Local Junior A teams adapting to shifting hockey landscape

The development of young hockey players is a tricky subject. Go to a rink and ask the parent of a AAA player what their child will be doing in the next year and more than likely you’ll be treated to a 30-plus minute spiel about summer programs, training camps and what level a kid needs to be at by what age in order to play elite hockey.

Prior to the NCAA ruling to remove the ban on CHL players from joining college hockey teams, kids needed to make a choice between the college route and the CHL.

“It used to be, some kids wouldn’t go to WHL camp because they wanted to maintain their eligibility,” said Neepawa Titans head coach and general manager Ken Pearson.

That all changed in 2024, and a new world of hockey development is slowly being forged through trial and error.

Former Medicine Hat Tiger and 2026 first-overall pick Gavin McKenna famously crossed the Rubicon to join Penn State’s team last year and he wasn’t alone. San Jose Sharks 2026 first-round pick Keaton Verhoeff went to North Dakota where he played alongside Calgary Flames 2025 first-round pick Cole Reschny.

While the majority of the analysis has been focused on the CHL and the NCAA — for very good reason — there are ripples that trickle down to lower levels of juniors in Canada and the United States.

The most dramatic moment was undoubtedly back in 2024, when Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman reported that USA Hockey had to block the OHL from adding two United States Hockey League teams — the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms — from defecting to the Ontario Hockey League.

Here in Canada, Junior A teams are feeling the changes as more players are attending CHL camps.

“Now that there’s no worry from the player to ruin their eligibility, so, if you get an opportunity to go to a Major Junior camp, why wouldn’t you go?” said Pearson.

He added that Neepawa largely isn’t impacted by the wave of players going to WHL camps as a result of starting their own camp later than usual. Teams like Waywayseecapo, Dauphin and Swan Valley have already played exhibition matches, Neepawa has yet to open camp. They plan to do so on Friday.

“The kids can go to their Western Hockey League camps, and then … we know what we’ve got coming back instead of hoping that this guy may come back or unsure whether that guy may come back,” said Pearson about the advantages of starting later. “We purposefully started out camp later than everyone else, so we didn’t have to deal with that kind of stuff.”

Waywayseecappo is currently without Cole Hunter, who made it through the first round of cuts at Brandon’s camp. The 18-year-old forward had a breakout campaign with the Wolverines last season scoring 14 goals and 26 assists in 58 games. He subsequently committed to Northern Michigan University and would likely be a very important player for Waywayseecappo if he returned.

This is one of the problems for Junior A teams. Not knowing exactly who will be back at what time. Major junior teams are incentivized to invite more and more Junior A talent to camp as their older players leave for NCAA schools which compounds the problem.

“We’ve always dealt with the trickle-down effect it’s just maybe a little bit magnified now,” said Virden Oile Capitals head coach and general manager Tyson Ramsey. “We’re understanding of the fact that kids want to play at the highest level and we’re appreciative of them going and trying out and doing what they need to there and keeping us in the loop.”

Junior A leagues have always been development leagues, but in the modern context, they are far more aligned with major juniors. There is now a ladder that players can climb from minor league hockey to Junior B, to Junior A and finally major juniors.

Hunter is a great example of a player who could potentially work his way from Junior A up to the WHL. Earlier Tuesday, it was announced that the Brampton Steelheads of the OHL had signed 2008-born Jack Yates who played for the Nepean Raiders in the CCHL the last two season.

These advancements look good for the player’s Junior A clubs, but they leave holes to fill in the roster. The Virden Oil Capitals stand to lose Colten Worthington if he makes it onto the Wheat Kings roster.

“We wish him nothing but the best there, but we’re certainly happy to have him return if that’s the case,” said Ramsey. “If he does happen to stay in Brandon, then there’s a group of young guys that maybe that bumps somebody into a spot that they didn’t have a chance at before.”

The CHL is certainly getting younger, whether Junior A leagues will as well is more dependent on individual teams and leagues.

“If the leagues above us are getting younger, that’s going to force us certainly to get younger in certain instances,” said Ramsey. “There’s still going to be some of the 19- and 20-year old kids that … might be looking for a place to play.”

Pearson looks at the question of the league getting younger slightly differently.

“At the end of the day, we want to win at Junior A we’re a development league and we get that, but we owe it to our communities to put a winning team on the ice. You’re not going to get that by loading up on 16- and 17-year old kids in order to move them to the WHL,” said Pearson. “You need to have a good mix of young and old. I mean because let’s face it our league is a league for everyone.”

The differing opinions is more evidence of the ever-shifting landscape that is junior hockey. The truth is these kinds of shifts will continue and leagues across the country will do their best to adapt.

As of right now, things are largely the same. The scouting may be slightly different, and players are coming from some new places, but the process remains unchanged.

“Even though it’s been a couple years, I don’t know that we’ve seen the full extent of that NCAA rule,” said Ramsey. “We take things as they come and we have a plan … we’re going to follow that. We’re not going to make any drastic changes until we need to, and we’re obviously going to make decisions with the Virden Oil Caps in mind.”

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com