A Place Where Hockey Matters

For those headed to the Heritage Classic in Regina, Saskatchewan this weekend to see the Calgary Flames tangle with the Winnipeg Jets, it sounds like it's going to be a good time as the city puts on a show for the NHL. I often ask why the NHL isn't doing more for Canadian university hockey, but perhaps I can temper that question a little now after today's announcement that will see the Saskatchewan Huskies and the Regina Cougars get some major support from the NHL.

Both the Huskies and the Cougars have solid hockey programs with long legacies. Both the men's and women's teams from the University of Saskatchewan have gone to play in the U SPORTS National Championship in recent years, and Regina has had some solid programs in the past with Regina winning the Canada West women's hockey championship in 2000-01 while the men have yet to win a championship, but have fielded a number of competitive teams. These two schools are, along with the WHL, the highest levels of hockey in the province of Saskatchewan for men and women, and the programs have always relied on former alumni and contributors to make improvements within their programs through scholarships and donations.

Today, however, the NHL, the Calgary Flames, and the Winnipeg Jets stepped up in a big way.

$300,000 will go a long way in helping four players each year make significant strides not only on the ice, but in the classrooms as well. What makes this a great initiative for the NHL and for the schools is that the four scholarships seem to not only support men's hockey, but women's hockey as well. That matters with the NHL looking at its own women's professional league at some point in the future when players such as Canadian Olympians Hayley Wickenheiser and Colleen Sostorics are from Saskatchewan while potential Olympians Kaitlin Willoughby, Emily Clark, and Sophie Shirley call the province home.

As per the NHL's release, the scholarship will awarded to candidates who "strive to provide a positive and inclusive environment, while also showing leadership and good sportsmanship on and off the ice". While the schools will demand some sort of academic performance from their recruits, it should be hard for four players to qualify for these scholarships.

This is a big chunk of money for the two Saskatchewan institutions and the hockey programs at the schools, and it's good to see the NHL making a difference in communities they don't call home. There has always been a lot of eyebrows raised when the NHL talks about hockey being for everyone when they rarely venture into places the NHL doesn't call home, but this is a fantastic effort to help a province that has and will continue to be a source of players for NHL teams and, assuming they get it off the ground at some point, the women's professional league the NHL will run.

The NHL deserves a little credit on this one. Hockey in Saskatchewan just got better because of the National Hockey League.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!