The Next Wave

As we near the end of the current Canada West season, teams are already planning for next season and beyond. Championship teams aren't built in one season in Canada West women's hockey, and there's a lot of discussions that are had between prospects and recruiters who may want to attract top-level talent to those schools and teams. There are always school requirements that need to be met, but teams usually notice players on the ice first before digging into anything else about a player. In saying that, there's a lot of talent joining the conference next season.

I'm not going to go through each team's list of recruits at this point. That's an article for the summer, and we'll certainly see more chatter and more scouting being done long before this season is over. There are a handful of late tournaments that were pushed into the early spring thanks to COVID-19 restrictions, so there undoubtedly will be more names added to this list of highly-talented players. Again, we'll go over all those names later this summer.

As it stands, there are 31 recruits who have committed to the nine Canada West schools for next season if everything remains as it is today. Every school has at least one recruit committed for next season as well, so there will be new rookies at every school as well. That means we'll see competitions for roster spots, rookies emerging as key contributors, and new players finding their footings and their strides as the season gets started next season.

Here's the count that I've compiled from various sources in terms of how many new players will be arriving at Canada West schools next season:

• UBC: 2
• Trinity Western: 4
• Alberta: 5
• MacEwan: 5
• Calgary: 4
• Mount Royal: 3
• Saskatchewan: 1
• Regina: 4
• Manitoba: 3

Again, these numbers aren't set in stone by any means. A number of things could change between now and September 2022, so don't take this as being anything more than a preliminary survey of players who have committed. If any of those players change their minds between now and September, these numbers will change as well.

If there is one notable item I'll point out, I didn't see any international players being recruited by the teams for next season. Obviously, there are players like Adela Juzkova in Regina, Miressa Makela and Polina Goncharova in Manitoba, Emma Bergesen in Mount Royal, and Ella Howard in Calgary as part of a strong international component of Canada West, but no announcements for international players have been made by any of the teams at this time.

I'll keep my eyes open for any further announcements, but the future is bright for Canada West women's hockey at this time. With a number of those spring tournaments still scheduled to happen, there could be a few more names added to the list of recruits who are joining the conference. With 31 names already committed to joining the conference, we'll see more talented players and the ultra-competitive nature of Canada West will only continue to rise!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!