25, 2026)

Swan Valley Stampeders hope to rally the valley as MJHL training camp set to begin this weekend

The Swan Valley Stampeders are hoping a strong second half last season can carry over into the 2026-27 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season.

With training camp set to begin this weekend, Director of Player Personnel Darren Webster says the off-season was a busy one as the Stampeders looked to replace several graduating players and those moving on to the CHL in the likes Trace Langan and Crosby Harrison. 

“We need to bring in the next generation of talent to come in to replace our 20s that we had to graduate and move on,” Webster said.

Much of the recruiting focused on the forward group, but Webster is also excited about the experience returning on the blue line.

The Stampeders return most of their defensive core from last season, with Wiley Smith and Karson Connelly expected to once again handle big minutes.

“That was a real strength to our season,” Webster said of the defence.

Swan Valley also returns both goaltenders from last season, giving the team some stability between the pipes with Easton Falls and Samuel Bastien

“We had two rookie goaltenders last year that did exceptionally well,” Webster said. “They’re such good friends together and push each other.”

Offensively, the Stampeders will be looking for several returning players to take another step.

Ben Groome and Jake Giacobbo are entering their third seasons with the team, and Webster expects both to have big years after battling injuries early last season.

“We expect a big year for Groome and Giacobbo,” he said. “Both came in very healthy right now and we’re expecting in their 20-year-old years to put up big numbers.”

Ryder Woods is another player Webster believes could be in line for a breakout season.

“He’s going to be really elevated to an offensive role and going to be big on the power play,” Webster said. “For us, we see a big breakout season for him.”

But while there are plenty of reasons for optimism, the Stampeders know they need to avoid another slow start.

Swan Valley has finished strongly over the past few seasons, but slow starts have put the team behind the eight-ball in the playoff race.

“Our starts are going to be critical,” Webster said.

That will be especially important this year as the Swan Valley community looks for something positive following a difficult summer of flooding.

The flooding affected several billet homes, with the Stampeders losing roughly seven or eight beds because of the damage.

“It’s been a different summer. There’s a lot of devastation with the floods and the valley has been affected,” Webster said.

Now, the Stampeders are hoping hockey can provide the community with a much-needed release.

“Hopefully hockey season can be that release,” Webster said.

Training camp will be the first step as Swan Valley looks to turn a strong finish last season into a strong start this time around.

Audio with Stamps Director of Player Personnel Darren Webster below:

bennywalchuk2 · Darren - SV Camp (Aug 2026)