Ice hockey in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan became a province in 1905, but Canadian settlement in the region began decades earlier and by the 1890s ice hockey was becoming established as a popular pastime in the area.
The first recorded organized games occurred in 1894, and teams were soon established in communities like Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, and Prince Albert.
Saskatchewan teams had some success on the early national amateur circuit with the Regina Victorias winning the 1914 Allan Cup, followed by the Melville Millionaires in 1915.
[1] Saskatchewan is notable for producing more than 500 National Hockey League (NHL) players throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the most per capita of any Canadian province, American state, or European country.
[12] Some other Hall of Fame men's players from Saskatchewan include Fernie Flaman, Bert Olmstead, Bernie Federko, Elmer Lach, Sid Abel, Glenn Hall, Eddie Shore, Bryan Hextall, Clint Smith, and Emile Francis in the Builder category.
The Prince Albert Mintos went professional in 1911 and lost a series against the Port Arthur Bearcats for the opportunity to challenge the Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators.
[21] The Sheiks, playing out of Saskatoon's Crescent Arena, won the final Prairie Hockey League title in 1928.
[22] The Saskatoon Quakers, a veteran senior team based out of Saskatoon Arena—which, upon opening in 1937, featured an exhibition game between the NHL's New York Rangers and New York Americans[23]—joined the minor-professional Pacific Coast Hockey League in 1951, capturing the PCHL championship in 1951–52 before folding in 1956 due to the financial demands of running a professional team.
Moreover, Saskatoon native "Wild" Bill Hunter was an instrumental figure in the founding of the World Hockey Association in 1971, which ultimately merged with the NHL in 1979.
Following the merger, Hunter made another attempt in 1983 when he purchased the struggling St. Louis Blues with a plan to re-locate the franchise to Saskatoon.
Although this time Hunter would secure commitments for 18,000 season tickets and a new arena in downtown Saskatoon, the NHL blocked the sale and re-location and an owner willing to keep the Blues in St. Louis was found.
[24][25] Following the completion of the new Saskatchewan Place arena, an ownership group including Hunter applied for a Saskatoon-based franchise to join the NHL as part of the league's early 1990s expansion.
[24] A number of changed circumstances in the first decade of the twenty-first century, including the introduction of a salary cap following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, a return of the exchange rate to parity, a relatively strong provincial economy, and reports of a number of U.S. franchises struggling led to speculation that Saskatchewan would again attempt to acquire an NHL franchise.
[27] In 2019, Regina hosted the NHL Heritage Classic game between the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames at Mosaic Stadium.
In 1966, half a decade before helping found the WHA, Bill Hunter was the owner, manager, and coach of the Edmonton Oil Kings; he joined forces with three SJHL owners—Scotty Munro of the Estevan Bruins, Del Murphy of the Regina Pats, and Jim Piggott of the Saskatoon Blades—to found the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League in an attempt to create a western Canadian league that could compete with the larger amateur associations in eastern Canada.
[31] Prominent Saskatchewan players to play in the tournament for Canada include Theoren Fleury, Ryan Getzlaf, Jordan Eberle, and Brayden Schenn.
Canada's all-time leading scorer at the tournament, Connor Bedard, played three seasons for the Regina Pats and served as team captain.
