They were so, so close.

One year ago, the Melfort Mustangs won their way all the way to the championship game at the 2024 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons. Just a single win separated the Mustangs from immortality.

Noah Pak and the Collingwood Blues had other ideas.

Pak made 23 saves, and a power-play goal from Jack Silverman proved to be the game’s only scoring as the Blues captured Canada’s National Junior A Championship with a 1-0 victory.

Twelve months later and Melfort has reloaded for another shot at a national title in Calgary.

Thirteen players are back from the 2024 roster, although two skaters – Zac Somers and Tao Flory – combined to play just one game in Oakville, and goaltender Kristian Coombs got into just one in support of standout starter James Venne.

This time around, Somers led the Mustangs in playoff scoring (8-9—17 in 14 games) and Coombs is the unquestioned No. 1 between the pipes, posting a 1.33 goals-against average and .942 save percentage across 12 postseason starts.

Melfort cruised to the top of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) during the regular season, winning 46 of 56 games to finish 13 points clear of second-place Flin Flon.

The Mustangs led the SJHL in goals for (221), goals against (123), power play (25.0%) and penalty kill (85.3%), and put together a 17-game win streak from Nov. 13 to Jan. 4.

They were rarely tested in the playoffs, earning a five-game win over the Kindersley Klippers and a sweep of the Yorkton Terriers before winning the final four games of their five-game final against the Weyburn Red Wings to repeat as SJHL champions – with Coombs recording three shutouts. In all, they allowed only 19 goals in 14 playoff games.

Now comes a second chance at glory.

History is not necessarily on Melfort’s side; since the tournament went back to a one-game final in 1985, only two teams have lost in the final and won the national championship the following year – the Penticton Knights (1985-86) and South Surrey Eagles (1997-98).

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Kindersley Klippers 4-1 (5-2, 6-1, 4-3, 2-3 OT, 5-2)
Semifinal: defeated Yorkton Terriers 4-0 (6-1, 3-0, 4-3, 3-1)
Final: defeated Weyburn Red Wings 4-1 (1-2, 3-0, 1-0, 5-1, 3-0)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 46-8-2 (1st in SJHL)
Goals for: 221 (1st in SJHL)
Goals against: 123 (1st in SJHL)
Power play: 64 for 256 (25.0% – 1st in SJHL)
Penalty killing: 232 of 272 (85.3% – 1st in SJHL)
Longest winning streak: 17 (Nov. 13-Jan. 4)

Top 3 scorers:
• Reilley Kotai – 39G 38A 77P (1st in SJHL)
• Logan Belton – 27G 34A 61P (8th in SJHL)
• Ashton Hutchinson – 18G 34A 52P (15th in SJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-2
Goals for: 51
Goals against: 19
Power play: 14 for 64 (21.9%)
Penalty killing: 52 of 57 (91.2%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Zac Somers – 8G 9A 17P
• Reilley Kotai – 7G 10A 17P
• Logan Belton – 7G 3A 10P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1996 – Melfort Mustangs | runners-up | 5-1 | 35GF 10GA
2015 – Melfort Mustangs | 4th place | 2-3 | 12GF 19GA
2024 – Melfort Mustangs | runners-up | 5-1 | 20GF 12GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Zac Somers – University of Maine (2025-26)
Nolan Roberts – University of Guelph (2025-26)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 7th
Oct. 7 – 10th
Oct. 14 – 16th
Oct. 21 – 8th
Oct. 28 – 12th
Nov. 4 – 9th
Nov. 11 – 14th
Nov. 18 – 10th
Nov. 25 – 8th
Dec. 2 – 7th
Dec. 9 – 3rd
Dec. 16 – 3rd
Dec. 23 – 2nd
Jan. 6 – 2nd
Jan. 13 – 2nd
Jan. 20 – 2nd
Jan. 27 – 3rd
Feb. 3 – 6th
Feb. 10 – 6th
Feb. 17 – 6th
Feb. 24 – 5th
March 3 – 5th
March 10 – 5th

Cinderella has arrived to the ball.

While they have certainly earned their place at the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard would have to be considered the most unlikely of the 10 national title contenders in Calgary.

Northern Manitoba finished the regular season with the sixth-best record in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), getting to the finish line with losses in three of its last five games.

Among the 118 teams in the Canadian Junior Hockey League, the Blizzard ranked 45th in points percentage (.612) and had the 43rd-best goal differential (+38). The power play was 35th (23.4%) and the penalty kill was 62nd (79.7%).

But when the postseason began? Northern Manitoba was an entirely different team.

The Blizzard eased past the Neepawa Titans in five games, winning four in a row after dropping the opener, and stunned the first-place Winkler Flyers – the defending MJHL champions – with a four-game semifinal sweep.

That set up a league final against the Dauphin Kings that went to the absolute wire, and beyond.

After Northern Manitoba opened up a 3-1 series lead (with the lone blemish a triple-overtime loss in Game 2), the Kings rebounded to force a deciding Game 7.

It took more than 104 minutes of hockey, but Quincy Supprien was the hero late in the third overtime period, sending the Blizzard to Canada’s National Junior A Championship for the first time since they were runners-up as the OCN Blizzard in 2002.

Miguel Bouvier was the offensive star for Northern Manitoba, finishing second in MJHL scoring in the regular season with 74 points (37-37—74), while Taye Timmerman starred between the pipes in the playoffs, posting a 1.68 goals-against average and .937 save percentage while playing every second.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the last MJHL team to win the national title, when the Portage Terriers hoisted the trophy on home ice.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Manitoba Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Neepawa Titans 4-1 (2-3, 4-1, 5-4, 3-2 2OT, 3-2)
Semifinal: defeated Winkler Flyers 4-0 (4-2, 3-1, 3-1, 2-1 OT)
Final: defeated Dauphin Kings 4-3 (4-0, 3-2 3OT, 4-2, 5-2, 0-3, 1-2, 2-1 3OT)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 35-22-1 (6th in MJHL)
Goals for: 188 (8th in MJHL)
Goals against: 150 (T-3rd in MJHL)
Power play: 54 for 231 (23.4% – 5th in MJHL)
Penalty killing: 141 of 177 (79.7% – 8th in MJHL)
Longest winning streak: 7 (Dec. 14-Jan. 11)

Top 3 scorers:
• Miguel Bouvier – 37G 37A 74P (2nd in MJHL)
• Quincy Supprien – 26G 30A 56P (12th in MJHL)
• Marlen Edwards – 24G 20A 44P (35th in MJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-4
Goals for: 47
Goals against: 30
Power play: 10 for 59 (16.9%)
Penalty killing: 43 of 49 (87.8%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Marlen Edwards – 5G 10A 15P
• Tyler Dahms – 3G 12A 15P
• Quincy Supprien – 7G 6A 13P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2002 – OCN Blizzard | runners-up | 3-3 | 2GF 21GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Keegan McNeill – Fredonia State University (2025-26)
Brett Ward – Fredonia State University (2025-26)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – not ranked
Oct. 7 – Honourable Mention
Oct. 14 – Honourable Mention
Oct. 21 – not ranked
Oct. 28 – Honourable Mention
Nov. 4 – not ranked
Nov. 11 – not ranked
Nov. 18 – not ranked
Nov. 25 – not ranked
Dec. 2 – not ranked
Dec. 9 – not ranked
Dec. 16 – not ranked
Dec. 23 – not ranked
Jan. 6 – not ranked
Jan. 13 – not ranked
Jan. 20 – not ranked
Jan. 27 – not ranked
Feb. 3 – not ranked
Feb. 10 – not ranked
Feb. 17 – not ranked
Feb. 24 – not ranked
March 3 – not ranked
March 10 – not ranked

Defence wins championships.

It’s cliché, but the Kam River Fighting Walleye are living proof the old adage still applies.

The Fighting Walleye earned their second Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) title in three years largely on the back of a stifling defence, allowing less than two goals a game on their 14-game playoff run.

Ironwood managed just four in a four-game sweep in the quarterfinals, Thunder Bay had nine in a four-game semifinal sweep and the Dryden Ice Dogs scored 13 in a six-game defeat in the league final as Kam River booked its spot at the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.

Add it up, and that’s 26 goals against in 14 games.

Not surprisingly, goaltender Ashton Sadauskas was the top netminder in the postseason, fashioning a 1.77 goals-against average and .935 save percentage while playing every second for the Fighting Walleye.

That follows a regular season that saw Sadauskas lead the SIJHL in wins (25), GAA (2.39) and save percentage (.926) as Kam River allowed only 118 goals across its 50 games. And don’t think you’ll be more successful on the power play; the Fighting Walleye killed penalties at an 85.1% clip, 12th-best among the 118 teams that comprise the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

This is not to say the Fighting Walleye are one-dimensional. Far from it. Kam River led the SIJHL with 236 goals scored in the regular season and added 54 in the playoffs, averaging almost four goals a game.

Daxton Lang (35-51—86) and Jett Mintenko (30-52—82) ran away atop the league scoring chart, with Mintenko finishing 16 points ahead of third place.

Now comes the journey from tiny Oliver Paipoonge to Calgary, where the Fighting Walleye will look to improve on their last-place finish from the 2023 Centennial Cup in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Superior International Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Ironwood Lumberjacks 4-0 (5-1, 6-2, 6-0, 4-1)
Semifinal: defeated Thunder Bay North Stars 4-0 (5-3, 3-2 OT, 2-1 OT, 4-3 OT)
Final: defeated Dryden Ice Dogs 4-2 (6-2, 1-2, 3-2 OT, 2-0, 3-4 OT, 4-3 OT)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 39-13-1 (2nd in SIJHL)
Goals for: 236 (1st in SIJHL)
Goals against: 118 (1st in SIJHL)
Power play: 50 for 197 (25.4% – 4th in SIJHL)
Penalty killing: 194 of 228 (85.1% – 2nd in SIJHL)
Longest winning streak: 7 (Feb. 21-March 14)

Top 3 scorers:
• Daxton Lang – 35G 51A 86P (1st in SIJHL)
• Jett Mintenko – 30G 52A 82P (2nd in SIJHL)
• Kaden Goodwin – 25G 41A 66P (4th in SIJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-2
Goals for: 54
Goals against: 26
Power play: 12 for 49 (24.5%)
Penalty killing: 50 of 60 (83.3%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Jett Mintenko – 8G 9A 17P
• Kaden Goodwin – 8G 7A 15P
• Daxton Lang – 3G 12A 15P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2023 – Kam River Fighting Walleye | 10th place | 0-4 | 6GF 25GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

None

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – not ranked
Oct. 7 – not ranked
Oct. 14 – not ranked
Oct. 21 – not ranked
Oct. 28 – not ranked
Nov. 4 – not ranked
Nov. 11 – not ranked
Nov. 18 – not ranked
Nov. 25 – not ranked
Dec. 2 – not ranked
Dec. 9 – Honourable Mention
Dec. 16 – not ranked
Dec. 23 – not ranked
Jan. 6 – not ranked
Jan. 13 – Honourable Mention
Jan. 20 – not ranked
Jan. 27 – Honourable Mention
Feb. 3 – 20th
Feb. 10 – 20th
Feb. 17 – 20th
Feb. 24 – 20th
March 3 – Honourable Mention
March 10 – Honourable Mention

The Greater Sudbury Cubs are back.

For the second year in a row, the Cubs claimed the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) championship and, with it, a place at the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.

The lineup that will step onto the ice in Calgary includes 13 players who made the trip south to Oakville a year ago, finishing 1-3 in the preliminary round and missing out on the quarterfinals.

The baker’s dozen includes No. 2 scorer Samuel Assinewai, who finished the season on a 24-game point streak and ranked third in NOJHL scoring (34-38—72), and goaltender Noah Beaulne, who had a 2.44 goals-against average and a league-leading six shutouts in the regular season.

Greater Sudbury was rarely challenged atop the NOJHL during the regular season, going 44-6-2 with a +138 goal differential that ranked fourth in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

They took charge early, running off a 20-game win streak from early November through late January, and finished 10 points clear of the second-place Hearst Lumberjacks.

Sweeps of Iroquois Falls and the Soo Thunderbirds returned the Cubs to the league final, where the Lumberjacks provided the opposition in what turned out to be a thriller of a series.

After Hearst drew first blood, Greater Sudbury bounced back with three-straight wins to put it on the verge of another NOJHL title. But the Lumberjacks mounted an epic comeback with a six-goal third period in Game 5 and took Game 6 at home to force a decider.

A three-goal Cubs lead shrunk to one in the final minute of Game 7, but Greater Sudbury saw out a 6-4 victory to once again hoist the Copeland Cup.

NOJHL teams have not found much success at the national level; just twice have teams from the league reached at least the semifinals – the Rayside Balfour Sabrecats, who got to the final in 2000, and the Thunderbirds, who were semifinalists in 2012.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Iroquois Falls Storm 4-0 (7-1, 6-5, 4-3 OT, 2-0)
Semifinal: defeated Soo Thunderbirds 4-0 (7-4, 4-2, 6-3, 5-0)
Final: defeated Hearst Lumberjacks 4-3 (2-6, 5-4 OT, 6-1, 5-1, 6-10, 4-5, 6-4)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 44-6-2 (1st in NOJHL)
Goals for: 252 (2nd in NOJHL)
Goals against: 114 (1st in NOJHL)
Power play: 72 for 232 (31.0% – 1st in NOJHL)
Penalty killing: 215 of 243 (88.5% – 1st in NOJHL)
Longest winning streak: 20 (Nov. 8-Jan. 23)

Top 3 scorers:
• Lucas Signoretti – 46G 55A 101P (1st in NOJHL)
• Samuel Assinewai – 34G 38A 72P (3rd in NOJHL)
• Nolan Newton – 24G 29A 53P (16th in NOJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-3
Goals for: 75
Goals against: 49
Power play: 25 for 66 (37.9%)
Penalty killing: 54 of 65 (83.1%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Lucas Signoretti – 17G 19A 36P
• Spencer Horgan – 5G 20A 25P
• Daks Klinkhammer – 10G 14A 24P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2024 – Greater Sudbury Cubs | 8th place | 1-3 | 11GF 18GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

None

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 19th
Oct. 7 – 13th
Oct. 14 – 7th
Oct. 21 – 7th
Oct. 28 – 6th
Nov. 4 – 5th
Nov. 11 – 5th
Nov. 18 – 6th
Nov. 25 – 6th
Dec. 2 – 5th
Dec. 9 – 4th
Dec. 16 – 2nd
Dec. 23 – 1st
Jan. 6 – 1st
Jan. 13 – 1st
Jan. 20 – 1st
Jan. 27 – 2nd
Feb. 3 – 2nd
Feb. 10 – 2nd
Feb. 17 – 3rd
Feb. 24 – 4th
March 3 – 7th
March 10 – 7th

Third time’s a charm.

After coming agonizingly close in each of the last two season, the Trenton Golden Hawks are finally Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) champions, bound for the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.

Two years ago, the Golden Hawks reached the Buckland Cup Final, only to fall short against the Collingwood Blues in five games.

Last year they got one game closer, dropping a six-game final to the Blues, who went on to win Canada’s National Junior A Championship.

This year, Trenton made sure there would be no “almost.” But it wasn’t without its share of drama.

After dropping just one game in each of their first three series – wins over Pickering, Stouffville and Haliburton County – the Golden Hawks opened up a 3-1 lead over the Milton Menace in the OJHL final.

Milton spoiled the party with a Game 5 win in Trenton and took a 2-0 lead into the final three minutes of Game 6 before Kyloe Ellis and Cooper Matthews scored 67 seconds apart, and Taeo Artichuk netted the championship winner at 11:59 of overtime to give the Golden Hawks their elusive OJHL title.

Trenton finished the regular season with the best points percentage in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), going 47-6-3, and had a goal differential of +129 (265 for, 136 against), scoring the second-most goals in the CJHL.

David Fournier (42-50—92) and Artichuk (33-56—89) were the stars up front, finishing two-three in the OJHL scoring race, while Ryan Sanborn was lights out between the pipes; he went 20-1-1 in the regular season with a 1.76 goals-against average and six shutouts, and played every second of the playoff run, fashioning a 1.97 GAA and .935 save percentage in 21 games.

Trenton is back at the national championship for the first time since it made back-to-back trips in 2016 and 2017, reaching the semifinals in its first appearance.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Ontario Junior Hockey League
Preliminary Round: defeated Pickering Panthers 4-1 (3-1, 1-4, 4-2, 3-1, 4-1)
Quarterfinal: defeated Stouffville Spirit 4-1 (3-1, 6-4, 1-2, 5-4 2OT, 5-0)
Semifinal: defeated Haliburton County Huskies 4-1 (5-4 OT, 2-1, 3-4 2OT, 4-2, 4-2)
Final: defeated Milton Menace 4-2 (3-0, 3-2, 0-4, 7-2, 2-4, 3-2 OT)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 47-6-3 (1st in OJHL)
Goals for: 265 (1st in OJHL)
Goals against: 136 (4th in OJHL)
Power play: 56 for 226 (24.8% – 4th in OJHL)
Penalty killing: 185 of 221 (83.7% – 5th in OJHL)
Longest winning streak: 15 (Oct. 25-Dec. 7)

Top 3 scorers:
• David Fournier – 42G 50A 92P (2nd in OJHL)
• Taeo Artichuk – 33G 56A 89P (3rd in OJHL)
• Devin Mauro – 25G 35A 60P (27th in OJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 16-5
Goals for: 71
Goals against: 47
Power play: 11 for 89 (12.4%)
Penalty killing: 69 of 78 (88.5%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Corbin Roach – 7G 19A 26P
• Taeo Artichuk – 11G 10A 21P
• Cooper Matthews – 12G 6A 18P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2016 – Trenton Golden Hawks | 3rd place | 3-2 | 15GF 14GA
2017 – Trenton Golden Hawks | 5th place | 0-4 | 4GF 18GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Joey Brehmer – Lake Superior State University (2026-27)
Kyloe Ellis – Ontario Tech University (2025-26)
Candon O’Neill – Lake Superior State University (2026-27)
Ryan Sanborn – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2025-26)
Matthew Souliere – Princeton University (2026-27)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 11th
Oct. 7 – 5th
Oct. 14 – 5th
Oct. 21 – 11th
Oct. 28 – 13th
Nov. 4 – 8th
Nov. 11 – 7th
Nov. 18 – 5th
Nov. 25 – 2nd
Dec. 2 – 1st
Dec. 9 – 1st
Dec. 16 – 1st
Dec. 23 – 4th
Jan. 6 – 4th
Jan. 13 – 4th
Jan. 20 – 4th
Jan. 27 – 1st
Feb. 3 – 1st
Feb. 10 – 1st
Feb. 17 – 2nd
Feb. 24 – 1st
March 3 – 2nd
March 10 – 2nd

This season in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) there were the Rockland Nationals, there was everybody else.

The Nationals were the undisputed class of the CCHL all season long, going 45-8-2 to finish 21 points ahead of defending league champion Navan in the Yzerman Division and 16 points clear of Carleton Place in the league standings.

They scored the most goals (250), allowed the fewest (112) and iced the best penalty kill (84.9%).

Three of their 10 losses came in the final four games of the season, with little to play for. And from Dec. 13 to Feb. 21, Rockland ran off a 21-game win streak, longest in any of the nine leagues that comprise the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

But there always has to be a little bit of adversity in every playoff run, right?

In the semifinals, the Nationals faced off against the Smiths Falls Bears, quickly jumping out to a 2-0 series leadby outscoring the Bears 9-1. But Smiths Falls battled back to win the next two and pulled out an overtime win in Game 6 to force the series to the distance.

The decider entered the dying minutes of the third period even at 1-1 before Spencer Bowes netted the series-winning goal with 3:28 to go, and Rockland quickly dispatched Carleton Place in four games in the league final to secure its place in Calgary.

The Nationals have been a score-by-committee team all season; five players reached the 50-point mark during the regular season, led by Anthony Hall (36-40—76), and eight hit double digits across 15 playoff games.

CCHL teams have not fared well since the start of the 10-team format in 2022, reaching the semifinals only once in three tournaments. The league’s peak run came from 2011-15, when the Pembroke Lumber Kings won Canada’s National Junior A Championship (2011) and Carleton Place reached a pair of championship games (2014, 2015).

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Central Canada Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Cornwall Colts 4-0 (4-3, 3-2 OT, 6-5, 4-2)
Semifinal: defeated Smiths Falls Bears 4-3 (6-0, 3-1, 1-5, 2-5, 6-2, 3-4 OT, 3-1)
Final: defeated Carleton Place Canadians 4-0 (3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 5-4 OT)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 45-8-2 (1st in CCHL)
Goals for: 250 (1st in CCHL)
Goals against: 138 (1st in CCHL)
Power play: 39 of 196 (19.9% – 8th in CCHL)
Penalty killing: 180 of 212 (84.9% – 1st in CCHL)
Longest winning streak: 21 (Dec. 13-Feb. 21)

Top 3 scorers:
• Anthony Hall – 36G 40A 76P (5th in CCHL)
• Gabriel Le Houllier – 29G 43 A 72P (6th in CCHL)
• Jacob Charron – 26G 41A 67P (7th in CCHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-3
Goals for: 56
Goals against: 39
Power play: 6 for 53 (11.3%)
Penalty killing: 30 of 41 (73.2%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Gabriel Le Houllier – 9G 6A 15P
• Rémi Gagné – 3G 11A 14P
• James Marshall – 7G 5A 12P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1995 – Gloucester Rangers | runners-up | 3-3 | 27GF 18GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Jacob Charron – Concordia University (2025-26)
Josh O’Connor – Dalhousie University (2025-26)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 1st
Oct. 7 – 1st
Oct. 14 – 1st
Oct. 21 – 1st
Oct. 28 – 1st
Nov. 4 – 1st
Nov. 11 – 1st
Nov. 18 – 1st
Nov. 25 – 3rd
Dec. 2 – 4th
Dec. 9 – 7th
Dec. 16 – 7th
Dec. 23 – 6th
Jan. 6 – 6th
Jan. 13 – 6th
Jan. 20 – 6th
Jan. 27 – 6th
Feb. 3 – 3rd
Feb. 10 – 3rd
Feb. 17 – 1st
Feb. 24 – 2nd
March 3 – 1st
March 10 – 3rd

When in doubt, score a goal. Sounds simple enough, right?

It certainly worked for the Braves de Valleyfield, who will bring the highest-scoring offence in the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) to their first appearance at the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.

The Braves averaged almost six goals per game in the regular season, potting 283 in 48 games (an average of 5.90 a game). They were one of just three CJHL teams to cross the five-goals-a-game threshold, joining a pair of Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec (LHJAAAQ) rivals, Longueuil (5.15) and Beauce-Appalaches (5.08).

Valleyfield’s offensive success was helped in no small part by its lethal power play; it converted at a 35.2% clip, scoring more than a quarter of its goals (75 of 283) with the man advantage.

James Swan and Nathan Lévesque were the dynamic duo up front, finishing one-two in LHJAAAQ scoring with 89 points apiece. Swan was the trigger man, scoring 58 goals (no one else in the league reached 40), while Lévesque piled up 72 assists (no one else had more than 55).

How good were the Braves’ top scorers? Samuel Fréchette was third in team scoring; his 56 points were 33 less than Swan and Lévesque, good for 24th in the LHJAAAQ.

But the road to Calgary was not all red lights and goal songs; Valleyfield was tested in its run through the LHJAAAQ, needing seven games to dispatch Granby in the semifinals (although the 13-3 win in Game 7 was about as emphatic as they come) and facing a 2-2 series in the league final with Longueuil before finishing things off in six games.

Next comes a chance for history; only once in the first 52 editions of Canada’s National Junior A Championship has a team from La Belle Province reached the championship game – the 1993 Élites de Châteauguay.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec

Quarterfinal: defeated Panthères de Saint-Jerome 4-0 (4-1, 5-2, 6-1, 8-3)
Semifinal: defeated Indigo de Granby 4-3 (6-4, 3-5, 5-3, 8-4, 4-5 OT, 1-2, 13-3)
Final: defeated Collège Français de Longueuil 4-2 (4-3, 7-3, 3-9, 2-6, 8-5, 3-1)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 37-9-2 (1st in LHJAAAQ)
Goals for: 283 (1st in LHJAAAQ)
Goals against: 189 (7th in LHJAAAQ)
Power play: 75 for 213 (35.2% – 1st in LHJAAAQ)
Penalty killing: 164 of 223 (73.5% – 10th in LHJAAAQ)
Longest winning streak: 15 (Jan. 16-March 6)

Top 3 scorers:
• James Swan – 58G 31A 89P (1st in LHJAAAQ)
• Nathan Lévesque – 17G 72A 89P (2nd in LHJAAAQ)
• Samuel Fréchette – 25G 31A 56P (24th in LHJAAAQ)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-5
Goals for: 90
Goals against: 60
Power play: 20 for 65 (30.8%)
Penalty killing: 53 of 71 (74.7%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Vincent Gauthier – 15G 11A 26P
• Nathan Lévesque – 8G 18A 26P
• Zachary Larocque – 12G 11A 23P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

First appearance

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

None

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 18th
Oct. 7 – 15th
Oct. 14 – 10th
Oct. 21 – 15th
Oct. 28 – 11th
Nov. 4 – 15th
Nov. 11 – 10th
Nov. 18 – 15th
Nov. 25 – 16th
Dec. 2 – 17th
Dec. 9 – 16th
Dec. 16 – 18th
Dec. 23 – 18th
Jan. 6 – 16th
Jan. 13 – 16th
Jan. 20 – 18th
Jan. 27 – 18th
Feb. 3 – 13th
Feb. 10 – 12th
Feb. 17 – 12th
Feb. 24 – 10th
March 3 – 9th
March 10 – 12th

Start fast. Finish strong. It’s a pretty good blueprint for success.

The Edmundston Blizzard did just that this season, and it has brought them all the way west to Calgary for the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, and their first appearance on the national stage.

The Blizzard were dominant from the first drop of the puck in the Maritime Hockey League (MHL), winning 17 of their first 18 games and 17 of their last 18 games.

They put together win streaks of eight, nine, and 14 games at various points through the regular season and only lost back-to-back games once, in their first two games of 2025. In all, their 44-6-2 record gave them a 24-point cushion in the North Division and a 10-point edge atop the overall MHL standings.

And Edmundston was just as good in the playoffs, losing just once in 13 games to claim its second MHL championship and first since 2018.

After brushing aside Miramichi in five games – with a 7-6 double-overtime loss in Game 2 the lone blemish on their playoff record – the Blizzard swept through Campbellton and Pictou County, playing only a single one-goal game in the final two rounds while winning six by at least three goals.

It was the defence that led the way all year long for Edmundston; it allowed only 126 goals in 52 regular-season games, 22 fewer than the next-best defensive team.

After seven different goaltenders played at least three games during the regular season, the one-two punch of Austin Caley and Frédéric Cousineau took over in the playoffs. Caley, who was acquired from Truro on Jan. 9, has yet to lose a game for the Blizzard, going a combined 16-0 in the regular season and playoffs with a 2.21 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

The Blizzard are looking to end a long drought for MHL teams at Canada’s National Junior A Championship; it has been 23 years since the Halifax Oland Exports won the league’s most recent national title, and only once since then – Summerside in 2013 – has an MHL team reached the final.

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Maritime Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Miramichi Timberwolves 4-1 (5-0, 6-7 2OT, 7-3, 3-2, 3-2)
Semifinal: defeated Campbellton Tigers 4-0 (4-3, 6-3, 4-1, 6-3)
Final: defeated Pictou County Crushers 4-0 (7-3, 6-3, 7-2, 3-1)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 44-6-2 (1st in MHL)
Goals for: 238 (4th in MHL)
Goals against: 126 (4th in MHL)
Power play: 42 for 190 (22.1% – 4th in MHL)
Penalty killing: 146 of 179 (81.6% – 3rd in MHL)
Longest winning streak: 14 (Jan. 9-Feb. 20)

Top 3 scorers:
• Philippe Collette – 26G 58A 84P (3rd in MHL)
• Jérémy D’Astous – 30G 52A 72P (5th in MHL)
• Carl-Anthony Massé – 23G 45A 77P (10th in MHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-1
Goals for: 67
Goals against: 33
Power play: 15 for 56 (26.8%)
Penalty killing: 41 of 51 (80.4%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Carl-Anthony Massé – 10G 12A 22P
• Jérémy D’Astous – 8G 13A 21P
• Philippe Collette – 5G 14A 20P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

First appearance

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Jérémy D’Astous – Université de Moncton (2025-26)
Carl-Anthony Massé – Université de Moncton (2025-26)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – 4th
Oct. 7 – 4th
Oct. 14 – 4th
Oct. 21 – 2nd
Oct. 28 – 2nd
Nov. 4 – 2nd
Nov. 11 – 2nd
Nov. 18 – 2nd
Nov. 25 – 1st
Dec. 2 – 2nd
Dec. 9 – 2nd
Dec. 16 – 4th
Dec. 23 – 3rd
Jan. 6 – 5th
Jan. 13 – 7th
Jan. 20 – 5th
Jan. 27 – 4th
Feb. 3 – 4th
Feb. 10 – 4th
Feb. 17 – 4th
Feb. 24 – 6th
March 3 – 3rd
March 10 – 1st

They’re back, and this time they’ve got home-ice advantage.

The host Calgary Canucks are returning to the Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons, as champions of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL)for the second year in a row after a dominant run through the AJHL playoffs.

The Canucks dropped just one of 13 postseason games and finishing with 10 straight wins, the final four coming in a sweep of the Grande Prairie Storm – the second-consecutive year they have swept the AJHL final.

Calgary returns eight players from the team that was edged 2-1 by the Melfort Mustangs in the semifinals a year ago in Oakville, including regular-season leading scorer Jack Plandowski (34-45—79) and playoff scoring star Bowden Singleton (6-18—24).

Offence was the calling card of these Canucks; Calgary led the AJHL with 255 goals, 46 more than any other team in the league, and poured in 74 in just 13 playoff games – an average of almost six per game. It flexed its offensive muscle against the Storm, scoring 29 goals in the four games.

Five Canucks reached the 20-goal plateau in the regular season, led by Plandowski’s league-leading 34, and Hayden Fechner recorded 11 in 13 playoff games.

One of the most impressive stats from the Canucks’ regular season, though, came at the other end of the ice – Calgary killed 89.4% of opposition power plays, allowing just 19 power-play goals, although that number did slide to just 71.7% in the playoffs.

The 1995 Centennial Cup champions, the Canucks will look to continue a run of relatively recent success for host teams at Canada’s National Junior A Championship; although they have struggled since the tournament returned from a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosts from 2013-19 appeared in six of seven championship games and won four national titles (Portage – 2015; Cobourg – 2017 ; Chilliwack – 2018 ; Brooks – 2019 ).

HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY

Alberta Junior Hockey League
Quarterfinal: defeated Camrose Kodiaks 4-1 (4-2, 9-4, 4-5, 5-2, 5-2)
Semifinal: defeated Drumheller Dragons 4-0 (4-3, 6-2, 3-1, 5-2)

Final: defeated Grande Prairie Storm 4-0 (9-3, 6-4, 7-4, 7-3)

REGULAR SEASON

Record (W-L-OTL): 37-13-4 (1st in AJHL)
Goals for: 255 (1st in AJHL)
Goals against: 139 (2nd in AJHL)
Power play: 55 for 238 (23.1% – 1st in AJHL)
Penalty killing: 161 of 180 (89.4% – 1st in AJHL)
Longest winning streak: 6 (Sept. 22-Oct. 6)

Top 3 scorers:
• Jack Plandowski – 34G 45A 79P (1st in AJHL)
• Bowden Singleton – 24G 37A 61P (3rd in AJHL)
• Nolan DuPont – 21G 35A 56P (7th in AJHL)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 12-1
Goals for: 74
Goals against: 37
Power play: 15 for 59 (25.4%)
Penalty killing: 38 of 53 (71.7%)

Top 3 scorers:
• Bowden Singleton – 6G 18A 24P
• Jack Plandowski – 5G 13A 18P
• Hayden Fechner – 11G 6A 17P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

1995 – Calgary Canucks | national champions | 5-1 | 25GF 17GA
2024 – Calgary Canucks | 3rd place | 4-2 | 21GF 15GA

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS

Jayden Joly – Western Michigan University (2025-26)
Landon Pappas – Bemidji State University (2025-26)
Bowden Singleton – Tennessee State University (2025-26)
Wade Wallace – Niagara University (2025-26)

CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS

Sept. 30 – not ranked
Oct. 7 – 14th
Oct. 14 – not ranked
Oct. 21 – not ranked
Oct. 28 – not ranked
Nov. 4 – not ranked
Nov. 11 – not ranked
Nov. 18 – not ranked
Nov. 25 – not ranked
Dec. 2 – not ranked
Dec. 9 – not ranked
Dec. 16 – not ranked
Dec. 23 – Honourable Mention
Jan. 6 – 19th
Jan. 13 – not ranked
Jan. 20 – Honourable Mention
Jan. 27 – not ranked
Feb. 3 – not ranked
Feb. 10 – Honourable Mention
Feb. 17 – Honourable Mention
Feb. 24 – 19th
March 3 – 18th
March 10 – 15th